NetbookTech

The upcoming Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T based on the Intel Calpella platform looks to be extremely promising. The 11 inch ultraportable reportedly dumps Intel CULV processors in favor of the faster Intel Core i5-520M clocked at 1.06GHz. Better yet – the processor can be brought up to 1.86GHz thanks to Turbo Boost technology.

While the TimelineX 1830T might feature a Core i5 processor, the system is still expected to achieve an 8 hour battery life.

Other specs include:

• 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 resolution display
• Intel HM55 chipset
• Intel integrated graphics with a dynamic core capable of transitioning from 166MHz to 500MHz.
• Two memory slots
• HDMI, S/PDIF, Gigabit Ethernet ports
• Multi-card reader
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• Optional 3G and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR support

No word on pricing or availability at this time.

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Dell expands their business-class thin-and-light notebook product lineup with today’s introduction of the new Vostro 3000 series. Available in screen sizes ranging from 13 inches up to 17 inches, the new 3000 series features the latest Intel Core processors, high-end graphics, and built-in security.

The Vostro 3000 series is currently made up of the 13 inch Vostro 3300, 14 inch Vostro 3400, 15 inch Vostro 3500, and 17 inch Vostro 3700. Common features across all the 3000 series include:

• Core i3 to Core i5 processors
• Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
• 2-4GB of RAM
• 250-500GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
• DVD+/-RW drive
• Intel integrated graphics up to NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics
• Built-in webcam and microphone for videoconferencing
• 802.11 g/n Wi-Fi
• Support for up to 6GB of memory
• Optional fingerprint reader
• Full data-encrypted hard drive
• Dell DataSafe online backup

Additional info on the systems follows:

Vostro 3300:

• One of the thinnest 13 inch notebooks with built-in DVD drive
• 13.3 inch HD Wide LED anti-glare display
• Up to 6GB of memory
• Mobile Intel HM57 Express Chipset
• 4 cell Lithium Ion battery or optional 8 cell battery
• Available in Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red, Brisbane Bronze
• Integrated speaker
• 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 eSATA/USB combo port
• 5 in 1 media card reader
• 34mm ExpressCard slot
• VGA video connector
• Measures 12.8 x 9.02 x 0.79 ~ 1.13 inches
• Weighs 4.01 lbs with 4 cell battery and no drive
• Starting price of $69

Vostro 3400:

• Mobile Intel HM57 Express Chipset
• 14 inch HD wide LED anti-glare display
• 2 integrated stereo speakers
• 6 cell lithium-ion battery (or 4 and 9 cell available too)
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 eSATA/USB port
• 8 in 1 media card reader
• 34mm ExpressCard slot
• HDMI port
• VGA port
• Measures 13.35 x 9.54 x 0.86~1.16 inches
• Weighs 4.56 lbs with 4 cell and optical drive
• Up to 8 hours of power with 9 cell battery
• Available in Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red, Brisbane Bronze
• Starting price of $649

Vostro 3500:

• 15.6 inch HD wide LED anti-glare display
• HM57 Express Chipset
• 2 integrated speakers
• Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1
• 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0/eSATA port
• 8 in 1 media card reader
• 34mm ExpressCard slot
• HDMI port
• 6 cell lithium-ion battery (4 or 9 cell optional)
• Measures 14.76 x 9.84 x 0.90 ~ 1.23 inches
• Weighs 5.10 lbs with 4 cell battery and optical drive
• Available in Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red, Brisbane Bronze
• Starting price of $649

Vostro 3700:

• Core i7 quad-core processors available
• Mobile Intel HM57 Express Chipset
• 17.3 inch HD+ Wide LED anti-glare display
• 2 integrated stereo speakers
• Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1
• 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB/eSATA combo port
• 8 in 1 media card reader
• 34mm ExpressCard slot
• VGA and HDMI port
• Measures 16.17 x 10.67 x 1.06~1.35 inches
• Weighs 5.95 lbs with 6 cell battery and optical drive
• 6 cell lithium-ion battery (or 9 cell optional)
• Available in Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red, Brisbane Bronze
• Starting price of $679

Systems are available today in the U.S. and parts of Asia. Folks in Europe, Latin America, and other regions will be able to order them starting on March 16th.

Introduced at CES 2010, the new LG X300 ultra-portable is set to go on sale this month in Asia. The X300 features a 2GHz Intel Menlow platform (Atom processor), 2GB of memory, and a 128GB solid state drive. Other specs include:

• 11.6 inch LCD display
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Two batteries – an internal battery and an extra 2 cell battery for up to 7 hours of power
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Built-in 3G modem supporting GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, or HSDPA

The X300 measures 17.5 mm thick and weighs a mere 970 grams. Expect the system to show up in the Middle East and South America after its Asia rollout. No word on when the system will show up in the U.S.

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HP announces several new enterprise/small-business class notebooks today including the new HP EliteBook 2540p. The system is the lightest EliteBook notebook yet with a weight of 3.3 pounds. Specs include:

• Choose between standard-voltage Intel Core processors or low-voltage processors
• 12.1  inch LED display
• Optional 2 megapixel webcam with business card reader software and HP fingerprint sensor
• Supports up to 8GB of RAM
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Full-size, spill-resistant keyboard with drains which protect the system from minor spills
• Magnesium alloy casing
• Integrated HP Mobile Broadband powered by Gobi
• Several battery options including 3 cell battery for up to 4 hours of power, 6 cell battery for up to 8 hours of power, and a 9 cell battery for up to 10.5 hours of power
• Meets MIL-STD 810G military-standard tests for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high/low temps
• Comes with HP SkyRoom HD video conferencing software

Pricing for the new EliteBook 2540p starts at $1099 with units expected next month. Read about the other business-class notebook additions at Krunker.com.

BTW, has anyone noticed that Lenovo has begun selling their new ThinkPad X100e thin-and-light notebook systems? Announced back at the beginning of January, the X100e features:

• 1.6 GHz AMD Athlon Neo single-core MV-40 processor
• ATO Radeon HD 3200 graphics
• Sub-3 pound weight
• 11.6 inch HD display
• ISO full-sized spill-resistant keyboard
• TrackPoint and multi-touch enabled touchpad
• Low-light sensitivity webcam
• 3 USB ports (1 powered)
• 4 in 1 media card reader
• HD audio
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Optional Bluetooth and WWAN
• 1 to 2GB of RAM
• 160GB or 250GB 5400RPM HDD
• 6 cell Lithium Ion battery

Prices for the X100e start at $584 (although it’s on sale now with a starting price of $449). You can save 5% more with the eCoupon code USPTHINKSALE which ends on March 3rd. The high end system (currently on sale for $649) comes with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, and integrated mobile broadband provided by the Gobi 2000 chipset.

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Lenovo introduced the new ThinkPad X201 notebook today, calling the system the “industry’s fastest ultraportable laptop”. What makes the X201 different from other thin-and-light systems is the use of normal voltage Intel Core processors vs the ubiquitous ultra-low-voltage processors commonly found on competing systems.

While exact specs are still scarce at this time, we do know the X201 will feature Intel Core i7-620M processors clocked at 2.66GHz. Amazingly enough, the X201 is capable of achieving up to 11 hours of battery life with the 9 cell battery.

If you want something a bit smaller than the X201, you might be interested in the new ThinkPad X201s – the thinnest and lightest ThinkPad yet. The X201s weighs at under 2.5 pounds and achieves 12 hours of battery life with a 9 cell battery.

Both models will be available beginning in March with starting prices for the X201 at $1199 and the X201s at $1599.

Read more about other new Lenovo Think-branded products over at Krunker.com.

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Who says you can’t game on a sub-12 inch notebook platform? Certainly not Dell as they’ve announced the availability of the Alienware M11x which provides the graphics power typically found on larger laptop systems with the form factor and battery life of thin-and-light notebook systems.

According to Dell, the 11.6 inch Alienware M11x scores over 6100 with the 3DMark06 benchmark – easily crushing integrated graphics performance typically found on competing 11.6 inch systems. What makes this all possible is the use of a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics card. Don’t need the graphics performance of the GeForce GT 335M? No problem. The M11x comes with switchable graphics allowing you to easily switch between discrete graphics to integrated graphics. Switching to integrated graphics also means the M11x can enjoy upwards of 8.5 hours of battery life.

At the heart of the Alienware M11x notebook is an Intel CULV processor (either the Intel Pentium SU4100 processor clocked at 1.3GHz or the Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor clocked at 1.3GHz). These processors provide just enough horsepower for most gaming needs while also remaining power-efficient for long battery lives.

Other features and specs include:

• 2-8GB of memory
• Choose from 160GB to 500GB SATA HDD or 256GB Solid State Drive
• 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics
• 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 WLED display
• Internal HD surround sound
• Ethernet port
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• DisplayPort and HDMI output
• Available in either Cosmic Black or Lunar Silver

Prices for the Alienware M11x start at $799 (which includes 2GB of RAM and the Intel Pentium SU4100 processor. Switch to the Core 2 Duo SU7300 and the system price will rise to $899.

So why even consider this notebook if you can possibly get cheaper notebooks with even better graphics? It comes down to a balanced mix of portability, graphics performance, battery life, and price. Need graphics power? Switch on the NVIDIA graphics. Need long battery life? Switch to integrated graphics.

Pretty sweet.

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Dell announces a new “beauty” for the corporate world with yesterday’s introduction of the new thin-and-light Latitude 13 notebook. Taking design cues from the popular Vostro 13, the Latitude 13 is supposedly the “world’s thinnest 13 inch commercial client laptop” and comes with many of the same internal guts as those found on the Vostro 13.

Additional corporate features on the Latitude 13 include:

• Support for Broadcom TruManage technology and Dell ImageDirect service which lets IT create, update, and deploy system images 24/7 from a secure online location
• Desktop virtualization through certification from Citrix and VMware
• Customized security offerings including solid state drives, full-disk encryption, Trusted Platform Module control, and Computrace software
• Complete range of connectivity options including optional WWAN mobile broadband, Bluetooth, and 802.11 g/n Wi-Fi
• Optional external Blu-ray drive
• 13.3 inch display
• Weight of 3.36 pounds
• Intel ULV processor support
• Choice of Windows 7 or Windows XP

The Latitude 13 will be available in the coming weeks.

Gateway also expanded their EC lineup of thin-and-light notebooks during CES 2010 with the introduction of the EC14D model featuring an integrated DVD drive. An integrated DVD drive is unique among thin-and-light notebooks which often come without a built-in drive and instead rely on optional external USB drives.

One specific EC14D model is the EC14D07u which has the following specs:

• Intel Pentium ULV Processor SU4100 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz
• Intel GS45 Express Chipset
• 11.6 inch HD TFT LCD display with 1366 x 78 resolution
• 320GB HDD
• 4GB of RAM upgradeable to 8GB
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 6 cell battery for up to 8 hours of power
• Built-in webcam
• Multi-in-1 media card reader
• Integrated 8x Super-Multi DVD player
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• Multi-gesture touchpad
• 6 cell Lithium-Ion 5600mAh battery
• Weighs 3.55 lbs
• Measures 11.49 x 1.12 x 8.33 inches
• Windows 7 Home Premium

Starting prices for the EC14D is $629.99

Acer’s looking to make their products ever greener with their latest additions to the Timeline product line, the Aspire 3811TZ and Aspire 3811TZG. The new notebooks are made with materials free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). These chemicals can generate toxic substances such as dioxins and furans at the product’s end-of-life when the customer disposes of the notebooks.

Other “green” features of these new Timeline notebooks include:

• Energy Star 5.0 certification
• Modularized design ideal for recycling. Only replace what needs to be replaced reducing waste

No details on specs but one would assume the 3811TZ and 3811TZG are similar to the current 3810 Timeline. Specs to the 3810 include:

• Core 2 Duo SU7300
• Intel GS45 Express Chipset
• Up to 4GB RAM
• Up to 500GB HDD
• 5 in 1 media card reader
• 13.3 inch 1366 x 768 resolution display
• HDMI output
• Gigabit LAN and Wi-Fi