Friday, June 12, 2009
MSI’s X-Slim range is about to get a new screen option, in the shape of the 15.6-inch X600. Notebook Italia have unboxed the biggest X-Slim in advance of its late-June European launch, finding a laptop that may not be as portable as its smaller siblings, but which is perhaps all the more usable.
The X600 might have a full keyboard and separate numeric keypad, but it also comes in at just 25mm thick. Inside there’s up to 4GB of RAM, up to 500GB hard-drive, a choice of processors from Intel’s CULV range (topping out at the 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500) and ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4330 graphics with 512MB video memory.
There’s also a 6-cell battery, four speakers, VGA, HDMI, three USB, ethernet and audio in/out connectivity, WiFi a/b/g/n and, model depending, Bluetooth. The 720p-capable display runs at 1366 x 768. When it arrives in Italy later this month, the MSI X-Slim X600 will be priced between €799 ($1,123) and €949 ($1,334). Full details of the four models available at launch after the unboxing video.
The X600 might have a full keyboard and separate numeric keypad, but it also comes in at just 25mm thick. Inside there’s up to 4GB of RAM, up to 500GB hard-drive, a choice of processors from Intel’s CULV range (topping out at the 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500) and ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4330 graphics with 512MB video memory.There’s also a 6-cell battery, four speakers, VGA, HDMI, three USB, ethernet and audio in/out connectivity, WiFi a/b/g/n and, model depending, Bluetooth. The 720p-capable display runs at 1366 x 768. When it arrives in Italy later this month, the MSI X-Slim X600 will be priced between €799 ($1,123) and €949 ($1,334). Full details of the four models available at launch after the unboxing video.
Chuwi’s W3000 still looks unlikely to arrive on US or European shelves any time soon, but that hasn’t dulled the enthusiasm of the guys over at MP4 Nation. They’ve been putting the 4.1-inch touchscreen PMP through its paces, and finding that in contrast to the SmartQ 5, the W3000 actually does a good job both as a media player and as an internet device.
Chuwi have modified the standard Windows CE version of Internet Explorer, and it apparently renders sites far better than the normal build. However there’s still no Flash support, which means video sites like YouTube and Hulu are no-go areas. Instead, you’ll be looking to play FLV, RMVP, MP4 and AVI video on the PMP, and happily it’s all reportedly smooth and has a handy TV output for larger-screen entertainment.
Unfortunately, despite being Windows CE based the W3000 proved unhappy with the GAPI gaming/application API, which limits its software flexibility. Still, out of the box there’s WiFi support, a microSD card slot, USB host port and a decent media player front-end. It remains to be seen whether Chuwi develop a version of the W3000 for export - right now it only has a Chinese version of CE running - but if they do, expect it to come in at under $170 for the 8GB and under $140 for the 2GB model.
Chuwi have modified the standard Windows CE version of Internet Explorer, and it apparently renders sites far better than the normal build. However there’s still no Flash support, which means video sites like YouTube and Hulu are no-go areas. Instead, you’ll be looking to play FLV, RMVP, MP4 and AVI video on the PMP, and happily it’s all reportedly smooth and has a handy TV output for larger-screen entertainment.Unfortunately, despite being Windows CE based the W3000 proved unhappy with the GAPI gaming/application API, which limits its software flexibility. Still, out of the box there’s WiFi support, a microSD card slot, USB host port and a decent media player front-end. It remains to be seen whether Chuwi develop a version of the W3000 for export - right now it only has a Chinese version of CE running - but if they do, expect it to come in at under $170 for the 8GB and under $140 for the 2GB model.
Compact secondary displays, like Nanovision’s MIMO range, are useful ways of adding a little extra desktop to your computer. Connecting via USB, they sit happily next to your full-sized display or laptop. Hanwha Japan, though, have given their secondary LCD something of an odd twist: instead of using USB, it connects via a D-Sub VGA port.
That means you’ll need a dual-head graphics card if you want to use the WM-TL7 with your desktop, though notebook and netbook users should be fine as most have a VGA output. Specs for the 7-inch display are WVGA resolution (800 x 480), 200:1 contrast ratio and 240cd/m2 brightness; as is usually the case, response time is on the sluggish side at 30ms.
While this might seem a vaguely pointless product given the ease of use a USB DisplayLink monitor offers, it could have its strong points. DisplayLink requires some processing power to create a virtual graphics card and run the display; why not use the existing graphics card and save CPU cycles? The Hanwha Japan VM-TL7 is available in Japan now, priced at around $223.
That means you’ll need a dual-head graphics card if you want to use the WM-TL7 with your desktop, though notebook and netbook users should be fine as most have a VGA output. Specs for the 7-inch display are WVGA resolution (800 x 480), 200:1 contrast ratio and 240cd/m2 brightness; as is usually the case, response time is on the sluggish side at 30ms.
While this might seem a vaguely pointless product given the ease of use a USB DisplayLink monitor offers, it could have its strong points. DisplayLink requires some processing power to create a virtual graphics card and run the display; why not use the existing graphics card and save CPU cycles? The Hanwha Japan VM-TL7 is available in Japan now, priced at around $223.
Robotics platform manufacturer RoBe:Do Robotics have added a third model to their range of netbook-powered ‘bots, the Three. As with the previous two platforms, the Three is a modular chassis which uses a USB-connected motor controller; the buyer slaps their laptop or netbook onto the deck, and it acts as the Three’s brain.
Three is supplied fully-assembled, and in its most basic form has two 6.7-inch wheels with twin 120 rpm motors. They’re apparently faster than any RoBe:Do have used before, and are powered by either 8 or 16 rechargeable NiMH 9.6V batteries.
Into the system you can plug an optional three-sensor digital IR navigation array, for autonomous control, or any number of USB sensors, webcams, I/O controllers and other gadgets to adapt the platform. C, C++, C#, Flash AS3, Java, .NET, Python, VBScript and Visual Basic are all supported, among others, and you can use a Linux, Mac or Windows based notebook or netbook.
The RoBe:Do Three is available to order now, priced from $439 ($399 as an introductory offer); the navigation array is a $79 option, while the batteries are priced at $34 or $44 for the 8 or 16 packs respectively.
Three is supplied fully-assembled, and in its most basic form has two 6.7-inch wheels with twin 120 rpm motors. They’re apparently faster than any RoBe:Do have used before, and are powered by either 8 or 16 rechargeable NiMH 9.6V batteries.
Into the system you can plug an optional three-sensor digital IR navigation array, for autonomous control, or any number of USB sensors, webcams, I/O controllers and other gadgets to adapt the platform. C, C++, C#, Flash AS3, Java, .NET, Python, VBScript and Visual Basic are all supported, among others, and you can use a Linux, Mac or Windows based notebook or netbook.
The RoBe:Do Three is available to order now, priced from $439 ($399 as an introductory offer); the navigation array is a $79 option, while the batteries are priced at $34 or $44 for the 8 or 16 packs respectively.
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