Dell Latitude E Series (E4200, E4300) - Announcement Coming?
June 30, 2008
It would appear that we will soon be seeing full information (and release dates) for the Dell Latitude E series - the Latitude E4200 and Latitude E4300. This, according to an official appearance of the “Laitude E-Family Laptops!” on Dell.com.
The E4300 will probably have a 13.3-inch display and possibly be a replacement for the Latitude D430 (which, while the D430 has a smaller display, the e4300 actually weighs less).
The E4200 will probably have a 12.1-inch widescreen display, start at 2.2 pounds (1kg) weight-wise), and could be the high-end version of this series (with the E4300 being a reasonably-priced version of the D430).
Both should have DisplayPort (an upgrade for video connections), eSATA, and should be based on Intel’s Centrino 2 platform.
Engadget believes that based on the appearance at Dell.com, that there will be an official announcement sometime in the next five weeks .
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Intel Centrino 2 Shipping Soon
June 23, 2008
According to CNET, Intel is still scheduled to roll out the “Montevina” Centrino 2 mobile platform in about three weeks (July 14, 2008), although some parts are going to be delayed and/or released shortly thereafter.
The integrated graphics chipset (”GM”) which would be used by many of the 11.1 - 13.3-inch ultraportables will not be available until early August, with WiMax components being released later on.
The regular 45nm CPUs should be available then (and some are available now), with updated features included a 1066MHz Front Side Bus (FSB).
As far as the Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) CPUs, all we know is that they will be released “later this year”.
It’ll be interesting to see if this matches the release of the CNET
Intel, Solid State Drives, and Centrino 2
May 23, 2008
According to DigiTime’s sources, Intel is going to be launching their own flash memory-based Solid State Drives (SSDs) later this year - by the end of September, and that they see SSDs becoming the default storage format for laptops.
They are also claiming that the SSDs will be bundled with Intel’s Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform.
This bundled platform and SSD line will be called the “Intel High Performance SSD” and will not be targeting the lower-end netbook / sub-notebook category.
The Serial ATA (SATA) drives will be delivered in both 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch form factors. They believe Intel can double that to 160GB by the end of the year, and hit 250GB next year.
Read: DigiTimes
HP 2133 Mini-Note Review (TrustedReviews)
May 22, 2008
Andy Vandervell, of TrustedReviews, has posted a new review of the Linux powered version of the 8.9-inch HP 2133 Mini-Note, giving it a 7 out of 10. This version of the 2133 retails for between $500 and $600 USD (some places are changing the price almost weekly depending on supply).
A lot of people mention the HP 2133 Mini-Note as almost feeling like something Apple designed, and Andy commented on this, saying If the Eee PC borrows the MacBook’s iconic white finish, the Mini-Note PC feels far more like a product produced by the house that Steve Jobs built.
The biggest difference between this version of HP’s sub-notebook and the more expensive versions is the CPU, a 1.2GHz VIA CPU that Andy felt was underpowered when it came to video playback.
Read: TrustedReviews
DDR3 Memory Being Validated, 4GB Modules
April 2, 2008
DDR3 memory, including 4GB DDR3 modules, is in the pipeline, from Samsung, Micron, and Nanya Technology. They have DDR3 memory modules that have been validated by Intel for the Centrino 2 platform, due out sometime in June. These range from 512MB to 2GB modules, however Micron announced this week that they will beging production of 4GB DDR3 memory modules sometime in the next few months. Intel is currently testing the modules.
They will require 64-bit Operating Systems to use the maximum memory available (Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows 64-bit Vista, Windows XP 64-bit, or Linux).
According to InfoWorld:
Intel Centrino 2 processor technology combined with DDR3 will provide higher performance at lower power levels for notebooks “and will become a major driver for early volume production of DDR3 beginning in the second quarter of 2008,” Samsung said in a statement Wednesday.
Articles:
- InfoWorld
- Samsung Press Release (PR-Inside.com)
Intel’s New Integrated Chipsets - Up To Twice the Performance as GM965
February 27, 2008
VR-Zone is reporting that Intel’s new Centrino 2 platform with integrated graphics will increase performance by up to twice as much over the current Mobile Intel GM965 chipset.
It’s slated for the second quarter of 2008. Given how many manufacturers are using integrated graphics/chipsets, it’s safe to say this will end up in many ultraportable laptos (see a list of current graphics chipsets being used). The GM47 Express chipset will probably end up in 13.3″ laptops, with the 12.1″ and below laptops/UMPCs utilizing the GM45 Express.
Both will be able to use DDR2 or DDR3 and will either have a Front-Side Bus of 1066MHz or 667MHz. The GM47 Express chipset will run the graphics controller at 640MHz while the GM45 Express will run it at 533MHz.
They utilize Intel’s GMA X4500HD graphics chipset, a chipset designed for HD video, using either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. The GM47 chipset is twice as fast as the current GM965 chipset and has better DirectX 10 support.
