Online latest technology news

Having teased us mercilessly back in July with the banner for their IdeaPad U450p, Lenovo have finally put the 14-inch CULV ultraportable up for sale. Kicking off from $799, the U450p has a choice of Intel 1.3GHz Pentium SU2700 or 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500 processors and up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.
There’s also up to 320GB of 5,400rpm HDD storage, an integrated DVD burner, Intel X4500 graphics and a 1,366 x 768 AntiGlare display. Connectivity includes a choice of WiFi b/g/n or b/g, ethernet, VGA, HDMI, three USB ports and audio in/out.

The standard battery is a 6-cell pack, though we’re not sure what sort of runtime you could expect from that yet. Shipping is expected to begin “in more than 4 weeks” so there’s some wait, but if you’ve between $799 and $899 burning a hole in your pocket and an insatiable demand for a Lenovo CULV ultraportable then the IdeaPad U450p could be for you.

With official photos, full specifications, an unboxing and demo video behind us, all that’s left for MSI’s X-Slim X600 – before a post eventually saying it’s been retired, of course – is a full review. Happily LaptopMag are on hand to deliver just that, putting the 15.6-inch CULV ultraportable through its paces to see if it’s more than just good looks or falls flat like its smaller X340 sibling.

The X600’s dimensions can’t be ignored, and that’s partly down to shedding an internal DVD burner in favor of an external one, and partly thanks to MSI’s using an Intel 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500 ULV processor that requires less in the way of cooling. Of course, the payoff to that is reduced performance, significantly below that of traditional 15-inch notebooks, but the graphics – from the ATI Radeon HD 4330 GPU – put in a reasonable performance, squeezing 25fps from Far Cry 2 at 1,024 x 768 resolution.

For $799 LaptopMag are quietly impressed by the X600. You’re choosing size and portability over performance or multimedia capabilities – for the same money you can get a Sony VAIO NW with integrated Blu-ray drive – but it certainly doesn’t disappoint like the X340 has.

Acer’s Aspire Timeline 1810T ultraportable has begun to show up in the wild, with at least two sites – ITC.ua and PCHome.net – getting their hands on the CULV ultraportable. As you might expect, first impressions are that – in terms of the hardware you can see – the 1810T is very similar to the Acer Aspire One 751 it in effect replaces; unfortunately there’s no benchmarking feedback as yet to prove whether the ultraportable runs better than its lethargic predecessor.


Still, the 1810T gets credit for its large keyboard and slim chassis – which ranges from 22mm to 30mm thick – though the trackpad was on the small side. It’s also a fingerprint magnet, with both the gloss red and gloss blue machines picking up prints with gusto.

Actual sales of the Timeline 1810T aren’t expected to kick off in Europe until mid-August, with the ultraportable priced at €499 ($717). Standard configuration is Intel’s 1.4GHz ULV SU3500 processor, GMA 4500MHD graphics and a 6-cell battery promising up to 8hrs runtime.

We've seen Buffalo shrink USB drives down to preposterous sizes in the recent past, and now the company is throwing a microSD card reader into the mix. Available for ¥15,500.00 (that's $160, give or take) this guy stores 16GB internally, is available in both colors -- black AND white -- and would be right at home in any of your computer's favorite USB 2.0 ports. And just to get you started, this bad boy includes a 16GB card microSD card. How sweet is that?

AMD may have convinced HP to slap their new Congo into the updated dv2 ultraportable, but if you’ve been waiting to hear a little more about the dual-core chipset then we’ve some more detail for you. Targeted at thin-and-light notebooks rather than taking on Intel’s Atom N-series chips, Congo is a combination of the new dual-core AMD Neo processor, updated ATI graphics and an improved chipset.


The chipset is the M780G, while the graphics side of things is handled by the ATI Radeon HD 3200 IGP. That pairing brings with it HDMI, DisplayPort and eSATA connectivity, plus HD video hardware decoding and DirectX 10 for gaming.

There’s also support for hybrid graphics setups, where the Congo system is augmented with a selectable higher-spec GPU for more hardware-intensive applications. That’s an approach which has served NVIDIA well in the case of the GeForce 9400M/9600M offering available across many of Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro models. AMD expects Congo to arrive later in 2009, with system prices ranging from around $499 upward.

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.

We have something of a soft-spot for HP’s Pavilion dv2 ultraportable, the 12.1-inch AMD-powered notebook we played with back in April. Managing to find space for a capacious 500GB hard-drive, 4GB of RAM and a 512MB ATI discrete graphics card, the only potential downside is the ULV processor.

Now HP are preparing at least two new versions of the notebook, together with a new color option. Of interest to anybody who found the Yukon CPU of the original dv2 underpowered, AMD’s dual-core Congo and full Athlon X2 processors are set to hit the notebook; there’s also a white version planned.

The white model keeps the black screen surround - seemingly to prevent eye-strain - but swaps the lower half of the notebook for a glossy white plastic. It looks to work quite well with the silver trim strips, but we find ourselves wondering how it might look after a few months of finger grease and scratches.

No word on pricing or specific availability for any of the new dv2 versions

Chinese OEM Tongfong and VIA have announced the latest Via Nano based ultraportable, the Tongfong S30A. A mere 33mm thick and tipping the scales at 1.4kg, the S30A has a 13.3-inch display, integrated DVD burner and 2GB of RAM; it uses the VIA 1.3GHz Nano U2250 processor together with the unified VIA VX800 MSP and discrete S3 Graphics Chrome 435 ULP graphics making for a HD-capable machine.

There’s also space for a 2.5-inch SATA hard-drive, WiFi b/g and 10/100 ethernet, plus a 4-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot, HDMI and VGA ports and two USB 2.0 ports. The standard battery is a six-cell pack, but it can be augmented by removing the DVD burner and slotting in an optional three-cell secondary battery.

Vista and XP Home versions will be available. We’re yet to hear exactly what sort of runtime you can expect from the Tongfong S30A thanks to all that low-power hardware and batteries stuffed into every nook and cranny, and nor do we have any pricing or specific availability.