AT&T TO OFFER MOBINNOVA BEAM TEGRA 2 BASED SMARTBOOK

The Mobinnova Beam Smart book is getting ready to hit the market. We have been hearing about this device for a while, but now Mobinnova has teamed up with AT&T for offering the smart book at a subsidized price.

 

The Mobinnova Beam is a 3G enabled notebook based on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 platform. The Tegra 2 platform combines a low power Atom processor with a high performance GPU. Smart books running on a Tegra 2 chipset can decode 1080 p HD video with minimal efforts.

 

The Mobinnova Beam smart book has an 8.9 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. It weighs around 1.88 pounds and measures 0.8 inches in thickness. The hardware specifications are pretty basic. The smart book comes bundled with 512MB of RAM, a 512MB of flash storage for the operating system plus up to 64GB of SSD. The connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and 3G. There is also an SD card slot for expansion. You should be able to add up to 64GB of storage.

 

The Beam Smart book is capable of running both Windows CE and Goggle Android. The AT&T version is expected to run Android. It should hit the market by the second half of 2010. No word on pricing as yet.

ASUS LAUNCHES ROG G73JH GAMING LAPTOP WITH CORE i7

Asus has launched a high-end gaming laptop called ROG (Republic of Gamers) G73jh. The machine, powered by a Core i7 processor, has every feature necessary to meet the requirements of a gamer.

 

The latest ROG notebook has an Intel Core i7-720QM processor with ATI Radian HD 5870 discrete GPU. Up to 8GB of RAM can be installed. The ATI GPU is compatible with DirectX11 standard which would enable smooth handling of graphics and games. Up to 1TB of storage space is available. Other specifications include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Blue tooth, 8-channel HD audio, built-in web cam, Blue-ray/DVD drive, mini-VGA and card reader. 

 

The ROG G73jh has a 17.3 inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixels. The notebook runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

 

Pricing and Availability

No exact info on pricing or availability as yet.

HP Latest Budget-Friendly Laptop

HP has rolled out a new budget-friendly laptop called the Pavilion dv4-2160us. Priced at only $799.99, the system is packed with a 14.1-inch Bright View LCD display, a Core i5-430M Dual-Core 2.26GHz CPU, an Intel HD graphics, a 4GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a DVD burner, Wi Fi, an HDMI port, a 6-cell battery and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. [Product Page]

$60 off On Lenovo Idea Pad S10-3 10-Inch “Pine Trail” Atom Notebook $369

Logic Buy is up with another sale, this time they’re offering you the Lenovo Idea Pad S10-3 10-inch notebook for just $369 shipped (regular price $429). So here’s what you get, an Intel Atom Pine Trail N450 / N470 processor, up to 2GB DDR2 memory, a 4-in-1 card reader, Wi Fi, WWAN, optional 3G and Bluetooth. [Product Page]

Coby MP837 Portable Media Player

Gadgets manufacturer Coby has recently introduced their latest portable media player in the form of the Coby MP837. Available in 8GB or 16GB storage space, the player boasts a 3-inch LCD touch screen with haptic sensor and accelerometer. The Coby MP837 supports most of famous multimedia files including OGG, Flash, XviD, and H264. Word has it that this gadget will be launched in March 2010. [Engadget]

FIRST LOOK AT LENOVO SKYLIGHT

The Lenovo Skylight is one of the first smart books based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform. The little machine was on display at CES and it invoked considerable interest among the audience.

 

The Lenovo Skylight is an ultra thin machine. It has a fan less design, thanks to the ARM processor which doesn’t generate much heat. Lenovo says that the smart book will offer 10 hours of uptime.

 

The Skylight has an HD display. The machine can easily decode 720p video locally, but playing high quality Flash videos, especially in full screen mode, is another story. Lenovo says that the company is working on resolving the issue.

 

As for the OS, the Skylight runs a custom operating system based on Linux. The User Interface is built around twenty or so widgets which would help you access various web applications. Overall, the UI is interesting and it works as it is supposed to.

Lenovo’s LePhone Android Phone

The LePhone is Lenovo’s first smart phone that comes jam packed with a 3.7-inch touch screen that can be paired with a keypad/dock that houses an oval full QWERTY keypad with a navigation system in the center. In addition, the cell phone is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, two standard cameras and Android 1.6 OS. The Lenovo LePhone will be launched in China during the first half of this year. Pricing info is still unavailable. More

SAMSUNG ENTERS EBOOK READER SPACE

Samsung is entering the eBook reader space. The company announced a new line of eBook readers at CES. The Samsung E6 and E101 will have 6 inch and 10 inch ePaper displays respectively. And the company plans to partner with Google to provide its users with access to millions of digital books available through Google Books.

 

The Samsung eReaders possess handwriting recognition capabilities when using a stylus. They also support Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. Another feature is the slide-out base with navigation controllers. Samsung says that you will be able to use the device for up to 2 weeks by charging the battery for just 4 hours. Of course it depends upon how many hours you spend with the device.

 

The readers will hit the market early this year. They aren’t cheap: the 6 inch model carries a price tag of $399. If you need the larger version you will have to shell out $699. At these prices, they are much costlier than other eBook readers in the market.

Sony Sweep Panorama Cameras

Sony has proudly introduced a new series of digital cameras at CES 2010. These new cameras adopt the new sweep panorama technology that is ideal for wide angle shots. The Sony W370 and W350 digital cameras are the first to have sweep panorama technology. Both cameras allow you to take a picture using a large sweeping motion rather than tagging two or more pictures together to create your large scenic panoramas. The Sony W350 and Sony W370 are priced at $200 and $230, respectively. [Gizmodo]

Three New Screenshots From Final Fantasy XIII

Square XENIX has come out with three new screenshots from its upcoming Final Fantasy XIII. As a reminder, the game will be launched on March 9th for both PS3 and 360. More pictures after the break. More

SAMSUNG ADDS NEW NOTEBOOKS TO THE R30 AND R80 SERIES

Samsung has made several new additions to its R30 and R80 series of notebooks. The updated line has something to offer every customer – be they gamers, business people or multimedia enthusiasts.

 

There will be three new notebooks in the R80 series, the R480, R580 and R780. The first two models will have a Blu-ray optical drive. The third model – R780 – is aimed at gamers and will sport a NVIDIA GeForce GPU. Other common specifications include Intel Core i5 450M processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n. The R480 and R580 have 14 inch and 15.6 inch displays respectively. The R780 is equipped with a 17.3 inch display with 1600 x 900 pixels. The other two models come with 1366 x 768 pixel displays. The notebooks have prices ranging between $829 and $949.

 

Samsung has also released two new notebooks in the R30 series. Dubbed R430 and R530, the machines are powered by Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 CPU with 4GB of RAM, GMA 4500MHD graphics and 320 GB hard drive. The R430 has a 14 inch display whereas the R530 features a 15.6 inch display. Both models are now available for $670.

ACER LAUNCHES ASPIRE ONE AO535H PINE TRAIL NOTE BOOK

Acer has added a Pine Trail notebook to its popular Aspire One series. The new laptop dubbed Acer Aspire AO535h offers excellent battery life.

 

The AO535h is equipped with a 10.1 inch LED backlit display. It has an Intel Atom N450 processor, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. Other features include Wi-Fi, mulit-in-1 digital media card reader, two built-in-stereo speakers and built-in-webcam. The six cell battery is rated at 4400mAh. It is expected to offer up to 10 hours of uptime thanks to the power efficient Atom N450 processor. The touchpad recognizes multi-touch gestures.

 

The Aspire One AO535h is available in three colors – Silver Matrix, Onyx Blue and Garnet Red. The laptop runs Windows 7 Starter Edition

 

Pricing and Availability

Aspire One AO535h is now available for purchase. Acer has kept the price point notably low. In fact, at just $299,the AO535h is much cheaper than its competitors from Asus, Samsung and Toshiba.

Asus Eee 1005PE Notebook With 14 Hours Of Battery Life

ASUS has rolled out a new notebook that comes equipped with a long battery life. The Asus 1005PE features an impressive 14 hours of operation time. For your info, the 10.1-inch notebook comes jam packed with an Intel Atom N450 processor, a 1024 x 600 resolution display, and a 1GB of DDR2 RAM as standard with the option to upgrade to 2GB. Additional specs include a 250GB hard drive, a 500GB of online storage from Asus, a 92% chick let keyboard, a 0.3-megapixel web cam, and Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition. The ASUS Eee 1005PE is currently available for $368.5. [Amazon]

FIC SVE00 Pine Trail Notebook

The FIC SVE00 notebook is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600 pixel) LCD display, a 1GB of RAM, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. Measuring 11.2-inch x 8.5-inch x 1-inch and weighing 2.6 pounds, the FIC SVE00 can accommodate a 2.5-inch hard disk drive (up to 500GB) or SSDs (up to 32GB). The laptop is available with Windows 7 or Linux OS. No info on pricing at this time. [Akihabara]

CTL INTRODUCES PINE TRAIL NETBOOK

CTL, the company that sold a rebranded version of Intel’s Classmate PC in the US, has added a 10 inch Pine Trail netbook to its 2Go PC line. The CTL 2Go E10IS as it is called is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor. It features a spill-resistant keyboard and a semi-rugged case. These are the features you wouldn’t normally find in a 10 inch laptop.

 

The keyboard is large enough to touch-type. The touchpad is wide for a netbook of this size and there are two large buttons beneath it. The remaining specifications are pretty regular. The laptop has 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and a 1024 x 600 pixels display. There are 3 USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, headphone and mic jacks.

 

The CTL 2Go E10IS is available with Windows XP (Home/Pro) and Windows 7 (Starter/Professional). The 6-cell battery is expected to provide around 4.5 hours of uptime, which is quite low for a Pine Trail netbook.

CLOSER LOOK AT SAMSUNG N210, N220 AND N150 NETBOOKS

Samsung has announced 4 netbooks with Pine Trail Atom N450 processors. All models feature multi-touch touchpads, matte displays and island-style keyboards.

 

The Samsung N210 and N220 feature 6 cell batteries rated at 5600mAh. Samsung claims that the machines will offer up to 12 hours of uptime. The netbooks also feature a 3D textured pattern on the lid. They are shipped with the Phoenix HyperSpace quick boot software.

 

The two models are identical in almost every aspect. But while the N220 is meant for the European market, the other model, the N210 will be available in the US. The hardware specs for both models are pretty regular, but the keyboard does feature some minor differences.

 

The third model in the series – the N150 – also has an island style keyboard, multi-touch touchpad and matte display. It should give you up to 7.5 hours of uptime. While seven hours aren’t necessarily bad, the N150 seems to be the weakling among the bunch with the other models offering 11+ hours of uptime.

LENOVO IDEAPAD U150 NOW AVAILABLE WITH CELERON SU2300

Lenovo has started offering a cheaper version of its IdeaPad U150 thin and light notebook. The new model is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 processor. The IdeaPad U150 is already available with 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 and 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPUs.

 

The Celeron powered U150 will have less RAM and less storage than the other two models. This model starts at just $550. Other specifications include up to 2GB of RAM, 160GB storage, Wi-Fi 802.22b/g and integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics. The 11.6 inch display comes with 1366 x 768 pixels.

 

The notebook runs Windows 7 Home Premium. It weighs around 3.3pounds.

 

Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo IdeaPad U150 with Celeron SU2300 is now available for pre-order from Amazon. Prices start at $549.99.

GATEWAY LT2102H FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Gateway LT2102H is one of the first Pine Trail netbooks to hit the market. We know plenty are coming but most of them are yet to start shipping.

The Gateway laptops have more or less the same looks as Acer laptops, and that is for good reason. Acer owns Gateway. The only major difference in most cases is the Acer and Gateway logos on their respective machines. The Gateway LT2102H isn’t much different.

 

Some bloggers recently did some benchmark tests on the PC and they seem quite impressed with the performance. The netbook feels quite snappy. That said, don’t expect this to be a speed demon. Atom processors which power these tiny machines have pretty limited capabilities. But you will still be able to perform your day to day computing jobs without much difficulty.

 

The 3 cell battery rated at 2200mAh offers around 5 hours of uptime. This is probably due to the power efficiency of the Atom N450 processor. If the machine does manage to deliver this performance under real world conditions, then we may soon start seeing 3 cell netbooks with respectable battery life.

TOSHIBA MINI NB305 COMPARED WITH NB205

Toshiba’s 10 inch laptops are known for their large touchpads, nice keyboards and excellent battery life. The Toshiba Mini NB305 is no different. It has an Intel Atom N450 processor which is said to be more power efficient than the Atom N270 processors found in older versions. Still the new version doesn’t offer more battery life than its predecessor the Mini NB205. Laptop Magazine recently tested both models and they discovered that both of them offer around 9 hours of uptime.

 

The NB305 has the same keyboard and touchpad as the NB205, but Toshiba has made some changes to the chassis. The battery is now situated at the bottom of the laptop. The previous version had the battery at its back. The front of the notebook is now thinner than the back giving the machine a slimmer profile.

 

The netbook runs Windows 7 Starter Edition. Other specifications of this model include up to 2GB of RAM, 250GB/4500rpm hard drive and GMA 3150 graphics. The 10.1 inch display comes with 1024 x 600 pixels. There is also a USB Sleep-and-Charge port.

A New Gaming Notebook From Sony

Sony has begun selling their latest VAIO F-series gaming notebook ‘F1190X’ via LogicBuy. Priced at $999.99, this powerful system offers a 16.4-inch 1600 x 900 LCD display, an Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHz processor (TurboBoost up to 2.8GHz), a NVIDIA GeForce 310M 512MB graphics card, a 4GB RAM, a 320GB HDD, a Blu-ray drive, WiFi, Bluetooth and Windows 7 OS. [Product Page]