Have Laptop Will Travel

Lenovo to enter UMPC market

Originally posted on August 5, 2008 @ 12:34 am

Lenovo has finally entered the very lucrative ultraportable / ultramobile PC market.

The company has introduced the Ideapad S10, a UMPC that has a 10-inch screen and a keyboard that’s sized 85 percent of the full size. The company is also planning on releasing a nine-inch version in other countries. The 2.4 pound device will have an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor and up to 2GB of memmory, it will have two USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, webcam and Expresscard slot. Users can choose between an 80gb or 160gb HD and a 3 or 6 cell battery.

Expect to pay $399 or $499 for the WinXP edition. Other countries can expect to see Linux versions as well.

New Acer notebook sells for $400

Originally posted on May 30, 2008 @ 8:12 pm

Acer is launching a new 8.9 inch notebook, the Aspire One. It’s based on the Intel Atom processor, and comes at a stunningly low price of $400.

You’ll get 512MB of main memory, and an 8GB solid state drive. Screen’s decent with a 8.9″ display with a resolution of 1024-by-600 pixels and an LED backlight.

The laptop’s packed with features like a built-in web camera, 95% full size keyboard, touchpad, 802.11b/g wireless module, Ethernet LAN port, three USB ports, a VGA output, 5-in-1 media card reader, and SD card slot.

There will also be a second release for $620 release with 1GB of RAM and 80GB of hard drive storage.

$100 laptop long way off – Study

Originally posted on July 31, 2008 @ 9:11 pm

Nicholas Negroponte is one of the visionaries of the $100 laptop. Unfortunately, he has yet to fully realize his dream… and it looks like it will be a long ways off before it does become a reality.

Research firm Gartner has come out with a study that indicated that the laptop industry will still have to wait another three years before the $100 laptop will happen.

Among the issues cited include hardware specifications, power, availability and cost of an internet connection, as well as finance and payment options in emerging markets. But the study also said that there is a potential for mini notebooks or ultraportables like the EEE or MSI Wind. Their impact is on product innovation that could define the laptop market in the years to come.

Toshiba to put 400GB HDs out to market

Originally posted on July 16, 2008 @ 7:40 pm

Laptop hard drives are getting more hefty.

Toshiba has announced that it is going to release a range of 400 GB 2.5 inch hard disk drives.

Toshiba’s MK4058GSX line runs at 5,400 RPMs and will have capacities running up to 400 GB. The HDs will start shipping this September, which is just enough time for OEMs to use them for laptops that will come out in the holiday season. There is also another line, the MKxx54GSY drives, that will run at 7,200 RPMs.

HD capacities has become more and more of a problem with files getting larger than ever. Toshiba is on the right track in providing laptops more storage capacities. I’m now looking forward to multi-terabyte HDs.

End of an Era as Gates exit Microsoft

Originally posted on June 27, 2008 @ 7:15 pm

Bill Gates may be one of those rare polarizing personalities who you either love or hate. But whatever you may feel about him and the behemoth that he created, Bill Gates has left a lasting impression on the world and has made so many things that we take for granted now possible.

The visionary has officially left Microsoft to pursue his philantrophic interests through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest charity, which is partly funded by his own personal fortune. Gates bid his Microsoft employees farewell at the Campus and was joined by CEO Steve Ballmer as he delivered a short speech.

Gates will not be entirely out of Microsoft though as he will remain the chairman of the company and will still work on special technology projects.