News Bits: Alienware in Best Buy, Asus N10J Reviewed, New Toshiba Fast Charge Battery

<title>News Bits</title> Alienware partners with Best Buy

Alienware has partnered with Best Buy to offer products on the company's website and select stores throughout the US. Best Buy currently has for sale Alienware's Aurora gaming desktop, which includes the following:

• AMD Phenom X4 9550 quad-core processor (2.2GHz)
• 4GB DDR2-800 RAM
• DUAL ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB in CrossFire
• 500GB 7200RPM hard drive
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
• 1-year warranty

The Aurora currently retails for $1,699.99.

Product Link (BestBuy.com)

Toshiba Satellite E105 silently introduced

Toshiba has silently introduced a new Satellite notebook that bears resemblance to an Apple Macbook. The 14.1-inch Satellite E105 is available at Best Buy for $1,199.99 with the following specifications:

• 14.1-inch WXGA (1280x800) display
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz/ 3MB L2/ 1066MHz FSB) processor
• 4GB DDR2-800 RAM
• 320GB 5400RPM hard drive
• DVD burner
• Intel GMA 4500 graphics
• 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
• Fingerprint reader
• 2x USB ports, 1x eSATA/USB combo port
• 2-year limited parts and labor warranty
• Weight: 5 lbs
• Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.7 x 1.2 inches

Nothing in particular stands out regarding the hardware. The most surprising aspect of the whole notebook is the two-year warranty; the majority of consumer notebooks only feature one year standard.

Product Link (BestBuy.com)
Via (Engadget.com)

ASUS ships 700,000 Eee PCs in September

ASUS shipped 700,000 Eee PC netbook computers this year in September. Third-quarter shipments totaled 1.7 million; the company expects similar numbers for the fourth quarter. 10-inch Eee PC shipments are expected to increase in the fourth quarter as well.

Full Story (DigiTimes.com)

New Toshiba battery charges to 90% in 10 minutes

Toshiba introduced a new technology today called SCiB, or Super Charge ion Battery. The company claims it takes just ten minutes to charge the battery to 90% capacity.

Full Story (UberReview.com)
Via (Engadget.com)

ASUS N10J notebook reviewed

GenTech PC has done a review of the new ASUS N10J 10.2-inch notebook. It features a 1.60GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 10.2-inch LED-backlit display, 320GB hard drive, and dedicated Nvidia graphics. Believe it or not, this machine actually runs Call of Duty 4, a modern first-person shooter. Videos and benchmarks after the jump.

Full Story

 

The N10 is a very tempting machine. Reasonable keyboard, LED screen, beefy hard drive. The keyboard is what keeps me away from sub-10-inch netbooks. The N10 isn't a netbook, but close enough.

 

I really do like the Asus. I will need a new computer soon, wanted no bigger then a 12 inch screen. Unfortunately, in the market the number of 12 inch options has shrunk since I bought my xps 1210 a few years ago. I think for the price its a very good value, you can get more powerful machines for the same price but for me its all about the size. I wont be using it for games but it would be nice on some apps to have that dedicated card.

However, I dont think that I would ever need 320 gb, probably no more then 120g. So I wish they would offer a lower hd model for less.

 

In regards to the new Toshiba Satellite E105...

According to the Best Buy website, this is notebook is a partnership model known as a "Blue Label" that Best Buy is starting that was designed in cooperation with the notebook manufacturer to "better meet the needs of the people by giving them what they have been asking for". Some interesting features not listed in the previous statements are that this 14.1" is supposedly under 5 lbs in weight, has a blue back lit keyboard standard, and is estimated to get between 4 to 5.5 hours of use on the battery depending on settings. According to the Best Buy website, it is designed to be a direct competitor to the new HP dv3 13" series of notebooks. Something also to note is that becuase these are special cooperation models between Best Buy and the notebook manufacturer, they will receive a 2 year parts/labor warranty (as previously stated) along with 30 days Geek Squad support either over the phone or in store as well as a 1 year full subscription of Norton Internet Security Pre-installed.

BBGus

 

Alienware PCs are looking tackier than ever... $50 case anyone?

 

Yep, the Alien has apparently merged with a cyborg. Great, just great, another thing for the human race to worry about...

lol.

BBGus

 

The Asus is nice looking! I also like how Toshiba is using this *Super Charge* ion to charge batt's w/in 10 minutes and to the 90% capacity level!

It would be cool if other brands were doing this, also!


Cin

 

Great information, thanks. The design of it is definitely a departure from Toshiba's usual notebooks. The two-year warranty is a big plus.

It's all personal preference. Alienware PCs are "love it or hate it," obviously designed to appeal to certain crowds. The cases are actually well-designed on the inside (airflow, etc).

 

On that Toshiba super charge technology, it is very possible to charge today's batteries much faster. Manufacturers actually force a slower charge on the battery to prevent damage. The faster you charge a battery over time the more it will warp and the shorter the life span will be. If Toshiba has solved this problem, that's great.

 

I hope a traditional quality NBR review of the N10 is coming soon. I'd like someone to attemp playing a full HD videos on the machine as well as test the battery life under different usage patterns

 

Not only that, the CPU in that thing is awful for a $1699 machine, and will likely bottleneck the dual 4850's. I'd rather have a Q6600 or even an E8400.

 

Well they did post the first thoughts review a few weeks ago and they said that a full review should be up in a few weeks, so I would say a full review should be up anytime now.

I am really interested in the asus, I want something that is very portable but has decent performance. I rarely use my optical drive so its a plus to save weight (in fact I can say I havent opened my drive in probably 6 months).

 

anybody gets their hands on the new asus n10j ?? really cool machine, hopefully review from notebookreview will out soon

 

Yikes, Asus bezel strikes again..N10J may have 10.2 inch LCD, but it seems that it has the proportion of average 12inch laptop, at least.

 

I thought the N10 was suppose to have longer battery life than the eee 1000H,but on newegg, battery life for it is listed 6.5 hrs while the 1000H is listed 7 hrs.In reality the 1000H gets about 5 to 5.5 hrs,so I assume the N10 gets 1/2 hour less than that.I just ordered 2 1000Hs for the price of one N10.I'll just pretend it's a N10 heh...I don't plan to play any real games on it,so the video card won't matter to me.Which is really the only major difference between the 2.And the 1000H is lighter and probably have longer battery life.

 

when are you guys gonna do a review of that new toshiba E-105?

 

little bump!

 

the n10 looks pretty handy i wonder how well it runs guild wars.