News Bits: LG R400 Laptop, FlipStart UMPC Released, Apple Notebook with Flash Storage Coming

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LG introduces R400 laptop

LG has introduced the R400 laptop in Korea. The R400 has the following specifications:

• 14.1&quot; widescreen display
• Intel Celeron or Core 2 Duo processor
• Dual channel memory support with 667MHz speed
• ATI Mobility X2300 graphics
• 80GB - 160GB hard drive
• Bluetooth / WiFi with dual antenna for better coverage
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• ExpressCard 34 Slot
• Integrated 1.3 MP webcam
• Weight: 2.35KG (5.18lbs)

The R400 will be available at the end of March and should retail for around $1,000USD.

(This article was updated on April 6th 2007, it was originally reported as having a hybrid hard drive but LG indicates this is not the case, though they will consider introducing hybrid hard drive laptops in the future)

FlipStart UMPC features 5.6-inch display

The FlipStart is a new Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) - it features a 5.6-inch display, Windows XP or Windows Vista, and a Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor. Specifications are as follows:

• 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor
• Intel Enhanced Grahpics processor
• 30GB shock-mounted hard drive
• 512MB RAM
• Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business
• 5.6&quot; SVGA display (1024x600) primary display
• 1.8&quot; external display (220x176)
• Mobile Broadband ready
• 802.11bg WiFi, Bluetooth
• Weight: 1.5 lbs with standard battery, 1.75 lbs with high-capacity
• Integrated VGA camera
• Backlit QWERTY keyboard

The FlipStart package includes the device itself, the high-capacity battery, stereo earbuds + microphone headset, carrying case, port replicator, and a polishing cloth. It will retail for $1,999 and is available for shipment in late March 2007.

Product Page

Apple subnotebook rumored to have flash storage

A Wall Street Analyst this week claimed that the ultra-compact MacBook will use Flash storage technology. The analyst said to investors that &quot;This is a new sub-notebook form factor that will use NAND Flash as primary storage. Our sources indicate that Apple would like to introduce the product in H2 2007.&quot;

The problem with Flash storage is the price; Sony already produes a machine that uses Flash technology, the VAIO UX1, which features a 32GB Flash drive, and it retails for around £2,000 (about $3,860 USD) without high-end specifications. It is difficult to imagine a MacBook using Flash technology coming in lower than this price.

However, Apple does have an advantage - it's a big Flash customer. The company's iPod lineup and the upcoming iPhone use Flash memory, and the $1.25 billion deal it made with Hynix, Samsung, Intel, Micron, and Toshiba will allow Apple to supply its products with the necessary Flash, including the rumored subnotebook.

Read More (RegHardware)

Asus Ecobook Bamboo Laptop

Image courtesy of Cnet

The Asus Ecobook is a new laptop from Asus designed to promote Asus' eco-friendly message. It features real bamboo paneling and is due to launch next year.

Read More (Cnet)

Taiwan notebook manufacurers see rise in February revenue

Major notebook manufacturers based in Taiwan, including Quanta, Compal, and Inventec saw February revenues rise on-year due to growing sales of notebook brands. Wistron saw its revenues drop again. Quanta's revenues increased 29.9% on-year and they had an on-year growth of 42.1%.

Read More (DigiTimes)

HP addressing customers problems with Vista audio drivers

Some HP customers that upgraded their notebooks to Vista found that audio ceased working because of driver issues. HP is working to resolve this situation and has posted instructions in the forums a work around for this issue and will update when a final solution is found. Just view our forums to see the solution by clicking here: HP Audio Issue Addressed by HP

 

I'd just like to know what size display this Macbook will have, 11.1" 12.1"? I hope its 11.1" as to complement the 13.3" Macbook as the Vaio TX does to the SZ and the Asus S6F to the W6F.

 

Generally I don't like LG products, but their laptops continue to be very sharp looking.

Vista on a UMPC? Yikes! That FlipStart looks like the most practical of all the UMPC offerings so far...until I read the price. Having all those keys and a touchpad is a nice feature though.

 

something tells me the price for the r400 can't be right...

 

yea, it seems to be too low for a product like that...

maybe he meant 2000

 

Asus is on a roll, first leather and now bamboo? Whats next?

 

And that LG has a number pad at only 14", nice!

 

Oh Wow, I didn't even realize that! Impressive, really impressive!

 

8GB of NAND flash in CF form factor going for 99 bucks. the real cost will be the additional engineering design for interface to sata + the logic to handle distributing writes, error correction, and bad cell mapping. i think we see flash drive prices fall real fast. because the engineering is a one time charge and as we all witness all the time, flash is subject to moore's law just like other semiconductor technology.

 

That LG is overall excellent, if only I didn't have a strong premonition that the 1200CAD/1025USD was a typo. There is a reseller selling it at the 1199CAD mark, but with a numpad, X2300, and C2D in a 14" LG, I wont believe it until it hits MilestonePC.

The flipstart is way late to the market. The samsung Q2 with nearly identical specs, but a bigger touchscreen and a webcam will be much better at the $1300 mark.

 

Quote from Cnet website:

I'm not quite sure why Asus decided to call it the "EcoBook"

The keys on the LG must be very small!

 

bamboo panelling hm.....nice idea though but wonder if its gonna look that good i mean leather is classy but bamboo??

 

That picture of the LG is almost certainly a 17" laptop. Unless every dimension of they keys of that keyboard as well as the touchpad is reduced, it's a 17" that's pictured. Just look at the shift keys even. On less than full sized keyboards, the shift keys are typically made smaller. And if that were actually a 14" laptop, that touchpad would be tiny.

The $1200US price mark probably isn't too unbelievable, assuming the only thing really changed is swapping out a regular harddrive for a hybrid one. Again, I'll believe it when I see it somewhere more reputable.

And anyone find it ironic that the enviro-friendly ASUS is made with bambo paneling?

 

but arent hybrid drives a bit costly nowadays ??

 

Chuck: 1, thats 1200 Canadian Dollars, which comes out to just over $1000 US dollars. 2. Hybrid Hard drives dont come extremely cheaply (not as high as flash, but not as low as a regular hdd either) 3. Its an LG!!! At milestonePC, the cheapest LG is like 1500 and that has way lower specs than the R400 (No hybrid hdd, no ati graphics, everything else is nearly the same). An Asus A8Jr with almost identical specs to this, but no hybrid HDD goes for $200USD more than this, and Asus has a pretty good pricing scheme. This is ludicrously cheap by LG standards, and still an excellent deal if considered as just another notebook.

 

I also thought the price for the LG R400 was a bit low, but that's what the site I got the info from said. There was no mention of other specifications, so it's probable that it could come in around that price with a lower-end configuration.

 

http://onlineelectronics.secure-shopping-online.com/onlineelectronics/showProductDetail_en.jsp

specs....not bad.

 

About the bamboo wood, it is actually quite a bit more environmentally friendly than you would think. Bamboo isn't slow growing like wood from regular trees. Each shoot can grow anywhere from 1 foot to sometimes a meter a day.

 

The flipstart UMPC really is a rip off.

 

The specs on the LG are as follows, since that link doesnt work...

 

That LG is definitely appealing. Are they starting to break into the US market though? And it does seem uncharacteristic of LG's usual pricing scheme to be so affordable. It also reminds me of that Toshiba (I want to say R400 as well) that Andrew got to play with at the CES 2007.

And bamboo on a notebook? Not really for me.

 

I hope they sell a higher-end version of the R400. The specs look great, but the video card and processor are slightly weaker than what I'd want in a laptop.

Seems like the picture posted of the R400 is a 15.4" laptop like the S1; I'm not sure how they managed to squeeze a keyboard and a number pad into a 14.1" notebook.

 

You guys should actually read all the articles, the Bamboo is quite a design, and the goodies with it are quite innovative. An enlarged touchpad that doubles as a tablet, usable with a stylus, and embedded LEDs under the touchpad to reduce production 'cuts' to prevent waste. As well, its modular design(which is pretty cool, but listed as very limited).

And for those who don't know, Bamboo is actually a type of grass, not 'tree' so, 'Bamboo Wood' doesn't exist

 

Looking forward to seeing the Flipstart. Can you run applications on Vista Business with 512K, and get any throughput?

 

I can't even imagine running Vista Basic on 512MB of RAM; you'll need a minimum of 1GB to run Vista smoothly, as the operating system uses 450MB+ by itself with a fresh install. Right now I'm sitting on Vista Ultimate with 900MB RAM usage surfing the Internet. I have a few other applications open (iTunes, Steam), but nothing significant.
The CPU on that FlipStart is also a serious bottleneck. 1.1GHz Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M? Ouch. My 1.86GHz Pentium struggles with Vista.

 

Thanks Chaz, that is good to know. Does Business and Ultimate use about 1 Gb RAM?

 

I'd assume they use a similar amount of RAM, Ultimate more probably. Business definitely won't run well on 512MB. If you're going for a FlipStart, get XP. I can't imagine how laggy Vista would be on an ultra low voltage Pentium M and 512MB of RAM.

 

I will consider using XP if the Flipstart does not have a 1Gb RAM option.

 

A clarification on why bamboo is considered "eco-friendly" from crave.cnet.com:

"Bamboo grows incredibly fast, and much of its commercial variety comes from plantations, not wild habitats."

 

Up to 6 metres per day!