Todays & Tomorrows Technology

After the MSI X-Slim X340’s recent frankly awful review, we’ve been waiting for a third-opinion and hopefully some indication that the ultraportable’s poor showing was a one-off aberration. Unfortunately, many of the critique points from that review – poor build quality, “cheap and nasty” trackpad and “tacky” keyboard – also crop up in NotebookReview’s piece.
Stylistically, the X340 rates highly again, and reviewer Kevin is fairly accommodating of the roughly 3.5hrs battery life given the overall slim profile. Performance, though, doesn’t get the same pass-card, with Kevin suggesting the Core 2 Solo based ultraportable “doesn’t feel that much faster than a netbook”; in fact, compared to the Intel Atom N280 CPU the X340 only just scraped ahead in some benchmarks. Thankfully the Intel X4500 integrated graphics do a decent job with 720p, though there are still reportedly “a few blips in performance”.

The end result is a keyboard described both as “comfortable” and in need of “some extra bracing”, a shambolic touchpad and performance more in line with a netbook than the notebook the X340 professes to be. Still, it’s far cheaper than a MacBook Air, at $799.99 with 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard-drive, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, that that’s likely to persuade plenty of people to take the risk.

The latest batch of new laptop and ultraportable rumors are spilling out of the Far-East, tipping new touchscreen models running Windows 7 and at least one ultra-thin from LG. According to industry sources, HP, Acer and Lenovo have all placed orders with Taiwanese capacitive touchscreen manufacturer Cando; meanwhile MSI are said to be supplying LG with an ultra-thin notebook that will ship in the second half of 2009.

The Cando touchscreens in question are the company’s 12.1-inch model, which have recently become the first such panel to receive Windows 7 compatibility certification. That means Microsoft agree that the panels will work with Windows 7’s extensive multitouch technology. Shipments are expected to begin in August, with Cando currently capable of producing 400,000 to 500,000 panels per month, rising to 1m per month in 2010.

As for the LG ultra-thin notebooks, no hardware specifications are known but according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News report the company is in talks with telecom providers regarding bundling WWAN connectivity. That would imply that the notebook will have integrated 3G.

The first image and set of rumored specs for the ThinkPad T400s was leaked a few days ago. While Lenovo is still mum about the release date, price or specs come these two videos of the T400s. The first video demonstrates just how well built and tough this thing is. No worries, I won’t spoil the ending for you – just make sure to click on over to watch it get run over by a 26,000 pound DOW truck. The second video shows the T400s getting physically abused by the “tornado chasing” team members. It’s a crime treating such a great laptop this way!

According to the rumor mill, this new model is only 0.83-inches thick, bringing down the size considerably from the 1.12-inch thick original T400 model. It comes with a 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an integrated 4500MHD graphics processor, 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. The display is 14.1-inch LED-backlit featuring a 1,440 x 900 resolution.

Expect the T400s to come preloaded with Windows Vista Business, has a DisplayPort, eSATA port, Ethernet, a 5-in-1-card reader, Bluetooth, a 3G radio and a fingerprint scanner. Pricing information or a release date is forthcoming.

ASRock have announced a new ultraportable, the Multibook G22, and while from the outside this might look like a standard netbook its specs make it something more unusual. Not only does the 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 G22 have an integrated DVD Supermulti drive, but it uses Intel’s dual-core Atom 330 processor paired with NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset.

Atom-aficionados will know that the 330 is more usually found in nettops, and that Intel never really intended it to be used in portables. Here, the 1.6GHz CPU is paired with 2GB of DDR2 RAM (up to 4GB is supported), a 320GB hard-drive (up to 500GB supported) and of course the 1080p-capable NVIDIA Ion. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet, plus Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and there are VGA, HDMI, audio in/out, ethernet, modem and three USB 2.0 ports.

The trackpad recognizes multitouch gestures including pinch-zooming and chiral-rotating. Throw in a 10-in-1 memory card reader, 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo speakers and a microphone, and you’ve pretty much summed up the Multibook G22. No word on where it’ll launch, nor for how much, but it’s certainly unusual enough for us to keep an eye out for.

We've already gotten word of some of the specs for MSI's new X-Slim X600 ultraportable, and gotten up close with the laptop itself, but those few remaining details has now finally been revealed in full, along with some fresh new pics of a hereto unseen black model. According to Notebook Italia, there will be two variations of the laptop available: one packing a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, and the other sporting a slower 1.2GHz Intel Celeron processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive -- the latter also ditches the built-in Bluetooth. Otherwise, you'll get ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics on each, along with HDMI out, three USB ports, a six-cell battery and, of course, that 15.6-inch 1,366 x 768 screen. Still no official word on a US release, unfortunately, but it looks like these will sell for €799 and €949 (or roughly $1,120 and $1,320) when they hit Europe at the end of June.

Sony Japan have announced that they are working on WiMAX enabled versions of their VAIO Z ultraportable and VAIO P netbook. Expected to land in Japan before the end of this month, the notebooks will take advantage of Intel and UQ Communications plans to blanket the country with WiMAX access.

Other specifications for the notebooks are expected to stay the same, which means Japan’s broad range of processor options for the VAIO P and higher-power Intel chips for the larger VAIO Z. Both models are currently available with integrated 3G connectivity; it’s unclear whether that will remain or be supplanted by their WiMAX abilities.

Toshiba, Panasonic and Onkyo have all signed up to use Intel’s WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5150, an embedded WiFi/WiMAX module; Sony’s selected chipset is unnamed. No word on pricing, nor whether we’ll see US versions of the WiMAX VAIOs.

Acer are reportedly considering phasing out their 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook, in favor of a new model in their Timeline range with the same screen size. The news, which comes from industry sources in Taiwan, suggests that the new 11.6-inch Acer Timeline will launch in June, with the netbook either discontinued or discounted to differentiate between the two models.

Lower than expected sales of the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One have led the company to reduce orders with OEM manufacturer Quanta. One possible reason for the netbook’s poor result is the choice of Intel’s Atom Z520 processor, a low-power chip which has proved unable to keep up with the 720p-capable display credentials of the AO751.

Quanta are tipped as the manufacturer of the new 11.6-inch Timeline, though no specifications have been revealed for the ultraportable. The existing Timeline range begins at $598, and consists of 13.3-inch, 14-inch and 15.6-inch models.

Apple has updated its MacBook Pro range, announcing a new 15-inch MBP with a built-in battery that is apparently good for up to 7hrs of runtime. It also drops the ExpressCard slot of the previous model and replaces it with a far more user-friendly SD card slot. Meanwhile the 17-inch MacBook Pro gets a price cut to $2,499, while the 13-inch MacBook now graduates to the Pro line with integrated 7hr battery among other things. Full details after the cut, plus a big price-cut for the MacBook Air.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,699 with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, a 250GB hard-drive, SD card slot and 7hr non-user-accessible battery. Then there’s a $1,999 model with 2.66Ghz processor, combination GeForce 9400M and 9600M GT graphics, and a 320GB hard-drive. Finally, the $2,299 model boosts that to a 2.8GHz processor and 500GB hard-drive. The battery is apparently good for around 1,000 recharge cycles. All three notebooks are shipping today.
As for the unibody 13-inch MacBook Pro, that comes in two standard configurations. $1,199 gets you the 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, a 160GB hard-drive and SD card slot (there’s no ExpressCard slot). $1,499 steps that up to a 2.53GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard-drive. Options include up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB hard-drive; standard are a backlit keyboard and FireWire 800 port. It’ll be available today.
Finally, the MacBook Air gets a new price point with significant discounts. $1,499 gets the 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics and a 120GB hard-drive, while $1,799 gets the 2.13GHz processor and the 128GB SSD. The SSD model is, in fact, $700 cheaper than it was previously.