ThinkPad Edge E220s available now for $749, runs spreadsheets like the wind

ThinkPad Edge E220s

Lenovo has been on a bit of a tear recently. Heck, it was only yesterday that the sleek and powerful X220 and X220T went up for sale online. Today it’s the ThinkPad Edge E220s getting some “buy now” love. This more budget-friendly, 3.25-pound ultraportable is shipping to consumers starting at $749 with a 250GB hard drive, Intel HD 3000 graphics, a Sandy Bridge-class Core i5, and a paltry 2GB of RAM. You can bump that to 4GB and a Core i7, but any further upgrades will have to be performed after-market. We’re sure you didn’t expect to do a ton of heavy tasks, like video editing, on a 12.5-inch screen anyway.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

ThinkPad Edge E220s available now for $749, runs spreadsheets like the wind originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel porting Honeycomb to its tablets, Medfield smartphones on the way

Corporate earnings calls can be tedious affairs. But sometimes, if you listen closely enough, you’ll be treated to a nugget of product strategy in between those bursts of mind-numbing financial data. Intel’s call was just such an affair, with chief Paul S. Otellini providing a quick update on Intel’s tablet and smartphone plans. Regarding the emerging tablet market, Otellini said that Intel will have “quite a bit of tablet demonstrations” at Computex running MeeGo, Windows, and Android operating systems. “We’re heads down on a number of designs on tablets on all three of those operating systems,” he added. Regarding Android, Intel’s fifth CEO said, “We’ve received Android code – the Honeycomb version of Android source code – from Google, and we’re actively doing the port on that, and expect to be able to ramp those machines over the course of this year for a number of customers.” Yes, we’re looking at you right now Acer — wink, wink.

Regarding smarpthones, Otellini told reporters and analysts, “In terms of phones, obviously, we lost Nokia, which took a lot of the wind out of the sails for phones this year. We’ve redirected those resources onto a number of other major accounts focusing on carriers who want their own devices and also own handset manufacturers. They are all based on Medfield.” With regards to timing, Otellini observed, “The limit in terms of them getting to market is going to be the interoperability testing of the networks at this point in time. I would be very disappointed if we didn’t see Intel-based phones for sale 12 months from now.” Us too Paul, us too… ARM’s not exactly standing still.

Intel porting Honeycomb to its tablets, Medfield smartphones on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ bamboo-plated U43SD laptop graduates to Sandy Bridge, so does plain-jane U41SV

When we reviewed ASUS’ first bamboo laptop, we raved about more than just its unconventional looks — we were also impressed with its solid performance. So we’re pleased, although not at all surprised, that ASUS is refreshing the line with Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors. The U43SD doesn’t appear to stray from its predecessor’s industrial design (save for its bigger 14-inch screen), but it steps up to the latest Core i3 and Core i5 processors, along with NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M graphics with 1GB of video memory. You can also choose from 5,400RPM and 7,200RPM hard drive options and either a six- or eight-cell battery. While the company was at it, it also quietly unveiled another Sandy Bridge laptop, the U41SV, which offers the same configuration options as the U43SD — and a plainer design. No word on pricing, and a cursory search turned up no availability. For now, though, you can have a gander at some official photos lifted from ASUS’ own product pages.

Gallery: ASUS U43SD

Gallery: ASUS U41SV

[Thanks, Jon and Danijel]

ASUS’ bamboo-plated U43SD laptop graduates to Sandy Bridge, so does plain-jane U41SV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad X220 and X220T now shipping, starting at $849

Laptop makers seem to enjoy making our lives difficult by sneaking “buy now” labels onto their latest products and Lenovo has kept up that tradition by making its 12.5-inch ThinkPad X220 available without telling anyone. It’s now ready to purchase at the company’s online store, starting at $849 with a Core i3-2310M processor, and its convertible tablet sibling, the X220T, is also eager to be snatched up, though its starting price is $1,249 with the same CPU on board. Eight business days will be required for delivery to reach you, but we’d wait a whole lot longer than that for the gorgeous IPS display and extreme battery life on offer. Sadly, you can’t upgrade beyond the 1366 x 768 resolution nor away from the Intel HD Graphics 3000 “option,” but then we hear that PowerPoint presentations should be blindingly fast on these machines anyhow. Hit the source links to see just how high you can raise the price by maxing out the rest of the specs.

[Thanks, Dave]

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 and X220T now shipping, starting at $849 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLenovo (X220), (X220T)  | Email this | Comments

Gigabyte motherboard with Intel Z68 Express chipset on sale in Taiwan ahead of schedule

Intel’s Z68 Express chipset and its SATA 6Gb/s connections, CPU and memory overclocking, and SSD caching capability weren’t supposed to hit store shelves until the eighth of May. But, at least one Taiwanese retailer didn’t get the memo — or maybe it’s just another instance of Intel’s early far-east distribution on the down-low — because pics from across the Pacific show a shiny new Z68 Express motherboard from Gigabyte can already be had for the princely sum of NT $11,900 (about $407 here in the land of greenbacks). That’s quite a stack of cash for a place to put your speedy Sandy Bridge CPU, but perhaps its expeditious performance can be had for a more reasonable price once it lands on western shores… or maybe we should just start saving now.

[Thanks, Daz]

Gigabyte motherboard with Intel Z68 Express chipset on sale in Taiwan ahead of schedule originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware M14x laptop now available to order… in Malaysia (update: M11x too)

Well, it looks like those eager to get their hands on Dell’s much-leaked Alienware M14x laptop now finally have at least one option, although it might not be the most convenient one. The gaming laptop has just turned up on Dell Malaysia’s website, where it’s now already available to order starting at RM 4,799, or roughly $1,600. Of course, this is an Alienware laptop, so there’s also quite a few higher-end options available for some extra cash, including up to a Core i7 2820QM processor, 8GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M graphics with 3GB of DDR3 memory (and Optimus technology), and your choice of either a 1,366 x 768 or 1,600 x 900 resolution on the 14-inch display. As for a broader release, Pocket-lint is reporting that both the M14x and M18x will be officially announced (if not released) on April 19th which, last we checked, is tomorrow.

[Thanks, koinmove]

Update: Looks like the US (or global, perhaps) release for the M14x is indeed on. Or, Alienware’s coincidentally teasing something else entirely at the exact same time. Thanks, Jason.

Update 2: Ah, and now we have the little M11x R3 showing up on Dell’s Australia and New Zealand sites. Thanks everyone.

Update 3: As expected, the UK’s also getting the M14x and the new M11x. Thanks, Thomas.

Alienware M14x laptop now available to order… in Malaysia (update: M11x too) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS works Sandy Bridge magic on thin-and-light U31E, U31SD, and U36SD

ASUS U31SD

It appears that ASUS is finally ready to show its line of thin-and-light machines some Sandy Bridge love. Swedish site Technytt claims to have the exclusive scoop on a trio of laptops — the U31SD, U31E, and U36SD — that will find their way to retail channels in late May. The U31SD is already showing up on the ASUS site, with the option of either a Core i5 2410M or Core i3 2310M , and a choice of Intel integrated graphics or a 1GB GeForce GT 520M card. All three 13.3-inch machines will reportedly have similar specs, though the U31E will supposedly lack a discrete graphics option. The U31SD tips the scales at a perfectly portable 3.9 pounds and it’s safe to assume the U36SD will match up size-wise with the svelte U36JG, which is just 0.75-inches thick and weighs 3.5 pounds. There’s no official word from ASUS regarding price or availability but, while you wait to get your paws on one, feast your eyes on the U31SD in the gallery below.

Gallery: ASUS U31SD

ASUS works Sandy Bridge magic on thin-and-light U31E, U31SD, and U36SD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s 11.6-inch Series 9 lands an Amazon pre-order at $1,149

Samsung may have priced its slinky new laptop at a buck under $1,200, but you know Amazon likes to dance to its own tune. The online retailer is now listing the 11.6-inch Series 9 at $1,149, saving you a nice bit of change, though it hasn’t yet been willing to disclose a release date. The specs should be familiar by now, an Intel Core i3-380UM takes center stage, surrounded by 2GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 3.0, a 5680mAh battery, and a 1366 x 768 display with 400 nits of brightness. Amazon’s just the latest of a growing batch of online stores now offering this laptop for pre-order, so check out Samsung’s retailer listing below if you’re looking for alternatives.

[Thanks, Imtiaz]

Samsung’s 11.6-inch Series 9 lands an Amazon pre-order at $1,149 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP rolls out EliteBook 8460w, 8560w and 8760w laptops for the business-minded

It’s still not saying anything about the lightweight EliteBook 2560p and 2760p models that leaked out last month, but HP has now gotten official with three new slightly less portable laptops: the 14-inch EliteBook 8460w, 15.6-inch 8560w and 17.3-inch 8760w. The latter is expectedly on the top end when it comes to specs, with it boasting your choice of Sandy Bridge processors up to a Core i7-2920XM, either AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics with up to 4GB of memory, and up to three hard drives with RAID 5 support. The other two EliteBooks each dial things down a bit across the board, but you can still get up to a Core i7-2820QM on each of them, and there’s not even an option for integrated graphics. Look for all three to be available next month with base prices starting at $1,299, $1,349 and $1,899 — full press release is after the break.

Continue reading HP rolls out EliteBook 8460w, 8560w and 8760w laptops for the business-minded

HP rolls out EliteBook 8460w, 8560w and 8760w laptops for the business-minded originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel’s Panther Point to include native USB 3.0 support, Z68 chipset to launch May 8th?

We just saw some fairly big official news about some new Intel silicon yesterday, and we’ve now got a bit more news of the unofficial sort. According to the seemingly authentic slide above that we’ve just obtained, it looks like the company’s forthcoming Panther Point chipset will indeed include native USB 3.0 as previously rumored, along with support for both Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge processors, and support for up to three displays. What’s more, a separate rumor is now also pointing to Intel’s high-end Z68 chipset being released on May 8th. It supports the latest Sandy Bridge processors, and will allow for performance to be boosted even further with things like overclocking and RST SSD caching.

Intel’s Panther Point to include native USB 3.0 support, Z68 chipset to launch May 8th? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Spanish  |  sourceEXP Review  | Email this | Comments