Alienware's Sentia m3400 ultraportable notebook

Alienware has announced its latest Sentia today, the m3400 14-inch widescreen laptop. This is one of those straddles-the-ultraportable-line laptops that's a solid 4.5 pounds, a number still more than portable enough than to get you by on naught but the most greuling business trips.

Features:
# Features a 14” wide-screen LCD with ClearView technology giving you a clearer and more vivid image than standard LCD displays.
# Weighs a light 4.5 lbs for effortless transport.
# Delivers up to 3.5 hours of battery life* so you can focus on working or having fun on the go without worrying about your battery.
Built-In Webcam
#The Sentia m3400 features a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam enabling live video communication without the hassle of external devices or wires. Enjoy quick and easy video chat sessions from any location.
Enhance Your Entertainment Experience
# Never miss another show with the simple record feature
# Easily edit and organize your digital photos and create a custom slideshow
# Download thousands of On-Demand movie titles and music tracks

Highlights:
#Wide-Screen Display
Sentia m3400 notebooks include a 14” wide-screen LCD with a 5:3 aspect ratio, ensuring you never miss any of the action.
#Exclusive Style
Alienware has a long tradition of delivering one-of-a-kind designs with desktop and notebook systems.
#High-Definition Audio
With the unrivaled quality of digital 5.1 surround sound output, the Sentia m3400 is the ideal audio solution, delivering amazing sound quality for all of your movies, music, and games.
#Reliable Graphics Performance
Loaded with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (900) technology, the Sentia m3400 powers DVD’s, presentations, games, pictures, and more without sacrificing battery life.

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Tags:notebook, laptop, alienware

Dual-core Athlon 64 X2 Laptop Reviewed

Steve from Hexus writes "Dual core finds its way inside a laptop (albeit a not-so-portable DTR) in the form of Rockdirect's Xtreme64. The DTR features an Athlon 64 X2 4800+, two 7200rpm hard drives and a GeForce Go 6800 Ultra GPU. HEXUS.net has a review of the laptop, one of the most powerful we've seen hit the market to date." From the article: "Rather than change a formula that works, Rockdirect has opted to stick with the Clevo D900-based chassis that its other performance-based laptops use. The obvious downsides are bulkiness and weight, with the laptop sitting almost 5cm high and weighing in at 5.7kg. It's a desktop replacement in the truest sense of the words, and with an 8kg travel weight (including charger and supplied carrying case) and relatively poor battery life, it's about as portable as a concrete slab."

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Tags:athlon

Embedded Module eases wireless laptop service

A Belgian company has developed a wireless laptop module that connects to standard cell towers and is not limited to the proximity of WiFi hot spots.

Option NV said this week that its GTM351E includes a PCI card that should make wireless Internet activity an easier proposition for users who currently have to hunt around for a hot spot before they can log on.

The card is installed on the unit's motherboard and can handle third-generation HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology and as well as the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) that is widely used in Asia.

The first GTM351E modules will ship early next year and begin making it to consumers some time afterward.

"The business model between operators and IT manufacturers for commercializing embedded wireless modules is still in its early stages," Option CEO Jan Callewaert said in a statement. "We'll see a further maturing of this market in 2006
[via]

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Tags: module, laptop,wireless

Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 notebook review

The third-generation Toshiba Qosmio delivers the most complete multimedia experience of any laptop we've seen. Built on a state-of-the-art set of components and accommodating virtually every multimedia feature under the sun, the Qosmio G25-AV513, the highest-end model in the Qosmio line, offers a bright 17-inch, wide-screen display, a double-layer DVD drive, and a TV tuner, as well as a full complement of ports and connections, a rocking set of stereo speakers, and a terrific set of multimedia controls. At $2,999, this notebook is not for the casual user. You can certainly get a handful of these features for less in other entertainment-themed notebooks, such as the HP Pavilion dv4000. Still, we think the Qosmio G25-AV513 is well worth the money if you're looking for a premier, all-in-one, digital-entertainment system that's portable enough to move from room to room. With the lid closed, the Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 looks quite similar to the original Qosmio E15-AV101--it's silver colored, has lots of ports and lights around the edges.

The keyboard has large, firm keys, though the spacebar and the backspace keys are a bit smaller than those on the Sony VAIO VGN-A690; also, there is no separate number pad, as found on the HP Pavilion zd8000 and the Fujitsu LifeBook N6000. Above the keyboard resides a row of feather-touch system-control buttons that include a full complement of A/V controls: two keys that send you directly to Media Center's TV and DVD players, two keys to adjust the screen's brightness, and two more to send or receive a video signal. All glow a pleasing blue when lit. The Qosmio G25-AV513's touch pad and mouse buttons are far too small for our taste, and there's no way to turn the touch pad off when you're using an external mouse--an extremely useful feature found on the Pavilion zd8000 and one that we'd like to see on every desktop-replacement laptop.

This notebook has one of the brightest wide-aspect 17-inch displays we've seen on a laptop--on a par with the superbright Fujitsu LifeBook N6000, slightly brighter than the Sony VAIO VGN-A690, and exponentially brighter than the Pavilion zd8000. The Qosmio G25-AV513's 1,440x900 native resolution (also found on the Apple 17-inch PowerBook), affords a large amount of screen real estate without forcing text to a painfully tiny size.

The system also held its own in our gaming tests, beating all comers in our Unreal Tournament 2004 benchmarks and holding its own in our Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 tests. Though it lasted for only a scant 109 minutes in our battery-drain test, the Qosmio G25-AV513 turned in a 235 in our MobileMark 2002 test, even besting our top gaming machine: the Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2. The moral of the story: the Qosmio G25 delivers enough power for virtually any task--from gaming to office productivity--but don't leave it unplugged for long.

Specifications:
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Pentium M 760; 1GB PC 3200 DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 6600 128MB, 120 GB HardDrive Serial ATA, 10x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM), TV tuner, Stereo speakers, Bluetooth antenna, Wireless LAN antenna, weight 9.5 lbs, Display- 17" TFT active matrix (Trubrite).

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Tags:qosmio

Averatec's aubergine notebook

I'm not as up on laptops as I was back when I worked on What Laptop mag, but I can tell you that this rather good looking Averatec 1050 is nice and lightweight at just 1.6kg, making it portable enough for the likes of you and me (probably doesn't weigh much more than a copy of Marie Claire or similar, those things are enough to pop a capillary). It's got Windows XP plus a Pentium M ULV 733 processor (quoted as running at 1.1GHz, but this is a lot more efficient than a desktop 1.1GHz processor so don't be fooled into direct comparisons). You also get 512MB RAM and an 80GB hard disk drive. The 10.6-inch screen may feel a bit small, but it keeps it compact enough to stick in a tote bag, and apparently it costs just £999, which is a lot less than laptops like this cost in my day.

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Tags:averatec

Women's laptop bags for Canadians

Gah! Mine eyes! Possibly a bit too much pink for this time on a Monday morning, but for those of you currently touting the "Board Room Barbie" look, this KaraB shiny pink plastic laptop bag will be the icing on the cake. I'm not sure I actually know anyone currently touting the "Board Room Barbie" look (not least because I just made it up), but there's plenty other pinkophiles out there likely to look upon the Passport Convertible bag with pleasure.

Virago Bags is the shop responsible, and the Canada-based e-tailer is also selling plenty of other lady-friendly laptop bags, including those lovely Melissa Beth ones I popped up a while back, and a selection of impressive, studded Z-Attache cases that will make you look like "Bondage Bitch Board Room Barbie" and thus get my whole-hearted approval. The company ships to Canada and the US, but UK customers will need to look elsewhere for their snazzy bags.

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Tags:bags

Asus U5: 1st eco warrior laptop

I've always been rather partial to Asus laptops. Although it's not the most well-known brand out there, the company has some lovely skinny little ultraportables and a very plain, classy design. Now the company has gone and made Hippyshopper feel all fuzzy inside with this lead and halogen-free U5. It's free from dodgy chemicals, making it perfect for conscientious mobile workers, plus it's got some rather nice specs, including the fastest Pentium M processor on the market. The fact that it weighs just 1.4kg makes it perfect for us lady types as well as those under-nourished from their fruitarian diet. (Yes I know it's cowardly to pick on those who haven't the strength to fight back.)

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Tags:asus

Mini DigitalTV dongle for your laptop Computer

I've never managed to watch TV on a laptop, despite having tested numerous TV plug-ins. After too many hours spent fiddling with settings whilst watching those black and white bees swarming all over the screen, I finally gave up. That was a while ago now, though, it would be churlish of me not to give this Mini DigitalTV receiver a try. It plugs into your computer's USB port, and once you've added a TV Antenna, you can watch freeview digital TV on it. The DVB-T TV Standard provides both digtal TV and Radio signals, so you can watch/listen and record shows on your laptop or PC. It's not in store yet in the UK, but look out for it in the coming months.
[via]

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Tags:digitalTV

Sony VAIO VGN-AX570G Notebook review

CNET reviews the Sony VAIO VGN-AX570G and gives it a rating of 6.5 out of 10. They write - ‘With the VAIO VGN-AX570G’s integrated TV tuner and beautiful 17-inch wide-screen display, Sony seeks to compete with the Fujitsu LifeBook N6210 and the Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513, delivering a self-contained laptop that’s equal parts TV and media-center computer. Though the VAIO VGN-AX570G lacks the best-in-class performance of the Qosmio and some of the features found on the LifeBook, it offers a competitive multimedia experience for several hundred dollars less. Still, all these systems are designed for people who are quite serious about making their laptop the entertainment hub of their home; more casual users who can do without the integrated TV tuner are better off with the much less expensive HP Pavilion dv8000z.’

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Tags:sony,vaio

Targus Ergo D-Pro Mobile Notebook Stand

Targus Ergo D-Pro Mobile Notebook Stand
This is an ergonomic stand for notebooks with a range of adjustable heights and tilt angles. Its heavy duty construction allows for long-term desktop use. The stand offers convenient document holder positioning to improve ergonomic efficiency while keeping you organized and increasing productivity by 17%. With a built-in security slot feature and support for multiple docking solutions via a port rep module (RPM)*, this highly versatile stand will be a welcome addition to your office. Its black and silver design gives it both a classic and high-tech feel.


Specifications
* Color: Silver/Black
* Exterior Dimensions:
Open - 12.8" x 12.2" x 3" to 10"
* Weight: 7.7 lbs

Features
* Ergonomic stand for notebooks with range of adjustable heights
* High tech and sleek look for executives
* Heavy duty construction for long-term desktop use
* Multiple tilt angles for flexible height adjustment
* Document holder placed straight ahead to improve ergonomic efficiency and desktop organization
* Built-in security slot feature to secure stand
Price:$82.99

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Tags:notebook stand, Targus

HP Advanced Port Replicator DC366B

HP Advanced Port Replicator
The HP Advanced Port Replicator provides easy cable management and one-step connection to desktop accessories at home or in the office. The Port Replicator incorporates NIC pass though so the network card of the notebook provides the networking capabilities. The system main battery can be charged when connected to the Port Replicator if the AC Adapter provided with the Port Replicator is plugged in. The Port Replicator has a security slot that incorporates two levels of security. One slot allows the Port Replicator to be secured to a stationary object. The second slot locks the Port Replicator and the notebook to a stationary object.

Specifications
* Device Type: Port replicator
* Width: 16.2 in
* Depth: 11.8 in
* Height: 1.3 in
* Weight: 4.4 lbs

Expansion / Connectivity
* Expansion Bays Total (Free): 2 ( 2 ) x front accessible

Interfaces
* 1 x audio - line-in - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
* 1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
* 1 x audio - SPDIF output
* 1 x display / video - S-video output - 4 pin mini-DIN
* 1 x display / video - composite video output - RCA
* 1 x display / video - DVI-Digital - 24 pin digital DVI
* 1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
* 1 x serial - RS-232 - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9)
* 1 x parallel - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25)
* 1 x keyboard - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style)
* 1 x mouse - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style)
* 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A
* 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 4 pin FireWire
* 1 x network - RJ-45
* 1 x docking / port replicator

Compatibility
* Compaq Evo Notebook N1020v
* Compaq Evo Notebook N620c
* Compaq Evo Notebook N800c
* Compaq Evo Notebook N800v
* HP Compaq Business Notebook Nc4010
* HP Compaq Business Notebook Nc6000
* HP Compaq Business Notebook Nc8000
* HP Compaq Business Notebook Nx5000
* HP Compaq Mobile Workstation Nw8000
price:$159.

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Tags:replicator

Laptop Shopping? Here Are 3 Good Ones

It's never been a better time. Prices are the lowest they've ever been and features are good, even on entry-level machines.

Here are a few things you need to know:

Laptop or notebook? Though most folks use the terms interchangeably, "laptop" generally refers to machines on the large size, over 6 pounds. Many are used as desktop replacements because they typically have the CD-DVD drives built in and are loaded with most of the options you'd have on a big desktop PC.

Notebooks are lighter, less than 6 pounds, and they often have separate CD-DVD drives that plug into a USB port and are left behind when you pack the notebook up in your briefcase.

Memory: If you are going to use a laptop as your main machine, you want at least 512 megabytes of memory. Some of the entry-level machines come with 256 MB. That's probably enough for most on-the- go tasks, though performance can lag if you want to open multiple programs, do some serious number crunching with a spreadsheet, watch video or listen to music.

Finding the best price: Whether you buy online or from a store, always run the model you're interested in through a comparison- shopping site such as pricegrabber.com or shopping .com.

If you buy online, realize that shipping costs often make it just as costly as if it were purchased from a brick and mortar retail outlet.

That said, here are my 2005 laptop and notebook recommendations:

-Apple 15-inch G4 PowerBook www.apple.com

-Toshiba Satellite M45 www.tigerdirect.com

-Fujitsu LifeBook P1500 Tablet PC http://store.shopfujitsu.com

[via-Redorbit]

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Tags:laptop