News Bits: Dell Goes LED, Eee PC With 3G, Notebooks and Netbooks Become One?

Lenovo launches X200s ultraportable

Lenovo this week launched its latest ultraportable notebook, the 12.1-inch X200s. It is similar to the X200, expect it features Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo processors instead of standard voltage versions. Key features of the X200s include a 12.1-inch LED-backlit WXGA+ display, integrated Intel graphics, DDR3 memory, and a 4-cell battery good for 3.1 hours of life. Weight starts at 2.95 pounds and dimensions include 0.8 - 1.4 inches of thickness.

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All Dell notebooks to feature LED displays in 12 months

Dell announced that all of its new laptop displays will be transitioned to LED backlighting technology over the next 12 months. The company predicts that 80 percent of its total laptop volume will have LED displays as standard equipment by the end of 2009, and 100 percent in 2010.

Notebooks and netbooks may become the same in 2009

According to a DigiTimes report, the line separating notebooks from netbooks may disappear in 2009. Netbooks are receiving increasingly higher specification levels; Microsoft already lifted the limits on hard drive capacity for netbooks featuring Windows XP. ASUS recently introduced a netbook that features a dedicated graphics card, the N10, which breaks a violation put in place by Intel that said netbooks cannot feature a PCI Express port. The restrictions may become guidelines in the future.

Full Story (DigiTimes.com)

Dell renames existing Inspiron notebooks

Dell renamed its existing 1420 and 1525 laptops as the Inspiron 14 and 15 respectively. No changes have been made to the specifications.

Via (Laptoping.com)

ASUS updating Eee PC with 3G connectivity

ASUS announced that it will be updating its Eee PC 901 with 3G connectivity. This is being viewed as a good move for ASUS, and it will help separate the Eee PC from other netbooks on the market. The 3G Eee PC will go head-to-head with Dell's Mini 9, which will also soon feature 3G.

Full Story (HEXUS.net)

Netbooks, cheap computers to reach 200M shipments by 2013

According to ABI Research, the total shipment volume of netbooks, cheap computers, and handheld Internet devices will be 200 million units by 2013. The firm predicts that while cheap computers (netbooks) make up the majority of shipments now, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) will make up 68% of shipments by 2013.

Full Story (RegHardware.co.uk)

Toshiba shows off 250GB 1.8" hard disk

Toshiba has introduced a 1.8-inch hard drive with a 250GB capacity. It has a 5400RPM rotational speed and weighs only 62g. They are also selling a single-platter 120GB drive weighing 60g. The new drives have a SATA interface, but a Parallel ATA 240GB drive will be available at the end of this month.

Full Story (ChannelRegister.co.uk)

 

Thx for news Chaz!

 

As always, thanks for the great *news bits*, Chaz!

I like that Dell is going 100% LED....next lappy it won't be considered an extra option...so you won't have to pay out extra $$


Cin!

 

And the base price will probably be more expensive I gather...

I hope this switch means that there will be some new laptops in the works for the near future.

 

I have to agree with Asdamine in the fact that it just means the base price is going to go up and you just wont have the option for non Led screen. Maybe an advance in the technology will cut that base price increase tho.

 

Yes, the base price probably will go up...but that's a part of life..ever increasing prices (and as consumers we continue to pay for things that we want) I'm sure that when this actually does roll out..there will be many changes abound by then..as we all know that technology is *ever changing*!


Cin

 

Really, who do they sell these to except OEM? Those HDs are impossible to upgrade since they hardly show up on online stores.

 

Well, Dell can start this now by cutting down on the upgrade price to an LED. They should follow Lenovo's lead on this one

 

Well, if they will switch everything to LED the price will drop quite a bit.

That new Thinkpad looks nice too.

 

I'm beginning to like Dell's naming scheme -- eschewing the meaningless and complicated number combinations. If only they did that with the rest of their lines...

 

The N10 is not a net book.
Read the actual article you referenced before making such claims...

 

I hate to be a grammar nazi, but...

How can you break a violation?

 

Its not a freekin netbook people!!!!

Geez and it wont sell for the supposed 600 USD. Its actually closer to 849 USD (the one with the dedicated graphics).

And it is using Asus's standard NOTEBOOK naming scheem ie.

Letter Numbers (additional letter for different model) - Letter Number

ie. N10e-A1 as it is being sold on NCIX.com.

 

I suppose the reason its being lumped into the netbook category is because its using the Intel Atom processor pretty much reserved for netbooks. I was hoping that if I was paying $849, I'd get at least a faster clocked Atom or dual core Atom processor, though they have not been released yet and some say they will never come to netbooks.

 

Well you can still get the minimum configuration ie. no dedicated graphics and less disk space for closer to the original 599 USD intended, but these are prices based off of what current online stores are posting. Don't know what these prices will look like during buying season...