Hands on with Gigabyte M912 and M724 convertible mini-tablets

Carving out the newest niche in the low-cost, mini-laptop, ultra-portable, *gasp* netbook category is the Gigabyte M912. As a convertible, touch-screen mini-tablet, the M912 runs Vista or Ubuntu Linux atop Intel's Atom processor. Unfortunately, it looks like it might be hampered by a 4-cell battery showing just over 1.5 hours of battery left on a 95% charge. The 7-inch M724 apparently shares the same chassis as the M912 but is meant for classrooms-only, not consumers. Uh, right. That was the original market for all these netbook-class machines as we recall.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/03/hands-on-with-gigabyte-m912-and-m724-convertible-mini-tablets/

Hands-on with Atom-based Eee PC 901 running WiMax

What, you're not in Taipei? No problem, Engadget Chinese is at the WiMax Expo with the first WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901 pictures. Showing off a funky, cutaway hinge (likely due to missing battery), the Eee PC 901 features Intel's Atom processor as expected, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g, and now 802.11n too (hoozah!). The card reader supports MMC/SD/SDHC cards and the WiMax chipset is Intel's Link 5150. Keep in mind that the Link 5150 is a dual-mode WiFi and WiMax module. In other words, there's no guarantee the 802.11n will carry over to the WiMax-less 901 being announced tomorrow. A few more pics after the break, all the rest at our Chinese site.




Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/02/hands-on-with-atom-based-eee-pc-901/

Black Eee PC 901 look good, just not $650 good

here you have it, ASUS' Amos 'n Andy companion to the Martin 'n Lewis Eee PC 901. The 8.9-inch Atom-based lappie show no signs of the rumored Bluetooth or anything else unusual that we can see. Black is certainly predictable as a continuation of the original Eee PC 700-series color scheme. It's certainly not as surprising as the expected $650 price tag on the original $199 low-cost laptop.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/21/black-eee-pc-901-look-good/

Acer Predator gaming rig: Faster. Deeper. Harder. Further

Hey, that's Acer's overtly compensating tag line, not our take on this totally over-the-top gaming rig. Acer's new Aspire G7700 Predator desktop offers options such as an overclocking quad-core, Core 2 Extreme proc, up to 8GB of DDR2 800/1066 memory, and 3x NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX graphics cards kept in check by liquid cooled core. It features what Acer calls a "world's first optical bay mechanism" revealing a pair of 5.25-inch drive bays which you can stuff with a DVD drive, BD/HD DVD drive or both. The box can be configured with up to 4x, 3.5-inch SATA hot-swappable hard drives (including 10k RPM raptors) with RAID support. No street date or pricing yet, but we've got plenty of pics in the gallery.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/21/acer-predator-gaming-rig-faster-deeper-harder-further/

Gateway P-172X FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

If you're a gamer on the move (and we think that you are), you're probably eyeing some monster laptops. If you're looking to bro-down with one in the near future, take a moment to familiarize yourself with Gateway's latest 17-incher, the P-172X FX. The updated rig (a new riff on the similarly-themed P-171) features a Core 2 Duo CPU (the 2.4GHz T8300), 1920 x 1200 resolution, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA's GeForce 8800M GTS GPU (with 512MB of GDDR3 RAM), a DVD-R/RW/RAM optical drive, and a nasty mess of ports and card slots. We got to take the dude out for a spin, and performance was definitely up to par (translation: it plays Crysis), though the design left a little something to be desired, like... style. A cheaper, 2.0GHz version with half the drive space, lower screen resolution, and a gig less RAM is available, though it maintains the GPU and graphics memory. The P-172X FX is available right now for $1,999, and kid brother P-172S FX will run you $1,399. Check the gallery below for a full and proper look.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/10/gateway-p-172x-fx-gaming-laptop-unboxing-and-hands-on/

HP UMPC 2133 specs revealed, street date of April 7th?

We'd been hearing that HP's slick UMPC 2133 was going sport VIA processors, and now we've got some more info to back that up -- we just received what appears to be a full spec list for the upcoming machine, and it's VIA C7-Ms all around, with graphics courtesy of a VIA Chrome 9 chipset. According to our source, these will hit on April 7th, and it looks like those pricing whispers were pretty accurate as well: $600 will buy you a 1.2GHz C7-M, a 120GB drive, 1GB of RAM and Vista Home Basic, while $749 bumps you up to 1.6GHz and Vista Business and adds Bluetooth, another gig of RAM, and a bigger battery. There's also a mysterious $849 Vista Basic model listed as having "regional" availability (the others are listed as "Smart Buy") with Bluetooth and bigger battery, but we don't see why it's more expensive than the Vista Business version. Regardless, what really caught our eye was the $549 model that shares the same specs as the $600 unit, but looks to be running SuSE Enterprise -- another rumor that's come true. That could be the one that HP expects to sell like hotcakes -- after all, the goal is to have people buy these "without a thought," and that's certainly not going to happen at $749. We'll see soon enough, we suppose. Full spec sheet after the break.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/hp-umpc-2133-specs-revealed-street-date-of-april-7th/

Acer "blue" teased for mystery launch

That friends, is Acer's teaser for a new "notebook PC concept" set for release in New York later today. We're not sure what it is, but it's not very often that the unveiling of a concept device (which may or may not be manufactured) warrants a press event hosted by a company's president. In this case, Acer's Vista-hatin' prez, Gianfranco Lanci. Whatever it is, that hint of multi-media, touch controller is not something we'd expect to see on their Eee PC killer.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/12/acer-blue-teased-for-mystery-launch/

MSI Wind Laptop to Make Eee PC Cry, "Eeek!"

Checkout the latest entrant in the UMPC race, the MSI Wind, which we missed at CeBIT earlier last week. Toting a 10-inch display, Intel Shelton'08 platform, with variable processor speeds from 1.0GHz - 1.6GHz; 2.5-inch HDD or SSD, 1GB RAM, a reported 7-hour battery life and running either Linux or Windows operating systems, it seems MSI's offering holds a lot of promise.

As we have yet to see an active screen shot from the MSI Wind we expect that it is still at prototype stage, but that has not stopped MSI churning out blue, silver and pink iterations. The styling is certainly a step up from the Eee PC, but perhaps that Eee body rework we heard about earlier will throw off the new competition. The Wind is expected to be priced between €299 ($458) - €699 ($1072), depending on options chosen. All in all, the sizable keyboard, price point and decent display size have our attention for sure. There is no word on a release date as yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/365720/msi-wind-laptop-to-make-eee-pc-cry-eeek

Sony Vaio Graphic Splash Expressions Collection Makes You, Your Laptop Pretty

Have you been waiting for a Sony Vaio range that will allow custom font selection for keyboard lettering? Well, the new Graphic Splash Expressions Collection is here to answer your prayers. Yes, you can finally choose the font of the keyboard lettering when you order—we're so excited. The lappies are available in various designs, including Leaf and Victorian Lace in either black, blue or pink colors. The entry level configuration includes Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HDD, Windows Vista OS, wireless and Bluetooth, all for $1279. Excuse us whilst we fall asleep.


Source: http://gizmodo.com/362199/sony-vaio-graphic-splash-expressions-collection-makes-you-your-laptop-pretty

Getac B300 Rugged Laptop Plays Nice With Night Vision Goggles

The B300 is one hell of a rugged laptop, just checkout these specs: 13.3-inch XGA display, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz processor, a maximum of 4GB RAM, Super-Multi DVD ROM, WiFi, Bluetooth, 12-hour maximum battery life, rugged magnesium alloy case, Biometric Fingerprint Reader, as well as options for 3G and GPS. The lappie with a thick skin incorporates Sunlight Readable Technology, which does exactly what is says on the tin; it ensures the screen is readable in extremely bright conditions. Additionally, the Night Vision mode will allow users to operate the B300 even whilst wearing night vision goggles. It is just as well Getac's offering is wind, dust and rain resistant, too, as we very much doubt you will be needing that night vision mode in your bedroom. (Unless you do, you complete, extreme perv.)


Source: http://gizmodo.com/361232/getac-b300-rugged-laptop-plays-nice-with-night-vision-goggles

Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC Comes With Integrated, Detachable Skype Phone

Checkout the new Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC, which will have a VIA CPU C7-M ULV at 1.2GHz, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 40 or 80GB HDD, HD Audio, 7" WVGA (800x480) touch screen, 4 in 1 Card reader, Ethernet Port , WiFi a/b/g, USB 2.0 (2 ports), DVI output and a detachable, integrated Skye handset. Do you hear the Eee PC running a little scared? Jump to the gallery for some more tasty images.

How Sungjut managed to squeeze all those features into a case measuring 230 mm x171 mm x 29.4 mm and weighing in under 1 kg is quite beyond us, but if the keyboard doesn't completely suck and pricing is reasonable, the Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC looks like a solid winner. There is no word on pricing or availability yet, but stay tuned for further announcements.




Source: http://gizmodo.com/360731/sungjut-tangox-nano-umpc-comes-with-integrated-detachable-skype-phone

Kojinsha's E8 UMPC Is Tablet Competitor for EEE PC

Clearly aiming for the same market as the EEE PC, Kojinsha's new E8 UMPC has the added bonus of being a touchscreen tablet. It does, however, beat me how the Korean-made E8 is being labelled by some as a UMPC—it looks more like a sub-notebook to me.

The E8 runs Windows XP, has an AMD Geode LX800 CPU under the hood along with a 40GB hard drive, and its seven inch screen has 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. It's also got stereo speakers, a single USB port, memory card slot (we don't know what sort) and apparently 3.5 hours of battery life. Sounding like quite a competitor for the little Asus, the E8 is available Februrary 29th for about $600.


Source: http://gizmodo.com/359016/kojinshas-e8-umpc-is-tablet-competitor-for-eee-pc

HP's secret ultra-mobile PC plans exposed

When it was first announced, many computer manufacturers looked upon the ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) as just another gimmick that would have very little practical significance in the marketplace. However, now that tiny computers are taking off, HP looks like joining in with one of its own.

According to a recent report from CNET, HP sat down with the publication over an informal dinner and told those present that it has plans to release a UMPC in the coming months. Unfortunately, it did not divulge any possible specs the device might feature, but did say that it will offer a low price and above average battery life.

A UMPC for everybody

HP staff also told its guests that the UMPC will be suitable for use by professionals and enthusiasts alike, and should sport a slim form factor to make those looking for portability quite happy.

HP is obviously no stranger to the portable PC market and has sold its iPaq PDA for quite some time. But with UMPCs becoming increasingly popular in the market, the company believes it will be able to make a significant dent. So far, no availability timeline has been announced, but announcements should be expected in the coming weeks.

Source: http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/computer-hardware/news/hps-secret-ultra-mobile-pc-plans-exposed?articleid=463059823