If you’d told us a month or two ago that ASUS’ Eee PC 1201HA would be arriving at Best Buy priced at $329.99, you might have prompted a few oohs and aahs. Unfortunately, with the company’s NVIDIA Ion and AMD Congo models (the 1201N and 1201T, respectively) on the scene, the standard Atom Z520/GMA950 version seems more than a little backward.
From one Congo ultraportable to another; MSI’s Wind12 U230 notebook only got official on Friday last week, but already the 12.1-incher has been spotted up for sale in a Taipei computer show. NetbookNews grabbed some hands-on time with a 1.6GHz Congo MV40 ultrathin, in this particular case the 500GB model.
Video demo after the cut
ASUS have pushed out another 12.1-inch ultrathin, and this time they’ve eschewed Intel in favor of some AMD goodness. Unlike the 1201HA and 1201N, the ASUS Eee PC 1201T uses AMD’s 1.6GHz Congo MV40 processor, along with the RS780MN chipset and ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics; that adds up to 1080p Full HD performance, though it doesn’t appear from the spec sheets that ASUS have fitted an HDMI port to the 1201T.
MSI’s latest ultraportable has made its debut, based on AMD’s second-gen ultrathin platform. The MSI Wind12 U230 has a 12.1-inch 1,366 x 768 HD-ready display (as well as an HDMI port), dual-core AMD Congo MV40 processor and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory; it measures a slimline 297 x 190 x 24-31 mm and tips the scales at 1.3kg.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U150 CULV ultraportable last spotted strutting its patterned stuff in Japan last month has finally made it to the US, with pricing kicking off at $649. The U150 packs a choice of 1.3GHz Pentium dual-core or Core 2 Duo processors, together with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 250GB or 320GB of storage and an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 LED-backlit display.
MSI have outed their latest X-Slim ultraportable, and they’ve slipped in an AMD processor rather than the usual Intel fare. The MSI X-Slim X430 gets AMD’s Athlon Neo X2 CPU and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3200 GPU, together with 2GB of memory, a 14-inch 1366 x 768 16:9 display and choice of 320GB or 500GB hard-drives. In keeping with the X-Slim range’s skinny ethos, it measures 24.5mm thick.
There’s a lot to like about Sony’s VAIO X ultraportable – its indecently-skinny build, the engineering intelligence that went into its design, and its lengthy battery life just to name a few things – but if you’re less than inspired by Windows 7 then how about a Mac OS X version? That’s not one of Sony’s official options, but insanelymac forum member Asama took it upon himself to throw OS X Snow Leopard onto the VAIO X himself.
To do so he used the hacked together build of Snow Leopard that’s been put together for the Sony VAIO P, reasoning that many of the components used in that don’t-call-it-a-netbook machine were the same as used in the VAIO X. Happily it installed quite merrily, though as expected the WiFi doesn’t work. Where fixing that in the VAIO P is a case of taking out the wireless card and swapping in a different one, it’s a more arduous task on the VAIO X since so much has been soldered into place in the name of space-saving.
HP’s Pavilion DM1 is still yet to show up for pre-order on the company’s US site (though the support pages are full of information) but that hasn’t stopped Netbooked from grabbing one of the 11.6-inch ultraportables for review. They reckon the DM1 “fares decently” among its peers, though they’re not impressed by the amount of screen flex on show (you can press the trackpad buttons by pushing down on the edge of the lid when closed).
Talk about Lenovo’s supposed first ThinkPad netbook is getting even more intriguing, with details of not one but two upcoming ultraportables in the company’s flagship range. First up is the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e, a machine that has been tipped as a netbook but which Lenovo is apparently pushing as an extension of their X-Series premium ultraportables. It will have an 11.6-inch display and use AMD’s Athlon MV-40 processors and RS780 chipset. Meanwhile, the second mystery machine is the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge, targeting small businesses who might want a 13.3-inch notebook in-between current IdeaPad and ThinkPad offerings.
Dell have finally pushed the Adamo XPS out of the door, and for a whopping $1,799 you can take home a 9.99mm thick ultraportable. With the Adamo XPS, actual computing is only a minor part of the story: it seems Dell have gone for showmanship instead, with their touch-to-open latch and distinctive hinged-keyboard.
SlashGear Japan
