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Toshiba aims to deliver laptops with Cell-based graphics this year

by Donald Melanson, posted May 9th 2008 at 3:39PM

Toshiba has been touting its Cell-based SpursEngine graphics chip for some time now, but it looks like its finally starting to get a bit more specific about when we can expect to see it in actual products. According to Register Hardware, Toshiba will begin offering the chip in some of its multimedia-oriented notebooks sometime this year, with TVs and DVD players set to get it by the fall of 2009. The chip itself, for those not up to speed, uses its Cell-based technology (specifically, four of the Cell's Synergistic Processing Element cores) to handle some heavy-duty graphics processing, including upscaling standard definition content to high-def levels, something Toshiba has apparently taken to calling "super-resolution." Now word on what sort of premium (if any) we can expect to pay for such wonders, but Toshiba is apparently betting pretty heavily on the technology as part of its post HD DVD strategy.

BUILT's Laptop Backpack keeps your files close, peripherals closer

by Darren Murph, posted May 9th 2008 at 10:27AM


Not one to just follow the crowd, BUILT has thrown an interesting twist on the oh-so-popular Neoprene laptop case. The Laptop Backpack enables users to tote their 12- to 17-inch machine right on their back along with textbooks, LAN party flyers and a copy of The Daily Bugle; you'll also find a couple of smaller compartments for storing peripherals and accessories. The material itself is water- and stain-resistant, and the pack is available in two sizes to fit all but the most atypical of frames. According to BUILT, the new wave of laptop carrying should begin today at $80 a pop.

[Via BeSportier]

MSI Wind gets a price: $610

by Nilay Patel, posted May 9th 2008 at 4:26AM

We've gotten a ton of info on the MSI Wind, but so far pricing details have been a closely-guarded secret. Good thing we've got wonder-importers Expansys to help us out, though -- they've just listed the Wind at the pretty decent price of $610. That's not bad for a 10-inch screen, 1.6GHz processor (supposedly an Atom), 1GB of RAM, an 80GB disk and XP, but let's hope things get even cheaper when this thing hits the US for real.

[Via UMPC Portal]

HP 2133 XP configurations get priced

by Nilay Patel, posted May 9th 2008 at 3:20AM


HP's Mini-Note 2133 is due to get all-new Windows XP configurations this month, and it looks like early pricing details are starting to leak out. If the numbers are accurate, a base 1.2GHz rig with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB disk will run you $729, and bumping things up to 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB disk will set you back $819. That's pretty steep -- but remember, early pricing info on the currently-available models was a tiny bit off, so these numbers could change when these hit sometime next week.

Dell to replace all European Vostro 1310 and 1510 keyboards

by Nilay Patel, posted May 8th 2008 at 8:47PM


We're not at all certain what led Dell to ship European Vostro 1310s and 1510s with, ah, revised QWERTY keyboards, but it looks like the company is making good on its promise to remedy the situation. According to Dell, all affected customers will be contacted and offered a replacement keyboard beginning today. Apparently the switch isn't too hard to make, so you'll be able to either do it yourself, or Dell will send out a tech to do it for you at no cost. Sounds like Dell's doing its best to make this right -- but c'mon, how did this not raise all kinds of red flags during the design process?

P.S.- If you're a touch-typist who's having major issues, you can also jump to the front of the pack by emailing Dell -- check out the read link for directions.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Rock falls under administration, now up for sale

by Darren Murph, posted May 8th 2008 at 10:13AM


Hope you weren't really counting on getting yourself one of those Pegasus 210s. In a sudden announcement made today, Dominic Wong and David Langton of Deloitte & Touche LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of Rock Group Plc. In layman's terms, that means those fellows will be attempting to achieve a sale of the now-defunct company. Reportedly, the failure of Rock is "partly attributed to the cash flow difficulties faced as a result of stock misappropriation by a former employee," though further details were omitted. As it stands, the admins are currently negotiating with potential suitors in order to place the outfit in more capable hands, but there is still a possibility that no one will bite. For more information on how all of this could affect you (you know, things like warranties and whatnot), check out the full release in the read link below. 'Tis a sad day folks -- Rock is dead (at least for the moment).

[Thanks, Peter]

ASUS Eee PC given away with T-Mobile mobile broadband package

by Darren Murph, posted May 8th 2008 at 9:12AM


We're calling this right now: ASUS' Eee PC is the new MP3 player. But only in the context of giveaways. Anywho, just days after RBC announced that it would dish out free subnotes if prospective customers joined in, PowerUp Mobile is now offering a similar deal for UKers who sign up for T-Mobile's Web n Walk mobile broadband package. In short, folks comfortable with inking their name on a two-year contract at £35 per month will net a free USB modem and a Eee PC 2GB Surf. Better hurry -- the deal expires on June 15th.

Dell Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 leaked

by Paul Miller, posted May 8th 2008 at 8:49AM Breaking News


While not quite as exciting as March's week of Latitude scoops, we've got ourselves some infos on what look to be Dell's upcoming Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 consumer laptops. Seems they'll all be sharing the same basic design language, pictured above, and will be privy to some rather expansive aesthetic customization options if you're into that type of thing. Specs are the typical Dell smorgasbord of options, but all three laptops start at around 1-inch thick and taper up to 1.5 inches thick. All three also sport slot-loading drives, with a Blu-ray option, and processors ramp up to Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz chips. 3G options are also available across the lineup, and just about anything else you might find useful in a mid-range laptop. Apparently the 1435 isn't due until October, but the 1735 is coming on June 9 and the 1535 on the 26th of this month.

Gallery: Dell Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 leaked

AMD announces 6- and 12-core Opterons

by Nilay Patel, posted May 8th 2008 at 2:01AM

AMD may be busy sorting out issues with its quad-core Phenoms and hard at work on "completely different" chip architectures, but that isn't stopping the company from aggressively updating its roadmap, announcing today plans for 6- and 12-core server-grade Opterons. Both the new 6-core chip, codenamed Sao Paulo, and the 12-core unit, codenamed Magny-Cours, are based on a brand-new platform called "Maranello," and slotting in to replace the planned 8-core Barcelona chip, which appears to have been canceled. According to AMD, 12-core chips are easier to manufacture, so it's going to skip over 8-core chips and go straight to the good stuff. That must be news to Intel, which is planning on shipping 8-core Nehalem chips later this year, and will probably then hold the coveted "number-of-cores" crown until AMD releases the 12-core chips in 2010. There's no word on whether any of these chips can make these processor roadmaps comprehensible or even chronological, but we can dream, can't we?

[Via TG Daily]

NVIDIA to simplify product range as it courts consumers

by Nilay Patel, posted May 7th 2008 at 6:22PM

NVIDIA isn't joking around when it says it's after a dominant position in the consumer tech industry, and it's apparently willing to take some aggressive steps to get there -- like totally revamping its product lines. Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, NVIDIA veep Roy Taylor (the same guy who said Intel was "dead", you remember him), said that his company needed to "simplify the product line for consumers," and that if NVIDIA is going to "widen our appeal, there's no doubt we have to solve that problem." No specific plans were offered, but might we suggest a moratorium on the random-numbers-and-letters product-naming scheme? Just a thought.

Mobo gets rebadge happy with two new low-cost subnotes for Brazil

by Donald Melanson, posted May 7th 2008 at 4:50PM

It looks like folks in Brazil are soon going to have a few more low-cost subnote options to consider, with Mobo announcing two new but curiously familiar-looking models. That includes the Positivo Mobo (pictured above), which appears to almost certainly be a rebadge of Airis' Kira 740 Eee PC lookalike (or a rebadge of whatever that is a rebadge of). That likelihood is further backed up by the nearly identical specs, including the usual 7-inch display, Via C7-M processor, 1.3-megapixel webcam, and built-in WiFi, although this particular model appears to come with 2GB of flash memory in place of the Kira's standard 40GB hard drive. Set to be released alongside it is the company's Mobo Kids laptop, which is just a straight up rebadge of Intel's Netbook platform (a.k.a. Classmate 2), with it boasting the same Celeron M processor and presumably all the same specs seen in other incarnations like CTL's 2go PC. Look for both of 'em to pack the same R$999 price tag (or $590), with the Positivo Mobo hitting stores first on May 23rd and the Mobo Kids following sometime in July.

[Via Zumo Blog, thanks Leoberto]

Toshiba lets loose 13.3-inch Portege M800 laptop

by Darren Murph, posted May 7th 2008 at 10:18AM


Toshiba's been cranking out a pretty steady stream of laptops since the year began, and it's making sure no slacking goes on in May. Revealed today, the 13.3-inch Portégé M800 weighs in at 4.3-pounds and will be available with a white pearl finish with silver accents, not to mention the white LEDs within meant to keep things classy. Furthermore, you'll find a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T5750, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a WXGA (1,280 x 800) panel, Intel's GMA X3100 graphics set, a built-in DVD burner, three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire / VGA / headphone sockets, 802.11a/g/n WiFi, 56k modem, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth and Vista Home Premium running the show. Regrettably, there's no word on price, but you won't see this one arrive in Europe until Q3, anyway.

[Via Tech Digest, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Eee 900 now available for pre-order for delivery May 12

by Nilay Patel, posted May 7th 2008 at 4:41AM


We already knew a few delivery dates for the Eee 900 worldwide, but ASUS came real with the Stateside deets today, so if you're in the market, get ready for some unboxing fun on May 12th. A plethora of online retailers should be taking your $549 pre-orders soon, including Amazon, Buy.com, Newegg, PC Mall, and Costco, and several brick-and-mortar retailers will also get stock on the 12th as well. Other than that, it's the same Eee 900 we've been seeing for a while now -- we're just waiting for that black one to hit.

Yinlips ultraportable mashes the Eee with a TI-99

by Nilay Patel, posted May 7th 2008 at 12:21AM


It looks like ultraportable laptops are the new generic PMPs, and we couldn't be happier about it -- especially if we keep seeing units like the Yinlips Micro PC YDP-G77 here. While the spec list is pretty average -- 7-inch screen, 400MHz CPU (we don't know what kind), WiFi, Linux, 500MB or 1GB flash drive -- what's really getting us is the old-school TI-99 looks. All we need now is a speech synthesizer module and we'll be all set.

[Via MP4 Nation]

Switched On: The Linux ultraportable opportunity

by Ross Rubin, posted May 6th 2008 at 9:18PM

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.


The US smartphone market may continue to be dominated by mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, and RIM, but Linux has been creeping into ever more mobile devices in the last few years. Some Motorola RAZR 2 models have donned a Tux, Palm is looking to Linux to drive its next-generation consumer smartphones, and Android's backers hope to spread it to an even wider array of handsets. Linux is also driving many avant garde connected consumer electronics devices such as the Chumby, Nokia N810, Amazon Kindle, Dash Express, and whatever the fertile minds tinkering with Bug Labs' modules are envisioning,. Even the remote control that houses the user interface of Logitech's Squeezebox Duet is a Linux computer.

However, none of these products is intended for as flexible a range of uses as a notebook PC, where Linux is being tested as a tool to achieve lower price points on a new generation of low-cost but style-conscious ultraportables. ASUS set the pace with Xandros on the Eee PC, and HP has tapped Novell SuSE Linux for the 2133 Mini-Note, but whereas the Eee's positioning has been somewhat of a loose hybrid between an adult OLPC and the Nintendo Wii's culture of global inclusion, the HP Mini-Note has been strongly focused on reckless, immature students while acknowledging potential for senior executives that have been known to share their temperament.

Continue reading Switched On: The Linux ultraportable opportunity




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