Maximum PC notebook RSS Feed

Amazon Launches OLPC "Give 1 Get 1" Laptop Drive

Paul Lilly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:35:22 -0600

One Laptop Per Child's "Give 1 Get 1" program is making a comeback, only this time the OLPC association has teamed with Amazon.com in hopes of ironing out any kinks in the ordering and distribution process. Amazon will start taking order for XO laptops on Monday, November 24 and promises to ship the devices within 30-days, at least in the U.S. Those ordering from the U.K. and elsewhere will be taken from Amazon's U.K. site and will start shipping in the first quarter of next year, or possibly later.

The Give 1 Get 1 program ran for six weeks last year, and in that time managed to sell 160,000 XO laptops. And since more people decided to donate the machine rather than keep one, over 100,000 XO laptops ended up going to school kids in countries like Haiti and Rwanda.

"The phenomenal success of last year's Give 1 Get 1 program created tremendous demand from both the public who wanted to give more and from countries that saw an opportunity to attack poverty through education," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC, in a statement."

The Give 1 Get 1 promotion runs $400, in which one machine goes to a child in a developing country and the other to the donor who placed the order. Alternately, donors can opt to give away as many individual laptops as they want for $200 per XO.

Intel Beefs Up Server Line with More Nehalem Processors, Phases Out Notebook CPUs

Paul Lilly — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:20:40 -0600

Citing un-named sources at server makers, DigiTimes says Intel plans to launch several quad-core Xeon 5500 and Xeon 3500 Nehalem-based server CPUs and one dual-core Xeon chip in the first quarter of 2009. These include:

W5580 (3.2GHz), X5570 (2.93Ghz), X5560 (2.8GHz), X5550 (2.66GHz), E5540 (2.53GHz), E5530 (2.4GHz), E5520 (2.26GHz), E5506 (2.13GHz), E5504 (2GHz), E5502 (dual-core 1.86GHz)
W3570 (3.2GHz), W3540 (2.93GHz), W3520 (2.66GHz)

The Xeon 5500 series will come with 8MB of L2 cache instead of 12MB, but is expected to be negated by Core i7's QuickPath architecture. The Xeon 3500 series will come with 8MB of L2 cache but will only run in single-socket systems. Prices for the new chips will range from $188 (E5502) on up to $1600 (W5580) for thousand-unit tray quantities.

On the chopping block are seven notebook CPUs, including the Core 2 Extreme X7900 an X7800, and Core 2 Duo T7800 and L7700. These are expected to be phased out in January 2009.

Mobile Triple Threat, Toshiba Introduces Laptop with Three Nvidia GPUs!

Paul Lilly — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:00:00 -0600

The mobile gaming sector continues to play leapfrog as each manufacturer attempts to jump to the head of the pack. Gateway wowed us with its surprisingly affordable P-7811FX crammed full of high end parts, and more recently, Alienware's new M17 gave users a double-dose of performance with dual-3870 videocards and up to 1TB of storage space in a RAID configuration. Now it's Toshiba's turn to tantalize would-be notebook buyers, and it looks to do that by introducing the world's first laptops with THREE Nvidia GPUs packed inside.

To clarify, Toshiba isn't planning a line of tri-SLI enabled laptops, and instead will take advantage of Nvidia's Hybrid SLI technology. The Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 will be the first two units outfitted with three GPUs, which will consist of a GeForce 9400M and two 9800M GTS GPUs. When not fragging foes, gamers can switch to the 9400M GPU while the other two GPUs power down, resulting in a quieter notebook with presumably longer battery life.

For $4,200, the X305-Q708 also brings an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 CPU to the table along with a 17" 1680x1050 display, 4GB of RAM, 320GB SATA drive, a second 128GB SSD, DVD burner, a 1.3MP webcam with face recognition, HDMI and DisplayPort connections, and Harmon Kardon speakers. At less than half the price ($2,000), the X305-706 drops down to an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU and drops the SSD drive.

The X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 are available now from ToshibaDirect.

Fujitsu Opts for Two Screens in the New Lifebook N7010 Notebook

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:23:14 -0600

Fujitsu has taken a leaf out of Nintendo’s book – from the chapter Nintendo DS - by incorporating a second display in its new Lifebook N7010 notebook. The Lifebook N7010 has a 4-inch touch-screen panel to compliment its primary 16-inch display. The auxiliary display, which has been placed just above the keyboard, is meant to function as an application launcher. Users can also control media playback using the second display and view slideshows on it.

Additionally, ussers can easily multitask using the second display by dragging any application onto it. The notebook boasts of a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor, up to 4GB RAM, 256 MB ATI HD 3470 video card, a maximum of 320GB storage space, Blu-ray ROM drive, HDMI-out, Bluetooth and 802.11N WiFi. Its modest battery life, which is claimed to be about 2.5 hrs, comes across as the only blemish, at least on paper. The Lifebook N7010 will begin shipping on November 10th with a starting price of $1499.

Alienware Announces CrossFireX Dual-3870 Gaming Notebook

Paul Lilly — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:20:44 -0600

In a first for Alienware, the company has introduced a CrossFireX-capable gaming notebook for mobile gamers looking to pack some added heat (figuratively, though likely literally as well) in time for the holiday gaming season. Wealthy fraggers can outfit the new M17 with a pair of ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 3870 videocards for plenty of pixel-pushing power on the notebook's 17-inch WXGA+ or optional WUXGA widescreen display.

"By incorporating the all-out performance of CrossFireX graphics and quad-core processing into Alienware's award-winning notebook lineup," says Frank Azor, executive vice-president for Alienware's Product and Marketing Group, "the M17 delivers an impressive feature set at a price point that doesn't break the bank."

Gamers can also double up on storage with up to 640GB of hard drive space in a RAID 0 array (2x320GB), or up to 1TB in RAID 0 for those willing to drop down to a 5400RPM spindle speed (2x500GB), enough to hold 250,000 songs according to Alienware. Other specs and options include Intel Core 2 Duo, Quad, and Extreme processor support, PM45 chipset, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, RAID 1 support, ATSC HDTV tuner, Blu-ray optical drive, three USB 2.0 ports, eSATA port, WiFi, and other goodies.

The hardware comes wrapped in a "Stealh Black" soft matte finish bearing Alienware's logo and trademark aesthetic flair. But the real surprise is in the price. A base configuration starts at a comparatively modest $1,400, with less than a $2,000 investment required for a configuration consisting of a Core 2 Duo processor, dual-videocards, and 3GB of DDR3 memory on a 1920x1200 HD display.

Surprised? Hit the jump and sound off.

Sony-Manufactured Battery Recall Reaches 100,000, HP Hit the Hardest

Paul Lilly — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:17:37 -0500

It seems there's always a notebook battery recall taking place, and the latest round comes from a handful of PC manufacturers using Sony-manufactured batteries. Potentially affected units stands at 100,000 worldwide, with 35,000 of those in the U.S.

The affected lithium-ion batteries were manufactured by Sony Energy Devices Corporation of Japan. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the batteries could overheat and pose a fire hazard, a likely result given the complaints that have trickled in so far. According to the CPSC, there have already been 19 reports of overheating batteries, and all but 2 of those reports also indicated flames or fire. Two consumers report suffering minor burns, and 10 have complained of property damage.

No OEM has been more affected by the latest recall than HP. Out of the 35,000 batteries recalled in the U.S., 32,000 are being used in HP systems. These include the HP Pavilion dv1000, dv8000, and zd8000 sold from December 2004 to June 2006.

Other popular vendors include Toshiba and it's Satellite A70/75, P30/35, M30X/M35X, and M50/55 notebooks, as well as Tecra A3, A5, and S2 systems sold from April 2005 to October 2005 (3000 in all), and about 150 Dell Latitude 110L, Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100, 5150, and 5160 notebooks sold between November 2004 to November 2005.

Notebook owners sporting one of the potentially affected units are advised to remove the battery and head over to CPSC's website for more information on how to contact the manufacturer to obtain a free replacement.

____________________

Edited 10/31/08 for clarification on the number of units affected and to include CPSC information.

Lenovo's IdeaPad S10e Gets Splashtop Instant-On Linux OS

Paul Lilly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:01:05 -0500

While Microsoft ponders the future of instant-on technology, notebook vendors aren't waiting for a Windows-based solution. The newest entry is Lenovo who, in a joint collaboration with DeviceFM, has started shipping IdeaPad S10e netbooks with the quick starting Splashtop instant-on OS.

"We are thrilled to partner with Lenovo to bring instant-on capabilities to netbook users," says Mark Lee, CEO and co-founder of DeviceVM. "Netbook users want an instant-on, instant-off, efficient and secure way to get online, and Splashtop is the perfect solution."

Splashtop isn't a new concept and can already be found on several motherboards, desktops, and notebooks, but this marks the first time the instant-on OS will make an appearance on an ultraportable netbook. With the Splashtop OS, users can access applications like Firefox, Skype, and Picasa in just a few seconds rather than waiting for Windows to load.

Notebooks Win Popularity Contest, Surpass Desktop Shipments for First Time (Again)

Paul Lilly — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:40 -0500

For the first time in the history of the industry (unless you've been keeping count), there have been more notebook shipments in the U.S. than desktops, according to IDC's U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker. The mobile milestone comes in the third quarter of 2008, in which notebooks grabbed 55.2 percent of the market.

Helping notebooks whiz by desktops was a record volume of shipments to the tune of 9.5 million units, an 18 percent growth over last year. The numbers come as vendors put increased focus on notebooks over their desktop offerings. Toshiba, for example, has put all its efforts into its notebook business, whereas companies like Sony, Acer, and Lenovo each exceeded the 65 percent notebook ratio, according to IDC.

"The consumer market continued to be the top driving factor in the notebook offensive but the commercial sector played a critical role too" says David Daoud, research manager, U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker and Personal Systems at IDC. "The consumer market has long favored notebooks, with mobile ratios exceeding the 70% mark. So it is clear that the small and mid-markets, as well as the enterprise and public sector buyers, are seeing good value in mobility."

What IDC didn't touch on was what effect the booming netbook market has had on notebooks surpassing desktop shipments. It was reported earlier this month that 80.6 million netbooks had been shipped in Q3, a 15 percent jump from one year ago. And the demand for low cost laptops doesn't look to be diminishing anytime soon (just ask Intel, who recently purchased the Netbook.com domain). According to Mika Kitagawa, prinicpal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group, netbooks are actually benefitting from the economic crunch.