Dell Studio XPS 13 Unboxing (Engadget)

Engadget managed to get their hands on Dell’s Studio XPS 13, their soon-to-be latest 13-inch laptop.

From the gallery and release information back in December of last year, it looks like there have been a few slight changes.

Engadget notes that the display has a lot of glare, as well as the touchpad is slightly off to the left of center, which is very odd. While it’s very sleek and thin, it’s still sporting a full-size keyboard (chiclet-style) and a 13.3-inch display.

The model they received came with the NVIDIA GeForce 9500M graphics chipset, but they didn’t mention whether it came with the slot-loading Blu-Ray drive that was previously mentioned last year. Unless it’s changed, it should have a Hybrid SLI graphics, similar to the 15″ Apple MacBook Pros.

You can see from the photos that it does come with an HDMI port. It may have a Mini DisplayPort as well, which wouldn’t be surprising. Dell does support the DisplayPort standard on some of their LCD displays.

Read: Engadget (Gallery)

U Leader Design Altro Announced

Last week, the 13.3-inch U Leader Design Altro was officially revealed at CeBIT 2009 (it had made a brief appearance in January at CES 2009). The Altro is the first in the new “U Leader Design” series from Olidata S.p.A. It has a very elegant design, and a very competitive price - Under 1.000 Euros ($1280 USD), with availability being sometime in 2Q 2009. While it weighs under 3.5 pounds (1.6kg), it’s still able to compete with the 13.3-inch Apple MacBook Air (especially on price), with the optical drive being external as well. That brings the maximum thickness down to 0.86 inches (21.8mm). It’s running on a Intel Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo/Centrino 2 platform.

Although it’s not as much of a name brand in the US as it is in other parts of the world, Olidata plans on changing that, with widespread availability of this line, according to the CEO of Olidata (Antonio Masenza):

“U Leader Design is not just a new notebook, it will be a line of products that Olidata is developing with support from Intel Corporation. These products represent a mileston in the IT market for two main reasons; first, the stunning innovation and state of the art notebooks we are bringing to the end user at an acceptable price;, second the strategy behind U Leader Design. U Leader Design notebooks will be available worldwide through an international alliance strategy……Thanks to this alliance, all leading OEMs in the computer industry will be able to bring innovative and competitive notebooks to market”.

Apparently, accelerometers will be used in several different ways - as part of the “SmartDisk” function to protect the HDD should the notebook be bumped or dropped, and as a part of the “SmartAlarm” that will trigger an anti-theft application and sound an alarm should the notebook be moved by an unauthorized users. The anti-theft measures can be armed and disarmed through the normal Windows logon process. It can also detect the orientation of the notebook and rotate the screen accordingly.

Features:
Read more

MSI Shows Off X-Slim X340, X600 Before CeBIT

Ahead of next week’s CeBIT 2009, MSI is showing off what is being called the 13.3-inch MSI X-Slim X340, alongside the 15.6-inch X600 which is almost as thin. How it fits in as far as the X-Slim X320 series is unknown - chances are they wouldn’t be launching a sequel to a machine that’s not even out yet. It could be the exact same as far as internal components but may have a slightly different display or CPU options (similar to the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 and X200s).

It will retail for around $699 - $999 USD, and both the X340 and X600 appear to be using an Intel Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Centrino 2 CPU.

From the photos included on the Chinese Engadget side, ports include: HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, Secure Digital (SD)

Read: Chinese Engadget (Translated - English)
via Engadget

Dell Latitude XT2 Hands-On (LAPTOP Mag)

Yesterday, the new 12.1″ Dell Latitude XT2 launched and LAPTOP Magazine has posted their hands-on preview of the convertible.

It’s been upgraded to Intel’s Centrio platform, and the battery life has been extended over the original Latitude XT and it still retains its capacitive multi-touch display (from N-trig, along with N-trig’s DuoSense). The XT was actually the first multi-touch ultraportable (and laptop/notebook in general). Similar to Apple’s iPhone, you can use two fingers to zoom in and out on photos, scroll around on web pages, navigate with Google Earth, etc., and you don’t have to put any pressure on the display since it’s based on picking up contact with your fingers, and not pressure points as we’ve seen with past touchscreens.

LAPTOP Magazine mentions that the hinge/swivel for the display is much sturdier this time around. The LED-backlit display is also brighter than the original XT.

They’ve included a video showing both the original XT and the new XT2 side-by-side, as well as the multi-touch capabilities.

Read:
- Hands-on (LAPTOP Mag)

Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet Launches Today

We thought the new 12.1″ convertible Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet would be launching tomorrow, but Dell has decided to officially take the wraps off today. The multi-touch XT2 (dual digitizer) converts between a normal laptop form factor and a Tablet PC form factor.

You can view the Latitude XT2 Tablet at the Dell Small and Medium Business. This is the US site - it looks to be simultaneously launching on other Dell websites around the world, so check your country’s specific Dell website for details.

From the looks of things, the specifications match up with what was leaked a few days ago.

Base Package:
- Starts at $2,399 USD
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SU9300 (1.20GHz, 3M L2 Cache)
- 1GB DDR3 RAM
- 80GB HDD
- External Optical Drive: E-Module w/ 8X DVD Writer
- 802.11b/g Wireless
- 4-Cell Battery
- Microsoft Windows Vista Business

If you are willing to add almost $200, you can pick up the “Productivity Package” which bumps the memory up to 2GB, the hard drive up to 120GB, the battery up to a 6-cell, but you drop down to just a DVD-ROM on the external optical drive.

Almost $800 more than the base package (up to around $3,184) will net you 3GB RAM, the 64GB Dell Flash Ultra Performance SSD (Solid State Drive), the 6-cell battery plus a 9-cell battery, with Dell’s “CompleteCare” accident coverage.

The preliminary ship date for the Base Package is currently listed as February 24, 2009.

Apple Updates Plastic (White) MacBooks

Apple has kept what amounts to two lines of 13.3″ MacBooks available for purchase - one, the new aluminum-clad MacBook (October 2008) that amounts to a budget version of the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

The other is based on the last of the “plastic” MacBooks, the February 2008 release of the MacBook (and when I say “plastic”, I’m referring to polycarbonate). Presumably it’s been kept around for pricing (it’s cheaper than the latest MacBooks) as well as its FireWire ports. It was lacking in a few areas (graphics and memory) compared to the October 2008 models.

That’s now changed - Apple has quietly rolled out an update to the White MacBook, bringing it more in line with the aluminum October 2008 model.

Specifications:
- NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
- 2GHz Core 2 Duo
- 2GB RAM Minimum (4GB Max)
- 1066MHz Front Side Bus

Previously the FSB was 800MHz and the graphics were based on Intel’s X3100 GMA. Apple has been working a lot closer with NVIDIA as of late, and this could even be a cost-cutting measure. It’s still starting at $999.

I do wonder if people will be able to upgrade them to 6GB of RAM like some have done with the aluminum MacBooks

Purchase:
Apple Store (US) / Apple Store (Canada)

Lenovo ThinkPad X200T (GottaBeMobile)

Truc Bui over at GottaBeMobile has put together a quick overview of a 12.1″ Lenovo ThinkPad X200T, Lenovo’s first widescreen “convertible” (converting between a normal laptop form and a Tablet PC form).

They were impressed with the performance (this particular unit had an Intel Low Power L9300 Core 2 Duo, with 4GB RAM) as well as how solid the chassis felt and how the keyboard felt.

They were able to get good battery performance with the 8-cell battery - comparable to the Fujitsu LifeBook T2010, and the X200T was quieter than the T2010.

Read: GottaBeMobile

LAPTOP Magazine’s Best Notebooks of 2008

LAPTOP Magazine is publishing their annual lists of various categories (dubious, best, etc.). A few weeks ago, they put together their best notebooks list for 2008 after looking through 111 reviews.

Netbooks definitely made LAPTOP Magazine take notice - they called 2008 “the year of the mini-notebook” and said that netbooks made up nearly 20% of the reviews they published.

Apple’s new 13.3″ MacBook topped the list for best “All-Purpose” notebook, with the redesign as well as the addition of NVidia’s GeForce 9400M graphics chipset playing a prominent factor.

The 8.9″ Acer Aspire One topped their mini-notebook list, with the pricing and features playing a major factor. The 10.2″ MSI Wind U100 came in at the top as well.

The 13.3″ Lenovo ThinkPad X301 captured their ultraportable category, with the Sony VAIO VGN-Z series coming in second.

Dell’s Vostro 1310 was the winner in the business category, with Lenovo’s 12.1″ ThinkPad X200.

Speaking of the X200, the 12.1″ Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet convertible captured the Tablet category. Panasonics Toughbook 30 was the winner in the rugged category.

Read: LAPTOP Magazine

Next Page »