Sales and Deals - Feb 12, 2009

There are some decent laptop sales this week, thanks to a couple of holidays/events in the US - President’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

OnSale:
- $25 Off - ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch - 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1GB RAM, 160 GB HD - Blue Now only $369.99 (was $394.99)
- $25 Off - ASUS Asus Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch - 1.66 GHz Intel Atom, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD - Black Now only $369.99 (was $394.99)
- $121 Off - Lenovo IdeaPad S10e - Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Notebook Now only $298.99 (was $419) + FREE Printer after rebate

Lenovo:
- 3 day sale at Lenovo ecoupon USPTHREEDAYSALE
- 15% off all IdeaPads (except S10) + 20% off consumer service upgrades Feb 10-16-use USPIDEASAVINGS for IdeaPad Y & U Series
- $399 IdeaPad S10 Bundle ecoupon- USPBUNDLES10 Feb 10-16
- Click here to get to ecoupons at Lenovo for additional 5% to 10% off select ThinkPads

Lenovo Canada:
- Save an extra 10-15% on Ultraportable Lenovo Notebooks use -CAPULTRAPORTABLE -Feb 10-16
- Save up to 20% on top of sale price during the Lenovo 72 Hour Sale- CAP72HOURSALE -From Feb 11-13
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NVIDIA Shows off Ion at CES

NVIDIA was showing off a demo model of the upcoming NVIDIA Ion platform, based around Intel’s Atom CPU. PC Perspective and HotHardware both have videos of the Ion platform, and you can get an idea of just how small it was, and how cool-running it is.

Given that this was a non-portable demo, they had the 1.6GHz dual-core Atom 330 installed (although a dual-core Atom and the Ion should eventually make their way into netbooks later this year). The Ion platform contains NVIDIA’s GeForce 9400M GPU for graphics processing.

Assuming the price is able to be kept low when netbooks based around this platform launch, we should be able to get 1080p and all of the bells and whistles that come with Windows 7, as well Vista if you decide to go that around (although by the time the Ion launches, Windows 7 should be available).

Read:
- PC Perspective
- HotHardware
via Engadget

NVIDIA Wants to Boost Netbook Performance

NVIDIA wants to radically boost the performance of Intel Atom-powered netbooks. They plan on combining their GeForce 9400M chipset (graphics included) with Intel’s Atom CPU to create a new platform - Atom + GeForce 9400M. It’ll be called the NVIDIA Ion platform.

The result will be very similar to the chipset you see in the latest Apple Macbooks, with the CPU being the major change.

NVIDIA is claiming that it will deliver up to 5x faster graphics performance and 10x faster video performance than typical Atom-based netbooks running on Intel’s 945/950 chipset. Battery life is supposed to be on par with current netbooks as well.

Unfortunately it’ll be sometime around the middle of 2009 before we see netbooks based on this platform. That could mean a formal introduction of Atom + GeForce 9400M netbooks at Computex 2009 which is going to have a large netbook presence. As far as price, they are looking at “within $50″ of current netbook pricing. Such a machine would make for a great Apple netbook, given how closely it would resemble the current MacBook platform (minus the CPU differences).

Read: Gizmodo

Dell S2409W 24-inch Display - Unboxing / Mini-Review

This isn’t exactly ultraportable (or even a laptop) but it is somewhat of a space saver because it does double-duty, and it’s incredibly cheap (at least in my book). As such, I’ve put together a small gallery of around a dozen photos.

A member of my household had need of a display that could replace a 20″ Samsung display, and that could also function as a TV, and that was a decent price. Low and behold, Dell just announced a new display, the 24″ S2409W, a few weeks ago, at a very low price ($379.99 right now).

Low price and yet it offers a 16:9 ratio with a 1920×1080 resolution. Yes, you read that right - 1920×1080. It’s also got a VGA input, DVI input, and an HDMI input. Would have been nice to have a USB hub, but that’s reserved for the more expensive models. The HDMI input handles HDCP content, and you can plug in a Playstation 3 or XBox 360 or a Blu-Ray or DVD player, so that’s how it’s serving double-duty - both as a large computer monitor (for multiple computers), and as a TV device in a den (even if it doesn’t have a TV tuner).

Specifications:
* Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution (1080p)
* 16:9 dynamic aspect ratio
* HDMI connection that supports HDCP
* VGA and DVI inputs, Audio input/output
* Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
* Brightness: 300 cd/m2
* Response: 5ms
* Viewing Angle: 160 degree / 170 degree

Gallery: Dell S2409W 24-inch LCD Photo Gallery and Unboxing
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Voodoo Envy - Hands On, Unboxing, A/C and Wireless Adapter (LAPTOP Magazine)

On the LAPTOP Magazine blog, there are a couple of articles about some of the unique features of the 13.3-inch Voodoo Envy 133.

First up, unboxing of the Voodo Envy, complete with video.

Next, and more interesting, a hands-on with the Envy’s Instant-on OS. This is very interesting - there are several laptops that already have a similar feature (such as the 13.3-inch Dell XPS M1330), but with the Voodoo Instan-On OS (Voodoo IOS) which is based on Splashtop, you get a lot more than simply being able to play CDs or DVDs. The Voodoo IOS allows you to surf the web, view photos and videos, listen to music, and chat through Pidgin or Skype. The feature allows you to basically be up and running with a few simple applications (browsing the web, etc.) within 15 seconds from a cold start (not hybernate).

Finally, the Voodoo Envy’s A/C/Wi-Fi adapter. This is truly a unique feature, and one that ultraportable fans would probably like to see in future laptops from other manufacturers. Voodoo has what they call the “Aura PowerConnect”. It’s an A/C adapter that also functions as an 802/11b/g wireless access point. Say you have a wired ethernet connection (perhaps a hotel). You plug the ethernet conenction into the RJ45 jack, and voila, you have a wireless network (the Envy does not have an RJ45/ethernet jack).

2.5-inch Hard Drive Shortage in 3Q 2008?

Could the rise in popularity of netbooks / sub-notebooks such as the HP 2133 Mini-Note cause an overal shortage in the global supply of 2.5-inch hard drives later this year?

That’s what DigiTimes is reporting - with the increase in manufacturing of these devices, plus the time of year, it could lead to a shortage if HDD manufacturers don’t increase capacity:

There are only a few global suppliers of 2.5-inch HDDs, including Seagate Technology, Western Digital (WD), Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Fujitsu and Toshiba, and makers of HDD components have not expanded their production capacities, the sources noted. Consequently, global supply of 2.5-inch HDDs may not be able to meet fast growing global demand in the third quarter, a traditional strong sales period for PCs, the sources pointed out.

Makes sense in a way - many of these 8.9-inch devices such as the HP 2133 and the MSI Wind are being purchased as additional laptops/ notebooks which means that for every one of these sold, there is still going to be a 13-inch or larger laptop sold, so there’s two hard drives for one person right there (not to mention the increasing popularity in portable USB-based drives).

Read: DigiTimes

Netflix Player by Roku

Quite a few of us have Netflix accounts (Netflix is a online DVD rental company - they mail DVDs out to you, you watch them, send them back in the pre-paid mailer and then get a new one).

Netflix and Roku have announced theNetflix Player. It can be purchased for $100 (a one-time fee and separate from your Netflix account fees) and it streams up to 10,000 different movies and TV shows directly to your TV through a variety of connections (HDMI, Component, Composite, S-Video) and it accesses the internet / content through either a wired or wireless ethernet connection.

Before you say “what does this have to do with ultraportables”, bear with us. A lot of us travel. A lot of hotels are now offering high-speed internet, but the movie/channel selection on the TV is limited (unless you are willing to pay additional charges). If you happen to have a Netflix account, once you’ve set this up online (you plug in a number from the box into your Netflix account and from there it’s tied to your account), you could conceivably take it around with you as you travel (at least in the US) and it’s small enough to pack with your other gear.

Picture quality is limited by your network speeds. Netflix will be offering HD content in the future, and the player can be easily upgraded to handle HD content (no additional charges).

You can find out more here:
Roku.com/NetflixPlayer

VIA and Nvidia: Ultramobile VN Platform

NVidia and VIA Technologies are working on a new platform, the VN Platform, targeted towards smaller laptops and UMPCs, and competing against Intel’s nettop, netbook and Mobile Internet Device (MID) initiatives. It will use VIA’s existing C7 CPUs, as well as VIA C8 CPUs, and combine it with NVidia chipsets.

Products using the VN platform are expected to show up in the first few months of 2009, at the earliest.

Currently, VIA’s C7 CPUs are used in such devices as the 8.9″ HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and the 7″ Everex CloudBook, and so they have a proven track record of the CPU appealing to some manufacturers.

Source: DigiTimes

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