HP Pavilion DM1 launches in Europe

The HP Pavilion DM1 may not be available in the US yet… but it’s getting a little closer. A few weeks ago it showed up on HP’s Japanese web site. And now the 11.6 inch laptop is available in Germany for 499 Euros. We’re just an ocean or two away from seeing it in North America.

The laptop features an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and looks an awful lot like the HP Mini 311 on the outside. But on the inside, HP has replaced the Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA ION graphics with a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 dual core processor and Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics. The HP Pavilion DM1 also has 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

The notebook packs 802.11b/g WiFi, a 5-in-1 card reader, Ethernet, and a 6 cell battery. It weighs 3.2 pounds and measures 11.4″ x 8″ x 1.2″.

Entertainment On The Go; Samsung N510 with nVidia ION technology

It is hard to tell the different netbooks models apart nowadays, they all seem to be the same as each other but in a different plastic case. They all mainly use the Intel Atom processor, have a 10 to 12 inch screen and poor integrated graphics. But not so with the Samsung N510, it is a netbook which stands out from the crowd. This netbook uses what is called nVidia ION technology which means it comes with great graphics for watching HD video and for playing many of todays 3D games.

The nVidia ION is a chipset which works with the Intel Atom processor to provide full 1080p high-definition video playback with 7.1 surround sound. The graphics processor behind the nVidia ION is the 9400M which is found in, among other things, the Apple MacBooks.

The Samsung N510 has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 11.6″ LED backlit screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768. This means it is just great for watching HD content. Also the LED backlight uses less power (compared to more traditional LCD displays), so you can be entertained for longer.

When TrustedReviews.com tried out the HD capabilities of the N510 the “playback was flawlessly smooth, with CPU usage hovering around the 25 to 30 per cent region. Attempt to play back such files on a vanilla Atom netbook and you’ll get nothing but judder and dropped frames.”

Samsung is claiming that the N510 with a 6 cell battery, delivers up to 7 hours of power which is helped by the energy efficient LED display. For continuous video playback the battery life will be a bit less, but you could get around 6 hours, long enough to watch a couple of movies on an trans atlantic flight.

Other features of the N510 are:

• 1 GB RAM and a 160 GB HD
• 1.3 Megapixel webcam and internal microphone
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI port
• 3-in-1 memory card reader
• Wireless (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1

At the moment the N510 comes with Windows XP Home Edition but it can almost certainly handle Windows 7 if you wanted to independently buy the upgrade.

Sony launches lightest notebook ... so far

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Evergeek Media

Upping the ante by lowering the profile in the remarkably competitive skinny-laptop space is Sony's latest, the Vaio X.

Clad in resilient but lightweight carbon fiber, the 11.1 inch (diagonal) Vaio X weighs in at 1.6 pounds and is just half an inch thick. Within that, it sports a 1366 by 768 resolution (16:9 widescreen) LED screen and a built-in Motion Eye camera in its upper fold.

And while notebook ultra-lights designed for travel aren't exactly renowned for horsepower, the Vaio X looks to buck the trend by offering a 2.0 GHz Intel Atom Processor and 2GB of RAM -- which is pretty spiffy for a wafer-book, far superior to the typical low-rent "netbook."

In terms of juice, the Vaio X sports 3.5 hour, low-profile battery, but Sony is also offering a bulkier battery option for frequent flyers and road warriors that will reportedly extend Vaio X life up to 14 hours.

So much for ultra-thin, which Sony spins as good for "propping up" the Vaio X for better typing ergonomics. Surprisingly, within the confines of its stock thinness, the Vaio X manages to include a (seemingly huge) VGA port, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port and the requisite Memory Stick Duo and SD Card slots.

The Sony Vaio X is available now for $1,299.99 in the U.S. and is expected to retail in Canada for $1,499.99 in November.

Intel’s 1.86GHz N470 Atom CPU expected in March 2010

Up until now, the 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor has been the only Pineview processor for netbooks that has been leaked. Many of you were disappointed that Intel didn’t up the clock speeds on the next-generation Atoms.

Well according to Fudzilla, a 1.86GHz N470 Atom is also on the pipeline and is expected to launch in March next year (the N450 is rumoured to launch in January). The N470 Atom will cost $75, placing it $11 more expensive than the N450 at $64. It will be interesting to see the take-up of both of these new chips given that the N270 is selling for just $44.

ARM vs. Atom: The battle for the next digital frontier

InfoWorld - For once, Intel knows how it feels to be the underdog.

Over the past 25 years, Intel has risen to become the leading supplier of microprocessors for home and business computing, commanding a virtual monopoly in the market for desktop, laptop, and server CPUs. Even Apple has joined the choir.

But CEO Paul Otellini isn't content to stop there. He envisions a world in which Intel chips power every device, from the grandest server to the humblest media appliance -- a "continuum of computing" that spans many tiers of processor power, all united by Intel's x86 architecture.

[ Linux, Android, Atom, and ARM -- the coming netbook revolution could carve out a whole new niche in computing | Meanwhile huge performance gains in InfoWorld's Test Center review prove Intel's Nehalem owns quad-core ]

Key to this vision is Atom, the most recent entry in Intel's processor line. Compact and extremely energy-efficient, Atom is already the leading CPU for netbook computers. With its latest, ultra-low-voltage versions of the chip, Intel is poised to take x86 even further down Otellini's continuum, away from PCs and into the world of handsets, media players, smart TVs, and other digital electronic devices.

It won't be easy. Intel may be the reigning king of PCs and server CPUs, but in the world of mobile devices, that title goes to an unlikely rival: a small, unassuming company called ARM Holdings, based in Cambridge, England.

Most consumers have never even heard of ARM. You won't see ARM ad campaigns in magazines or on TV. There are no stickers proclaiming "ARM Inside!" The company employs fewer than 1,800 people, and at $3 billion, its market capitalization is a mere fraction of Intel's. But make no mistake -- ARM and Intel are on a collision course. What happens next could determine the shape of the computing industry for years to come.

The next digital frontier The stakes are high in the market for electronic devices, but the opportunity is massive.

Consider: Intel sold its 1 billionth x86 chip in 2003. Its closest rival, AMD, broke the 500 million mark just this year. ARM, on the other hand, expects to ship 2.8 billion processors in 2009 alone -- or around 90 chips per second. That's in addition to the more than 10 billion ARM processors already powering devices today.

Pick up any mobile phone and there's a 95 percent chance it contains at least one ARM processor. If the phone was manufactured in the past five years, make that 100 percent; that goes for standard handsets as well as smartphones.

The same is true for portable media players. Whether the label says Archos, iRiver, or Sony, inside it's ARM.

Sony Unveils Vaio X, Vaio CW Laptops

Sony has unveiled the official specs for its super-slim Sony Vaio X series laptops, which the company was showing off last month at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The specs are pretty close to what was predicted, but there are a few surprises--including a lower-than-expected price. Sony also detailed its upcoming Vaio CW series laptops, which are less expensive than the X series.

The Sony Vaio X is sure to turn heads, with its carbon fiber body weighing in at 1.6 pounds. At only 0.55-inches thick, the new Vaio X is a little bit thinner than the recently announced Dell Latitude Z, and a lot lighter than most ultra-slim notebooks.

You will have to make some trade offs for the Vaio X's sleek chassis, though, starting with its puny 11.1-inch LED backlit screen with 1366 x 768 resolution. By comparison, the MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch diagonal screen and the Dell Latitude Z sports a whopping 16-inch display. As for the processor, Sony will only say it's a 2.0 GHz Intel chip. Early speculation said the Vaio X would come with an Atom processor, which would make the Vaio X's processor the Atom Z550, but that is only speculation.

The Vaio X ships with Windows 7, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 64GB solid-state drive, multi-touch trackpad, Memory Stick Duo and SD card slots, GPS (works in the U.S. and Canada only), Ethernet, Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Bluetooth connectivity, 2 X USB 2.0 ports, and MOTION EYE Webcam. The Vaio X also comes with built-in 3G capability, which requires a Verizon wireless broadband subscription. Available colors include black and gold. The Vaio X's body is made of carbon fiber, but the top case around the trackpad and keyboard is aluminum.

Sony Vaio X pricing starts at $1300, which is much lower than Sony's claim last month that they Vaio X would be priced under $2000. The Vaio X will start shipping in November and can be found on Sonystyle.com right now.

CW Series

For something a little cheaper you can try the Sony Vaio CW on for size. This laptop runs Windows 7, and features an optional Blu-ray drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce dedicated graphics card, 320GB hard drive and HDMI out, which Sony says will allow you to playback high-definition content on your big screen TV. Available colors include fiery red, poppy pink, icy white, jet black and indigo purple.

The Vaio CW series starts at $780, but looking around on Sony's Website, the cheapest version I could find of the model described above started at $800. The CW Series will be available at the end of this month, likely after the Windows 7 launch on October 22.

ASUS reportedly launching smartbook in early 2010

Changing sides

ASUS boss Jerry Shen has confirmed that his company is going to launch a smartbook device in Q1 2010, reports shanzai.com, citing its source as the Chinese language China Times. Shen was apparently speaking at an investor conference in Taipei and signalled a change in approach from his previous reticence in endorsing the smartbook concept.

Just to recap, smartbook is a term coined by Qualcomm and adopted by the rest of the ARM ecosystem, to define a mini-notebook that runs on a low-power processor using the ARM instruction set - as opposed to x86, which is used by Intel and AMD CPUs.

While smartbooks are expected to offer advantages in terms of price and battery life, their most significant single drawback is that Microsoft has yet to write a full version of Windows that runs on the ARM instruction set. For this reason, Google's Android and Chrome operating systems are expected to feature prominently, but smartbooks are defined by the processor rather than the OS.

If ASUS does embrace the smartbook opportunity it will be especially significant, as it was the OEM to pioneer the mass marketing of Intel's Atom processor, when it played a major role in establishing the (Intel named) netbook category with its Eee PC range. It's no secret that Intel and the ARM ecosystem are in direct competition with each other, so this move is unlikely to endear ASUS to Intel.

The report doesn't say who will be making the processor inside this future smartbook but ASUS did have a transient presence in Qualcomm's Snapdragon showcase at this year's Computex. The report prices it at around 6000 Taiwan dollars, which equates to around £112 and $184 in today's money.