News Bits: Sony Offers Limited Edition VAIO Notebooks, OLPC Laptops, Windows Vista Drivers

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First 1,000 OLPC $100 laptops roll off assembly line

The first 1,000 XO laptops have been produced at Quanta Computer's manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. Quanta is the world's largest notebook computer manufacturer (one in three notebook computers is made by Quanta), and has devoted significant resources to the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) initiative. The OLPC's mission is to develop a low-cost laptop to advance the education of children in developing countries, which will help eliminate global poverty.

These first machines will be put through rigirous testing to simulate the harsh conditions where these laptops will be used. The tests include dropping, pounding, and ensuring that the machines are dirt and dust resistant.

The next units manufacturered by Quanta Computer will be sent to school children in Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, and Thailand. Mass production will begin in Summer 2007.

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Sony releases seven new artful, limited edition VAIO notebooks

Sony is releasing seven new &quot;Graphic Splash Edition&quot; notebooks - five C-series and two AR-series designs. The limited edition designs are created with dye-sublimination graphics, and will have a limited run of only 2,650 peices (2,150 C-series and 500 AR-series). Free engravings are also available.

C-series designs include:

• Pink Swirl
• Red/Green Storm
• Blue Streaks
• Angel (fall colors)

The Sony VAIO C-series is a 13.3&quot; widescreen notebook featuring the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The &quot;Graphic Splash Edition&quot; notebooks start at $1,150. Product link.

AR-series designs include:

• Orbit (a web of glowing blue pathways)
• Green Streaks

The Sony VAIO AR-series features a 17&quot; display and Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The &quot;Graphic Splash Edition&quot; start at about $2,100.Product Link.

The &quot;Graphic Splash Edition&quot; notebooks are available online at SonyStyle.com. and at SonyStyle Stores (available for order at in-store kiosk).

Widescreen notebook shipments make up 79% of global market

Worldwide widescreen notebook shipments hit a new record in Q3, accounting for 79% of shipments. Standard 4:3 notebooks only took 21%. Widescreen penetration varied by region however; in North America, it was 85%, while in Japan, it was only 52%.

Only Dell remained in the top five for shipments of notebook PCs in every region, although HP overtook Dell as number one in global notebook shipments. HP's 36% sequential growth allowed them to surpass Dell as number one. Dell's growth has gotten significantly slower with industry age. Acer also showed astounding growth, moving past Toshiba to take the number three spot for global notebook shipments.

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Windows Vista DVD to ship with 19,000+ drivers

Microsoft is working hard to ensure that a lack of driver support is not a problem with its new Windows Vista operating system. Windows Vista will have over 19,500 drivers available on the install DVD, and an additional 11,700+ will be available on Windows Update. Windows XP, in comparison, shipped with only 10,000 drivers, and with 2,000 additional drivers available on Windows Update.

It's not all up to Microsoft to provide drivers; device manufacturers need to make sure they get updated software out to customers. Hardware manufacturers still have two months before Vista is commercially available, although machines with Vista already on them will be in store weeks before.

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HotHardware reviews the Asus Lamborghini VX1

HotHardware has reviewed the Asus Lamborghini VX1 notebook - it features a 15&quot; SXGA+ display, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia GeForce Go7400VX 512MB video card, and a sleek black finish.

Review Link

 

when i go to click the link for the lambo review, it asks me for a username/password... (for mail.bargainspots.com) any way to link to a non-protected article?

 

Sadly the OLPC notebooks are not as cheap as they were when first proposed years ago...There are consumer-level $250 notebooks this holiday season. How many years before a much better $100 notebook hits the market?

19K+ drivers? Wow!

 

Wooo...the Sony VAIOs look interesting. They're probably expensive though .

 

I have to admit, I am not a big fan of fancy artwork like that on my notebook. The thought to do a simple laser etch on my computer has crossed my mind, but nothing more. Maybe its just that I would hate to see my V6j looking like that, but there is some extent to buying a computer that pleases you, so I guess Sony is doing the right thing.

 

Here's the correct link to the article.
http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=898&cid=10

 

That VX1 review seemed really harsh. They didn't compare it to anything else in its class, just huge luggable Alienwares with SLI.... Compared to the only other 15" in the benchmarks it did perfectly fine.

 

Nowadays, widescreen notebooks are ubiquitous, even almost all low end notebooks with celeronM and sempron now come with widescreen aspect.

 

OMG the C look so preeeeetty

Stupid Sony, why they release it now. Arghhhh

 

I'm not crazy about those designs in particular, way too busy, but I'm glad to see that more companies are beginning to pay attention to style. Too bad Sony's starting in the wrong place - AR's layout (keyboard, buttons, etc) is so ugly, it's oogly!

Malia

 

The Asus looks pretty good, Sony designs are a personal taste.

 

any known release on the olpc?

tbh I do actually want to get one........for myself

 

The OLPC will not be sold to individual customers - they couldn't produce them if they marketed that way. I don't think it is going to be possible to get one.

The OLPCs are going to start shipping next summer.

 

Here's a link to the spec sheet for the OLPC laptop. It actually looks pretty impressive! - I wish 'real' laptop manufacturers would take a note out of OLPC's book in one or two of these areas;

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Hardware_specification

Physical dimensions:

* Dimensions: 193mm × 229mm × 64mm (as of 3/27/06—subject to change)
* Weight: Less than 1.5 KG (target only—subject to change)
* Configuration: Convertible laptop with pivoting, reversible display; dirt- and moisture-resistant system enclosure

Core electronics:

* CPU: AMD Geode [email protected]
* CPU clock speed: 366 Mhz
* Compatibility: X86/X87-compatible
* Chipset: AMD CS5536 South Bridge
* Graphics controller: Integrated with Geode CPU; unified memory architecture
* Embedded controller (for production), ENE KB3700: Image:KB3700-ds-01.pdf
* DRAM memory: 128 MiB dynamic RAM
* Data rate: Dual – DDR266 – 133 Mhz
* BIOS: 1024KB SPI-interface flash ROM; LinuxBIOS open-source BIOS; Open Firmware bootloader
* Mass storage: 512 MiB SLC NAND flash, high speed flash controller
* Drives: No rotating media

Display:

* Liquid-crystal display: 7.5” Dual-mode TFT display
* Viewing area: 152.4 mm × 114.3 mm
* Resolution: 1200 (H) × 900 (V) resolution (200 dpi)
* Mono display: High-resolution, reflective monochrome mode
* Color display: Standard-resolution, quincunx-sampled, transmissive color mode