News Bits: Asus Eee PC 2G Surf, Samsung 320GB Notebook HD, Dell Vostro 1200

$300 Asus Eee PC 2G Surf now available

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Asus's Eee PC 2G Surf is now available in the US via Newegg.com for $299.99. It is the most affordable model in the Eee PC lineup. Processing power comes from an Intel Celeron M at 900MHz coupled with the Intel 910GML chipset. The machine has 512MB of DDR2 memory, a 2GB solid state disk, and a 2.8 hour battery life. The Eee PC 2G Surf is available Galaxy Black, Sky Blue, and Blush Pink.

Read More (Laptoping.com)
NotebookReview.com Review for the Asus Eee PC


Samsung ships 320GB 2.5-inch hard drive

Samsung has begun to ship its new SpinPoint M6 2.5-inch 320GB notebooko hard drives. It has a 5400RPM rotation speed and a SATA 1.5Gbps interface. The suggested retail price is $249. The drive is a competitor to the recently-released Western Digital Scorpio 320GB drive, which is equipped with a 3.0Gbps SATA interface and retails for $50 less.

Read More (TGDaily.com)


Dell introduces Vostro 1200 ultraportable

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Image courtesy Laptoping

Dell has introduced its new Vostro 1200 ultraportable notebook in Japan. It is based on the Intel Santa Rosa platform and features a Celeron or Core 2 Duo processor. Graphics are provided by an integrated GMA X3100 and the system can take up to 4GB of RAM. The screen is a 12.1-inch WXGA (1280x800) widescreen. According to Dell, the weight of the machine is 4.16 pounds with the 4-cell battery. The Vostro 1200 starts about about $912 in Japan according to coverted prices.

Read More (Laptoping.com)

Samsung introduces 17-inch R700

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Samsung has introduced a 17-inch notebook for the multimedia seekers, dubbed the R700. It features an all-black case with a WXGA+ (1440x900) 17-inch widescreen display. The weight is only 7 pounds. According to Laptops Blog it will go for about $970 when it hits the shelves in January (not in the U.S. of course).

Read More (Engadget.com)

BenQ Joybook Q41 has 2.5-inch Vista SideShow external display

Image courtesy PCLaunches

BenQ introduced its newest laptop model, the Joybook Q41. Its most notable feature is a 2.5-inch external display for Vista's SideShow functionality. The main display is a 14.1-inch widescreen display. Processing power comes from an Intel Core 2 Duo chip.

Read More (PCLaunches.com)

 

Cool stuff on the Asus, its getting closer and closer for me to buy one

 

cool about the EEE pc I got a question tho. Can you upgrade the ram and the hard drive at all?

 

Does anyone know whether the 2G surf comes with less software? The 4G model ships with about 1.4G free, so I wonder how they swing things on models with the smaller flash drive.

 

The 'hard drive'(solid state memory, actually) is soldered onto the motherboard, so you cant really do anything about it, short of some hard-core modding, and even then i dont know if it would work. Some people have used the open cavity on the base to install a USB hub, and put a larger thumbdrive in it, to bump it up to 20 gigs.

As for the ram, i think they soldered that onto the motherboard as well, on the 2G version. The 4G is upgradable though.

 

Hmmmmm, I guess the vostro 1200 wont be my next ultraportable...

 

512MB's should be enough memory for the light tasks one would do on with a Celery 900Mhz + a 7" LCD. $300 isn't that bad of a price. It's about $240 in Taiwan. $300 for the 4GB surf and like $330 for the 4GB one with a larger battery and webcam. Most people who need more storage go with a flash drive or an SDHC card in the (4-16GB range). Several of the speedy USB thumb drives are faster than the EEE PC's internal soldered SSD. I picked up a fast 2GB SD card the other day for about $15. This would double the EEE PC's storage.

Also the Vostro 1200 looks interesting. But I'm VERY disappointed that it doesn't have a dedicated GPU. Something low end would have been fine. Like an 8300GS or 8400GS. I wonder what battery life is like with the 4 cell. If it's like the 700m it will only be about 2.5hrs. And that’s quite unacceptable for an ultra-portable.

Looks like BenQ is starting to copy Asus.

 

I don't understand the obsession with discrete GPUs. This is intended to be an ultraportable (even @ 4.2lb), not a gaming device.

In one sentence you're upset that it there's no dedicated GPU and in the next you're whining about the short battery life (with the integrated GPU)? FYI, there is a correlation between the two.

 

I understand it's an ultraportable and not a gaming pc. But having the OPTION to select what GPU you want is nice. Who said a dedicated GPU is just for gaming? There are all sorts of CAD programs that run best off a dedicated GPU. I would take a dedicated GPU and sacrifice 20-30 minutes of battery life any day. Dell gives you an option on several notebooks in the 12-14" range. The m1210 at one time, the m1330, the vostro 1400 and inspiron 1420, several latitude notebooks...

Another thing Dell could have done was be creative and make a hybrid like the Sony SZ. Intel GMA 950 and 7400 with a switch so you can select GPU's.

 

I'm guessing that should say $250?? If they were $50, I would be buying Newegg out as we speak.

 

Just a warning I've read over on the Eeeuser forums - it seems that the 2gb Surfs seem to be lower clocked than the 4gbs.

 

Great, now people will be able to see my porn from the OTHER side of my monitor now, too! Heh heh. So much for going to Starbucks!

But in all seriousness, I'm just not sure how this feature is supposed to be useful (except as a battery drain). Maybe it'd be neat for putting company logos on the slideshow, but at 2.5", it's not going to make a hug difference when compared to a custom Skin It or Schticker. That and the location of the panel seems inconvienent. Unless you're sitting directly across a table from the laptop, you're never going to be able to see it.

 

Can Americans buy Eee PC from a Taiwanese site??? Will it ship international???

 

The Vostro 1200 looks decent, albeit quite bland. 4.16 lbs with the smallest battery is not impressive by any standard. But for a budget business notebook, it is not bad.

I quite like the clean looks of the Samsung R700. Looks sleek for a 17" notebook.