laptops ac adapter

Good news, maybe, sort of: Fudzilla is reporting that Intel will allow netbook manufacturers who use an upcoming version of its low-end Atom CPU to sell machines with 2GB of RAM rather than today’s artificial maximum of 1GB. That would allow for nicer, better-performing netbooks that don’t cost a whole lot more. Of course, it also begs the question: Why is Intel involved in deciding how much RAM a netbook can have in the first place? It’s a little as if the company that manufactured my home’s furnace wanted to be involved in deciding the capacity of my washing machine.

The PC industry-even the parts of it who are selling tons of netbooks-have an amazing track record of disparaging the darn things and explaining why consumers don’t really want them. But some of the limitations of netbooks are manufactured: Both Intel and Microsoft impose restrictions on PC manufacturers that ensure that netbooks are less appealing than they might otherwise be, and therefore less imposing competition for more traditional, full-featured, profitable notebooks-ones that typically contain costlier Intel chips and run higher-priced versions of Windows.

Almost everyone in the computer industry would rather that consumers reject netbooks and buy somewhat more expensive, powerful thin-and-light notebooks with ultra-low voltage processors. And in many cases, those machines make a lot of sense. But wouldn’t it be nice if said consumers could choose between the best possible netbook and the best possible thin-and-light?

For more smart takes on technology, visit Technologizer.com. Story copyright © 2009, Technologizer. All rights reserved

Hope you didn’t put away those Windows 7 party hats because, apparently, Lenovo waited a couple days longer to share its news: It has crafted “Enhanced Experience” PCs that are faster and Windows-ier than competitors. Lenovo worked closely with Microsoft on the optimizations, even going so far as to say that its products get the nod from Microsoft for the “Enhanced Experience” certification. Of course, we can’t back up these claims with conclusive tests just yet (when some of these new rigs show up, we can give you a better idea where things stand)–but that isn’t going to stop me from telling you the how’s and the what’s….

The Big Claims
Lenovo says that its machines boot 33 percent faster and shut down up to 50 percent quicker than comparable rigs.

Lenovo also highlights One-button data backup and recovery, AV, scanning and system repair tools. Basically, it is talking about the ThinkVantage software suite that we already love–plus extras. A couple other big data points for cautious computer users: OneKey Rescue System 7.0 backs up data twice as fast and includes more powerful antivirus scanning that can be run even before loading the operating system.

The last pillar: Taking multimedia more seriously. By adding better discrete GPUs and improving the audio solutions (the Y series IdeaPads get full depth speakers with rubber feet and Dolby Home Surround Sound; The U series gets reduced vibration design for speakers; and the G series get enlarged speaker chambers).

All that sounds pretty sweet. However, as I noted up top, seeing is believing. So stay tuned for more on that. As for the machines Lenovo is hot to trot out, these are the main ones.

IdeaPad Y550P (starts at $1399)
The Y550P is Lenovo’s power user consumer model. Take an Intel Core i7 processor; add a 1GB nVidia GT M240 GPU, a 500GB hard drive, and a 15.6-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel panel–and you have a package that could deliver pretty decent performance. If the system’s A/V doesn’t deliver right off the bat, the machine hosts a OneKey Theater audiovisual optimizer. A touch-inductive SlideNav above the keyboard promises to allow easy navigation between programs and shortcuts. Of course, it’s going to be a little beefy at 6 pounds and measuring 15.2 by 10 by 1.5 inches. And don’t expect it to run marathons–spokespeople say that this machine should last 4 and a half hours with the battery.

IdeaPad U150 (starts at $585)
The sassy U150 just barely fits into the size range of netbooks (measuring 0.5 inch thick and weighing only 2.9 pounds), but lurking beneath the textured red or black cover is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an 11.6-inch (1366-by-768) display, and up to a 320GB hard drive or a 64GB solid-state drive. Protecting this little guy from bumps and scrapes is something called the Active Protection System. Spokespeople say that the laptop will last up to 7 hours with the six-cell battery.

IdeaPad U550 (starts at $650)
Where the Y550 screams with all the multimedia bells and whistles, think of the IdeaPad U550 as the “strictly business” consumer machine. It offers a 15.6-inch (1366-by-768) screen, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and an integrated GPU (you can opt for a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU). It also offers switchable graphics–toggle the discrete GPU with a button press. It measures 14.8 by 9.9 by 1.16 inches and weighs 5.3 pounds. Oh, and for those that want a machine that’ll literally be easier on the eyes, the U550 touts an ambient light sensor to adjust the screen for you.

Obviously, this is just a quick peek at the machines. We’ll be sure to give you a more complete picture of each of these laptops as review units show up in the office

PC makers will ship new laptops on Thursday to coincide with the release of Microsoft’s Windows 7 in an effort to drum up excitement around the new OS.

Many have called Windows 7 the best and fastest operating system from Microsoft since Windows XP. PC makers intend to cash in on the hype surrounding the OS and improvements that include a snappier user interface, touchscreen support and better graphics capabilities.

A few PCs that will ship on Thursday include unique features that take advantage of those features, including a 3D laptop from Acer and a touchscreen PC from Hewlett-Packard. Lenovo will ship new laptops for small and medium-sized businesses looking to upgrade from the Vista OS.

There are also some interesting deals being offered by stores in the U.S. Best Buy is offering what it calls a “PC home makeover” package, which bundles a desktop, netbook, laptop, monitor and networking equipment for US$1,199.

“For the price of one average Mac, you can outfit your entire family with three great Windows 7 PCs and a home network,” said Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc in a blog entry on the Windows Team Blog site. Price notwithstanding, Microsoft’s pitch may not move dedicated fans of Apple, which is known for its unique Mac designs and strong customer support.

Nevertheless, some new PCs try to get a leg up on the Macs. Acer’s Aspire 5738DG can display movies and games in 3D while allowing everyday applications to appear in their usual 2D format. The laptop has a 15.6-inch screen with a special 3D coating, as well as software and special glasses from a company called TriDef to enable the 3D experience. The laptop, a desktop replacement running on Intel Core 2 Duo processors, delivers images “that literally pop from the screen,” according to Acer.

The TriDef system can take standard 2D content and make it appear 3D. The laptop is priced starting at US$799, and is available at a few retail stores, Acer said. The company didn’t comment on worldwide availability.

HP will start shipping a new multitouch-enabled all-in-one PC on Thursday. The TouchSmart 600xt multitouch PC is powered by Intel processors and is priced starting at $1,049. It comes with a 23-inch screen on which multiple fingers can be used to manipulate images, scroll through documents or zoom into maps. Touch can also be used for applications like Twitter or to view videos from sites like Hulu. The PC also connects to game consoles like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Wii for users to play games.

Upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista could be difficult, so HP is also offering some help. The company has a support board where community members can ask experts and company representatives about transitioning to Windows 7. The company is also maintaining a Windows 7 Web site where users can access other resources, including how-to videos.

Lenovo on Wednesday announced it would offer many of its existing ThinkPad and Idea-branded PCs with Windows 7. The company also announced new ThinkPad SL410 and 510 budget laptops, which include troubleshooting tools that ease system maintenance and tasks like data backup and recovery. This can help smaller companies that don’t have an IT staff, Lenovo said. Starting at $529, the laptops will be available at retailers like Tiger Direct, Amazon.com and select Best Buy stores.

Lenovo said it has designed the laptops to work with Windows 7, improving speed and performance. The company claims that select Think PCs with Windows 7 boot 56 percent faster compared to running Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Microsoft has certainly stolen the show today. Paired with the release of the much-anticipated Windows 7 OS and the opening of the first Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, Arizona, Microsoft began selling PCs and third-party software on the store’s Web site.
Computers for sale come pre-loaded with Windows 7. And, in an odd gesture, the company is also selling a few Netbooks — low-cost PCs that Microsoft has battled vigorously in the past.
Microsoft opened its online store back in November and only sold Microsoft products. Now all that has changed, quite possibly to increase the visibility and influence of Windows 7, an OS Microsoft finally seems proud of. Usability has increased as well.
According to Trevin Chow, Senior Lead Program Manager for Microsoft Store, in a blog post: “We initially launched the online store last November, and since then we have had nearly a years worth data coming in from usability studies, web analytics, and direct customer feedback. Based on all of this data, coupled with the newly expanded product catalog, one of the biggest goals we had in this release was to simplify site navigation for our customers. With the new site, you’ll notice a re-designed categorization, navigation and filtering system aimed to make it easier and faster to navigate as well as help you find products you want more quickly.”
Not only is Microsoft selling PCs, it is also pushing its Xbox 360 video game console and games, and the new Zune HD media player.
The pickings thus far are slim, and it’s uncertain whether or not Microsoft will broaden its base to attract customers away from sites like Dell and Lenovo and back to the mothership. How much Microsoft is skimming off the top of sales is also undisclosed, but I imagine it’s a decent chunk; otherwise the company would never have made the move

Acer has issued a voluntary recall of some of its Acer Aspire laptops that may overheat due to a faulty microphone cable.

The PC maker has issued a voluntary recall for some Acer Aspire models that may be affected by the issue, the company said on a European customer support page.

Laptops eligible for the recall include Acer Aspire models AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG made before Sept. 15, 2009.

Acer has blamed a microphone cable, which could cause laptops to overheat when extreme pressure is applied repeatedly to the left palm rest. That could damage the case of affected units and cause the system to malfunction.

Acer said it would replace the microphone cable “to eliminate any risk of overheating.” Users need to check the serial or identification number via the Web site to determine whether their laptops are eligible for the recall. The company did not provide further information about the voluntary recall

Apple on Tuesday announced an updated version of its low-end MacBook laptop, which will be available immediately. The new model, while still clad in white polycarbonate, now features the same unibody construction and bright LED-backlit screens as Apple’s other laptops, as well as the same glass multi-touch trackpad found in the MacBook Pro line.

The new 13.3-inch MacBook bears the same $999 price as the old model, but is powered by a 2.26GHz processor. It also features 2GB of 1066MHz RAM, a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics chip, and a 250GB hard drive.

This new MacBook has a familiar look, but it’s thinner, with curved edges. Like Apple’s other MacBooks, it’s got a self-contained, non-swappable battery. As a result, the bottom of the laptop has no feet–instead, the entire bottom surface is rubberized, save for eight screws.

The previous MacBook model was a holdover from the previous generation of MacBooks, and became the only MacBook when the aluminum-clad models became MacBook Pros in June 2009. It was available in a single $999 configuration, powered by a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor, with 2GB of 800MHz RAM and a 160GB hard drive. The white MacBook has featured Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics since January

Acer is planning to launch a dual-boot netbook this quarter that will ship with both Microsoft’s Windows and Google’s Android operating system, the head of its Japan unit said Tuesday.

The computer, details of which were not available, was first shown in June at this year’s Computex exhibition in Taipei. At the time Acer said it planned to launch the computer in the third quarter but the quarter ended two weeks ago with no sign of the machine.

“Worldwide I expect to see the product launch in Q4,” said Bob Sen, managing director of Acer Japan, during an interview with IDG News Service in Tokyo.

When the computers were first demonstrated in June they were running Android and Windows but an Acer executive said the company would install Android and another Linux operating system in the computers when they shipped commercially. However, that appears to have changed with the launch date, and at least some versions of the computers will include Windows.

“Acer is not going to launch with a single OS, Android,” said Sen. “It will be dual-boot, Android with Windows.”

The Android operating system is based on Linux and was developed by Google for use in smartphones. Several Android-powered phones are already on the market and developers have been working on a version of the OS for personal computers

The PC industry performed better than expected as worldwide PC shipments totaled 80.9 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 0.5 percent increase from the third quarter of 2008, according to preliminary results by Gartner. Gartner had expected PC shipments

Graphic: Chip Taylorto decline 5.6 percent in the quarter.

“These are good results especially given that PC shipments for the third quarter of 2009 are being compared to a very strong third quarter from 2008,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Principal Analyst at Gartner. “Sequentially, third quarter shipments grew 18 percent, which is higher than the historical seasonal growth from the second to third quarter,” she added.

“The consumer market continued to lead unit shipment growth, driven by low priced mobile PCs,” said Kitagawa. “Ongoing price declines continue to be a major issue in the PC industry. PC vendor performance cannot be determined solely by unit market share gains alone as related revenues and margin performance are key to surviving in very competitive market,” she added.

Hewlett-Packard continued to lead the worldwide PC market as its shipment growth exceeded the worldwide average. HP did well in Asia/Pacific, particularly in China. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, HP’s shipments declined, but it was less of a drop compared to the EMEA average

Gartner analysts said the launch of Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7, should have a minimal impact on PC unit growth. But inventory adjustments around the launch could artificially affect shipment volumes during the third and fourth quarters of 2009. “Recent OS releases have not been a growth driver in the PC market, however the timing of Windows 7’s is favorable for the industry due to expected economic improvements and an overdue hardware replacement cycle,” said Kitagawa