Laptops and Desktops

Laptops with mobile WiMax now available

John Morris — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:25:29 +0000

The first laptops with built-in mobile WiMax wireless broadband are now available in the U.S. Sprint, Intel and the computer companies announced the new WiMax configurations at an event in Baltimore just a few days after Sprint launched its Xohm service there. All of these laptops use Intel’s Echo Peak chipset, formally known as the WiMax/WiFi [...]

Asus announces quad-core gaming laptop (again)

John Morris — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:06:16 +0000

There are now several quad-core mobile workstations for work, but Asus is laying claim to the first quad-core laptop designed purely for play. This week it announced that the G71 “Republic of Gamers,” a 17-inch gaming laptop, now offers Intel’s new 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme Quad QX9300. (Asus first announced the G71 back in August, around [...]

Sony AW series: The best laptop display?

John Morris — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:35:58 +0000

With expansive 16:9 displays and Blu-ray drives, the new crop of desktop replacements with 18.4-inch displays are geared toward mobile entertainment. Though its design is nothing special, the Sony VAIO AW series stands out from this group, according to reviews at PCMag.com and LaptopMag.com, thanks to its high-quality, LED-backlit 1,920-by-1,080 display. “The color reproduction on this [...]

The quad-core laptops are here . . . sort of

John Morris — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:59:43 +0000

Back in August Dell, HP and Lenovo all announced mobile workstations that offer Intel’s first quad-core chip for laptops. Those systems are now available for order and reviews of at least one model–the Lenovo ThinkPad W700–are giving a glimpse of the performance you can expect from these 17-inch powerhouses. The ThinkPad W700 and Dell Precision M6400 [...]

HP’s first 13.3-inch Pavilion vs. the competition

John Morris — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:34:18 +0000

HP is shipping its first laptop with a 13.3-inch widescreen display. The HP Pavilion dv3500t series is already available on HP’s site starting at $1,000, and a slightly higher-end configuration, the dv3520nr, is available for pre-order at Best Buy for $1,200. Other sites have reported that this model will be a Best Buy exclusive. The dv3500t [...]

Sony VAIO TT Blu-ray ultraportable reviewed

John Morris — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:45:07 +0000

Turns out you can build a pretty good laptop for more than four grand. LaptopMag.com has the first full review of the new Sony TT series ultraportable, and it doesn’t disappoint. The latest low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor, a Blu-ray drive, dual 128GB SSDs and six-hour-plus battery life in a 2.8-pound package adds up [...]

First reviews of Toshiba Qosmio with SpursEngine

John Morris — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:01:50 +0000

More than three months after Toshiba launched its first desktop replacement that makes use of the Cell processor in Japan, the Toshiba Qosmio G55-Q802 has reached U.S. shores and received its first hands-on reviews from PCMag.com and ComputerShopper.com. The Qosmio G55 series is part of a new wave of desktop replacements that use an 18.4-inch display, [...]

Sprint’s Xohm service and the first “WiMax” review

John Morris — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:17:31 +0000

[Update 10/2/08: Hands-on reviews of Sprint’s Xohm service, which is based on Mobile WiMax, have now been posted at LaptopMag.com (XOHM WiMAX In Baltimore: Speed Tests With XOHM ExpressCard) and PCMag.com (Sprint XOHM Mobile WiMAX).] No sooner had Sprint flipped the switch on its WiMax wireless broadband service–at least in one city–then InfoWorld posted the first [...]

Suddenly the MacBook Air doesn’t seem so expensive anymore. . .

John Morris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:51:53 +0000

As rumored, Sony announced its new ultraportable this week. The old VAIO TZ series was a slick ultraportable, and the new VAIO TT series looks even better, though I’ll wait for some full reviews for confirmation. In the meantime, the list of available options– carbon fiber chassis that weighs 2.9 pounds, 11.1-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, [...]

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 Tablet racks up awards

John Morris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:22:40 +0000

Reviews of the tablet version of Lenovo’s X200 ultraportable are in. The big change in this version, which replaces the longstanding ThinkPad X61t, is the switch to a widescreen display. The X200 Tablet is also thinner and lighter, weighing about 3.5 pounds with the standard four-cell battery and a little more than 4 pounds with [...]