HP's Announces New ProBook & EliteBook With USB 3.0 & Intel's Core i7

The HP releases just keep coming. Continuing on, HP has announced that they’ll be adding six new professional laptops to their ProBook and EliteBook lines. They’ll also all be getting some nice upgrades from previous models!

There are two new additions to the HP ProBook b-series, both geared towards corporate customers. Starting at $949, the HP ProBook 6440b and HP ProBook 6540b come with 14-inch or 15.6-inch, respectively, high-definition LED-backlit widescreen displays. Both will be powered on future Intel Core processors.

Then there’s the six new EliteBooks. Prices start at $1,099 for these aluminum-finish laptops. The HP EliteBook 8440w and HP EliteBook 8540w are encased in full magnesium-alloy chassis protection from top and bottom.

The HP EliteBook 8440p and HP EliteBook 8540p go for a more classic platinum look, but come in magnesium-alloy chassis cases.

Most of the specs in all the laptops are configurable, with options for Intel Core i7, Core vPro or future Core processors. Then there’s the choice between Intel Unified Mobile Access (UMA) or NVIDIA discrete graphics as well as either HD or HD Plus resolution displays. But most notably, HP is giving users the option for USB 3.0 ports in the EliteBook 8540p and EliteBook 8540w.

For universal specs, all of the EliteBooks also come with HP SkyRoom (HD videoconferencing software) pre-installed as well as spill-resistant keyboards with a drain.

Gateway Introduces Light Weight EC Series Laptops at CES 2010

Some people are saying it looks like a netbook, but Gateway’s new EC series laptops popping up at CES 2010 are definitely more powerful than that.

The smallest of the new Gateway laptop line is the EC14D. Powered by an Intel Ultra Low Voltage Pentium Core CPU and running on Windows 7, the standout feature on this computer is the integrated DVD drive. That’s difficult to find on a laptop with a 11.6-inch screen. And being that it only weighs 3.55-lbs. and costs $629.99, it would make a great travel companion if you’re planning to do a lot of work but also want to watch some movies along the long trip.

Additional EC14D features:

11.6-inch HD Widescreen Ultrabright LED-backlit TFT LCD (1366 x 768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio)

Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

4096MB DDR2 Dual-Channel 667MHz memory upgradeable to 8GB

320GB(2) 5400RPM SATA hard drive

Built-in web cam

Multi-in-1 digital media card reader

Intel® Wi-Fi Link 1000 802.11b/g/Draft-N WiFi CERTIFIED featuring MIMO technology

Three USB 2.0 ports

HDMI port

11.49″ (W) x 1.12″ to 1.18″ (H) x 8.33″ (D)

The Gateway EC58 enjoys most of the same features as the EC14D, except it notably packs a larger 15.6-inch LED-backlit display. Thus, the price tag jumps (barely) to $649.99.

Both computers will be on the market by the end of January.

New Alienware Choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processors Are now available for order

M15x

Choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processors

512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M or 1GB GeForce GTX 260M

1,600 x 900 or 1,920 x 1080 15.6-inch WLED screen

Bluetooth 2.1+EDR

250GB hard drive or a 128GB/256GB SSD if you’re feeling really flush

Prices start at $1,199 | More details

M17x

Core i7-920XM processor

Dual 1GB GeForce GTX 280M GPUs or a pair of Radeon Mobility HD 4870 GPUs

17-inch WideXGA+ 1440 x 900, 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 or 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED panel

Blu-ray drive

Lots more options … spend until your credit card squeels for you to stop! I could easily push the price to $4,500 with hardware upgrades alone!

Prices start at $1,799 | More details

Apple's New Dimension I-pad Its A "System On A Chip"

Details are starting to emerge about the chip powering Apple’s iPad - the A4. As it turns out, it’s not a CPU but a complete ‘system-on-a-chip.’

The A4 represents Apple’s entry into fabless semiconductors, and while it’s seems like interesting technology, most of it is based on ARM intellectual property. The A4 brings together a CPU (at this point it’s unclear how many cores the A4 has) and a GPU, along with other features such as memory controller.

Compared to the Samsung processor in the iPhone that chugs along at 600MHz, the A4 ticks at 1GHz, offering the iPad a fair performance boost. Not only is it fast, but it’s energy efficient, allowing the iPad to run for up to 10 hours.

Toshiba Reveals New Business Laptops : Tecra A11, Qosmio X500, Satellite Pro L450 and Satellite Pro L500

Toshiba this week announced its new business laptop lineup, including theTecra A11, Qosmio X500, Satellite Pro L450 and Satellite Pro L500systems.

This year’s focus: small and mid-size businesses, from educational to government applications.

The Tecra A11 (pictured, above) gets a visual refresh and is now thinner and lighter. It’s got an integrated 10-key numeric keypad with a rougher finish, new Intel Core processors, a 15.6-inch LED backlit 15.6-inch HD widescreen display and optional Nvidia GeForce 512MB graphics.

In terms of business features, the A11 comes with a three-year standard limited warranty and EasyGuard bump and spill protection. It starts at$879.

The Qosmio X500 workstation laptop is aimed at engineers, designers and other folks with serious horsepower requirements. The X500 features Intel’s new Core i7-720QM quad-core processor, Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M graphics (1GB GDDR5 memory), and up to 8GB of RAM.

It’s also got an 18.4-inch widescreen HD display, a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, HDMI port with HD support and S/P DIF, an eSATA/USB Combo port and a Blu-ray drive. It comes in “Omega Black” with red chrome accents and starts at $1,549.

Finally, the new Satellite Pro models come with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Ethernet, webcam, and wireless connectivity. They have 15.6-inch diagonal HD widescreen displays and retail for $529, $579 and $649.

All are available now

Intel's First Impression at Classmate Pc's

Intel recently sent a demo unit of their educational line of netbooks, dubbed Classmate PC, for review. I was excited to check out their offering if only to see what One Laptop Per Child’s biggest competitor was up to. While I was initially skeptical, what I found was an ecosystem that focused less on the stand-alone experience and more on the classroom.

At face value, Intel’s Classmate PC looks like a standard netbook. But the internals are ruggedly constructed and resistant to the drops and rough handling kids are known for. Also notable is the nice large external handle for moving the unit around. Spec-wise, the unit sports a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM, a 8.9″ wide screen at 1024 x 600, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and an integrated web cam. Additionally, my demo unit had a traditional 60 GB hard drive, but solid-state drives are optional. Individual units can be purchased online and retail for around $480

HP Launches Tons Of New Laptops like DV6600, DV9600 & more

Hewlett Packard’s going crazy with the laptops today, offering new Presarios and Pavilions to meet every perverse and jaded taste. Most distinctive is the design on the new HP Pavilion dv2600 Special Edition Entertainment Notebook PC (pictured), clearly adopting the looks of the company’s new stratosphere-end gaming refrigerator, the Blackbird 002.

It won’t steal too much of the Blackbird’s gaming shine with that Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS video card, but with an Intel Core Duo T7500 processor, 2GB of RAM, and to to 250GB of hard drive, it’s not a notebook to be sniffed at. Other options include a 14.1" display, 8x lightscribe DVD drive, draft-n WiFi and a 12-cell extended-life battery.

Other HP-branded models on the list include the dv6600, which has a larger 15.1" screen and low-end CPU options; the dv9600, which bumps the display to 17" and the video card to the 8600M model (as found in newer Apples); and the tx1300 tablet/subnotebook.

The Compaq Presarios on offer include the G7000, which has Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, a 15.4" display and Intel GMA X3100 video, and the G6000, it’s AMD-chipped counterpart.

Sony unleashes New VAIO Cs and NS Powered By Intel Core 2 Duo

Sony on Friday introduced two new Blu-ray equipped notebooks.

The Sony Vaio NS and the Sony Vaio CS join the popular Vaio family. The Vaio NS comes equipped with a 15.4-inch widescreen display, a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive. The Blu-ray equipped Vaio NS notebooks starts at $1,000; going without the Blu-ray the Vaio NS starts at $650.

The smaller but faster Vaio NS features a 14.1-inch widescreen display, a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. More interestingly, the notebook sports a gimmicky 12-tone music analyzer that creates a LED light show with your music. The Vaio NS starts at $1070 with Blu-ray and $920 without.

An LED light show? Cool — like, a miniature rave in your bedroom. It’d look even cooler if one of these caught fire during the light show.

HP mini 5102 with intel atom processor : Review

As the sequel to one of our favorite all-around Netbooks, the HP Mini 5102 has some pretty big shoes to fill. It wasn't HP's choice in components that we liked about its business line 10-inch system--after all, most 2009 Netbooks shared a very uniform set of parts--it was the overall design and build quality of the Netbook we liked

With a body made of aluminum and magnesium alloy, the 5101 felt significantly more rugged than many of the plastic Netbooks it was competing with, and its excellent keyboard layout made typing a breeze. The new version, the 5102, offers only minor cosmetic tweaks, but also more configuration options, including a touch screen.

That means you can create a fairly compelling Netbook using HP's online configurator, but it'll also be an expensive one, as anything above the baseline adds significant cost. At a time when HD displays are becoming the norm, our $424 review unit has only a standard 1,024x600-pixel resolution 10-inch display, along with a single-core Intel Atom N450 processor, Windows 7 Starter Edition, and 1GB of RAM.

With the competition (including HP's own Mini 311 line) regularly offering HD displays and Nvidia Ion graphics for very reasonable prices, we would have liked to see the Mini 5102 make some bolder steps with its new version. As it is, this sequel to our favorite 2009 Netbook feels like just that--a 2009 Netbook.

Looking very similar to last year's Mini 5101 model, the 5102 has a black brushed-metal lid and matte black keyboard and keyboard tray, offset by a glossy touch pad. The overall look of the Netbook is definitely on the business side of the equation, but it's also sleek enough to hold its own at a hipster coffee shop. Though it's not the thinnest or lightest Netbook ever, it feels solid and durable, without being a brick.

We were concerned when HP ditched its previous wide, flat keys for a redesigned pebble-style keyboard in the 5101. The 5102 keeps this new design, and time has shown it to be a good one (although we still have a soft spot for the older design). Important keys, like Shift, are nice and large, and the top row of function keys are reversed--which means the actually useful tasks of controlling volume and screen brightness, and so on, are the primary functions of those keys, while the somewhat more obscure F-key functions require you to hold down the Fn key. It's a swap we've seen on a few laptops recently, and seems like a generally good idea.

Asus Announces 13.3-inch screen, an Intel Core 2 Duo smelly laptops

Asus wants you to wake up and smell your laptop.

The Taiwanese computer manufacturer recently announced its line of four fragrant laptops with cheesy casing artwork to go along with their smelly themes. For example, a pink laptop called Floral Blossom sports a floral design and gives off the smell of — you guessed it — cherry blossoms. A rather questionable model is the Musky Black, which supposedly emanates a "musky scent" for the XXXtreme athletes.

The other two models are green and blue, called Morning Dew and Aqua Ocean (as opposed to a non-aqua ocean), respectively. Feel free to use your imagination.

Each notebook features a 13.3-inch screen, an Intel Core 2 Duo Centrino 2 processor and support for up to 320GB of hard drive space and 4GB of RAM. Pricing has not yet been announced.Let us hope Asus doesn’t make a brown one.

New Sony VAIO Z Laptops Bringing New Era of Quad sSd's around the corner

We've got some more details on Sony's beefed-up VAIO Z series of laptops which were announced at CES, namely the addition of Quad SSD drives, Intel Core i7-620M processors and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M chips.

We already knew the two models would have a 13.1-inch LED backlit screen, an optical Blu-ray drive and HDMI-out, but new information is always appreciated. Made from carbon fibre and aluminum, the laptops weigh less than 1.45kg.

Going back to those Quad SSD drives, you'll be capable of writing data in parallel on up to four SSDs at 6.2 times faster speeds than usual.

Two models are available for pre-ordering now, the VAIO VPCZ11Z9E and VAIO VPCZ11X9E. The main differences between the two are that the Z9E has a 2.66GHz chip but can handle an upgrade to 3.33GHz, has 6GB of DDR3 SDRAM and the Quad SSD has 256GB of storage. The 13.1-inch display is 1920 x 1080 and it weighs 1.43kg.

The X9E has a 2.4GHz chip with upgrades to 2.93GHz, and 4GB DDR3 SDRAM with 128GB Quad SSD. The 13.1-inch screen isn't quite full HD, at 1600 x 900. It weighs a shade less than the Z9E, at 1.41kg.

Both VAIO Z models will be on sale at the end of March, with prices starting at around $1,000.

3d gaming the new era for gamers is waiting for its avatar

With manufacturers rolling out 3-D television sets, the promise of videogames that transport players into deeply immersive 3-D worlds is inching closer to reality.

Emphasis on the inching. The burden of 3-D glasses, the cost of a brand-new 3-D TV, the paucity of programming — all the reasons that adoption of 3-D television will be slow as molasses also apply to games. But there’s one more treacly trap: Creating compelling games that drive players to buy expensive new 3-D setups.

Designers say it’s easy to drop 3-D into an existing game, but that’s where the work begins. As a result, it could be quite a while before consoles get their Avatar — a blockbuster title that fundamentally changes gamers’ experience and expectations in the same way James Cameron’s sci-fi smash has for movies.

“Since so many games are built on 3-D engines, run on ever-more-powerful machines and are displayed in HD, it’s becoming easy to make them stereoscopic,” said game designer Heather Kelley in an e-mail interview with Wired.com. Still, “stereoscopy is almost always just an enhancement to the image and the sense of ‘immersion,’ rather than a true game-changer,” she said.

To create a killer game that makes 3-D a must, designers need to start from the bottom up.

“I think you have to design for stereoscopy, even if it’s just for a superficial spectacle that in no way affects the gameplay,” said Fez designer Phil Fish in an e-mail. “Even just getting the ‘wow’ factor right is going to mean changing the way we do a lot of things.”

Michael Pachter in an e-mail interview. “Games will probably have 3-D built in, but it won’t be a huge selling feature for at least five years, if not longer.”

Console makers have varying takes on the viability of 3-D gaming. John Koller, director of PlayStation hardware marketing for Sony, said his company is committed to publishing many 3-D titles in late 2010 and in 2011. “We’ll be providing enough of a game lineup to make it mass-market,” he said.

Microsoft is less enthusiastic about the near-term potential of 3-D. Aaron Greenberg, director of project management for Xbox, said that while the Xbox 360 supports 3-D display, it is “up to developers” whether they want to produce 3-D games.

“There’s a tiny, tiny, microscopic number of consumers that are invested in buying 3-D TVs and that I think will do so any time in the near future,” said Greenberg. “If people want to make one of those games, they’re obviously welcome to … but that market is relatively small because of the investment needed.”

Dell Announces New Studio Laptops with Intel Core i7 & Windows 7

If you were waiting to get a laptop for any reason, your gamble has paid off. Dell just rebooted the Studio laptop line with some brand new processors from Intel. You know the Clarksfield processor that we’ve been awaiting for months? Well they made their way into Dell’s new Studio laptops, and it appears you’ll have some serious power in your hands. Provided you get one, of course.

Dell’s announcement of the new Studio laptops coincides perfectly with Intel’s announcement of the Core i7 (Clarksfield) line of processors, both of which happened today. The Core i7 chips use new quad-core technology to seriously boost the speed of the processor. And according to early reviews, the processor does exactly what Intel said it would. The Core i7 line is also perfect for laptops because it saves battery life. If not in use or operating under a light workload, the processor can slow down or shut off some of the cores, which can significantly extend battery life.

So you’re probably ready to hear what’s going to be in these new Dell laptops. The Studio 15, Studio 17 and Studio XPS 16 will all be getting a choice of the Core i7 720QM or Core i7 820QM processors. The 720QM clocks in at 1.6GHz with 1,333MHz FSB and 6MB of L3 cache; the 820QM ramps up to 1.73GHz.

Things aren’t changing much for these laptops aside from the new processor, however, the Studio 17 got a few tweaks. These tweaks include a JBL-sourced 2.1 audio system, space for a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 video card if you want one and support for dual HDDs.

None of this means anything unless attached to a price. The Studio 15 will be $999; the Studio 17 comes in at $1099, and the gaming-centric XPS 16 is $1249. Also, the Studio 15 can be configured with Windows Vista or Windows XP (only Vista is available in the other two). While XP is preferable over Vista, the upgrade pricing from Vista to Windows 7 is cheaper than upgrading from XP.

Since we’re so close to the Windows 7 launch, you’re probably better off getting Vista and upgrading.

New Monster ASUS ROG G73jh launches with Core i7, Radeon HD 5870

Power hungry, are you? ASUS has just the rig for you, as it just launched its newest Republic of Gamers laptop here at a CES press event. The G73hj is doing its darnedest to make every other gaming lappie out there look downright weak, with this one boasting a Core i7-720QM CPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 8-channel HD audio, up to 1TB of HDD space and DirectX 11 compatibility thanks to the internal ATI Radeon HD 5870. You'll also get a spacious 17.3-inch display, a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, Blu-ray / DVD combo drive, 8-cell battery, a 2 megapixel webcam, 802.11b/g WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, an 8-in-1 card reader and a mini-VGA connector. Naturally, Windows 7 Home Premium will be running the show, and this thing is far from being slim and sexy. There's no word yet on a price and release, but we'll keep you posted.

New Toshiba's Powerful Tecra A11 Qosmio X500 Core i7 and more with windows 7

These didn't quite make it off the boat before CES, but if it's a new Toshiba laptop you've been searching for, you can still get some satisfaction before the end of this month. The outfit has just announced that four of its machines are available in the US starting right this very moment, including the 15.6-inch Tecra A11 (starts at $879). This one packs an integrated numpad, NVIDIA GPU, an undisclosed new Intel CPU and a charcoal black chassis. Moving on, that Qosmio X500 workhorse that we first heard about late last year finally has its shipping papers (and a $1,549 starting point), bringing with it a Core i7-720QM processor, a GeForce GTS 360M GPU, 8GB of memory, an 18.4-inch display, 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive, a Blu-ray drive and a vivacious color scheme that's guaranteed to polarize. The Satellite Pro L450 and Satellite Pro L500 are also slipping out to the suits in attendance, but with price tags starting at $529, the spec hounds probably won't be drooling much here.

ASUS' Amd's Congo-based Eee PC 1201T With Windows 7

Tired of waiting for the Eee PC 1201T to ship? Impatient, aren't we? We've been wondering about the status of this here netbook since it came to light last November, and now it looks like the Germans are about to get a real, live taste of AMD's Congoplatform. Boasting a 1.6GHz MV40 CPU, the same look and feel that we've grown accustomed to on Eee PC netbooks, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, ATI HD3200 GPU and Windows 7 on the OS front, this is certainly one of the more unique machines in the sea of Atomized "me-toos." The pain? €399 ($560), and the first batch is expected to ship out tomorrow. Here's hoping the price dips somewhat when it makes its Stateside debut.

Acer focused For Intel Core i3 and Core i5 Aspire laptops To arrive Soon

Those Intel Core i3 and Core i5 mobile processors we've been hearing about for quite awhile now are finally finding a home, and one of their first stops is Acer's Aspire lineup. Notoriously known as solid performing and affordable rigs, both the new 15.6-inch Aspire AS5740 and 17-inch Aspire AS7740 will start at under $800. Not too shabby considering the $750 AS7740 configuration includes a 2.14GHz Intel Core i3-330M CPU, 4GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium and a Blu-ray drive. While the $750 AS5740 doesn't have Blu-ray, its got a 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor, 4GB of RAM, and discrete ATI graphics. Acer will offer lots of variations on the specs, but at the end of the day these guys are talking performance and a price we can get behind.

ACER ASPIRE SERIES OFFER ENHANCED HORESPOWER WITH NEW INTEL CORE i3 AND i5 TECHNOLOGY

Stylish 15.6- and 17.3-inch Acer Aspire AS5740 and AS7740 Series notebooks boast high-performance Intel® Core™ i3 and Core™ i5 processors; Select models offer advanced ATI Radeon™ HD graphics and Blu-ray, transforming the notebook into a mobile theater

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 7, 2010 – Delivering state-of-the-art performance in a stylish package, Acer America today offers the new Acer® Aspire AS5740 and AS7740 Series of notebook PCs. These mobile powerhouses feature the new Intel® Core™ i3 and Core™ i5 processors, widescreen HD displays, first-rate graphics and Acer's acclaimed Gemstone Blue design with prices beginning at just $599.99.

"As games become more lifelike and movies push the limits on special effects, more powerful and intelligent performance is required for a truly dynamic computing experience," said Preeta Anil, senior product marketing manager for Acer America. "Consumers wanting to enjoy all the latest digital media in a mobile platform will appreciate the AS5740 and AS7740 Series. Featuring extremely fast processors and in select models, discrete ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD graphics and Blu-ray disc drives, these notebooks truly bring digital entertainment to life."

Core i5 Core i7 Laptops Get's Togeather From All Around The Globe.

Best Buy already stocked up on the Core i5-equipped VAIO Sand Satellite E205, and now it seems that everyone else is following suit. Just weeks after Intel announced that it would be releasing Core i5 and Core i7 chips for the mobile realm, the usual suspects have already outed a number of refreshed rigs that include said slabs of silicon. Sony's 14-inch VAIO CW is now available from $829 with a mobile Core i3, while the $1,120 version ships with a Core i5, NVIDIA's GeForce GT 330M CPU and a Blu-ray combo drive. Dell has obliged by adding a 2.53GHz Core i5 to its 15-inch Studio (available now for $999.99), and there's even a version that ships with Netgear's Push2TV adapter for taking advantage of Intel Wireless Display technology. Over on the desktop side, Acer hasn't wasted any time by updating its Aspire G Predator with a sultry black shell (as opposed to the old orange one) and a 3.06GHz Core i7-950 processor, though the $3,185 MSRP should scare away all but the hardest of hardcore

Toshiba New Monster's : Qosmio & Dynabook With Intel's Core i5 , Core i3

Not really a shocker as far as world events are concerned, butToshiba's announced some new Qosimo and Dynabook series laptops for Japan. First, the 18.4-inch Qosmio G models (the G65 and 97L) will boast brand new 2.4GHz Core i5 processors, GeForce GT 330M graphics, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, and Blu-ray. Up next, the 16.-inch Dynabook TX will have the 2.13GHz Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and Blu-ray. Both the Qosimo and Dynabook models will sport Windows 7 Home Premium, and are expected for release in August. Pricing is unavailable at this time, as are release details outside of Japan, but we'll keep our eyes peeled.

New Dell XPS M2010 Powered By Intel's Core i5 With Microsoft Windows 7

Dell's 20-pound XPS M2010 into the lab for a full, hands-on review. Calling this desktop/laptop hybrid a "striking feat of engineering" (that's a compliment, we think), the reviewer fawns over the M2010's premium components, bright 20-inch glossy display, and 8-speaker system with subwoofer which is said to deliver "rich, clear" audio and more low-end sound than any laptop he's seen. The guy's equally stoked by the magnetically held Bluetooth keyboard and gyroscopic Media Center remote which includes a small LCD screen for peeping music and video track details when not flittering the thing about to control the onscreen cursor. The M2010 also proved to be an "able gaming machine" though not the best. However, the M2010 is still "absurdly expensive" with a $3500 base config rocketing upwards to $8000 fully spec'd and the battery only lasted about 2-hours while the machine simply idled. Oh, and the pig is just too heavy to be truly portable thereby limiting its appeal. Still, if you're a smarmy sales type, LAN party trust-funder, or Ivy league media troll looking for a single all-in-one desktop / laptop / home stereo / TV(via optional USB tuner) then this hulk of Dell-icousness might be calling you home.

New HP's HDX Pavilion Gaming Notebook Powered By Intel Core i7 with Windows 7

Remember that 20-inch HP HDX Pavilion laptop from yesterday? Well, more shots of the massive gaming laptop have turned up from different angles to give us a better idea of how this top-end laptop looks. This new angle puts the HDX closer in style to the traditional laptop form factor than its main "inspiration," the Dell XPS M2010. Still, the sheer size of the screen coupled with the remote means that this is a laptop with one helluva identity crisis: is it best to think of it as a portable home entertainment system, or a maxed out machine for those with very wide laps? A capable gaming machine it may be, but we have a feeling this won't be the only area where it draws interest. Hopefully, as the unveiling of Santa Rosa nears, HP will grace us with an official press release and we'll be able to get a better idea of the HDX's currently unconfirmed specs.

HP's New Monster EliteBook 8440w WIth Intel's Core i7 & Windows 7

Since the royal unveiling of HP's six new Elitebooks and ProBooks last week, the Elitebook 8440w (w standing for workstation) has been making the review rounds, and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the chaps at Notebook Review, LAPTOP and Computer Shopper. All were impressed by the Core i7-620M and NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M power that's been crammed into the 14-inch chassis, but unsurprisingly that causes some warm underside temperatures. Other than that, the 8440w received high praise for its durable gunmetal-build and "exceedingly" comfortable keyboard, but the touchpad was noted as being too small. Actually, the guys over at Notebook Review even go as far to say that the laptop would be "absolutely perfect" if that pad and its buttons weren't so squished. Now that's quite a bold statement. All in all, the 8440w seems like a solid and very mobile workstation, but hit up the sources if you're dying to know more about the $1,650 rig.

New Avaratec Laptop Powered By Intel Core 2 Duo With Windows 7

Right now it's Korea-only, but it's Averatec's Lookie laptop stuffs some decent power into its tiny chassis. Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 250GB HDD, Windows 7, HDMI port, and six hours of battery life. We're a little bit light on the other details, but we're assuming they fall in line with other thin-and-lights. At a touted 0.5 centimeters, this sucker's thin -- beat that, Adamo XPS -- and pretty light at 1.4kg (just over 3lbs). The catch to all this -- and of course there's bound to be one -- is the 799,000KRW price, which translates to about $711 locally

FIC Launches SVE00 netbook

FIC's just launched its new Pinetrail netbook, the FIC SVE600. This little guy (which measures 10.1-inches) isn't exactly ground-breaking, but that Atom N450 is still new enough to spark a little interest, right? The SVE600 boasts the aforementioned 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a choice of an either up to 500GB HDD or an up to 32GB SSD, plus WiFi, BGN, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth WiMax, and HSDPA. You'll also get your choice of either Windows 7 or Linux OSs. There's no word on pricing yet, but we'll let you know when we do. There's another beauty shot after the break.

Motorolla's New Shadow With Two Slides.

Fan-made render? Very possible, but we're intrigued by the notion. The gang at Mobile01 have laid out two more photos of what is being called the Motorola Shadow (not to be confused with the T-Mobile Shadow), which in a nutshell looks like Droid / Milestone with a white keyboard and wrist strap. Even more interesting is the assertion that this could be Google's next flagship device, here lovingly dubbed the Nexus Two. Now while there is no way to corroborate at this point, we could totally buy this as feasible. After all, what better way to complement the Nexus One slate than with one with physical QWERTY? And who better than the company whose Android 2.0 device increased the platform's mindshare at supersonic speeds, with a CEO willing to signify support even at the launch event for a competitor's product? Color us curious -- wrist strap-laden render after the break.

HP New Tablet Powered By Windows 7

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft revealed a new mini HP tablet at the CES 2010 that aims to fill the void between mobiles and netbooks and at the same time can function as a eBook reader, the device is fully touch capable and features Windows 7. Its a perfect fit for those who want touch based web browsing, ebook reader and a little gaming.

Fujitsu & Siemens Ventures For Football Laptops.

Custom laptop designs are a dime a dozen these days, with everything from fast car logos to glorious "Pink Feather" designs being stamped onto the back of LCDs in an attempt to draw the eyes of punters looking for a new lappie. The latest custom job on the market is Fujitsu Siemens' team of soccer themed laptops which don the colors and crests of four different UK clubs: Celtic, Aston Villa, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur, to be precise. Under the soccer shirts, the laptops are Amilo 1536 models featuring 1280 x 800 15-inch displays powered by a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics adapter. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a roomy 120GB 5400RPM SATA drive. Not quite striker material, we know, but the £1000 (plus three year warranty) price tag ain't too shabby considering the bundled paint job. Fujitsu Siemens is promising other clubs will join the line-up to celebrate the recent start of the Premiership season, although don't expect any teams with notable rivalries to be released at the same time. If you follow English football, you'll notice that the first four club themed laptops are a rather disparate lot: there's no Liverpool to go with Everton, no Rangers to go with Celtic, and so on. These guys obviously know how to manage their laptop teams without starting a football riot.

New Acer Timeline Windows 7 & Powered By Core 2 duo

Acer's Aspire Timeline inexpensive thin-and-lights have been popping up here and there around the world since we first laid eyes on 'em in April, and now the CULV machines are ready to hit the States. Pricing is actually a little lower than we initially heard, with the base 15.6-inch 1.3GHz Pentium SU2700 machine coming in at $598, but you're more interested in the two smaller machines: the 14-inch, 4.2-pound 1.4GHz SU3500 Core Solo unit is $699, while the 13.3-inch, 3.5-pound 1.4GHz SU9400 Core 2 Duo pictured above is $899. All three machines feature 16:9 1366 x 768 LED-backlit displays driven by Intel 4500MHD graphics, and battery life exceeds eight hours, aided by a PowerSmart energy-saving switch. So -- anyone still thinking about an Adamo? Full press release and two more pics after the break.

Acer Brings "All Day Computing" to the U.S. Market with the Aspire Timeline Thin and Light Notebook Family

With prices beginning at $598, Acer's affordable sleek and elegant notebooks offer more than eight hours of battery life

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 2, 2009 – Acer America, part of the world's second largest manufacturer of notebook PCs (1), today introduced the U.S. availability of its much anticipated Aspire Timeline Series of "all day computing" notebooks. Averaging more than 8 hours of battery life(2), Acer Timeline sets a new standard for value, mobility and productivity.

The Aspire Timeline breaks the notebook paradigm with a thin and light mainstream notebook that doesn't break the bank. The secret to its extended battery life lies in Acer's unique design that combines Intel's ultra low-voltage processors, advanced power management, high-capacity batteries and LED backlit displays, which result in a thinner, lighter, more energy-efficient and longer lasting notebook PC.

For road warriors and others on-the-go, concerns about battery life, spare batteries and cables just became a thing of the past. On just a single charge, consumers can remain productive or entertained an entire coast–to-coast flight, or work remotely from 9 to 5 without ever stopping to plug in and recharge.

"Acer has introduced yet another game changer in the world of notebook PCs," said Sumit Agnihotry vice president of product marketing, Acer America. "The Timeline sets new standards in both value and battery life, which are sure to be well received in this economy by on-the-go, yet always connected consumers."

Internet access is provided through Gigabit Ethernet or Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Draft-N, making it easy to browse websites, check email, make VOIP calls, and enjoy online entertainment, including the latest social networking platforms like facebook, twitter and YouTube.

An integrated Acer Crystal Eye™ webcam delivers smooth video streaming and high quality images for online chats and business video conferences, even in low-light situations. The built-in digital microphone conveys superior voice quality, keeping background noise levels low and minimizing echoes. Consumers can also enjoy music and video sound with the Dolby Headphones and two built-in stereo speakers.

Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Laptop/Tablet With Windows 7 Powered By Dual Processor

Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 is quite the clever combination of multi-touch tablet and laptop. When you ditch everything but the screen for the slate-like tablet section, the device is to switch processors and operating systems. Oh, and it's gorgeous, too.

When both halves of the U1 are together, it runs on Windows 7 on a Intel Core 2 Duo SU processor, but when you split them up, the tablet will use a custom version of Linux and a Qualcomm ARM Snapdragon processor. This means that you'd be getting the best combination of power and battery life for each scenario. Other than that neat setup, the U1 brings 4GB of RAM (512MB in slate/tablet mode), two USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, VGA, HDMI, 4-in-1 memory card reader, and a 1.3-Megapixel camera.

Not too bad for about a thousand bucks. Lenovo will start selling the hybrid in June, but in the meantime I'll be left wondering if it is really the best of both worlds wrapped in a pretty package or yet another half-hearted combination device.

Lenovo's New Monster U350 With Windows 7 powered by Intel's New Technology.

Lenovo Ideapad U-350 (2963-47U) Laptop comes with 1.3GHz Intel Pentium Low Voltage Processor, 3GB (204-Pin) DDR3 SO-DIMM Memory, 320GB 5400RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive, 13.3″ (1366×768) 16:9 LED Display, Intel GMA 4500M Graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Up to 5 Hours of Battery Life.

The future is now, and you can carry it wherever you go. Thanks to the combination of new Ultra-Low Voltage Core 2 Duo processors from Intel and the latest technologies from Lenovo and Microsoft, the ultra-thin IdeaPad U350 notebook features increased battery life, is just an inch thick and weighs only 3.52lbs, yet it delivers a brilliant Windows 7 experience. With Windows 7 Lenovo Enhanced Experience certification, the U350 features fast boot and shutdown, rich multimedia capabilities and easy system maintenance tools. Best of all, it’s from Lenovo, makers of the award-winning ThinkPad notebooks for business.

Click here to check price or purchase Lenovo Ideapad U-350 (2963-47U) Laptop.