CNET Asia Community Blog Entry – Booktop, the New Breed of Notebook Computer – Gigabyte M1022

My new entry over at CNET Asia Community Blog is up. This week’s entry, “Booktop – the new breed of notebook computer”. Click here for the full read.

Apple Day – New MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air & More

If you want to have an overview of the new line of the MacBooks, watch the video above, very informative.

Wow, what a day.  Apple today rolled out the newest generation of their MacBook computers.  The most impressive upgrade of course rest with the new all glass and aluminum MacBook which features a glass trackpad with new multi-touch gestures introduced and a nice LED-backlit display.  Apart from what’s changed outside, we see some major overhaul to what’s inside as well.  The MacBook now comes with an Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset, a 2GHz Core 2 Duo configuration with a 160GB hard drive for $1,299 and a 2.4GHz offering with a 250GB hard drive for $1,599 (which gives you the bonus backlit keyboard as well).

The new MacBook Pro, according to MacWorld, “will feature two graphic chipsets, the Nvidia GeForce 9400M embedded on the motherboard and the Nvidia GeForce 9600M as a discrete part. The graphics deliver 32 parallel graphics cores and 125 gigaflops of graphics performance. Jobs said that using the 9400M you get five hours of battery life and four hours with the 9600M.”

The MacBook Pro also features the same glass trackpad, a more unibody design which wraps the aluminium casing around the black glass iMac frame on the front display.  The 15.4-inch MacBook Pro now comes with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo chip and 250GB hard drive for $1,999 and the other with a 2.53GHz processor and 320GB hard drive for $2,499.As for the 17-inch model, the processor speed remains at 2.5GHz (upgradable to 2.6GHz), memory been increased to 4GB and storage capacity, a whopping 320GB.

As for the MacBook Air, it got updated to the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics chipset as well. Storage wise, the 128GB solid state drive is now available, along with a standard 120GB drive. The base model is going for $1799, or go with the SSD model with 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo for $2499 (due in November.)

Other addition to the lineup includes the 24-inch LED Cinema Display, (1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution) which features a built-in iSight camera and microphone, stereo speakers, and three-port USB 2.0 hub. The same aluminum and glass enclosure design, resembling the Apple’s current iMac design.

Source – MacWorld, MediaHangout

Lenovo W700 Now Available for Order

10 days ago, I blogged about the upcoming dream notebook for photographers, the Lenovo ThinkPad W700, on my sideblog (full specs and press release posted there), the Phooey Pics. Today, we got news that the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 is now available for order and the delivery date is roughly a month from now.  As for the price tag, well, expect to ditch out at least US$2,978 for the basic configuration which features 17-inch WXGA+ display, T9400 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA’s 512MB Quadro FX-2700 and a 160GB hard drive.

What makes the ThinkPad W700 so special and so expensive (even more than the 17″ MacBook Pro) is not only the specs but the integrated digitizer which photographers would love while working on their photo editing programs.

pic from 32packets (click to go to link)

Can’t wait for its local release here in Hong Kong, will update when I hear more.

Source – 32packets via Engadget

Phooey Pics – First Look – Lenovo ThinkPad W700

New post over at Phooey Pics on the all new Lenovo ThinkPad W700, the ultimate notebook for photographers, hop over for the read, link here.

ASUS Launching New Eee PC 900 with 30GB Hard Drive?

Electronista ran a story about a possible upgrade to the ASUS Eee PC 900.  According to the the article, the specs would remain unchanged except for the hard drive where ASUS would beef it up to 30GB.  Battery life is said to decline from 2.5 hours to 2.2 hours due to the increased power demands for the drive.  Pricing is US$513 for the Linux version (which comes in black or white) and US$528 for the Windows version (black only).  No word on release date.

Source – Electronista via Engadget

Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC Now with Multi-Touch

As reported back in January, Review – Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC, Dell is finally bringing the multi-touch capabilities for its Latitude XT tablet via a free software upgrade tomorrow.  The upgrade allows users to do two finger scrolling, zooming and add programmable double tap functions on thier screen just like it on the Mac.  The demo video from Dell follows -

Source – DellVLog

Lifestyle HK – Comparing Prices: Mac vs. Windows Laptops

My new entry over at Lifestyle Hong Kong is up. This week’s entry, “Comparing Prices: Mac vs. Windows Laptops“. Click here for the read.

I Crossed Over to Mac, WOOT

Well, it’s been almost two weeks since I ventured into the Mac world.  Bought my first Mac (the MacBook Pro) finally after 20+ years into computing.  Wasn’t sure that I would be too comfortable with the switch, I felt like an elderly learning how to read and write all over during my first week with the MacBook Pro.  But thanks to a few Mac friends out there, especially Belle over at BeansBox, who lend me “The Rough Guide to Macs and OS X” (really good read, thanks Belle), the switching seems to be quite smooth as I move into the second week.  This week, I will be working my ways around the video editing program, iMovie, and see whether it have enough juice for me to edit videos with my new camcorder, Sony HDR-SR11E (will blog on the new camcorder later this week).

Well, some would ask why the switch? the answer is the attractive price offer in the back-to-school special from Apple.  HK$13,900 for the 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook seems pretty reasonable to me.  Remember last week I blogged about the price slash on the SSD version of the MacBook Air? Well, that price slash is reflected in the special as well (for only HK$19,900).  For those who want even better deals, check out the Apple certified refurbished Macs, for example a Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme with 2GB memory, 500GB hard drive and ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory cost only HK$12,468.

For those who’s thinking about switching as well, there’s a good article, Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows, from Mossberg last week, check it out.

Apple Slash Price on MacBook Air

Wow, that was fast.  Apple slashed a big chunk out of their MacBook Air, at least with the SSD version.  For those who just bought it recently…..major bummer.

Heads-up Comparison – HP Voodoo Envy 133 vs MacBook Air

Pic from Vantan.org

Dimensions

Voodoo -> Width: 32.2cm (12.65 inches); Depth: 23cm (9.04 inches); Height (front & rear): 1.79cm (0.7 inches); Weight (including SSD & battery): 1.53kg (3.373lbs)

MacBook Air -> Width: 32.5cm (12.8 inches); Depth: 22.7cm (8.94 inches); Height (side to centre): 0.4-1.94cm (0.16-0.76 inches); Weight: 1.36kg (3.0lbs)

Processor

Both uses Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology featuring Intel® Core™2 Duo
processor SP7700 (4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) with 1.6GHz as standard and 1.8GHz as optional.

Display

Voodoo -> 13.3″ WXGA High-Definition Widescreen LED Backlit Display (1280×800)

MacBook Air -> 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy widescreen TFT LED backlit display with support for millions of colors

Storage

Both have choices of 64GB Solid State drive or 80G HDD 4200RPM

Battery

Voodoo -> 3-Cell, 33 Whr Lithium ion polymer, user replaceable (claims up to 3 hr 45 min battery life, depending on usage)

MacBook Air -> Integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (claims up to 5 hr with wireless on)

Others

Other specs regarding wireless, Bluetooth, backlit keyboard and webcam are all pretty standard on both machines

Extras

Voodoo ->

• Voodoo IOS – Boot up in seconds. Unique to the Voodoo Envy 133, this feature gives road warriors instant access to Skype and Internet browser
• Replaceable battery
• An ID-coordinated external optical drive is included with every Voodoo Envy 133
• HDMI video port (max resolution 1920×1080)
• Two USB ports (one function as a shared e-SATA connector/USB2.0)
• 34mm ExpressCard slot

MacBook Air ->

• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
• Being a Mac

Conclusion

Well, seems like the HP Voodoo Envy 133 wins out on the specs, tell me what you think.

Source – Vantan.org, Gizmodo

First Look – HP Voodoo Envy 133

This video from Shiny Shiny, think it can match up with the MacBook Air or the Lenovo Thinkpad x300?

I think so. The specs are just amazing consider its size. Check out the following -

• 1.8cm thick compare to MacBook Air’s 1.94cm at the rear end;
• 13.3″ widescreen backlit LED display (1,280 x 800);
• two USB port (one act as an e-SATA connector as well);
• HDMI video output;
• integrated 3G HSDPA mobile broadband;
• removable battery;
• express card slot;
• comes with external drive;
• integrated webcam;
• backlit keyboard; and
• price starts at US$2,099.

According to Laptopmag, “the Envy 133 launches users into an environment where they can surf the Web and make Skype calls within a mere 10 seconds. Called Voodoo IOS, this environment is powered by Splashtop and gives you the full Internet without having to run Vista in the background. Not only does this feature save time, it should also save battery life. You can also instant message your buddies (via Pidgin) in AOL, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, and more, and access photos and music–but not movies on the optical drive.”

I say WOW.

Look for it this summer.

Source – Shinymedia, Laptopmag

ASUS Eee PC 1000 Announced

Pic from UMPC Fever

[28 May 2008]This according to UMPC Fever, that ASUS is launching the new 10″ screen Eee PC 1000 at the upcoming Computex 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan. For more info, check out UMPC Fever’s post here.

Source – UMPC Fever

[Updated: 5 June 2008] This is the latest on the ASUS Eee PC 1000 from Daily Tech. “Eee PC 1000 and Eee PC 1000H. The Eee PC 1000 will be available with up to a 40GB SSD while the Eee PC 1000H will be available with up to an 80GB 2.5″ 5400RPM HDD.

The Eee PC 1000/1000H and Eee PC 901 are all equipped with an Atom processor and include ASUS’s Super Hybrid engine which allows for easy manipulation of CPU speed, CPU voltage, and screen brightness to extend the life of the battery. When running in its most extreme mode, the Super Hybrid Engine can extract 7.8 hours of battery life from the new Eee PCs.

In addition, ASUS is also providing its new Eee PC family with 20GB of dedicated online storage (per machine) to perform backups or store personal data.”

Source – Daily Tech

First Look – Lenovo IdeaPad U110

Wow, this is hot.

Source – LinuxJB

[Updated: 4 May] Laptop Magazine’s mini-review on the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is up, link here.

Video Review – ASUS Eee PC 900

Still want to know more about the ASUS Eee PC 900? jkkmobile just released a 34 minute long video review which is so far the most thorough review on the Eee PC 900, check it out.

Source – jkkmobile