News Bits: Dual Screen Notebook, Intel 80-Core Processor, Secret Fujitsu Notebook with HSUPA

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New dual screen notebook features two 15-inch displays

Image courtosy of crave.cnet.com

A Pennsylvania, United States-based company, Estari, has developed a patented dual-screen notebook. It was designed originally for military use but is now available to the public. Called the 2-VU, it features an Intel Core Duo T2400 (1.83GHz), 1GB of RAM, and a 60GB hard drive. It has no regular keyboard and mouse, but does have two 15-inch touch-screen displays.

How much? $4,350 - ouch.

Read More (Crave.cnet.com)

EarthLink to construct 600 sq. mile Houston Wi-Fi network

Houston city officials announced on Feb. 13 that they made a deal with EarthLink to construct a citywide wireless network that will eventually span 600 square miles. It will be the largest in North America when finished.

It is estimated that EarthLink will invest about $50 million in the project, including the infrastructure and the 10,000 transmitters. No taxpayer dollars are being used. If the approval and contract negotiations go as planned, construction could begin as early as mid-April. It is expected to be up and running by 2009.

The wireless Internet will be available to 40,000 low-income users for $10 or less per month. It is estimated that the service through providers will cost anywhere from $14 to $21.95 per month. In public areas the wireless Internet will be free.

Read More (NY Times)

Intel demonstrates computer chip with 80 processing cores

Intel demonstrated an experimental computer chip on Monday with 80 processing cores. Intel first described the chip as a Teraflop Chip. It is not compatible with Intel's current processor chips, although they have already begun to work on a commercial version with dozens, possibly hundreds of microprocessors laid out on a single chip.

Intel says it will be able to continue to shrink transistors in size for at least another five years or more thanks to next generation manufacturing technology.

Read More (NY Times)

Nvidia Q4 profits climb 68%, revenue up 39%

Nvidia posted solid financial results for the fiscal Q4 2007, ending January 28. Revenues were up 39%, and profits climbed 68%. Nvidia reported $3.07 billion in revenues for the year, up 29% from the previous year, and profits were up 49% from the previous year at $448.8 million.

Nvidia expects to continue its growth in 2007 by moving deeper into Intel's markets and by releasing several new technologies.

Read More (TGDaily)

Three 120GB notebook hard drives reviewed

XBit Laboratories has posted a review of three 120GB 2.5&quot; notebook hard drives by Hitachi, Samsung, and Western Digital. 120GB drives are a fantastic value right now - a lot of storage for a relatively low price.

Read More (XBit Labs)

New Fujitsu Lifebook ultraportable spotted with HSDPA/HSUPA

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NotebookReview.com forum member Bruce2000 has posted pictures showing a Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook, codenamed &quot;Helios,&quot; at the 3 GSM in Barcelona. The machine is almost completely covered.

The most interesting part about the machine is that it has integrated HSDPA and HSUPA running at 7.2 Mbit/s and 1.4 Mbit/s respectively. It will be the first notebook to have this new technology integrated.

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The system will have the latest Intel processors for low power consumption. Estimated weight is around 1.x kg. It is expected to be released &quot;soon&quot;.

Link to forum discussion

 

Looks like the HSDPA HSUPA notebook is fried.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/14/nokia-and-intel-call-it-quits-on-hsdpa-laptop-module/

 

Does the dual screen notebook at least have a 'virtual' keyboard using touchscreen abilities? Otherwise, what's the point?

 

Is there a 7200RPM 2.5" HDD with capacity greater than 100GB?

 

$20 says intel buys nvidia.

 

I believe seagate is releasing a 160gb 7200rpm 2.5" HDD this year.

 

I agree -- what would be the point ? And the price ouch is right

 

There's probably an on-screen keyboard of sorts, but I can't see how useful that is. It would be interesting if they could make use of the touch-screen functionality of the screens to create a makeshift keyboard.

Other than that, you would have to hook up an external keyboard and mouse. I honestly don't see the real usefulness of the dual-screen notebook either. Better off buying a real notebook and an external monitor.

 

Tablet PCs are better, in my opinion. The convertible type, I mean. Dual screen isn't necessary and if you need to hook up an external keyboard its even more pointless.

Look at the price of that thing! That's like a ultra powerful XPS M1710!

 

I really like that Fujitsu notebook. Beats the macbook design anyday.

 

That must be a logistical nightmare--trying to allow free wireless access in public areas, but blocking it so that only subscribers can access it from their homes. The prices sound really appealing though either way.

 

That laptop was originally for the military, who probably have completely different requirements than standard users. Also, it looks like it comes built into a briefcase, which implies that it is very sturdy. A keyboard would be a weak link in a sturdy notebook, as a lot of rubbish could get caught in the keys. Dunno why they decided to release it publicly though, I guess it would only be useful in very limited situations, and certainly not for home users.