Samsung refreshes X Series laptop lineup with Core i3 ULV chips

If you’ve got a hankering for some battery-sipping Core i3 ULV processors and live south of a certain 38th parallel line, you’ll probably want to take a close look at one of Samsung’s new designs. We hear on good authority that Sammy’s refreshed its X Series laptops with the 1.2GHz Core i3-330M processor, including the 11.6-inch X180 (with the same 3GB of DDR3 memory, 320GB hard drive and most everything else included in the X170 that came before) and the 14-inch X430, which leapfrogs its predecessor the X420 with dedicated GeForce 310M graphics. Both actually report less battery life than their forbears, as the new laptops are rated closer to eight than nine hours, but in the X430 it’s a small sum to pay to avoid integrated Intel video.

We’re also hearing word of a AMD-powered 11.6-incher called the Samsung X125, which should be hitting Europe any minute now for €499 (roughly $647). It’s got a 1.7GHz Athlon II Neo K125 chip, 3GB memory, ATI Radeon 4225 graphics, and a manufacturer-reported five hours of battery life, all of which honestly sounds pretty unimpressive for the price. We know you can do better, Samsung. We believe.

Samsung refreshes X Series laptop lineup with Core i3 ULV chips originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News, Gadget Mix  |  sourceSamsung X180, Samsung X430, Notebook Italia  | Email this | Comments

Dell Inspiron M101z tosses AMD Neo chips into a new 11-inch chassis

Dell’s taking the slightly revamped “forward hinge” design language it introduced with the Inspiron R line and bringing it down to 11.6-inches with the new Inspiron M101z. The laptop is a followup to the Inspiron 11z, and packs your choice of AMD Athlon Neo K125 (single core) or K325 chips (dual core). AMD, which might still be a bit of a sore subject for Dell, really seems to have carved out a niche for itself in the 11.6-inch size, with its blend of more-than-Atom power, cheaper-than-Intel price, and decent-but-not-ULV power sipping; Dell claims a bit over 6.5 hours of battery life with the standard 6-cell battery. The AMD chips bring along integrated ATI RS880M graphics, and the laptops pack 2GB of RAM and 250GB HDDs standard. What we don’t have yet is the US price: the laptop starts at £379 for a single core model in the UK, which should translate to something around $400-$450 US — Dell has to beat out HP’s $449, similarly specced Pavilion dm1, after all.

Dell Inspiron M101z tosses AMD Neo chips into a new 11-inch chassis originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Student Buying Guide  |  sourceDell UK  | Email this | Comments

Velocity Micro rolls out T30 Italia laptop, Vector Campus Edition desktop

As anyone that’s been to a mall recently is no doubt well aware, the back-to-school season is upon us, and so is the usual batch of hardware aimed directly at students (and their parents). Among the latest is a pair of computers from Velocity Micro, including the T30 Italia thin-and-light laptop, and the Vector Campus Edition desktop. Those opting for the$999 laptop will get a 13.3-inch display, a 1.3GHz Pentium SU1400 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive, all wrapped in a 0.8-inch thick casing “inspired by the rolling curves of fine sports cars.” The desktop, on the other hand, is your usual blue LED-lit fare, and starts at $899 for a Core i5-750-based system with NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drive.

Velocity Micro rolls out T30 Italia laptop, Vector Campus Edition desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceVelocity Micro  | Email this | Comments

Intel officially outs Core i3, i5 and i7 ULV processors for those ultra-thin laptops

We can’t say this one is much of a surprise, but it sure is good to get the official details on Intel’s latest ultra-low voltage Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Just as we had heard, the new dual-core CPUs will be landing this June, and though they won’t be replacing the current Celeron and Pentium ULVs on the market, they’ll certainly provide a more powerful option for the “ultra-thin” category. All the new 32-nanometer Nehalam chips are said to provide 32 percent better performance than previous ULVs, but a 20 percent power reduction than standard-voltage Core 2010 CPUs. And just like those regular Core 2010 processors, these get the same Turbo Boost and Hyper-threading performance advantages. All the processors have TDPs of 17 watts which is what is enabling the 50 percent improvement in thermal performance. That’s all the technical details Intel shared this morning, but it shouldn’t be long before we up and testing the performance and battery life of these new chips in slim laptops from MSI, Lenovo and Acer. Until then, there’s the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Intel officially outs Core i3, i5 and i7 ULV processors for those ultra-thin laptops

Intel officially outs Core i3, i5 and i7 ULV processors for those ultra-thin laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inspiron M301z: Dell’s first laptop to take on AMD’s new dual-core Neo

If the words “Dell” and “AMD” excite you then lean in, we’ve got something for you. You won’t find it on Dell’s US site just yet, but Dell Singapore is showing off its first laptop to feature AMD’s new Nile-class of processors. The Inspiron M301z starts at $999 (that’s about $715 of the US green stuff) with a 1.3GHz dual-core Athlon II Neo K325 processor (optional 1.5GHz Neo K625), 2GB (up to 4GB supported) of 1,333MHz DDR3 memory and a 320GB hard disk spinning at 7,200RPM, ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics, a glossy 13.3-inch WLED display pushing 1,366×768 pixels, and a 6-cell 44WHr battery for up to 5-hours of promised life. It’s available for purchase now in Singapore and likely elsewhere just as soon as the sun begins to warm the western world.

[Thanks, Qayser]

Inspiron M301z: Dell’s first laptop to take on AMD’s new dual-core Neo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 01:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDell  | Email this | Comments

MacBook Air feeling the wind of change?

A tipster who apparently correctly predicted the recent MacBook Pro refresh has alerted Australian Macworld to a new SKU making its way through Apple’s systems down under. According to said “well-placed” source, the MC516LL/A K87 BETTER BTR-USA code string identifies an incoming batch of all-new MacBook Air laptops. This makes all the sense in the world given the recent hubbub about Intel offering ULV versions of its 32nm Core 2010 processors and the Air’s overdue need for an upgrade, but there is the proviso that this could also be referring to shipments of new 27-inch LCDs, to match the ones found on the latest iMac generation. Either way, we’re looking at some unannounced hardware rapidly making its way to Australia. Hey, doesn’t Apple make a habit of announcing new goodies on Tuesdays?

MacBook Air feeling the wind of change? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 05:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacRumors  |  sourceMacworld.com.au  | Email this | Comments

Barbie’s Samsung X170 thin-and-light is her only part made to scale

As long as we’re corrupting our daughters with an improbable baseline for bodily perfection, we might as well extend that reach to portable computing, right? Meet the Samsung X-series Barbie Special Edition with Intel Core 2 Duo CULV proc, 4GB of memory, 500GB disk, and scads of Barbie-branded trinkets and bloatware. The ultimate irony here is that the X170 is one of the least attractive and chubbiest thin-and-light devices we’ve ever seen. But hey, if you’re lucky maybe it’ll ship with a free copy of Cosmo to complete the cycle.

Barbie’s Samsung X170 thin-and-light is her only part made to scale originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAkihabara News  | Email this | Comments

Latitude E4310 sneaks onto Dell’s e-tail pages, ‘coming soon’

In its own inimitable style, Dell has just updated its Latitude range with the E4310 model we saw floating through the FCC bearing the fancy codename of Lafite. As part of the company’s “E-Family,” this 13-incher promises rock solid durability and rugged design without compromising on the spec sheet goodies. Processor options are provided by Intel’s 2.4GHz Core i5-520M or 2.53GHz Core i5-540M, while memory can stretch up to 8GB of DDR3 and storage space can be maxed out at 500GB. Alternatively, you can plump for the 256GB SSD, with a backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader and UWB radio filling out the optional extras. Prices aren’t yet available, but we can surely expect them very soon. In other unannounced news, the E6410 and E6510 models recently spotted on Dell’s UK site are now available via the US branch as well, with prices starting at just over $1,100 for base systems equipped with Core i5-520M CPUs. Hit the links below to learn more.

[Thanks, Jason]

Latitude E4310 sneaks onto Dell’s e-tail pages, ‘coming soon’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 04:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDell (E4310), (E6410), (E6510)  | Email this | Comments

ThinkPad Edge beats Vostro V13 in LCD stress test (video)

They might officially be targeting the lower end of business budgets, but a quick peek at the attractive stylings of Lenovo’s ThinkPad Edge and Dell’s Vostro V13 would suggest that both have no shortage of consumer market appeal. So, for the sake of differentiating between these two thin-and-light machines, Lenovo has provided us with one of its torture test videos. Subjecting the V13 and Edge to (hopefully identical) pressure at varying points across the LCD lid, this procedure assesses the robustness of each machine’s screen design. In spite of lacking all the fancy metals present in its elder ThinkPad siblings, the Edge comes through the test unscathed and begging for more, whereas the V13 … well, it doesn’t. Skip past the break to see the hideously disfigured LCD that resulted from its visit to the Lenovo labs.

Continue reading ThinkPad Edge beats Vostro V13 in LCD stress test (video)

ThinkPad Edge beats Vostro V13 in LCD stress test (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ThinkPads  |  sourceLenovo Video Library (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

ASUS U30Jc on sale today, come get your Optimus-ized Core i3 in a thin and light package

Lusting for the ultimate compromise between a desktop replacement and an ultraportable computer? The ASUS U30Jc might — in spite of its generic name — be just the ticket for you, since it packs in a 2.26GHz Intel Core i3-350M CPU plus an NVIDIA GeForce GT310M graphics chip, which will be used in the most efficient fashion possible thanks to the addition of that newfangled Optimus auto-switching technology. ASUS also manages to fit in an optical drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 320GB hard disk (5,400RPM), HDMI-out, WiFi, and the usual webcam and mic. The 5,600mAh battery is rated to last 9.5 hours according to ASUS (sounds pretty optimistic to us) and the display’s resolution is 1366 x 768. That last spec is the only thing we can find wrong with this package, and the $899 sticker and immediate availability should garner plenty of fans out there. If you need a little extra convincing, keep an eye out for our forthcoming review. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading ASUS U30Jc on sale today, come get your Optimus-ized Core i3 in a thin and light package

ASUS U30Jc on sale today, come get your Optimus-ized Core i3 in a thin and light package originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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