Acer Introduces Santa Rosa Laptops

Acer has announced the launch of its latest TravelMate range laptops based on Intel's latest mobile platform Santa Rosa. These new laptops christened the Travelmate 6292 series, will utilize the Intel Core2 Duo mobile processor T7100 (2 MB L2 cache, 1.8 GHz, 800 MHz FSB), will support Intel’s 64 –bit architecture and for their OS will be using Windows Vista business operating system.



These new machines will also have support for mobile Intel GM965 Express chipset and will use Intel’s PRO/wireless network solution for wireless connectivity. The LCD panel of these new laptops will be a 12.1" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD display. In their system specifications , the Acer TravelMate 6292 line will come equipped system memory of 1GB RAM upgradeable up to 4GB and will be capable of battery life of up to 7 hours.

"We are the first to launch the latest line of Intel Centrino Duo Processor Technology enabled Notebooks in India, with the TravelMate 6292, continuing the trend of being at the forefront in supporting the latest Notebook technologies that enhance customer experience in the market, as was in the case of the Tablet PC, the Ultra portable and Centrino based Notebooks to name a few... The new range of Acer notebooks is under shipment and will be made available in the Indian market by next week", said Rajendran GM, Sales and Marketing, Acer India.

The Travelmate 6292 will be available for Rs. 69,999 onwards.

Intel, Asustek Plan Low-cost Laptop

Intel Corp. detailed plans on Tuesday to team up with Asustek Computer Inc., the world's largest maker of computer motherboards, to make a notebook PC that would cost as little as $200 aimed at the education market in developing countries.

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, has distributed laptops to children in developing countries for years, but has yet to put them into the kind of mass production planned by another group, the One Laptop Per Child Foundation.

Intel and Asustek's low-cost PC would be a fully-fledged, low-end notebook, while the OLPCs are green-and-white plastic, kid-friendly laptops that can be powered with hand cranks when electricity is not available. They cost about $180 each.

"It's another way of solving the same problem," said Sean Maloney, head of Intel worldwide sales and marketing in a telephone interview ahead of his keynote speech at Taiwan's Computex, the world's No. 2 computer fair. "The world is a big place and there's room for lots of these things."

Intel's and Asustek's move comes after the OLPC Foundation said last month it expected to start delivering millions of its low-cost notebooks in October. It is the foundation's most ambitious attempt yet to provide the devices, which analysts say could shape PC industry growth in developing countries.

Maloney said the laptop will use a lower-end microprocessor as the brains of the notebook, but declined to give further details. It will likely have 7- or 10-inch diameter screens, either a traditional hard disk drive or a flash memory hard drive and wireless Internet.

One model will cost about $200, with others going up to around $400 or $500 for the PC, Maloney said. Asustek is also the world's largest maker of notebook PCs. The PC, available later this year, will use either a variant of the freely available Linux operating system or it will run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP.

Maloney also introduced its 3-Series chipset family, which is designed from the ground up to run Intel's upcoming 45 nanometer processors, code-named Penryn, that are expected later this year. Chipsets are a collection of memory, input- output and other chips that connect the processor to the motherboard.

"These chipsets will be the basis for most of the PC industry for the next 18 to 24 months," Maloney said. "They're not just 45 nanometer ready, but they're much more energy efficient than previous versions."

The Penryn processors are made with circuitry as small as 45 nanometers, about 1/2000th the width of a human hair and can have higher performance at the same power consumption, or the same performance at lower power consumption, or various combinations of the two.

Intel said that the 3-Series chipsets enable better PC performance, clearer definition video and give home-theater- like sound and video quality.

There will be a range of chipsets that can go into entry- level PCs, media PCs, as well as super high-end gaming PCs that can cost thousands of dollars each.

Intel is introducing the chipset family as it regains ground lost over the last two years to smaller, scrappy rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

AMD's market share in the first quarter of this year slipped more than 5 percentage points to less than 20 percent for the first time since 2005 as Intel revamped its own product line with its Core and Core 2 processors. It also slashed prices on older chips as it ramped up production of faster microprocessors.

Intel's Maloney also detailed plans for Intel's Core 2 Extreme mobile processor that it expects to ship in the third quarter of this year. Notebook PCs have for some time been the fastest-growing part of the PC market.

"You are seeing an emergence of notebook gaming," Maloney said, noting that PC makers are now selling laptop PCs that boast 22-inch-diameter screens.

Apple Upgrades Macbook Pro Range

n news sure to keep Apple fans happy, the company has upgraded their premier laptop range the Macbook Pro, which is now based on Intel's Santa Rosa platform. The upgraded series now comes with faster processors, significantly improved graphics and vastly increased memory. Another significant upgrade, to the Macbook Pro line is the fact that the 15-inch laptops will now be using a backlit LED LCD panel. This promises significant power savings and are environmentally friendly as they are mercury free. Finally these new laptops can now be equipped with an Nvidia 3d graphics solution for better display.



The lower end 15.4-inch model, which ships for $1,999 is now available with a 2.2 GHz processor while the mid-end 15.4-inch model that retails for $2,499 is now available with a 2.4 GHz processor. The same 2.4 GHz processor also powers the high-end 17-inch model, which is available at $2,799. All these machines also now use DDR2 800 RAM, can be upgraded with up to 4 GB of RAM as compared to 2 GB earlier and can be equipped with an Nvidia 8600M GT graphics card for improved 3D performance.



This announcement marks the beginning of what could be a busy year for Apple products. Only recently, they upgraded their Macbook range and with the launch of their much touted iPhone at the end of the month, consumers can look forward to increased competition as other companies scramble to match Apple's releases.

Via Unveils New Ultra-Mobile PC

Via who has been low-key as of late, has unveiled a new mobile PC based on its own UMD platform. This new PC is called the NanoBook and comes with a fairly powerful set of specifications that allow it to run Windows Vista, Windows XP and some well known distributions of Linux.


Image Source: Dailytech

For its system specifications the NanoBook packs in a 7 inch WVGA touch screen display, 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor, VIA VX700 chipset, 1GB DDR2 memory, 30GB HDD, 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth, 4-in-1 media reader, two USB 2.0 ports and a DVI port. It also uses a series of attachable modules simply called MobilityPlus that allow the NanoBook to be upgraded with 3rd party hardware for connectivity solutions such as GPS, VoIP, DVB or 3g support. The NanoBook also is lightweight and small measuring 9.0" x 6.7" x 1.5" and weighing in at just 1.87 pounds. VIA also says that the NanoBook can operate for up to 4.5 hours on its 4-cell battery.

"The VIA NanoBook UMD Reference Design turns my dream of creating a full featured Ultra Mobile Device that delivers a rich computing, communications, and Internet computing experience into a reality," said Wenchi Chen, President and CEO of VIA Technologies. "With its highly-functional yet ultra compact form factor and extended battery life, it will enable people to enjoy the Mobility 2.0 lifestyle at any place and any time."

NEC Releases Pink Hello Kitty Laptop

Japan's cutest cat in glittering crystal decorates NEC Corp.'s new pink laptop in the Japanese electronics maker's latest effort to woo working women.



The La Vie G Hello Kitty model, available for 199,500 yen (US$1,650; euro1,200) by Net order only in Japan, went on sale Wednesday, and has gotten off to a good start, company spokesman Shinya Hashizume said Thursday, while declining to give numbers.

''PC users now tend to be men, but we're hoping to attract women with this product,'' he said.

The laptop, developed in collaboration with Sanrio Co., the Tokyo-based company behind Hello Kitty, uses 299 Swarovski crystals to depict four hearts and the bubbly feline head wearing a pink bow and crown.

NEC is hoping to sell several hundred of the Hello Kitty laptops in the next few months, targeting the summertime when Japanese workers receive their twice-a-year bonuses, Hashizume said.

The laptop, which comes with a Windows Vista operating system, 100 gigabyte hard disk drive and 1 gigabyte memory, is being billed as a laptop that's ''dazzling and gorgeous like a jewelry box.''

Hello Kitty has been popular for years with children, but the cat has begun to appear on fashion items and gadgets lately, including cell phones, guitars and expensive jewelry.

There's even a Hello Kitty Barbie, who wears a belt, necklace and jacket with the image of the celebrity mouthless cat.

Sony Launches Vaio CR Laptop Range

Sony has launched and made available its new CR series of Vaio laptops which are designed for the fashion conscious and at the same time pack in substantial performance upgrades as compared to previous generation Vaio machines. This new range of laptops come with an 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T7100 processor, system memory of up to 4GB RAM, storage space of 200GB hard drive (optional external 100GB drive), a dual-layer DVD drive, full support for 802.11n Wi-Fi, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X310 onboard graphics, an LCD panel capable with a native resolution of 1280x800, a 1.3 mega-pixel webcam, and Windows Vista. These new laptops as their specifications show, are based on the new “Santa Rosa” platform.



Apart from the performance upgrades, this new line of laptops will also be available in in some funky colors such as sangria, cosmopolitan, dove, indigo and black.


These models are now shipping and available in India. Prices start at Rs. 54,000 for the base model and go up to Rs. 60,000.

Laptop Carnival Kicks Off at Xplore Lounge

The ongoing 'Laptop carnival' at the Xplore Lounge, Mumbai, showcased a range of laptops, from desktop replacement to Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC). The carnival offers over eight major brands including Acer, Lenovo, Intel, HCL, Toshiba, LG, HP and Sony. Sources said that Wipro is another brand that may participate in the carnival, soon.

The carnival displayed laptops across three broad price categories, namely, entry level, mid range and high end, to make it easier for visitors to choose according to their budget. The special, 'Supreme Zone' created at the carnival, showcases four unique laptops, across brands such as HCL, Lenovo, Toshiba and HP that have extraordinary features.

Moreover, Lounge incharge, Sheetal Thakkar said the new HCL Leaptop Z2201 will debut in Mumbai at this carnival. Although the products cannot be bought at the carnival, Xplore helps visitors pick up their selected machines from retailers at Lamington Road.

Xplore Louge also recently concluded its Mac Mela, which showcased the entire range of Apple desktop PCs and laptops. The next exhibition at the Lounge, 'Sound Mela', which will display all kinds of speakers, will begin next month.

The Xplore lounge is open on all working days between 11am and 7pm, and on Sundays between 12pm and 4.30pm and will continue till July 5th. The Xplore Lounge is located at Lamington Road, Mumbai.

Fujtisu Launches 3 Santa Rosa Laptops

Fujitsu seems to be on a roll with Santa Rosa launches. They have now launched three new Lifebook laptops the A6030, E8310 and E8410. The 15.4-inch A6030 laptop comes with Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 / T7300 processor, Intel Turbo memory (1GB),up to 4GB RAM, Media Accelerator X3100 for its graphics chipset , storage space of 120GB hard drive, a dual layer DVD burner, fingerprint reader, 802.11n n, Bluetooth, and Vista.


The 15-inch E8310 is also based on Santa Rosa and features virtually same specs but no Turbo memory and no wireless n. The E8410 sports a 15.4-inch display Nvidia GeForce 8400M G with 128MB and comparatively scaled down specifications as compared to the other laptops. The A6030, E8310 and E8410 are priced at $1,299, $1,249, and $1,299 respectively.



The arrival of these laptops promises an exciting time for new buyers looking for good deals on performance. We have the T4220 with us for a review, which should be up early next week.

Acer 6292

We have here one of the first Santa Rosa-based laptops to reach Indian shores, the Acer 6292, a 12.1 inch ultra-portable laptop. For those who are clueless, Santa Rosa is the code-name for Intel’s latest platform for laptops that was launched among much fanfare in Delhi on the 9th of May 2007. What is a platform you ask? Well, towards the end of the year 2003, Intel launched its highly successful platform Centrino. To get the Centrino certification and the logo (the one you see towards the right hand corner of the keyboard on the laptop), the manufacturer of the laptop had to include a Pentium M processor, an Intel motherboard and an Intel Wi-Fi card in the machine.



Last year, the Centrino platform took a huge stride forward with the introduction of the dual core processors code-named Yonah. The processors under Yonah are the Core Duo and not the Core 2 Duo (notice the 2 in between) processors that you see in the entry level laptops now a days. Core 2 Duo, launched later in the year, brought in a slight improvement in performance using the same amount of power and 64-bit support i.e. the ability to run a 64-bit OS like Vista (Vista comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions) and 64bit applications.

Now with Santa Rosa, there is a slight variation and for the first time there are two variants. This is how Intel terms it — Intel Centrino Pro processor technology and Intel Centrino Duo technology. Simply put, just two different variants based on the same platform. The Centrino Duo is consumer oriented and Pro is aimed at businesses with hardware-based security and wireless manageability of laptops.

With Santa Rosa you have a bag full of changes. The processor FSB that used to cap at 667 MHz with the Core 2 Duo Merom processors is now increased to 800 MHz. Then there are quite a few battery savings tricks. And finally among the most important introductions are Intel’s latest Mobile 965 chipset along with their new onboard graphic accelerator, GMA X3100, their latest Wi-Fi N module that caps at a theoretical 300 Mbps as compared to 54Mbps for it’s previous generation variant and finally Turbo Memory, a non volatile extended memory that accelerates boot and application load time’s and supports Windows ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive functions.

Let's leave the history session behind and get back to the review. As mentioned earlier Acer’s 6292 is based on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform and is based on the Centrino Duo processor technology but misses Intel’s latest Wi-Fi N module, the 4965AGN and instead uses their older GM3945ABG module that adheres to the a, b and g standards and caps out at 54 Mbps. Also missing is the Intel’s Turbo Cache Memory. Anyway, both the parts are optional and don’t disqualify the laptop from using the Centrino Duo sticker. We will speculate the reason for not including them later in the review. Let’s make our heads lighter and look at some eye candy, yea! The 6292 is neat and chic.

The Laptop for 2015

The popularity of laptops seems to be steadily increasing to the point, that now any individual with a basic idea of mechanical design seems to be 'showing off' concept machines that probably will never make it to the market. This growing trend can be seen from the fact that Felix Schmidberger a designer recently unveiled what he calls "the laptop for 2015".




The oddly named “Compenion” will sport an OLED touch screen which will double up as an onscreen keyboard. The laptop will be controlled by a "senstylus" pen or by hand and will with the help of external docking stations double up as either entertainment centers at home or serious business machines at work.



While this concept laptop indeed does look like a drool-worthy product, given the rate at which things are changing in computing now days we could probably see a product like this as soon as 2010.

Apple Sells One Laptop in Seven

According to industry reports, Apple's is now the fourth leading company on the laptop sales ladder, selling one in seven laptops, in the US alone. The company has seen a 14% increase from last month, while the desktop market awaits the rumored new iMacs.



The same research company, NDP, has announced that behind Hewlett Packard, Toshiba and Gateway lead the laptop sales roster. NPD collects its sales data primarily from retail point-of-sale sources, and excludes most online and all direct sales.

Analysts also noted that while desktop sales are declining, Apple's desktop computers' sales figures have declined a little less than others. Apple's desktop machines the all-in-one, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro accounted for 10.4% of all desktop sales in May 2007.

Dell Launches Laptops in 8 Colors

Dell has launched notebooks in eight colors ready to be custom-tailored to meet users' specific needs.



Dell also premiered its new consumer marketing campaign - Yours is Here. The campaign promises customers that Dell can deliver personalized devices that enable a great digital experience, virtually anywhere in the world.

"We've packed these new Inspiron and XPS systems with features like expanded connectivity, widescreen displays, color choices and services to help customers experience the high definition lifestyle they seek," said Michael Lombardo, director and general manager, Home and Small Business, Dell Canada. "Customers also tell us they want great design and performance and we have responded with the new XPS M1330, the world's thinnest 13-inch notebook."

The new products announced today include Inspiron 530, 530s and 531, 531s desktops, Inspiron 1720, 1721 (17-inch), Inspiron 1520 and 1521 (15.4-inch), Inspiron 1420 (14.1-inch) notebooks, XPS M1330 (13.3-inch) notebook, Dell SE198WFP 19-inch and Dell 2407WFP-HC 24-inch widescreen flat panel displays.

"Getting to know customers is what we do best," said Mr. Lombardo. "Taking their feedback, putting it to work, and delivering the devices consumers want most is reflected in these new products. As our new campaign says: Yours is Here."

The new desktops and notebooks promise to deliver what customers want, need and do with their individual digital experiences. Widescreen displays on both notebooks and desktops support hi-definition lifestyle activities. The notebooks com in eight color choices, including Ruby Red, Midnight Blue and Jet Black.

In addition to Inspiron, Dell introduced a new flagship ultraportable laptop, the XPS M1330, the world's thinnest 13.3-inch notebook. With a starting weight of 3.97 pounds, the .9-inch thin XPS M1330 features a durable magnesium alloy chassis with brushed aluminum accents. Customers can personalize their XPS M1330 with a choice of three colors; Tuxedo Black, Pearl White or Crimson Red.

To further enhance the customer experience, Dell is offering new and updated support tools and technology that proactively help identify and solve problems automatically.

Taking data protection, sharing and accessing to the next level, Dell also announced Dell Online Backup, a service that provides 12 months of complimentary online storage space for every Inspiron (up to 3GB) and XPS product (up to 10GB). With Dell Online Backup, photos, music and files are not only protected, but can be shared with friends and family. Dell desktops can also be configured with DataSafe internal backup, a solution that partners dual hard drives with back-up and restore software, helping to ensure the safety and security of personal data.

Dell's PC TuneUp is preventive health, helping to reduce fewer maintenance hassles and ensure more time for fun and productivity. PC TuneUP can automatically fix many issues or produce a report that pinpoints what needs to be done to maintain peak system performance. More information is available here.

All new consumer systems come with Dell Support Center pre-installed. Dell Support Center provides one-click access to personalized service, support and system resources, helping customers quickly locate system information, self-help tools, FAQs and assistance from Dell. It features a Dell-developed application that monitors and pinpoints systems issues.

Customers can tailor the settings to provide the level of support that is right for them. More information is available here.

Dell Introduces Ubuntu Based Inspiron

Dell has added yet another member, to their recently introduced Ubuntu based Inspiron line of laptops. The new model is the 14.1 Inch Inspiron 1420N which comes with Ubuntu 7.04 and is based on the Santa Rosa platform. Anyone looking to purchase this laptop will be able to choose from a range of Core 2 Duo processors (T5250/T5450/T7100/T7300/T7500), Intel X3100 graphics, up to 4 GB OF RAM, 160 GB HDD and a dual-layer DVD burner.



The base configuration of the 1420N starts at a price of US$774 and can go up to $2100 depending on the configuration.

Toshiba Launches New Ultra-Portables

Toshiba has released three new 'Centrino Duo' laptops namely the U300/U305 and the P205-S6347. The first two are ultra-portables aimed at the mass market while the P205 is a high-end desktop replacement aimed at power users.



The cheapest model, the U300-ST3091 comes with 1.86GHz Intel Pentium dual core T2130 processor, an LCD panel capable of 1280x800 resolution, up to 1GB of RAM, Intel 950 graphics chipset, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD super multi drive, fingerprint reader, and Windows Vista. The mid-ranged U305-S5107 features a 1.73GHz Core 2 Duo T5300 processor, 2GB RAM of system memory, 160GB hard drive, 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi capability and Bluetooth. The final laptop is the P205-S6347 which comes with 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5450 chip, a 17 inch LCD panel with a native 1440x900 resolution, HD DVD drive, 1GB of system Ram, Intel X3100 graphics and a 200GB hard drive.

Three "Centrino Duo" Laptops For Students

Admission season is upon us and with a lot of new students all set to enter MBA/ IIM/ Engineering colleges, one thing they need to purchase to allow them to work seamlessly, is a laptop. A laptop for a student is a necessity now, as most campuses now days have Wi-Fi. This allows them to function from virtually any corner and when one looks at the rather cramped quarters most universities have, a laptop becomes an essential requirement and not a luxury.

This brings us to the real problem. Intel recently launched their new platform “Santa Rosa”, which talks about significant performance upgrades, better battery life and greater compatibility with Windows Vista. Now this is where the problem starts. Quite a few companies have announced a rash of products without really phasing out their previous Core 2 Duo lines. Most manufacturers now offer both generations of products leading to confusion among users as what to buy. While choice for consumers is always a good thing, most manufacturers just don’t take the trouble of having a coherent product naming scheme that differentiates on product lines and makes the choice easier for the consumer.

So we decided to go through the various product launches and pick out 3 laptops that are based on the new “Centrino Duo” aka “Santa Rosa”.

Dell Inspiron 1520




It is rare to contemplate any kind of roundup, without a single Dell product in its ranks. The newly introduced Inspiron 1520 is a typical Dell product, that offers a range of new “Merom” processors ranging from the T7100 upwards, has a standard of 1 GB RAM, storage space of 120 GB, a choice of Nvidia’s graphical chipsets (8400 GT and 8600 GT), 802.11n support and a 15.4 inch screen with a native resolution of 1280x800. Apart from these basic specifications, it is the range of customization that Dell offers which makes this laptop interesting. Not only can one upgrade to an HD ready resolution of 1680x1050, it offers the choice of adding in a webcam and a Blu-Ray drive. With prices starting at Rs. 58,000, this is ideally our first choice for anyone looking to purchase a solid and a dependable future-ready product.

Fujitsu Launches New Lifebook Model - A3130

Fujitsu has introduced a new Lifebook laptop the A3130, which is designed for students and Soho users. The A3130 features a 15.4-inch LCD panel and is powered by a 2.0GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 processor. Its features include 1 GB of system memory (upgradable to 4GB RAM), a 120GB hard drive, dual layer DVD burners, an ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics card with 256MB memory, 802.11a/b/g wireless support , Bluetooth, a Secure Fingerprint reader and Windows Vista.



For its peripheral connectivity, the A3130 features five USB 2.0 ports, a 5 in 1 memory card reader, 1 Firewire IEEE 1394 slot and S-video out. Price and availability of this product is unknown at this time. For further information on this product, please check out this link.

HP Introduces Its First Santa Rosa Tablet

HP in a move no doubt designed to counter Dell's pending entry into the tablet market, has introduced its first Santa Rosa based tablet, the 2710P.



This new tablet, which sports a 12.1-inch screen can be equipped with either a 1.06 U7500/1.2GHz U7600 ultra low voltage processor, can have system memory of up to 2GB RAM, and have a 100GB hard drive. Its graphics is handled by the Intel GMA X3100 graphics chipset which can supply up to 384MB of video memory. In other specifications the tablet offers 802.1 1a/b/g wireless connectivity, Bluetooth. Windows Vista Business is the OS used on this tablet.

Prices for this new tablet start at USD$ 1699 and it will be available in select markets by July 21st.

LG Launches Two Laptops For Indian Market

LG Electronics has launched 3 new products for the Indian market - two laptops - the Z1 and the Desknote S900; and the M4200D, a 3D LCD monitor.

The Z1 laptop features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 120 GB HDD, DVD Super Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, RAM), Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG(802.11a/b/g), Dual Hexa-band Antenna, 56kbps Modem, and Bluetooth. It also has an auxiliary LCD Panel which utilizes Windows Vista’s slideshow technology, for displaying Outlook Calendar, Windows Mail, Contact info, Date & Time, World Clock & Alarm features. This laptop is available for Rs. 89,990.

The Desknote S900 seeks to combine the power of a desktop and a notebook and hence carries the name Desknote. It features a 19-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, DVD Super Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, RAM), Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Dual Hexa-band Antenna, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 mega pixels Web camera. It is priced at Rs. 69,990.

The 3D monitor boasts a 3D-type auto stereoscopic vision, and comes with a 42-inch True3D Display screen, a built-in controller with IP function, and bundled software for content producing and video processing of feeds. The M4200D sports a price tag of Rs 6,49,000.

Voodoo PC Launches New Laptop

As a technical reviewer, once the initial excitement of the job wears off, most products really fail to impress. Once you have reviewed a few dozen laptops... they all begin to look the same with very little to distinguish them from each other. Exciting product launches are few and far between, and most of it is built on hype that is easily debunked.


However, every once in a while, a product does come along that reawakens our excitement. One such product that has been launched today is Voodoo PCs latest gaming laptop the Voodoo Envy H171. This monster (for lack of any other word) laptop is made up of some of the most expensive and powerful components available i.e. an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, up to 4GB RAM of system memory, 3 HDDs for a total of 750GB space and a dual-layer DVD burner. For its graphics the Envy uses dual Nvidia GeForce 7950 graphics card with 512MB memory and an optional Matrox TripleHead2Go multi monitor output. Its LCD panel is a 17-inch screen capable of a resolution of 1920x1200 resolution.

Apart from these rather crazy specifications, the envy also sports a 1.3 mega pixel webcam, TV Tuner, an 8 Channel Audio System with a subwoofer, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g support, Bluetooth and uses Windows Vista Ultimate as its main OS. All this power comes at a cost of course. Prices for this laptop start at USD$ 5000 and go up to USD$ 8000.

Nonprofit May Launch $350 Laptop by Dec.

A nonprofit group that designs low-cost computers for poor children may start selling $350 laptops on the commercial market by Christmas, an executive said on Monday.

The One Laptop Per Child Foundation's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said the computer could sell initially for about $350, or twice its production cost, although the group is also considering a higher price tag.

Its entry to the commercial market would be a challenge to traditional PC industry companies, including Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd.

"The PC industry will be watching this very closely," said Roger Kay, an analyst with PC market researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc.

Although the green-and-white XO was designed for elementary school children in poor countries, analysts say that some of the features make it attractive to kids in wealthier countries as well as adults.

The foundation has kept its costs down by developing its own technology, including the display, and using a relatively inexpensive microprocessor from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

It also uses free Linux software, saving the cost of paying to use Microsoft's Windows operating system.

Designed to withstand severe weather common in areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America, it is waterproof and features a high-resolution display that can be read in direct sunlight. Its battery can run for 12 hours on one charge. The battery can also be charged with a hand-crank.

OLPC is in talks with several companies that would handle consumer sales and technical support for the foundation. Jepsen said that the group wants to sell the devices over the Internet and is talking to three companies with "a big presence on the Web," but declined to identify them by name.

Foundation executives have previously said that they didn't intend to commercialize the product this year as they wanted to focus their energy on serving the educational market in developing countries.

But now they are evaluating whether it makes sense to quickly move into the commercial market, using profits from those sales toward the cost of making laptops for poor children, Jepsen said.

"Our whole goal is to maximize the number of units shipped," she said.

She talked about plans for commercializing the product on Monday as the foundation said it has formally authorized mass production of the device to begin in October, with an original order of some 3 million machines.

The machines will be manufactured in China by Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc.

ASUS W5FE Intel Sideshow

As laptops continue to grow in popularity and continue to replace desktops as main computing machines, manufacturers are searching for new ways to introduce innovative new features without drastically re-designing the existing laptop form. One such feature that was recently introduced along with Windows Vista was Sideshow, which is a technology that would allow users to interact with their PCs via external screens. This would allow an end-user to check his mail, listen to music, view images and other activities... all of it without booting up his machine via a tiny embedded screen on top of a laptop. This is in essence similar to an external LCD panel that is found on most flip-based mobile phones. This technology was first demonstrated at CES 2007 and one of the stars of the show then was the Asus W5FE laptop.


It’s been sometime since CES and the W5FE has finally arrived at the Tech2 Labs. We have been able to put it through its paces nicely. Read on to find out if the promised Sideshow technology delivers and more importantly how does the laptop itself fare against competition?

Asus Launches G1S Gaming Laptop

Asus has launched its very first gaming laptop in India, the G1S. This powerful new laptop is built on the Centrino Duo platform, features an OLED instant display, side/front speakers, hotkey highlights as well as sidelights. On its system specifications the laptop packs in a powerful Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, utilizes an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphical chipset which packs in 256MB VRAM (GDDRIII VRAM) and has full DX10 Support. The LCD panel used is a 15.4-inch which supports ASUS’s Video Intelligence Technology. Storage space is provided by a SATA 160 GB HDD while optical media needs are taken care of by a dual-layer DVD Super drive with Lightscribe support. In its connectivity options the laptop packs in a Gigabit Ethernet slot, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi support and Bluetooth V2.0+EDR. In an interesting move the laptop also packs in a HDCP capable DVI port, external SATA Port and an HDMI port.



The G1S is now available at a price of Rs. 93,000.

$100 Laptop Goes Into Mass Production

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization has authorized mass production of the XO laptop, based on the release of the final Beta-4 (B4) engineering model. This triggers the supply chains of 800 parts that come together and rollout off the assembly line in October.



The B4 laptops feature a display that is fully readable in bright sunlight. The display is so clear that it the organization maintains that it comes close to a paper-like reading experience for users. The B4 has a new hinge to allow for an increased tilt of the screen for an improved viewing angle. The B4 machines can be used outdoors in harsh conditions. The case also features a Wi-Fi antenna design that gives the laptop superior Wi-Fi range, and protects it from falls as high as five feet.

The B4 computers can be powered by numerous alternative power sources, including a pull cord, a solar panel, or a solar-powered multi-battery charger at the school. The B4 machines use less than one watt of power when being used as an e-book and can operate for more than 12 hours on its battery.

"There is a lot of debate in technology circles about the cost of bringing laptop computers into the developing world," said Walter Bender, OLPC president of software and content. "But the real debate shouldn't be centered on cost - it should be about design. A computer designed for Western office environments simply won't be able to withstand the conditions found in much of Africa, Asia and South America. Further, children engaged in learning have a different set of needs from a laptop than an office worker."

The B4 machines feature the AMD Geode LX-700 processor, 256 MB of SDRAM, 1 GB NAND Flash and improved keyboard and touch pad, electrical and mechanical enhancements, and an individualized brightly colored XO logo on the back. Children will be able to select from a wide range of colors for the logo so they can readily identify their laptop in a crowded classroom.

"Since the inception of the XO laptop more than two years ago, AMD has been committed to helping the One Laptop per Child program succeed," said Gustavo Arenas, Corporate Vice President, High-Growth Markets and Innovations, AMD. "We are proud to serve as a technology partner to such a noble and life-affecting project. The B4 machine paves the way for a final XO laptop that will change the lives of millions of children - a mission that compliments AMD's own 50x15 Initiative, whose goal is to enable 50 percent of the world's population with affordable, accessible Internet connectivity and computing capabilities by the year 2015."

The B4 laptops will go through a final round of testing by developers, hardware experts, OLPC technical volunteers, and some of the pilot schools around the world already using the B2 machines.

Toshiba Laptops Get Wireless Dock

Toshiba Corp. on Wednesday announced that it has started selling the first laptops with a new high-speed technology that allow them to connect wirelessly to a docking station that can support an external monitor.

It's one of the first consumer applications of ultra-wideband, or UWB, wireless technology, which allows data transfer speeds far faster than previous wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Using those technologies to relay video to an external monitor is difficult.

However, UWB has limited range - the Toshiba laptops have to be within 3 feet of the docking station. Also, current UWB chips use radio frequencies that are legal in the U.S. but not in most of the world.

The laptops are part of the business-oriented R400 line. They start at $3,079 and double as Tablet PCs, which allow the user to write on the screen with a stylus.

The docking station, or port replicator, costs $500. Apart from the monitor port, it includes four USB ports, an audio port and an Ethernet port. Comparable non-wireless docking stations from Toshiba cost $180.

The laptops and docking station will be sold directly be Toshiba and by its distribution partners but won't be in stores.

The UWB chips in the laptops and the docking station are designed by venture-funded WiQuest Communications Inc. of Allen, Texas.

HP Ships HDX Gaming Laptop

Back in May we had reported on HP’s HDX gaming laptop, that promised to challenge Dell’s stranglehold on powerful gaming machines. The laptop is now shipping and available. Specs-wise it packs in a 20.1" BrightView display and graphics powered by an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics processor with 256MB of dedicated video memory. At the heart of the machine is a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 processor, along with 4GB of DDR2 memory. For storage 400GB is provided via two 4200RPM 200GB SATA HDDs. The optical drive used in the Pavilion HDX is an HD DVD unit with DL DVD+-RW capabilities. The OS being used on this laptop will be Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit.


It's a pity a product like this will never ever show up in India. Given the growing affluence of the Indian customer, companies might find more than a few takers for products like this in India.

Sony Introduces Vaio SZ6 Series

Sony, who seems to have embraced the Santa Rosa platform full-scale, has introduced a new laptop series in their Vaio SZ range -the SZ6. This new laptop features a 13.3-inch razor thin LCD panel with a native resolution of 1280x800, sports an Intel Core 2 Duo T7250/T7500/T7700 processor, has storage space of up to 200GB and utilizes the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS chipset for its graphics.




In terms of system memory it can have a maximum of 4GB RAM and offers a webcam, 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless support, Bluetooth, a biometric fingerprint reader and a dual-layer DVD burner as part of its peripheral and connectivity options. The OS used is Windows Vista Premium. These laptops are now available and retail from US$ 2,000 upwards. Please check out this link for further details.

Acer Launches Ultra Portable TravelMate 6291

Acer India has launched the ultra portable Acer TravelMate 6291 notebook based on Intel's Core2 Duo mobile processor.

The new notebook is part of the new design notebooks from Acer.

The TravelMate 6291 uses the Intel Core2 Duo mobile processor T5500 (2 MB L2 cache, 1.66/667 MHz FSB), supporting Intel 64 architecture, Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN network solution and has a 160 GB HDD.

With a 12.1" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD display and system memory of 1GB RAM upgradeble up to 4GB, the Acer TravelMate 6291 comes equipped with battery life up to 5 hours. The Acer ePowerManagement allows users to choose the power management setting to extend the battery time. The latest proprietary Acer SignalUp and Acer GridVista technologies have also been incorporated into this notebook. The TravelMate 6291 comes with an embedded DVD writer and Acer CrystalBrite technology that enhances the quality of the LCD display through special reflectors that increase brightness and clarity.

Acer TravelMate 6291 notebooks based on the newest mobile platform from Intel will now carry a Vista-certified logo, and offer technology like disk anti shock protection and Gigabit LAN. The TravelMate 6291 offers easy-to-use system utilities, like the Acer Empowering Technology features and easy-launch buttons for WLAN, Bluetooth2.0, email, Internet, user-programming and Acer Video Conferencing facilities with the Acer CrystalEye webcam.

"We are the first to launch the latest notebook with Intel Core2 Duo Notebook and Vista Business in India with the Ultra portable TravelMate 6291. We continue the trend of being at the forefront in supporting the latest Notebook technologies that enhance customer experience in the market, as was in the case of the Tablet PC, the Ultra portable and Centrino based Notebooks to name a few. With unmatched specifications, great features and looks to boot, the TravelMate 6291 is now available in the market through our retail network in over 110 cities and towns across India", said S. Rajendran, GM, Sales and Marketing, Acer India.

Asus To Launch New Santa Rosa Laptop

From news reports emerging here, it seems Asus is planning to launch a new Santa Rosa based laptop- the F8S.



This upcoming machine will come in two models namely the FS8V and Asus F8Sa. The only difference between the two machines will be the graphical chipsets that they will be utilizing. While the F8Sv will sport an Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphical chipset, the F8Sa will ship with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600. Apart from this difference the laptop will have similar features such as Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 160GB hard drive, 1440x900 resolution, DVD burner, up to 4GB of RAM, 802.11a/g/n wireless, Bluetooth, 1.3 mega pixel webcam, a TV tuner, and fingerprint reader.

Pricing and availability is unknown as of right now.

Lenovo, Disney Launch Desktop PC

Lenovo and Disney Consumer Products have partnered to offer a new Lenovo 3000 H limited edition Power Rangers Mystic Force themed desktop targeted at children.



The limited edition desktop features a red skin with the superheroes of the Mystic Force series.

The Lenovo 3000 H limited edition Power Ranger desktop comes with a standard 17" LCD monitor, and is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E 4400 2.00Ghz. The desktop also comes with 1 GB RAM, a 250 GB HDD, 16XDVD +RW drive, in-built modem, Power Ranger branded speakers and an optical mouse. It is preloaded with Microsoft Vista Home Basic edition and features a special anti-bacterial keyboard from Lenovo.

"Today, PC purchasing decisions in the family are largely driven by the demands and needs of youngsters. Besides being tech savvy, children today look for style and individuality, besides pure functionality. The Lenovo 3000 H limited edition Power Rangers desktop has been designed and developed, keeping all these requirements in mind, making it the ideal computer for youngsters. This product has all the right elements blended into one- it’s personalized, stylish, fun, and most importantly, offers worry free computing for both parents and children." said Rahul Agarwal, vice president – Marketing, Lenovo India

"Disney is combining cutting-edge technology with fantastic storytelling to create unique entertainment experiences that continue to delight consumers worldwide," said Roshni Bakshi, Director – Disney Consumer Products (India). "Our brand represents an escape into a magical world, where Disney wonder, stories and characters come to life before your very eyes."

The Lenovo 3000 H limited edition Power Ranger desktop will be rolled out in phases starting with Mumbai, Lucknow, Calcutta, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Delhi from August 6th, 2007. Prices start at Rs 40,100/- and the product will be available in all Lenovo authorized storefronts.

The desktop will soon be available nationally.

Dell To Launch New XPS Laptop

According to reports emerging here, Dell is all set to announce a new addition to its XPS range of laptops. The new entrant will be the XPS 1730, which will feature a powerful range of specifications. It will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo X7800 (2.6GHz) processor, Nvidia GeForce Go 8600M GS graphics card with 256MB memory, system memory of up to 4GB RAM, a Blu-ray drive, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support and Bluetooth.



The expected launch date of this product is August 27.

Lenovo to Sell Laptops With Novell's Linux

Lenovo Group Ltd, the No. 3 personal computer maker, said on Monday it would introduce a broad line of Linux laptops, the strongest endorsement to date of the open-source software by a major PC maker.

The Linux operating system, which competes with Microsoft Corp's market-dominating Windows, has been one of the fastest-growing types of software used on servers and other types of powerful business computers over the past decade.

But until this year, the world's top PC makers have held back on embracing Linux. Windows still sits on more than 90 percent of PCs in the world.

Lenovo said it would offer a wide selection of low- to high-end machines be loaded with Linux software from Novell Inc.

The company has projected Linux PCs could account for 5 percent of its laptop shipments within a few years, said Raj Aggarwal, product manager for Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops.

He said demand for Linux PCs has been on the rise this year, particularly in the education sector, government and emerging markets.

Lenovo's announcement comes three months after the world's second-largest PC maker, Dell Inc, started mass marketing three PC models loaded with the Ubuntu version of Linux, allowing customers to choose it over Windows.

Dell introduced the Linux PCs after Chief Executive Michael Dell asked customers to post suggestions for new products on the company's Web site. Linux PCs were the most-requested item.

So far, Dell and Lenovo are the biggest PC makers to embrace Linux. Market leader Hewlett-Packard Co does not mass produce machines with the software.

"We're waiting for the Linux desktop market to take off," said Laura DiDio, a PC industry analyst with Yankee Group.

The Lenovo laptops are slated to go on sale worldwide in the fourth quarter. The company announced its plans at the start of LinuxWorld, an annual conference being held in San Francisco this week.

Lenovo declined to discuss pricing or which languages Novell's Suse Linux operating system would be available in.

Linux is available in hundreds of versions, for a wide variety of electronic devices, from cell phones to mainframe computers. The bulk of those versions are free.

Novell and Red Hat Inc develop versions for businesses, profiting by selling services such as technical support.

Last year, Microsoft entered into a partnership with Novell focused on server products that includes joint product development. Microsoft's salesforce resells Novell software and both companies provide patent protections for each other's customers.

Aggarwal said Lenovo held off on launching a Linux line until it could provide customers adequate support, offering them tools to integrate their PCs into computer networks.

Businesses that buy the Linux laptops will be able to obtain security software from Novell and programs to remotely manage them from their data centers. Novell will provide regular software updates.

The current version of the Novell operating system also has an improved user interface and comes with a package of free software programs, Aggarwal said.

They include the Firefox Internet browser along with OpenOffice, which competes with Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. OpenOffice produces documents that are compatible with their Microsoft counterparts.

Asus to Introduce Santa Rosa Based Tablet

According to reports emerging here, Asus is all set to launch a new Tablet PC. This new product will be aimed at enthusiast users and Soho professionals and will be called R1E. It will feature a 13.3-inch screen with a native resolution of 1280x800 and will be built on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform.



As part of its specifications the R1E will come with Core 2 Duo T7100/T7300/T7500 processors, up to 4GB of system memory, 160GB hard drive, dual layer DVD burner, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fingerprint reader and Windows Vista.

Price and availability is unknown as of now

Top 3 Dual-Core Laptops Under Rs. 40,000

Last year we had carried a feature called “Laptops under Rs. 40,000”. To our delight, the amount of interest this straightforward story generated was phenomenal. It also strove to illustrate a point, we have mentioned in various reviews and features since then i.e. laptops are in! They are rapidly becoming the preferred choice of computing for not only experienced users, but first time buyers.

Since the original article was written, laptops have undergone a paradigm shift in computing power. Though dual-core laptops were around at that point, they were expensive and out of reach of everyone but well-heeled users and enthusiasts. However since then Intel has introduced two different generations of mobile processors. This has driven the price of dual-core laptops down drastically. Keeping these factors in mind, we decided to check out if on a strict budget of Rs. 40,000, we could find 3 dual-core laptops with good specifications and from good manufacturers. Please note that the 3 laptops we have chosen below are the base models inclusive of all taxes. Their prices can cross Rs. 40,000 if system parts are changed or swapped.

Here is the result of our search.
Toshiba Satellite A100



Toshiba is a brand that is vastly under-rated. It does not enjoy the popularity or brand-name of the others in this round up, which is a pity considering the fact that they make some great products. The Satellite A100 is one such product. It is built on the older but still very competitive Core Duo platform (T2060 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz), 512 MB system memory and 60 GB storage space. Its LCD panel is a 15.4 inch screen with a native resolution of 1280x80 and is a Transflective screen. For its graphics, the laptop uses ATI’s Radeon series of chipsets and depending on the user’s budget it can range from the entry – level 1150 to the mid-level Radeon 1400 and more.

In the connectivity and peripheral options, this laptop shines. It offers 4 USB slots, 1 IEEE 1394 Firewire port, 1 VGA-Out and a 5 in 1 memory card reader with support for SD/MMC/MS/MS-Pro/XD Cards and full support for both 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The drive shipped with the A100 is a DVD-R/CD_RW combo. The OS used on this laptop is Windows Vista Basic.

The A100 is priced at Rs. 38, 000 and with its 15.4 inch screen, generous connectivity options and good graphical subsystem is a very a good buy.

Intel Unveils Quad-Core Chip

Intel has unveiled the Core 2 Extreme Q6700, their first quad-core processor. The chip is called 'Kentsfield' and has two integrated Core 2 Chips in a single package. This chip is available immediately and is aimed at the enthusiast and gamer market.

Intel has essentially clubbed two Core 2 processors, for this release which has lead to the processor shipping with 8 MB of L2 cache which is shared across both units. Intel has also said that 13 PC manufacturers will be releasing solutions based on this new processor. This new release comes at a great time for enthusiasts. Nvidia's G80 and new 600 series of chipsets is just weeks away, and now with the Kentsfield available it's a good time.

AMD Will Support DisplayPort Standard

Dailytech has reported that AMD has announced it will be supporting the upcoming DisplayPort standard, which recently added support for HDCP when it reached milestone 1.1.

The introduction of this new standard has already upset quite a few industry experts since this is one more standard to contend with. Apart from AMD, several other companies are backing DisplayPort which include Dell, Genesis Microchip, HP, Intel, Lenovo, NVIDIA and Samsung Electronics. The new standard will be compatible with DVI as well as the HDMI standards.

AMD has in its announcement, stated that it would be backing DisplayPort as a standard near the end of 2007 and that it would be fully supporting the new technology in 2008, along with other upcoming technologies such as DirectX10 and Hypertransport 3.0. These new items would form the core of AMD's Fusion platform which was announced earlier this year.

CES: Sony Vaio VGP-TP1 Media Centre PC

Sony in keeping with Bill Gates' keynote at CES has demonstrated the Sony Vaio VGX-TP1, which from the looks of it is a Vista-based Media center PC that promises, "A high-performance entertainment experience so users can enjoy their favorite live and recorded TV and movies or surf the Web from their sofa using the wireless keyboard or remote control."



Information about this product is scanty at the moment. It features an HDMI out port, a DVD burner, a memory card slot, and all the usual suspects like USB ports and audio out. There is a wireless keyboard present too. The price for this oddity is expected to be $1,600.

CES: Sony Vaio XL3 Media PC

Sony along with its other slew of announcements today announced the Vaio XL3 Media PC. This new media-center PC has a Blu-ray burner, TV Tuner cards, four flash card slots, four USB ports, two FireWire ports, and Ethernet, plus HDMI, component and S-Video jacks.


It runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GTL graphics card, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.



While the specs may look average, Sony in an intriguing move has made this PC liquid-cooled which is highly unusual. The Vaio XL3 is expected to retail, at $3300.

CES: HP Touchsmart PC

HP has announced its newest TouchSmart PC. This new machine has been designed for a new wave of entertainment devices, which HP says enable "walk-up computing," where a user has the ability to quickly and easily have touch access to digital content.



This is a desktop machine with a 19-inch touchscreen, AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core TL-52 processor, 2 GB SDRAM, 320GB drive, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated FM and ATSC HDTV tuners, a DVD±RW / DVD-RAM burner with LightScribe, Pocket Media Drive bay, wireless keyboard, mouse, stylus, front media reader, and multiple connectivity ports.

This new machine also has a Vista remote control and personal video recorder with HD and SD TV programming ability.

The TouchSmart will be available January 30 to coincide with Windows Vista and other device releases.

CES: HP Mediasmart Server

HP has unveiled its new desktop the HP Mediasmart server, which runs on the newly announced Windows Home server and is based on AMD Live! Digital Management Platform. It has been designed to function as a conduit for digital entertainment, data security and as central storage for the various multimedia devices. This new PC was showcased by Bill Gates, in his keynote address at CES as he introduced the new Windows Home server.


HP has not indicated prices yet. This new PC will be available on January 30, the day Windows Vista ships to consumers.

CES: Envive E-Center A/V Vista Media PC

One of the most consistent releases in CES has been high-end Media Center PCs. The E-Center A/V runs on Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, sports a huge amount of ram I.E 4 GB of DDR2 RAM ,two NTSC and ATSC tuners, 1.5 TB of storage, HDMI and 7.1 channel surround sound.



One of the most astonishing offers of this powerful media-center PC is the fact that you can configure it with drives of the two new Hi-Def standards namely Blu-Ray and HD DVD. If you want to go oldschool, well you can always equip the PC with a standard (YAWN!) dual-layer DVD+RW. Pricing for this piece of this media goodness is currently unknown. The unit will ship later this month.

Lenovo 3000 Q Home Theater PC

One of the most intriguing changes that has taken place in the last few years—with the advent of very powerful desktop processors and advances in graphics—has been the emergence of entertainment oriented PCs called media-center PCs. Microsoft recognizing this change jumped onto this bandwagon when it launched its OS called Windows XP Media Center. This lead to a boom in this space with a number of manufacturers, making home theater PCs.

One of the earliest adopters of this technology, Lenovo recently released the 3000 Q series designed to serve as a home-entertainment center.


Physically the Lenovo Q is a stunner. It ships in a tower form factor and comes in a beautiful silver body with a piano-black matt finish. The body is fairly small and combined with the jog dial that is present on the 19” LCD; it gives it a rather surreal look that is kind of difficult to explain. To understand how well it really looks, check out the pictures. They do a better job of explaining this beauty.

The tower of the Lenovo Q serves dual-functionality. Apart from the power button, the machine has a silent operation button which puts the machine into Quiet Mode, as it lowers the fan speed of the CPU resulting in a perceptible reduction in the noise level of the PC. There is a DVD-RW present which support dual-layer burning and serves as a great alternative to stand-alone players.


The LCD panel that ships with Q is a standard 19” inch monitor with a native resolution of 1280x1024. While it is a good LCD, we were left wondering as to why a widescreen monitor was not used considering the fact that this is a home-theatre PC. Nowadays widescreen monitors are on par with standard ratio monitors and offer a far better experience for multimedia with their 16:10 aspect ratios. The bottom half of the LCD panel holds the Jog dial which is used for accessing the DMP application and also controls playback/recording functions.


Another departure from the norm is the fact that unlike others, Lenovo has developed its own proprietary media platform it calls DMP, or the Digital Media platform. While this may seem like a strange move, in reality it is a good one as the interface is quite intuitive and provides a comprehensive media-center like functionality. The Digital Media Platform works in two ways. Under Windows it works as an overlay to windows and using the Jog dial that is present on the LCD, you can access the media-center functionality. If you don’t want the hassle of booting into Windows, the PC also offers a dedicated button that will boot the machine into a Linux-like boot system which sports the same GUI as the windows overlay.


The Lenovo 3000Q—keeping in mind its role as an entertainment center—has been built on Intel‘s Core duo platform or better known as the Pentium D series of processors. For graphics, Lenovo has chosen the Nvidia’s 6200 series graphics card which left us baffled. There are better graphic solutions around. In fact if you refer to our home theater PC, you will see we chose an onboard solution that offered far more functionality.

The TV tuner card that ships with the Lenovo Q is a generic brand and is well integrated into the DMP platform. The machine also sports inbuilt speakers and a USB camera to round up all the multi-media options and complete the home-theater functionality.

Build A Vista Premium PC Under Rs 40,000

The launch of Windows Vista is just around the corner, 30th January to be precise. And all those peeps planning to get a new PC just need to hang on a little more (unless you are not planning to pay for your copy). In the ensuing article we will be building a Vista Premium PC. Unlike Windows XP, Microsoft this time around, specifies two different minimum hardware requirements for running Vista. They are:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:
A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
512 MB of system memory.
A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
1 GB of system memory.
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
DVD-ROM Drive.
Audio output capability.
Internet access capability.

So what can the Premium version do that a 'Vista Capable' can’t ?
In a single world 'Aero'. The new aero user interface is very visual, complete with features such as glass-like interface elements, translucent Start Menu and taskbar, Windows Flip 3D, and Live Taskbar Thumbnails.

Windows Flip 3D

In the earlier versions of windows the user interface was rendered in software. In Vista with Aero, it utilizes the hardware capabilities of your graphics card. It’s not in entirety that systems with on-board graphics will be unable to run Aero, rather these systems will run very slowly, may be unstable and hence would reduce the overall productivity. In fact onboard graphic chips like Nvidia’s 6150 for AMD processors and Intel’s latest X3000 for the 965 chipset are Windows Vista Premium capable. But a dedicated graphic card is always the best option.

So our aim here, is to build a PC that is decently powerful, feature rich, isn’t unnecessarily expensive and of course is Vista Premium capable. So without further ado let’s bring forth the Vista Premium machine.

HP Launches SFF Desktop PC

Hewlett-Packard India, has launched the HP Compaq dx2700 SFF PC series, which features HP's revolutionary Small Form Factor (SFF) technology. The new SFF desktop PC features a compact, space-saving design masking a power-packed feature-rich workhorse of a machine.



The desktop series features a compact chassis that is only two-thirds the size of a conventional desktop, saving users a large amount of desktop space. The convenience factor is highlighted with the advantage of horizontal or vertical convertible positions.

Small Form Factor PCs are now being increasingly being used in enterprise applications by large corporations in the software, manufacturing, education, telecom, FMCG and financial industry markets

The range of HP Compaq dx2700 Small Form Factor PC series starts at Rs. 34,990 (plus taxes) and is available across the country. Additional information on the desktop and other HP products are available at www.hp.com/in or on HP's free to call number 1-600-425-7737 between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm, Monday to Saturday.

The HP Compaq dx2700 Business PC features Intel Q963 Express chipset, supports the latest Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Pentium D and Intel Pentium 4 with HyperThreading technology processors, DDR2 667 MHz memory support, compatible with high-speed Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s hard disk drives, Built-in Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000, Gigabit NIC and SATA Optical Drives.

Velocity Micro Offers Vista Powered Machines

Velocity Micro, who is well known in enthusiast circles for their Media Center PCs, have just introduced 2 new HTPC’s which come with Windows Vista Premium certification, sport ATI's TV Wonder Digital Cable tuner and offers both HD DVD and Blu-Ray as installable options. In an interesting move they offer both AMD and Intel based CPU systems.



The CineMagix Pro Cinema a base level machine sports, a 500-watt power supply, AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, HDCP-compliant ATI Radeon X1950 Pro, an onboard 7.1 audio chip, 8-in-1 flash card reader, up to 1.5TB of hard drive space, dual gigabit Ethernet adapter, 802.11b/g, a pair of FireWire connectors, six USB 2.0 ports, and a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. Prices for the CineMagix Pro Cinema start at US$ 1699.

The Intel-powered CineMagix Grand Theater is the more powerful machine as it allows you to assemble the machine with Intel’s Quad core processing i.e. Core 2 Extreme X6800 or QX6700, system memory of up to 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS and system storage of up to 2.25TB. In terms of peripherals and expandability options, it is similar to the CineMagix Pro Cinema and is available at a starting price of US$ 2195.

Build Your Own Media Center PC

We live in a rather confusing world. Not so long ago, anyone buying a desktop or a laptop would have just a few things to consider such as monitor screen size, CPU and HDD. There was just one fixed OS Windows and there was only so much you could do with a PC. Since then, PCs have become more powerful and today is a popular medium of entertainment for most people. Microsoft deciding to take advantage of the growing trend, released the Windows Media Center edition which took the whole concept of TV/PC convergence to a new level. Now not only did the PC act as your TV control center, it enabled you to enjoy movies in their proper aspects without bothering for region checks and also gave excellent audio playback. This new OS led to the emergence of what is now popularly called the HTPC market.

However like all other things in life, technology has not been stagnant. Since the time the Windows Media Center Edition has emerged, HD has found its way into the mainstream. HD is High Definition and is the term used to describe the next generation of video. HD takes video to the next quality as it is four times the size of SD which is the term used to refer to current generation video. HD is the result of higher resolution giving higher quality video.

Therefore it should come across as no surprise that Microsoft has decided to capitalize on this market. As we have already mentioned in our recent Windows Vista review, there have been a tremendous amount of changes that have taken place in the way Windows handles digital media. Windows Vista not only has support for next-generation HD technologies like Blu-Ray and HD DVD, it also has a re-designed media center interface that improves on its predecessors by leaps and bounds. It takes advantage of Vista’s new Aero interface and is far more intuitive.

Keeping all this in mind we decided to build a new HTPC on a budget of Rs 65,000 that would satisfy not just the Windows Vista Premium tag, but would also serve as a powerful media-center. Please note we have taken a different approach for building the HTPC. The unit we are building here is designed to be standalone and will not serve as a regular PC. It is strictly meant for multimedia entertainment therefore we are choosing to leave out a monitor from this feature. This is a PC meant to be hooked up to your HDTV.


CPU: AMD 3800+ X2 (Rs. 6,300)
Initially when we set out on our hunt, the first processors that naturally came to mind were Intel’s Core2Duo series. Not only are the C2D series quite fast for day-to-day work, these also make for great gaming processors. However there is a downside to the C2D platform after a while. Accessories such as motherboards for the C2D are not really affordable. Good quality motherboards for the C2D cost a lot of greenbacks, putting it out of the scope of our feature.

Hence we decided to go back to the AMD platform for our roundup. AMD may have fallen a step or two as compared to Intel, but it is no slouch. The X2 range of processors are quite powerful in their own right and make for great multimedia performers. The Intel onslaught has also led to the price of the processors and motherboards falling to value levels.

The X2 we have chosen brings the power of dual-core to the desktop and is clocked at 2GHz. It sports 512K of L2 cache per core and forms the perfect engine for all our HD decoding needs.


Motherboard: Asus M2NPV-VM (Rs. 5,100)
Our choice of motherboard was a no-brainer. This sterling effort from Asus has been the basis of our earlier HTPC effort and is still competitive even today. In case you are wondering what we are talking about, let us refresh your memory. The M2NPV-VM not only supports all current generation AMD X2 and FX series processors, it also comes with an on-board GeForce 6150 graphics unit that offers component HD output in both 720p and 1080i. To achieve these levels of output, Asus bundles a HDTV-out module that does the job admirably.

The GeForce 6150 is also rated as a Vista Premium ready chipset, which is really just the icing on the cake. It can take full advantage of Windows Vista’s Aero interface. For a more detailed specification chart on its features check out this link. The M2NPV-VM still remains the best budget motherboard to build an HTPC.


Memory: Transcend 1 GB DDR2 667 (Rs. 5,000)
We would recommend getting 2 GB of RAM for multi-tasking on a Windows Vista Home Premium. However for a HTPC that is overkill. One does not require that much RAM for decoding a video stream as that is more of a CPU intensive task. 1 GB more than suffices and with good quality RAM, Windows Vista runs smoothly.

We have chosen Transcend here as it is a well known and respected brand and offers great performance. We chose to put 2 sticks here as the motherboard is dual-channel capable. Dual-channel is used to double the memory speeds, bandwidth and performance at no extra cost hence it makes sense to utilize this free performance boost.

Dell To Offer Linux With Their PCs

the world's largest PC retailer has announced that it soon plans to introduce a new range of desktop PCs which will utilize Linux as their OS. This announcement came after Dell mentioned that nearly 83,000 users had requested that Linux should be provided on all Dell PCs.

These requests were made on Dell IdeaStorm, a forum and site which was launched by Dell 10 days ago, shortly after Michael Dell took back his CEO position. Dell IdeaStorm gives a platform for its consumers to get their desires out in the open as to what they expect from the PC major.

"It's exciting to see the IdeaStorm community's interest in open-source solutions like Linux and OpenOffice," the company has said in a post on the Web site. "Your feedback has been all about flexibility and we have seen a consistent request to provide platforms that allow people to install their operating system of choice. We are listening, and as a result, we are working with Novell to certify our corporate client products for Linux, including our OptiPlex desktops, Latitude notebooks and Dell Precision workstations. This is another step towards ensuring that our customers have a good experience with Linux on our systems."

Efforts To Make Simputer Simpler

Struggling against odds, the Simputer project has open-sourced one of its prominent software in a move which could see many more techies playing around with the handheld computer project and contributing to it.

Alchemy - the user interface used on the Amida Simputer - has been open-sourced, and the code has been released under the General Public Licence.

"Several people have started actively working on it, including some well-known names outside India," says Atul Chitnis, senior vice-president of product technology and strategy of Geodesic Information Systems Ltd.

The Simputer is a self-contained, sharable and handheld computer, designed for situations where personal computers were inapt. Due to the low cost and the attempt to make it sharable, it was also seen as useful to bring computing power to the "developing" countries.

Born in Bangalore, the Simputer project evoked a huge interest across the globe in recent years, though the project failed to make the impact it was expected to earlier. Efforts are still under way to build on the project.

Open sourcing would mean the software would be made available to the general public with either relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions.

Open sourcing of software projects is seen as beneficial as it enables users to build or improve user-generated software through incremental individual effort or collaboration.

Explained Chitnis: "Every time I have shown the Simputer to people abroad, the first thing people have commented on was the interface, and have asked if it was possible to make the code available."

Said he: "There is a lot of work to be done, and if you ever wanted to get involved with a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) project, this would be a good way to start. And since the port going on is to the OpenEmbedded platform, you would actually be involved with both projects."

openalchemy.org is part of the Amida Simputer project - one of the two efforts hived off to attempt to build the Simputer. The second is the PicopPeta.

Amida is linked to the Encore group, which was recently taken over by the Mumbai-Bangalore-based Geodesic. Encore's products include the Simputer, the "anywhere computing tool" Mobilis, and the "world's first integrated battle computer" SATHI (Situation Awareness and Tactical Handheld Information).

Amida Alchemy (or OpenAlchemy, its open-sourced version) is optimised for mobile computing devices. It was conceived in 2003 and was unveiled as part of the retail launch of the Amida Simputer in 2004 by PicoPeta Simputers.

Alchemy was created after an evaluation of the then (2003) available UI (user-interface) layers, window managers and APIs for GNU/Linux (the Free and Open Source computer operating system), which were not very suitable.

Amida Alchemy was conceptualised by V. Vinay and built on by many other contributors.

Alchmey stresses on providing users of mobile devices natural interfaces including handwriting, direct manipulation and gesture inputs.

Windows Live to be Preloaded on Lenovo PCs

Microsoft Corp and PC manufacturer, Lenovo, have announced a global agreement to pre-load Windows Live services on Lenovo PCs sold worldwide including ThinkPad notebooks, ThinkCentre desktops and Lenovo-branded PCs.

Lenovo will provide its global customers with immediate access to the Microsoft Live.com portal and Windows Live Toolbar for a more integrated and personalized Web experience to work and communicate.

With Live.com, Lenovo customers can customize their home page content, create multiple pages based on their interests and add their favorite content from online sources. The Windows Live Toolbar gives consumers one-click access to Live Search, which enables category searches such as Web, news, images and maps.

Steve Petracca, vice president and general manager of Lenovo's Software and Peripherals business unit said, "Live Search and Microsoft's other Windows Live services help our customers work more effectively, whether they are a CIO, road warrior or small-business owner. Lenovo will use these services to further strengthen its relationships with customers worldwide by delivering useful PC updates, tools and information through a new portal. Microsoft shares our passion for innovation, and today's announcement enhances how we support all activities conducted on Lenovo PCs."

A Budget PC Under Rs. 20,000

Our previous guide on building a budget PC under 20,000 was by far, one of the most popular feature article on the Tech2.com website and television. To keep up with the pace of changing times, where technology gets outdated in the blink of an eye, we are back with our first revision. There aren’t any major changes that we have made, in fact we are still using the same processor and motherboard. What has primarily changed are the prices along with a few parts and the names of some manufacturers. Please keep in mind that we have carefully chosen the parts that equally fulfill important criteria such as performance, price, availability, warranty and support.

An excerpt from our previous Budget PC article that reads (and still holds true):
With computer components becoming increasingly powerful over the years, you can now have a powerful, good looking and feature rich desktop PC for as less as twenty thousand rupees. That’s exactly what we are going to do in the following article. We will be building a fully functional system that easily complies to our regular computing needs like web surfing, office applications and entertainment in the form of movies and music and can also handle multi tasking to a degree.

Processor: AMD Sempron 64 2800+ (Rs. 1,825)


At Rs. 1,825, the Sempron 64 2800+ is one of the cheapest able processors available. You may argue as to why we didn’t go for the AMD 3000+ (socket AM2) costing around Rs. 3,300. The justification to that is we are not focusing on hardcore gaming. For general computing needs as mentioned before, this processor is good enough. For the technically inclined, the Sempron 64 2800+ is a 64-bit single core processor running at 1.6 GHz with 256 KB of L2 cache. It is a socket 754 processor with its successors being socket 939 and the latest, socket AM2.

Motherboard: Asus K8V-VM Ultra (Rs. 2,450)


Asus boards are synonymous with good features and rock solid stability and the K8V-VM Ultra is no different. It’s a decent micro-ATX board based on the VIA chipset. Even though the machine is not oriented towards high resolution gaming, by adding a budget graphic card like Nvidia’s 7300GS (Rs 3500) you can still enjoy recent games at normal resolutions (like 1024 x 768 ) and just for that, the motherboard features a 16X PCI Express slot. That for a budget board is remarkable. It offers 4 USB ports at the back on the I/O panel plus additional four through the USB connector on the motherboard (they would be used to power the USB ports on the front panel of your case. For more on the specifications check it out on the Asus website here.

RAM: Corsair 512MB DDR 400 Value Select (Rs. 2,184)


We have kept the RAM size the same. What we have changed is the manufacturer. Reason? The prices have fallen. A Transcend JetRam 512MB DDR400 stick would cost around Rs. 1,850 whereas a Corsair 512MB DDR 400 stick costs Rs. 2,184. The advantage with Corsair is that, apart from a better quality chip being used in manufacturing, it also adds a lifetime warranty. Lifetime warranty doesn’t mean that the product is warranted for your lifetime, rather it’s meant for the life of the product.

We have chosen 512MB as its the bare minimum you should be looking at, using either Windows XP or Vista. Though, we recommend 1GB of RAM with a dedicated graphics card for enjoying a better Vista Aero experience. The new aero user interface is a visual delight, complete with features such as glass-like interface elements, translucent Start Menu and taskbar, Windows Flip 3D, and Live Taskbar Thumbnails.