News Bits: Dell Promotes Skins for Inspirons, ThinkPad Z61p Available, AMD Turion Price Cuts

Free notebook skins with purchase of Dell notebook

As part of a back to school promotion, Dell is offering a free notebook skin with purchase of any Inspiron or XPS M1210 notebook. The offer is valid from July 20th to August 30th, or until supplies run out.

See the offer here.

Lenovo ThinkPad Z61P now available

The recently announced ThinkPad Z61P is essentially a Z61M 15.4" widescreen notebookwith more power. Think of it as a workstation version of the Z61m.

Specifications include:

• Intel Core Duo processor (up to T2500)
• 15.4" widescreen display with WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution
• Workstation-class ATI Fire GL V5200 with 256 MB VRAM
• DDR2-667 RAM, expandable to 4GB
• 40GB 5400RPM to 100GB 7200RPM Hard drives
• Integrated Bluetooth wireless
• ThinkPad 802.1abg WiFi or Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
• Fingerprint reader
• 56K V.90 modem (V.92-designed)
• IEEE 1394
• Gigabit Ethernet LAN connection
• 6- or 9-cell batteries

The Z61p listed on the Lenovo website is part of the "TopSeller program"

Link to model page

AMD to cut prices on mobile CPUs

AMD is planning more price cuts for its notebook CPUs on October 23rd, following cuts on July 24th. Its Socket S1 Turion 64 X2 (35W) and Socket S1/754 Sempron processors will be cut by 16%-35%.

Socket AM2 series are expected to be cut more than expected on July 24th - the largest cut will be near 60%. The price for the 35W (ML series) Turion 64 will be reduced by up to 25.8%, and the 25W (MT series) Turions will drop between 5.3% and 15.9%.

Processor Model	Jul 24 prices	Oct 23 prices
Turion 64 X2 (35W, S1) TL-60	$337	$250
TL-56	$250	$209
TL-52	$209	$175
TL-50	$175	$146
Sempron (25W, S1) 3600+	NA	$127
3500+	$135	$102
3400+	$119	$82
3200+	$102	$82

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Dell warns of lower revenue in Q2, puts blame on slow PC market

Dell is already warning of a likely revenue and earnings slowdown - growth is flattening and might even take a downturn. Revenue for Q2 could be about $14 billion; last May, Dell reported a $14.2 billion quarter.

Earnings per share (EPS) could also make a downturn - Dell is warning it could be in the range of 21 to 23 cents. Last may, the Q1 EPS was 33 cents. It has not been a good day at the stock market for Dell either - shares plunged in value by almost 13% from the start, and ended up down 11% at 10AM.

Dell's explanation for all of this? A general slowdown in the worldwide PC market, alongside "aggressive pricing" and a lower-demand market, which drives down margins.

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Kata launches the "Bag of the Future"

(view large image)

Kata has launched itsnew Ergo-Tech Collection of bags. The designof this bag looks like it'staken from the pages of a sci-fi novel. A unique blend of cutting-edge technologies and materials are at the heart of the Ergo-Tech Collection. In this collection there aremore than 17 models, each uniquely designed to accommodate a range of electronics, including digital cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, laptops, and more, Kata's Ergo-Tech Collection gives a new meaning to the word versatility.

The Ergo-Tech Collection is made from Kata's revolutionary Elasto-Guard material. Consisting of two layers, Elasto-Guard is a flexible material that will adjust to the ever changing shapes and movements of the carrier's body, while also able to shift shape in order to fit the variable equipment within. [p]The external layer is made from a high-resistance stretchable knit/weave and the middle layer consists of a one to three millimeter, closed-cell, waterproof elastic foam padding. The Ergo-Tech Collection features the same yelloop' internal fabric. Vibrant, scratch and static resistant, yelloop' enables the attachment of dividers and provides unmatched cushioning. [p][URL=http://portal.bogenimaging.us/page4679.html]Read More[/URL] [p][B]HP gets silver recognition from EPEAT for environmentally friendly laptops[/B] [p]The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry goes live on July 24 at [URL=http://www.epeat.net/]www.epeat.net[/URL]. Twenty-six of HP's 32 registered products have received "silver" recognition, the highest level bestowed to any manufacturer's product thus far. 13 of these products are notebooks made by HP. [p]All EPEAT-registered products must meet minimum requirements in eight areas of environmental impact, such as reducing or eliminating environmentally sensitive materials, designing for longevity and reducing packaging materials. The EPEAT rating system is internationally recognized and based on the IEEE 1680-2000 standard. You'll be able to see exactly which HP products meet the required environmental standards by visiting [URL=http://www.epeat.net/]www.epeat.net[/URL]. [p] [p][B]Interesting Links[/B] [p][URL=http://dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3425]Nvidia GeForce 7600GS AGP shows up[/URL] [p][URL=http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q3/thinkpad-t60/index.x?pg=1]ThinkPad T60 review at The Tech Report[/URL][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p]

 

Yikes, the bag is pretty ugly looking in my opinion

 

That is a slightly odd looking bag but I'm sure there is someone who will appreciate it.

On another note, the Dell skins look very nice. If I got an Inspiron I would definitely spring for one of those skins. Granted I didn't think anything was wrong with the way it looked before but a splash of color and design never hurts, to me anyway.

 

I can't tell if those skins are customized with a hole in the middle so the Dell logo still shows through, that'd be unique. Or maybe it's imprinted on these stickers. Or maybe that's an artist rendition and not actually true. Well, someone that gets one will have to let us know.

 

Why can't we just order the skins themselves and not have to get the laptop? I've had my E1405 for nearly two months and I'd love to get a skin for it from dell.

 

That's bag is kind of cool in an interesting sort of way.

I'm with ya Unreal, except mine is 6 months old. Those skins look uber tight. I want one.

 

I wanted one of the skins too, called Sales, and the droid told me that the skins would not fit my e1505. He also told me that they sell for $49.95USD...ouch! ....I just hung up

 

It seems skins are the new fad. LOL
Tim

 

Yeah, you know what. That skills it. xD I'm resistant to fads,

 

no they have had those skins for a while
they are $20
i would get one but my sates university ones fugly

 

where can I buy for this (only)skins ?

 

Typical Dell scam. When you order your laptop, they show you a wide selection of skins (25 different ones). But you can't order the skin till you receive your laptop. And when you try to order the skin, you find out there are none available, although the promotion page still shows all the skins. After complaining on the phone, and kicking it up to a supervisor, they "find" they have some available - plain blue, red or charcoal. Thanks to Dell for another ripoff.

A google search for notebook skins shows some nice ones for $14.99 through a couple of different companies.