MSI X-Slim X430 gets an Athlon Neo CPU, Windows 7 and Blu-ray

AMD spoiled MSI’s surprise a bit by snagging an X-Slim X430 early for its VISION gala back in September, but now that Windows 7 is out and about, MSI has decided to officialize its latest thin-and-light. Unlike most of its rivals, this one shuns Intel’s CULV lineup and instead relies on a dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 CPU, and with Win7 Home Premium at the helm, performance shouldn’t be too much of an issue when it comes to handling basic tasks. There’s also a 14-inch display (1,366 x 768), 2GB of RAM, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, HDMI / VGA sockets, an SD card slot, a 320GB or 500GB HDD and even an optional Blu-ray drive (albeit an external one). 4 and 8-cell batteries will also be available, and at 3.3 pounds, we’re guessing you won’t need to bulk up before slapping this in your knapsack.

MSI X-Slim X430 gets an Athlon Neo CPU, Windows 7 and Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge to bridge gap between IdeaPads and pro machines?

Dear Lenovo, thank you for being so loose-lipped about your forthcoming products, we most certainly appreciate it. Joining the now fully detailed X100e is a purported new line of entry-level ThinkPads — dubbed the ThinkPad Edge. We’ve only got the one source and that image above as evidence, but the details appear to make sense in terms of Lenovo’s overall lineup strategy. Set to fit in between the professional ThinkPads and more consumer-oriented IdeaPads, the Edge will start off with 13.3-inch units sporting a choice of low-voltage dual-core AMD or Intel processors, up to eight hours of battery life, and a robust 4GB of memory paired to 500GB of storage. The word is that we’ll see the new machines make an appearance by CES 2010 at the latest, and we’ve got a purported spec sheet for your perusal after the break.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge to bridge gap between IdeaPads and pro machines? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP’s 11.6-inch Pavilion DM1 gets unboxed on video

HP’s Pavilion DM1 has been floating around for a few weeks now in various corners of the globe, but now it seems as if the CULV-based machine is splashing down in at least a few lairs. Sporting an 11.6-inch display, a built-in 3G SIM card slot and Windows 7, this thing looks an awful lot like the Mini 311 (and for good reason). Granted, we’re still waiting for it to ship here in North America, but if you’re too impatient to just wait things out, an unboxing video is posted up just past the break for your enjoyment.

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HP’s 11.6-inch Pavilion DM1 gets unboxed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel Arrandale chips detailed, priced and dated?

Who’s up for some more Intel roadmap rumoring? The latest scuttlebutt from “notebook players” over in the far East is that the chip giant has finally settled on names, speeds, and prices for its first three Arrandale CPUs, which are expected to arrive in the first half of 2010. The Core i5-520UM and Core i7-620UM both run at 1.06GHz, while the top Core i7-640UM model speeds ahead at 1.2GHz, with bulk-buying prices of $241, $278, and $305 per unit of each processor. Even if the processing speeds might not impress on paper, these 32nm chips splice two processing cores, the memory controller, and graphics engine all into the same package and thereby deliver major power savings. Platform pricing is expected to remain at around $500 for netbooks, while the ultrathins these chips are intended for should hit the $600 to $800 range… if Lord Intel wills it so.

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Intel Arrandale chips detailed, priced and dated? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo IdeaPad U150 11.6-inch ultraportable hits the streets with $699 asking price

Just in case it had slipped your mind, now is a pretty great time to be looking for a computer. Take this IdeaPad U150 from Lenovo which just started shipping, for instance. For $699 you can get a CULV processor, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD stuffed inside a 3 pound, 0.75-inch thick enclosure, with a 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display and Windows 7 Home Premium. Bump it up to $849 and you’re looking at better internals all around, and while those Intel X4500 graphics might be holding you back performance-wise, the external looks and build quality of this thing almost make up for it.

Read
– U150 now available in US
Read – U150 review

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Lenovo IdeaPad U150 11.6-inch ultraportable hits the streets with $699 asking price originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba’s 320GB hard disk is world’s largest 1.8-incher

That’s the world’s largest capacity 1.8-inch hard disk drive right there. A claim met by a list of specs going a little something like this: 3.0Gbps SATA interface, 320GB capacity, 5,400 RPM, 16MB buffer, and 19dB of emitted noise during seeks — a 4dB cut from Toshiba’s previous generation of 5,400 RPM 1.8-inchers. Of course, these 1.8-inch mechanical HDDs are the form factor most commonly found in those netbook-shoving CULV thin-and-light ultraportables now coming onto the market. Look for it in December when the MK3233GSG hits mass production.

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Toshiba’s 320GB hard disk is world’s largest 1.8-incher originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Envy 14 on the horizon?

We’ll keep this short and sweet — the same amateur sleuths who were responsible for revealing the majority of HP’s fall lineup ahead of time are back again, this time indicating a forthcoming Envy 14 model. It doesn’t take much genius to find this information out, mind you, as HP’s Softpaq support docs just keep coming out ahead of official announcements. Two Envy 14 iterations appear to be in the works, though their specifications remain open to speculation. There still shouldn’t be too much of a wait before finding out if this will be just a range filler or a distinctive advancement in its own right, so we’ll leave it to you to decide whether to delay that Envy purchase for just a little while longer.

[Thanks, Al]

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HP Envy 14 on the horizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel’s Atom

We suppose dreams really do come true. Nearly a full year after we heard that VIA was toiling on a new processor line to really give Intel’s aging Atom a run for its money, the company has come clean and confessed that those whispers were indeed true. The Isaiah-based Nano 3000 Series is a range of six new CPUs clocked between 1GHz and 2GHz, all of which boast an 800MHz FSB, 64-bit support, SSE4 instructions, Windows 7 / Linux compatibility and power ratings that check in some 20 percent more efficient than existing VIA Nano processors. There’s also the promise of 1080p multimedia playback, and VIA swears that we’ll see these popping up in all-in-one desktops as well as thin-and-light laptops in the very near future. How soon, you ask? Samples are shipping now to OEMs, with mass production slated for Q1 2010.

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VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel’s Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Pavillion dm3t and its terrible touchpad get reviewed

The dm3 series of laptops might be HP’s biggest potential seller. Hitting that 13-inch sweet spot, they are neither too small, nor too big, neither underpowered, nor overly encumbered, and — unlike the Envy 13 — they’re actually priced within reach. Laptop Magazine had a $839 configuration in for review, and were immediately impressed with the ultrathin aluminum-clad body, describing it as “one of the best looking notebooks of the year.” Opening it up, they found a “thoughtfully designed” keyboard, above-average display and speakers, and a stonking 9 hours of battery life under a WiFi-enabled web browsing test. Their gripes related to a heat issue on the bottom left side and, more significantly, an overly glossy touchpad that refused to play nice and left the reviewers feeling like they were fighting, rather than using, it. Read link shall enlighten you on the full spec and relative performance of the ULV processor inside.

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HP Pavillion dm3t and its terrible touchpad get reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo IdeaPad U150 is official in Japan, not very big

Lenovo hasn’t been driving quite as hard after the thin-and-light consumer game as some others (though that U350 is a sexy exception), but this upcoming ULV-powered, 11.6-inch IdeaPad U150 should put it right in the runnings. Unfortunately for us, Lenovo has only just announced the computer for Japan, with no word on when it might be coming Stateside. The specs are alright, with a brand new Intel Core 2 Duo SU4100 ULV processor, integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, multitouch trackpad and Windows 7. We still don’t have a price to go on, but since the whole point of that new Intel proc is taking ULV chips to somewhere approaching Atom prices, we’re hoping for good things.

[Via Netbooked]

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Lenovo IdeaPad U150 is official in Japan, not very big originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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