News Bits: CompUSA Closing, Asus U6 Ultraportable, OLPC Now Shipping

CompUSA to close all stores

After putting $2 billion into CompUSA, Carlos Slim will exit the U.S. consumer electronics market by closing down the last of the company's 100 stores. The stores wil remain open until the end of the year. CompUSA did about $4 billion in sales last year, but this year sales were expected to dip to $1.5 billion with the store closures last year. Lately the business has not been profitable.

Read More (WSJOnline.com)


Asus introduces U6 series notebook computer

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Asus today introduced the U6 notebook computer, a 12.1-inch ultraportable based on the Intel Centrino Duo processor technology. Its main features are dedicated graphics, SmartLogon face recognition technology, and Trusted Platform Module data encryption. The notebook is housed in piano-paint and leather and the screen is LED backlit. Other features of the U6 include a built-in 8-in-1 card reader, fingerprint reader, and webcam.

There are two different versions of the U6: the U6S and the U6E. The U6S has the Intel 965PM chipset with Nvidia GeForce 8400 G graphics, while the U6E has the 965GM chipset with integrated Intel X3100 graphics.

The U6E will retail for $1,749 USD and the U6S $1,799. The U6S will be available through select Best Buy stores and Bestbuy.com, while both models will be available through Asus dealers nationwide.

Product Link (Asus.com)


Asus says Eee PC warranty still valid after breaking seals

Asus made an adjustment to the warranty on its Eee PC. Asus says it is okay to break the "Warranty Void If Removed" sticker, though the company still recommends using its approved service facilities. Asuswants to make it clear that customers "are free to make appropriate hardware and software modifications and upgrades, regardless of whether the service is performed by an approved facility, a non-approved service provider, or by the customers themselves."

Read More (Engadget.com)
See our review of the Asus Eee PC


OLPC XO laptops have started shipping

The OLPC XO laptops are finally shipping today; many of those who participated in the Give One, Get One program should be getting their laptops before Christmas with plenty of time to spare.

Read More (OLPCNews.com)


TwinMOS shows off DDR3-1333 RAM SO-DIMM for laptops

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TwinMOS has introduced a DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM RAM module for notebooks. It has a maximum frequency of 1333MHz and runs on 1.5V compared to 1.8V for DDR2.

Read More (PCLaunches.com)


IBM jointly develops 32nm processor technology

IBM has announced it has jointly developed 32nm processor technology with AMD, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, Freescale, Infineon, and Samsung. The chip size has been reduced by 50% compared to the previous technology. 32nm technology will increase the rate of implementation of a material called "high-k/metal gate"; the high-k metal gate chips save about 45% of total power and improves system performance by about 30 percent.

Read More (PCLaunches.com)

 

Finally, better notebook RAM, does Intel's current playform even support those speeds?

 

It doesn't even support DDR2-800 IIRC.

 

Um, the Asus U6 was released here last month or so, whats up? Too bad it has mediocre battery life, like almost all of their notebooks.

 

im not ragging on your news bitts, but i believe i saw all of theese on engadget a few weeks ago (or maybe a few days xD)

 

Not everybody here looks at engadget all the time

 

Hard to believe, considering all of the stories I wrote about have today's date on them, except for the CompUSA story. I do agree that the stories look similar though.

About that Asus notebook - the press release was dated today. I thought it looked familiar too but I looked back through the News Bits I wrote and couldn't find anything.

 

The Asus U6S is actually $1699 @ Bestbuy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8617847&st=u6&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1192835692178

 

So even Asus themselves don't know when their product has launched, how embarrasing, releasing a press release of it after its been out here for a while. Come on Asus!

 

Wait is AMD skipping 45nm CPUs and going directly from 65nm to 32nm?

 

Hmm, so when will Intel get DDR3 into their mobile platforms?

 

DDR3-800 for Montevina. Unless they change it.

CompUSA, for all their evils, was still pretty decent for occasional the bargains they offered. Pity that they're gone, it was nice to look at all those toys before buying them online =P.

 

That's what they're working on to "leap ahead" Intel. LOL

 

Nobody mentions that the EEE PC warranty. I think that's cool. Yay, now i'm totally getting one.

 

Time for compusa to die already.

 

Last time I heard, they are still working on 45nm.
"Leap ahead" Intel on fab process? Not a chance, man, even with other partners like IBM.
This is one of the most important advantages Intel has and will have in the foreseeable future.
AMD was 8 months behind Intel for 90nm, 13 months for 65nm.
What do you think would happen for 45nm and 32nm?
Don't forget even though AMD has 65nm officially at the beginning of this year, we don't see many that are actually available.
So, 13 months is already actually understated.

 

it sad intel can out manufacture amd we really need to keep the competition, at the rate amd is going they really are in trouble, they need a MUCH faster notebook processor and quickly, they also need to figure out there Phenom stuff.

 

About compusa closing, I think Nelson would sum it up perfectly, "Ha ha".

 

So no notebooks can use that RAM yet? What's the point then?

And also, isn't Intel almost done with Penryn (45mm) and have them ready for release Jan 08? Then I'm not surprised that AMD's skipping it... They already lost the race. Might as well get a head start on the next one.

 

Mind that AMD is actually small company compared to Samsung and IBM, which I believe are in top five semiconductor chip makers (Samsung 2nd and IBM 4-5th), so 32nm processor might be intended for Samsung and IBM more then AMD