Lenovo’s ThinkPad T400s has only just crossed the wire – check out our review here – but the company is already thinking one or two steps ahead to what its replacement might have. According to David Critchley, a marketing manager at the PC maker, both multitouch display technology and an OLED panel are being considered for future models.
After the MSI X-Slim X340's recent frankly awful review, we've been waiting for a third-opinion and hopefully some indication that the ultraportable's poor showing was a one-off aberration. Unfortunately, many of the critique points from that review - poor build quality, "cheap and nasty" trackpad and "tacky" keyboard - also crop up in NotebookReview's piece.
The 11.6-inch netbook/CULV segment continues to look to be the next area of growth in budget ultraportables, as display panel manufacturer Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) are tipped to have secured orders with both Dell and Samsung. The company has been demonstrating the 11.6-inch panel along with a 13.3-inch version intended for CULV machines at the Display Taiwan 2009 expo.
MSI's X-Slim range is about to get a new screen option, in the shape of the 15.6-inch X600. Notebook Italia have unboxed the biggest X-Slim in advance of its late-June European launch, finding a laptop that may not be as portable as its smaller siblings, but which is perhaps all the more usable.
Unboxing video after the cut
Intel have reportedly added a further two processors to its CULV (Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage) range, offering dual-core options to manufacturers of entry-level ultra-thin notebooks. The Celeron 740 and SU2300 run at 1.3GHz and 1.2GHz respectively, and each have 1MB of L2 cache, an 800MHz FSB and 10W TDP.
![Lengda M11A CULV notebook & X10K netbook [Video]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lengda_x10k_m11a.jpg)
Lengda isn't a name we're particularly familiar with here at SlashGear, but the company themselves would like to change all that. They've brought along two slick ultraportables to Computex, the 11.1-inch Lengda M11A notebook, a thin-and-light CULV machine, and the Lengda X10K netbook, a 10-inch model clad in stainless-steel.
Video demos of both machines after the cut
Intel have announced three new Core 2 Duo processors, as well as an ultra-low voltage (ULV) chip and new GS40 Express Chipset. The three new Core 2 Duo chips are the T9900, P9700 and P8800, topping out at 3.06Ghz with 6MB of L2 cache and a 1,066MHz FSB.
Looks like MSI's X-Slim range of ultraportables is going to get some serious competition, here from Italian manufacturer Olidata and their Conte notebook. Based on a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display, several versions of the Conte will be offered with CPUs ranging from Intel's SU2700, through the Core Solo SU3500 and Sore 2 Duo SL9400.
Intel's European sales chief has revealed that netbook sales are now around 20-percent of overall notebook sales, and that demand for the company's Atom processor has meant "cannibalization of Celeron". According to Christian Morales, sales of netbooks in the UK and Italy have reached as much as a quarter of all notebook sales.
HP are planning a range of ultra-thin notebooks based on Intel's CULV platform, for release in Q4 2009. The ultraportables will eventually take on Acer's Timeline range, but before the new models arrive HP is expected to recycle existing notebook chassis designs with new CULV hardware, possibly including the HP dv2.
Lenovo have announced a trio of entry-level machines, in the shape of the IdeaCentre C300 all-in-one desktop (shown here), the IdeaPad U350 13.3-inch ultraportable and the G550 15.6-inch notebook. The patterned C300 packs a single-core Intel Atom 230 processor, integrated graphics and 20-inch 16:9 display; RAM is up to 2GB while storage is up to 640GB, and WiFi a/b/g is optional.
The MSI Wind U200 might look quite a lot like its Atom N270 predecessors, but under the glossy hood there's a whole load of Celeron ULV SFF 723 goodness going on. Given that Celeron CPUs have long been the whipping boys of the processor market, that might seem a strange thing to say, but when you're comparing them to the low-power Atom chips they all of a sudden look more welcome. NewGadgets.de managed to score a hands-on with the U200, and you can see their video after the cut.
Videos after the cut