Posted 10/06/09 at 08:36:48 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Acer owes its rapid strides in the PC market to its success in the netbook segment. Now it expects to benefit from the launch of Windows 7 and a resurgent global economy. Acer chairman JT Wang is confident that the company will meet its revenue forecast for Q4 2009. The company is expected to register a 10% growth in consolidated revenues during the ongoing quarter.

Wang told investors that his company plans to cash in on the upcoming launch of Windows 7 with new PCs based on the OS - all priced between US$499 and US$599.  While big and small companies of all ilks are queuing up to enter the e-reader fray, chairman Wang is in no hurry. But that might change once the e-reader market grows beyond 50 million units.

He believes that the entry of Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba into the ultra-thin notebook segment is bereft of seriousness, and this very lack of sincerity is preventing Intel’s ultra-thin notebook technology from taking off.

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Posted 09/08/09 at 08:21:31 AM by Paul Lilly

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but so what, they have 9 lives anyway. And because of some curious folks who did some digging on HP's website, we now know what the OEM has in store for its fall notebook lineup, and it starts with a Core i7 laptop.

Dubbed the dv8, HP's 18.4-inch desktop replacement will be one of the first portable PCs to use Intel's mobile Core i7 processor (we've seen Core i7 notebooks before, but none that have used the mobile variant). The quad-core chip will come clocked at 1.6GHz and be able to scale up to 2.8GHz when ramping down one or more cores. It's also likely the system will ship with a 4GB of RAM, 640GB of storage, and a Blu-ray drive.

On the other end of the mobile spectrum, HP will also launch a pair of CULV-based notebooks in the form of the 11.6-inch Pavilion dm1 and 13.3-inch dm3. The former will sport 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, while the latter beefs things up with 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive.

Other upcoming models include an updated Voodoo Envy 15 and an Ion-based Compaq Mini 311c.

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Posted 07/03/09 at 09:12:10 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Doug Freedman, an analyst for Broadpoint AmTech, has revealed to Cnet that early production units of ultra-thin laptops, which are being made out of plastic, are fissuring due to design flaws. He gleaned this information from his discussions with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs).

Freedman believes manufacturers will have to ultimately “go with a metal case” to achieve that ultra-thin form factor they are after. However, the use of metal cases will make ultra-thin notebooks costlier.

A reference to Intel’s CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) technology – meant for ultra-thin notebooks - in Freedman’s report elucidating the design issues prompted Intel to clarify that the “case design issues reported to be found by an ODM, not consumers, in early production units for ultra-thin laptops have nothing to do with Intel processors whatsoever.”

Freedman had said that some manufacturers are more interested in manufacturing 11-inch and 12-inch netbooks with the Atom processor rather than ultra-thin notebooks with Intel’s CULV technology.

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Posted 06/12/09 at 04:58:58 PM by Andy Salisbury

Earlier this week Intel announced the additions of two dual-core CPUs to their CULV platform, which will target entry-level ultra-thin notebooks.

The announcement came in the form of the Celeron 740 and the SU2300. They will feature core clocks of 1.3GHz and 1.2GHz respectively, and both will feature an identical 1MB L2 cache, 10W TDP and an 800MHz FSB.

No official word yet on how much notebooks featuring these will cost or when they will arrive.

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Posted 06/03/09 at 02:03:41 PM by Mark Edward Soper

As we told you about earlier today, Intel is taking the Pentium brand name for another go-round, this time for its CULV processors for ultra-thin notebooks. And Intel has wasted no time in rolling out the first CULV processor to get the Pentium name, the Pentium SU2700.

Introduced this week at the 2009 Computex Taipei trade show, the Pentium SU2700 is a 1.3GHz dual-core processor that has a TDP (thermal design power) requirement of only 10 watts (about the wattage output of a couple of typical night lights). The SU2700 uses Intel's 45nm process, and includes 2MB of L2 cache.

Typically, a new Intel processor is matched with a new chipset, and in this case, the Pentium SU2700's running mate is the Intel GS40 Express chipset. The Intel GS40 Express chipset includes integrated graphics that support MPEG4/H.264 video acceleration, integrated HDMI output, and acceleration for Windows Vista's Aero desktop. The GS40 also supports dual-channel DDR3 memory running at 667 or 800MHz and an 800MHz system bus. The GS40 is paired with the ICH9M I/O Controller hub to provide up to six PCI Express x1 I/O ports, up to four Serial ATA host adapters, Intel HD audio, and up to 12 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports. For a schematic diagram and much more technical information about the GS40 and ICH9M, download the Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family Graphics Memory Controller Hub (G)MCH Specification Update (PDF format).

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Posted 05/31/09 at 07:59:02 PM by Justin Kerr

PC makers have been decrying the impact of low margin netbooks on their bottom line for over a year now, but Intel is trying to calm their fears by making new predictions for the future of mobile computing. Numbers posted at the end of March peg netbook sales at around 16 per cent of all portable computer purchases, but Intel claims the steadily decreasing cost of ultra-thin laptops will help to keep that number from growing. The ultra-thin category is traditionally dominated by new ultra low voltage CPU’s, which offer better performance than both Celeron, and Atom processors, with an increasingly more reasonable price premium. According to Intel’s marketing chief, Sean Maloney, "Atom is eating into Celeron. And we're quite fine with this".

Maloney predicts that ultra-thin laptops will start offering stiff competition for high end netbooks priced above $400, primarily because the price difference has shrunk in some cases to as little as a $200. Intel’s internal projections released during the May 12th presentation shows sales increasing exponentially near the end of the year, and clearly, this is where they expect to see the bulk of their growth in the portable PC market.

Intel predicts that future growth markets for netbooks will be children and cellphone providers who bundle 3G service with the computer to further subsidize the price to consumers. Do you think people only buy netbooks because they are cheap? Or are some people just looking for a good ultra-portable?

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Posted 05/27/09 at 03:45:31 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Intel's ultra-low-powered CULV family of processors are becoming popular choices for many forthcoming ultrathin notebook computers in the $700-$900 range, like MSI's new X-Slim series we told you about in April.

However, you can also use CULV processors in standard-thickness notebook computers, and according to Digitimes, that's exactly what Hewlett-Packard plans to do. It will roll out ultra-thin models with CULV processors in the fourth quarter, but its first CULV-based products will use standard chassis and will thus be available earlier.

CULV processors are designed to fit between Intel's Atom and its faster Core 2 Duo processors in performance. Will the market put up with a full-sized notebook with a battery-sipping, but slower processor, or should prospective HP CULV buyers wait until late in the year for the new ultraslim chassis? Join us after the jump and sound off.

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