News Bits: HP Says No to Intel Turbo Memory, Sandisk Announces 64GB SSD, New PortableOne SXS37

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HP rejects use of Intel Turbo Memory

HP is apparently not in love with the new Intel Turbo Memory (codename Robson) offering. According to CNET.com, a manager at HP says that:

&quot;We have done quite a bit of research on this [to see] whether there is any true value for our customers, rather than taking what is available and putting it in.&quot;

HP did not find that there was any true value for their customers:

&quot;We added 1GB of RAM and saw a much higher improvement in performance compared to using any of the ReadyBoost or Robson technology.&quot;

HP cites the fact that you can't use Intel Turbo Memory and ReadyBoost (where you use external flash RAM such as a USB stick to give the system more available memory within Vista) at the same time, it's either one or the other, as a drawback for Turbo Memory. HP also indicated they just didn't see a whole lot of boost from Intel Turbo Memory overall.

Read More (CNet.com)

SanDisk announces availability of 64GB SSD

Previously the 32GB solid state disk drive (SSD) has been the upper limit to capacity on these flash based memory drives. However, in Taipei, Taiwan today Sandisk announced the launch of their 64GB SSD for laptops. Hopefully the capacity continues to grow and the prices continue to drop on this technology.

Read More (Business Wire)

Info leaked on upcoming Dell XPS m1330 ultraportable

Images courtesy Engadget

Engadget has posted leaked information on Dell's upcoming XPS M1330 ultraportable notebook. It features a sleek design and high-end components. The reported specifications are as follows:

• 13.3-inch widescreen display with LED backlighting available
• Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to T7700 (2.4GHz)
• Maximum 4GB DDR2 dual-channel RAM
• 32GB Solid State Disk or up to 250GB HDD
• Slot-load DVD+/-RW drive
• Available Nvidia GeForce 8400M-GS (128MB)
• Available WWAN (Verizon, Sprint, or AT&amp;T)
• WLAN, Bluetooth
• Integrated 2 megapixel webcam
• HDMI, VGA, 2x USB 2.0, mini Firewire, dual mini-PCI slots, fingerprint reader
• Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.87 - 1.33 inches (LED display) or 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.97 - 1.43 inches (CCFL display)
• Weight: starting at 4 pounds

There is no reported release date or pricing information from Engadget.

Read More (Engadget.com)

Panasonic Toughbook with Santa Rosa appears in U.S.

Images courtesy Engadget

Panasonic today announced the Santa Rosa-based Toughbook CF-52. It starts at $1,650 and reasonable specifications can be had for $2,500. The specifications are as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processors (T7100, T7300)
• Up to 4GB DDR2 RAM
• 15.4-inch WXGA or WUXGA display
• 80 - 120GB hard drives (shock mounted)
• DVD Burner drive
• WLAN, Bluetooth
• Available 3G
• 4x USB 2.0, PCMCIA and ExpressCard slots, SD reader, mini Firewire, VGA
• TPM chip, optional SmartCard reader
• Integrated handle and spill-resistant keyboard
• Weight starting at 7.2 pounds

The CF-52 is slated to be available in July.

Read More (Engadget.com)

Man fined for using coffee shop WiFi

A Michigan man was fined $400 for utilizing an open coffee shop WiFi connection and given 40 hours of community service. The man, Sam Peterson II, was sitting outside the Re-Union Street Café using the Internet on his new notebook computer when the police found him. Peterson said to FOX News &quot;I think a lot of people should be shocked, because quite honestly, I still don't understand it myself.&quot;

Read More (FOXNews.com)

 

PortableOne Releases Santa Rosa Platform SXS37 13.3&quot; screen notebook

PortableOne has released the SXS37, an update to its 13.3&quot; SX series notebook. The SXS37 has the new Intel Santa Rosa platform on board and an impressive array of specs:

• Intel Core Duo 2 T7100 thru T7700 (2MB/4MBL2 Cache; 800MHz Bus)
• 1GB (1 x 1GB)  DDR2 Memory (4GB Max)
• Cinematic 13.3&quot; UVA WXGA TFT(1280 x 800) Widescreen Display
• Optional Indoor &amp; Outdoor TrioView Transflective Display for optimal viewing in direct sunlight
• 240 Degree Rotating Web Camera w/mic
• NVIDIA 256MB Dedicated VRAM
• 120GB thru 200GB 7K200 7200RPM Shock Mounted Hard Drives
• Intel 1GB Turbo Memory (Robson)
• Super Multi Dual Layer DVD±RW Optical Drive
• 3 USB 2.0 Ports, IEEE 1394 FireWire &amp; e-SATA Ports
• Integrated Card Reader &amp; Express Card Slot
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
• Integrated Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (PAN)
• Intel Next Generation N 802.11a+b/g/n Wireless LAN
• Built-in Biometric Fingerprint Scanner w/TPM
• Carbon Fiber Alloy Encasing
• High-Xchange efficiency copper molding heat sink with heat pipes and Arctic Silver 5 for excellent heat dissipation
• Inspice Trace &amp; Recovery Theft &amp; Data protection
• Windows Vista Business Edition w/VCOM7 &amp; P1 Recovery System
• Weighs only 4.3lbs w/ 6-cell battery

 

The SXS37 has a starting price of $1,399 and can be configured at PortableOne.com here.

 

 

 

LOL @ being fined for using an open WiFi

I fail to see how they could truly charge him with anything since the network was open. if it was closed and he stole or hacked in then that is fine but being open it is the responsibility of the coffee shop to secure their network to authorized users. however they could easily state that it is still technically stealing but is it really?

 

Hooray for higher capacities of SSD. Someone wake me when they are affordable

And why is the man shocked? If he didn't know the wi-fi was only for paying customers, he is either a liar or a liar! Simple!

 

Glad to see this outburst of 13.3 notebooks so Sony can't keep charging the bank for the SZ. Competition = Sexy notebooks

 

That 13.3" Dell will probably put pressure on Apple to include a dedicated GPU in their MacBook, which is probably a good thing.

 

Sony will always charge the bank, there are always idiot fanboy sony lovers who will pay whatever for the brand regardless of what's inside it

 

Not necessarily just because of that. They're too stupid and caught up in themselves to notice that computer prices have dropped a smidge in the last 10 years.

 

Wow...did Dell suddenlly learn how to make non-ugly laptops? Their past couple have been pretty good, but this new one is on the level of Apple or Sony. Well done in the design department, Dell. Having such a nice GPU in a small system is very attractive.

And a guy faced a felony charge for using free wifi? Isn't there something called "war-driving" where you hop from network to network to keep an internet connection while on the go? This legal scuffle is absolutely so petty and rediculous. It's a total waste of tax-payer money I think. The police should really have left this go and not tried to go for a prosecution over such a small thing. Let's try to concentrate on people who actually are a danger to society, like celebrities who violate traffic law over and over again.

 

I have seen a LOT of Sony notebooks that are way overpriced. Some are fair, others not.

 

That Dell XPS laptop is pretty slick. Good features too...I just wonder how the build quality is. That's where Dell has always been lacking. Design used to be a problem too, but this one's got a pretty nice design.

It reminds me of the ASUS W3J.

 

Yea. I know what he is saying about the fanboys though. My parents got me a Sony for a reason.....Oh well, I shouldn't be complaining; I didn't have to pay for it.

 

Well he was using free wi-fi. Also the coffee place said they would have let him use the Wi-fi for free. Heck the coffee shop didn't even turn that guy in. It was some other business who thought he was a stalker. -_-
Tim

 

Finally, XPS M1210 update!

 

what did the wifi person do to get in trouble? wtf...

 

I'm with HP on the Robson issue. I think it's also because not only is it not a significant boost, it's an annoyance for drivers, etc, especially for Linux.

No comment on the m1330. That's going to pan out pretty nicely I bet. But I am glad to see that it won't be the first 13" Santa Rosa notebook - the Portable One notebook looks good as well, and competitively priced.

They actually hired a designer, not a Pepsi drinking coder to draft up the build blueprints.

 

If it is anything like the m1210 it should have a very good build quality.


I just love, and I mean LOVE the fact that Dell and Portable One are both releasing 13.3" models to compete with Sony, Asus, and to a lesser extent MacBook. more competition = better price

 

Hey just like the barbershop guy said, "better safe than sorry."

 

WOW finally new XPS
hope it appear on the market soon!!
does m1310 has turbo memory (robson)?

 

Finally, a 13'3 from Dell which will compete with Sony SZ

 

the portable one laptop is an asus z37

 

So what is everyone's guesses on when the m1330 is coming out? My deadline to buy is Wednesday and if nothing else comes out before then I'm just getting the dv6000t.

 

Dont think will be out than soon

 

It should be noted that I am still a newb

 

Now lets see more manufacturers bring out 11.1" notebooks. Probably not gonna happen but still.

Yeah, that Dell actually looks nice, their finally getting the design aspect together. I'm actually surprised.

 

Minor correction, its the S37s powered by Asus.

 

The Dell looks good, but the Portable One is similarly spec'ed and looks pretty good too. Actually I think I'd go for the PO over the Dell

 

Successfully connecting to a wifi access point means that the access point explictly authorized the client. It's part of the protocol.

 

Dell's new 13" looks like Sony old "Z1" series.

 

Wow , it appears that Dell hired some designers with a sense of style , now if they can do something with the ugly DeLL logo ...

I hope this style will leak to other models as well .

EDIT : Dell's new 13" looks like Sony old "Z1" series. <--- my thought exactly , I just hope it will be of better quality then the Z1 series .

 

as far as i know Z1 had very good quality. i never had problem with it and my gf still uses hers after 3 years. the only con as far as i can tell was the price when it was first released. it would be better if dell revised the design to give it a more fresh look but i wouldn't mind if they released the notebook as is .

 

The Z1? Hardly. It looks like one of the W3j, if anything - just look at the way the hinge curls! Nothing about that says Z1. The Sony also had that distinctive S-bend in the frame that accentuated the vents/ports. Let's not forget, too, that the Z1 was a total brick.

 

Why would that put pressure on Apple to include a dedicated GPU in the MacBook, any more than something like the Sony SZ does?

The new XPS is almost undoubtedly going to be premium priced, around the $2000 range (if not more). It is competition for the SZ, not a consumer laptop like the MacBook (or Sony's C series).

 

Ofcourse it can't look exactly like the Z1 but it reminds of it with many style elements : the silver bezel with black at the bottom , the black strip above the keyboard , the tappering profile etc.

Afaik ( also have 2nd hand one which won't boot ) the Z1 was as you said a brick with sub par hardware and reliability issues .

Lets not forget , this looks like a rendering only .

 

Hmm interesting. That PortableOne SX is an Asus Z/S37. It says "mid-June" ... I wonder when the other Z37 barebones are being released.

 

I didn't read all of this thread so forgive me if this is a redundant post, but

The only thing Dell produces that it on par with the real notebook makers (Compal, Asus, Acer, etc.) is the XPS series. The inspirions and latitudes are godawful mass market crap (once you have used any other brand as a comparison). Therefore I am glad that Dell recognises this and spends some time improving that line instead of letting AW be their bread and butter in the quality notebook industry.

 

Its supposed to be S37 in the American market; it appears to be the Z37 everywhere else.

P1 is saying an ETA of mid-July, thats when I would expect to see it appear at other resellers.

 

Your opinion is very biased.
The Inspirons are much better than Acer laptops [apart from Ferrari] and they rule in their price segment when you consider the coupons.The Latitude laptops apart from their bad screen quality are very good choices when you are looking for a durable laptop.You also forgot the Precision series which have their own customers.
First, if you want to compare the DELL laptops to the quality ensemble ASUS laptops, you should also consider the price.In their price segment, the ASUS laptops should compete with the Compal and also Lenovo Thinkpad laptops.And many people dislike the budget ASUS laptops [like the F3 and A8 - though A8Js is an exception in quality].
Again the Inspiron E1705 and M1710 have no competition from any ASUS laptops when it comes to graphics power.

 

Ummm...

Asus, Compal, Quanta, etc build most/all of Dell's notebooks...so you're saying they are bad and good in the same statement
Inspirons...mass market crap? Despite the looks, they are actually good enough for their price.
Latitudes are built very well, so I'm not too sure why you say that. They're probably 3rd in the industry next to Thinkpads and Asus notebooks...tied with HP business notebooks.
Alienware? Quality?...I'm not going to comment because I don't have personal experience. But Google what is out there any you may disagree with that statement based on what you read.