Sep 01

BenQ endows S35 and S43 Joybooks with CULV, kicks ’em out the door

Posted in: thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

It’s not quite on the scale of the netbook revolution, but the CULV ultraportable uprising does seem to be gathering steam. Latest on the scene is BenQ, with its 13.3-inch S35 and 14-inch S43 Joybooks, sporting a choice between a single core SU3500, dual core SU7300, or some old and busted Celeron 723 / 743 chips. From what Acer’s Timeline series has shown, the 1.4GHz SU3500 is a major step up from Atom machines, while making for ridiculous battery longevity. BenQ claim you’ll be able to squeeze more than five hours of juice from the default batteries and there’s an eight cell option on the S35 that is rated for 11+ hours. Hard drives clock in at 500GB, Bluetooth, WiFi and the like are all present, and the S43 also gets an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 GPU option to make it stand out. The announcement is for Asia only so far, but we see no reason why these laptops shouldn’t make it to more familiar shores as well.

[Via Engadget Chinese]

Filed under:

BenQ endows S35 and S43 Joybooks with CULV, kicks ’em out the door originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Aug 31

Santech LV1 is low voltage and low fat, but not low price

Posted in: laptop, notebook, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

Santech might not be the most familiar name around here, but the company has a bit of history in the mobile field, and its latest 13.3-inch effort definitely merits a second look. Coming in under that magical mental barrier of an inch in thickness and sporting an Intel CULV processor, it’s slinky and (just) powerful enough to be called an ultraportable. Add in a claimed 12 hours of battery life, and the LV1 would seem like a viable competitor to Acer’s Timeline series, but it falters on pricing, which — once you add the 8-cell battery to the base unit of a SU3500 1.4GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD — is €701 ($1,003) after taxes, or €100 more than an almost identical Aspire 3810T from Acer.

[Via Notebook Italia]

Filed under:

Santech LV1 is low voltage and low fat, but not low price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Aug 29

MSI’s AMD-powered U210 up for pre-order, still not ‘official’

Posted in: AMD, msi, netbook, pre-order, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

Who needs press releases? You can snap up an MSI U210 pre-order right this second on Amazon, so why bother waiting MSI to actually confirm the thing for a Stateside release? Morality. That’s why. Kids these days think they can just drop $430 on any old Athlon Neo MV-40-powered (the same chips at the heart of HP’s dv2) 12-inch XGA ultraportable with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD and 802.11n and not have to pay the consequences. Well, we’re not standing for it. That read link right below? Not an implied approval of these illicit activities.

[Via Mark’s Technology News]

Filed under:

MSI’s AMD-powered U210 up for pre-order, still not ‘official’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 27

Ask Engadget: Best ultraportable laptop for gaming?

Posted in: AskEngadget, Features, gaming, GraphicsCard, laptop, Today's Chili, ultraportable

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Ron, who would just be happy with an ultraportable with an actual, bona fide, worthwhile GPU.

“I am looking for a 12- or 13-inch ultraportable that can also play modern games at a reasonable level, for less than $1,000. I know the brainiacs out there can help me out. Love the site, thanks!”

We know for sure that Dell’s Studio XPS 13 has the guts to pull off a few modern titles, but we know there are far more options out there than that. So, who here has a super small laptop with a discrete GPU worth bragging about? Don’t hold back now, vaquero.

Filed under: ,

Ask Engadget: Best ultraportable laptop for gaming? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , ,
Aug 26

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key

Posted in: Apple, kirf, laptop, macbook, macbook air, MacbookAir, netbook, Today's Chili, ultraportable
If we’ve learned one thing ’round here, it’s that the KIRFsters love taking on Apple. And you know, at first glance this KIRFacious take on the MacBook Air doesn’t seem half bad. Of course, check it out in profile and it looks a lot more like your average netbook than it does Cupertino’s ultraportable — but at least the shanzai manufacturer in question as thrown in a few things that were neglected in the original, including: two USB ports, a removable battery, and a PCIe slot for a 3G module. That said, they also went with an 11.1-inch display (as opposed to the Air’s 13-incher), which could be a good thing or not, depending on your POV. Of course, with a 1.6GH Atom processor and 1GB RAM, this thing isn’t exactly a workhorse, though it’s safe to assume that the price point will fall far below that of the “real deal.” But don’t take our word for it — check out a couple more views of the thing after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key

Filed under:

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 22

Gateway’s 11.6-inch EC1803h CULV ultraportable surfaces in Canada

Posted in: thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

All the cool kids are building CULV-powered 11.6-inch miniature wonders, and Acer-owned Gateway is no exception. This new EC1803h unit (a rebadge of sorts of Acer’s Timeline 1810T) just popped up in Canada, and has a lot in common with Gateway’s LT2000 netbooks — though somehow knowing there’s a “real” processor underneath makes it seem just a bit more sexy. Unfortunately, the $600 Canadian (about $550 US) pricetag isn’t quite as grand as the $400ish CULV laptops that Acer and Dell have been showing, but it’s hard to fault the 3GB of RAM, 6 cell standard battery and 250GB hard drive. No word on when this will head to the States.

Filed under:

Gateway’s 11.6-inch EC1803h CULV ultraportable surfaces in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Aug 19

MSI X-Slim X610 leaked, reviewed by Russians

Posted in: AMD, msi, reviewed, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable
If the gang at 3D News are to be believed (and why not?), this familiar looking notebook isn’t MSI’s X-Slim X600 at all, but the not-yet-announced X-Slim X610. And if a leaked ultraportable isn’t enough excitement for you, wait’ll we tell you that they actually got their hands on one of these beauts and gave it the full-on review treatment. As you’d expect from a machine that shares chassis, specs, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics, a 250GB hard drive, 4GB RAM, and all but one digit of its name with the original, there is not too much to report. The major difference is that the X610 foregoes Intel’s 1.4GHz SU3500 CPU in place of an AMD Athlon MV-40 (1.6GHz), which results in some slower benchmarks, but not enough that you’d readily notice in everyday use. And then there is battery life — the new guy clocks in at slightly less than two hours, or around 20 percent less than the X600. Same machine, same specs, poorer performance — not really a step in the right direction, MSI. Perhaps you can at least give consumers a break on the price?

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under:

MSI X-Slim X610 leaked, reviewed by Russians originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 10

MSI X-Slim X600 reviewed: an ‘attractive choice’

Posted in: msi, reviewed, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

MSI’s X-Slim X600 may not be the quickest, most nimble or most powerful 15.6-inch laptop on the market today, bit with a thickness of just 0.75-inches, it’s definitely got the ultrathin motif down pat. The kind lads and ladies over at Laptop Mag recently secured one of the machines for review, and they seemed adequately impressed with the combination of a low-power CPU (1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500) and a multimedia-friendly discrete GPU (ATI’s 512MB Radeon HD 4330) — a tandem that’s hard to find anywhere, let alone for $799. All told, the machine performed satisfactorily across the board, notching decent scores in a wide array of benchmarks and looking good all the while. Still, critics noted that Sony’s VAIO NW would be more suitable for those with a Blu-ray craving and that Gateway’s $599 NV is probably better for those looking for raw horsepower. If style is atop your list, though, it’ll be tough to dodge the “buy” button on this one.

Filed under:

MSI X-Slim X600 reviewed: an ‘attractive choice’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Aug 07

Buffalo adds 16GB microSD card / reader to its line of incredibly small USB memory

Posted in: Today's Chili, ultraportable, usb

We’ve seen Buffalo shrink USB drives down to preposterous sizes in the recent past, and now the company is throwing a microSD card reader into the mix. Available for ¥15,500.00 (that’s $160, give or take) this guy stores 16GB internally, is available in both colors — black AND white — and would be right at home in any of your computer’s favorite USB 2.0 ports. And just to get you started, this bad boy includes a 16GB card microSD card. How sweet is that?

[Via OhGizmo!]

Filed under:

Buffalo adds 16GB microSD card / reader to its line of incredibly small USB memory originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Aug 07

Eee PCs rumored to ship with Moblin in October, Chrome OS on the horizon

Posted in: ASUS, chrome os, ChromeOs, Google, intel, Linux, netbook, operating system, OperatingSystem, Today's Chili, ultraportable

How about a minor spy story to kick-start your weekend? According to our man Sascha at netbooknews.de, a “safe source” who shall remain nameless but who most certainly has ties to Stasi (or, at the very least, owns a trench coat) has divulged some choice nuggets: The first Eee PC pre-installed with the open source OS will hit the market in October, and the company is currently considering the possibility of making this an option for all its notebooks at some point in the near future. And if that weren’t enough to stoke your dreams of an Operating System Renaissance, the company is also reportedly working “closely together” with Google to deploy the Chrome OS on its machines at some point in the not-too-distant future. All rumors and innuendo, sure, but interesting — and, as we’ve seen the company play with Moblin in the past, certainly not a shocker. As always, we’ll keep our ears to the ground, and we’ll keep you posted.

Filed under:

Eee PCs rumored to ship with Moblin in October, Chrome OS on the horizon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , ,