Asus Eee PC s121 Netbook

Just 1.8 cm thin and weighing a mere 1 kg, the Eee PC™ S101 is a stunning sight to behold, with its premium Infusion finishes and crystal-adorned hinges. Loaded with features such as the Super Hybrid Engine for extended use while on the move, a Solid State Drive of up to 64 GB and a 10.2” widescreen display, the Eee PC™ S101 is your stylish companion whether for work or leisure.

*Ultra portable—magazine-slim
*High-performance Solid State Drive (SSD), with 30 GB free online Eee Storage
*Longer battery life with ASUS Exclusive Super Hybrid Engine
*Widescreen matrix LED backlight display
*4-in-1 card reader for MMC, SD, Memory Stick and MS-PRO

Likely specs include an Intel Atom Z520 1.6GHz CPU, 12.2 inch display screen and a 512GB SSD which is a first in the world according to Asus. Will weigh only 3lbs and is between 0.9″ to 1″ thick at its base, the S121 can last up to 8 hours of battery life.

New Alienware CrossFireX Dual-3870 Gaming Notebook

introduced a CrossFireX-capable gaming notebook for mobile gamers looking to pack some added heat (figuratively, though likely literally as well) in time for the holiday gaming season. Wealthy fraggers can outfit the new M17 with a pair of ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 3870 videocards for plenty of pixel-pushing power on the notebook's 17-inch WXGA+ or optional WUXGA widescreen display.
By incorporating the all-out performance of CrossFireX graphics and quad-core processing into Alienware's award-winning notebook lineup," says Frank Azor, executive vice-president for Alienware's Product and Marketing Group, "the M17 delivers an impressive feature set at a price point that doesn't break the bank.
Gamers can also double up on storage with up to 640GB of hard drive space in a RAID 0 array (2x320GB), or up to 1TB in RAID 0 for those willing to drop down to a 5400RPM spindle speed (2x500GB), enough to hold 250,000 songs according to Alienware. Other specs and options include Intel Core 2 Duo, Quad, and Extreme processor support, PM45 chipset, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, RAID 1 support, ATSC HDTV tuner, Blu-ray optical drive, three USB 2.0 ports, eSATA port, WiFi, and other goodies.

The hardware comes wrapped in a "Stealh Black" soft matte finish bearing Alienware's logo and trademark aesthetic flair. But the real surprise is in the price. A base configuration starts at a comparatively modest $1,400, with less than a $2,000 investment required for a configuration consisting of a Core 2 Duo processor, dual-videocards, and 3GB of DDR3 memory on a 1920x1200 HD display.

Processor Intel Atom 1.6GHz
Memory 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz
Hard drive 16GB SSD
Chipset Intel GMA950
Graphics Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset (integrated)
Operating system Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Dimensions (width by depth) 9.1x6.8 inches
Thickness 1.25-1.1 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 8.9 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 6.2/6.9 pounds
Category Netbook



The Inspiron Mini 9 has three USB ports, headphone and mic jacks, a VGA out, SD card slot, and an Ethernet jack--a fairly standard set of connections in the Netbook world. Integrated Bluetooth is a $20 option, and Dell is expected to announce a mobile broadband plan soon. I love to see mobile broadband in more Netbooks, but it's typically prohibitively expensive as an option on a sub-$500 system.

The challenge for any Netbook is to squeeze as much keyboard as possible into a very tiny space, and the Mini 9 does a good job with it. The Dell letter keys are larger than on the 9-inch Eee PC, but certain keys--Tab, Caps Lock, and so on--are reduced to small slivers. In addition, the entire function key row has been removed. F1 through F10 are now alternate keys of the A to L row. It's an interesting compromise to get the most surface area for everyday typing, but makes some tasks, such as jumping between Web page fields with the Tab key, somewhat awkward.

Opening the lid, the 8.9-inch 1,024x600-pixel screen shares space with a Webcam above and two small speaker grilles below. The display offers just enough space for displaying Web pages and Word documents, and I think the 9-inch size is the perfect fit for Netbooks, rather than the smaller 7-inch or larger 10-inch screens on other systems.
You can get the Inspiron Mini 9 down to as low as $349 by opting for a smaller hard drive (4GB or 8GB), 512MB of RAM, an Ubuntu Linux OS, or knocking down the Webcam to a lower-resolution option. Or, add few bucks for the option internal Bluetooth antenna, which wasn't in our build (but is useful for tethering a cell phone for mobile broadband access). As an interesting note, the Mini 9 apparently includes an inactive internal mobile broadband antenna.

Asus Eee PC

The device does support Windows XP, but Linux seems to be the OS of choice for all of the reviewers for performance and ease-of-use reasons. In this respect, Microsoft has well and truly blown it, because this device is poised to introduce a few million Best Buy shoppers to a pleasantly usable, non-embedded Linux distro. Even more ominous from Redmond's perspective is the fact that the Eee PC is just one of a breaking wave of Linux-powered portable devices that will reach consumers in the coming year, and that it's the hardware makers that are driving the Linux push.

The absence of Microsoft at the recent, mobile-centric Intel Developer Forum was widely commented upon. Intel showed off a raft of ultramobile PC (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), and smartphone prototypes and mock-ups, all of which were Linux-powered. And why not? Across the company, from the Terascale research initiative to the discrete GPU project to the enterprise power management efforts to the mobile division, every single forward-looking effort at Intel is very much a software effort, and all of those software efforts are Linux- and open source-based.

This is also true of ARM, which is looking to the open source community to provide the free razors that make its blades worth buying. In fact, my most recent briefing on ARM's mobile plans (an article on this is coming soon) was a mirror image of IDF—the form factors and Linux-powered software efforts were largely the same; only the processor hardware was different.

In sum, Linux is now the popular quarterback at the new mobile party, and Microsoft is just that kid who used to be cool back in grade school when tetherball was the hot game and he was king of the pole. If Microsoft wants to break back into the popular crowd, it's going to have to put on something a bit fresher than Windows Mobile 6, which feels like the operating system equivalent of feathered hair and tight-rolled jeans.

The Eee PC's main selling point is its form factor, and it's the form factor that has really blown the reviewers' minds. It seems that the Eee PC is small enough and light enough to attain a truly new level of portability and convenience, while still having just enough screen real estate and keyboard space to be comfortably usable. The result is that reviewers have compared this device's form factor to the UMPC and found the latter wanting.

The balance between size and usability that the Eee PC has struck could well be one that marks a sort of threshold in form factor design. It's likely that the keyboard + WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointer) paradigm may not be able to shrink any further than the Eee PC's form factor, due to the limits of human dexterity and visual acuity. Anything smaller than the Eee PC will have to be built on a fundamentally different interface paradigm, and no, stylus + WIMP is probably not it. If this turns out to be the case, then there will be a permanent gap in the market between the Eee PC and the Nokia N810.

Nokia E71 and E66 Business Phones

E71 and E66 email-focused business devices, two new phone models aimed at corporate clients. The new Nokia phones do not include Research in Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry service, supported on all of Nokia's previous corporate handsets. The Nokia E71 has a full QWERTY keyboard and the E66 mobilizes personal or professional messaging needs, including Microsoft Exchange. The E71 comes with a stainless steel case and etched graphics, available in grey steel or white steel.The E71 comes with a stainless steel case and etched graphics, available in grey steel or white steel colors. The metallic finish is complemented by the colour display. Designed for one- or two-handed use, the Nokia E71's narrow shape and specially designed keypad pays special attention to ergonomics.

The E66 offers a sophisticated look with its stainless steel accents and sliding design. Sharing the same key features as the E71, including an enhanced calendar, contacts and customizable home screen modes, the E66 offers an orientation sensor that automatically optimizes itself for full screen viewing or silences the ringer when the device is turned over. The E66 is available in grey steel or white steel version.

"The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 were designed for people who lead a mobile lifestyle and want quick and easy access to their personal and work email," said Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Devices, Nokia. "With both of these devices, we have responded to consumer feedback by making calendar and contacts available at the touch of a button."

Both the E71 and E66 come with professional and personal email. Microsoft Exchange users can access their email using the pre-loaded Mail for Exchange mobile email client. Consumers get real-time access to their email, calendar, contacts and tasks, as well as download attachments like Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF files.

The E71 and E66 support email accounts from more than a thousand internet service providers (ISPs), as well as Gmail, Yahoo! mail and Hotmail. They support Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email as well as third party email solutions like System Seven and Visto Mobile. Both devices come with the new switch mode that let people switch between personal and work home screens.

The phones support the latest Ovi services including maps, music and media sharing. This includes fast browsing with HSDPA, wireless LAN and 3G connectivity, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) and Nokia Maps for navigation, a music player with support for up to 8GB expandable memory and a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera.

The E71 and E66 come with built-in encryption for the device memory and the memory card. Both include integrated mobile VPN support for access to the company intranet, and device lock and wipe to protect corporate information. IT departments can manage security settings, corporate applications, data and advanced voice features.

Sony Ericsson F305i Controls Games with Hand Motions

Sony Ericsson today announced its F305i gaming phone, with advanced motion sensor technology to control games with the flick of a wrist or the swing of an arm. It also integrates stereo speakers, a 2.0-inch screen, 2.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth wireless technology and expandable memory via Memory Stick Micro (M2).Preloaded with Bowling, Bass fishing and Jockey, users imitate bowling or casting a fishing line. The F305i offers up to 8 hours of gameplay.

The Sony Ericsson F305i with Motion Gaming will be available in Polar White and Mystic Black in selected markets from Quarter 2008.

Specification:

# Play with dedicated gaming keys, or get physical with a motion game such as bowling, fishing or be a jockey
# Additional motion games developed by Gameloft plus 50 more 2D and 3D games available for download at PlayNow
# Loud stereo speakers boost gaming experience, also good for listening to music together with friends
# Catch fun and unexpected moments. with the 2.0-megapixel camera
# Expandable memory via Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot.

Sony Ericsson S302i 2.0MP

The handset offers a slim and stylish design with a premium, high-gloss finish. Its 2.0-megapixel camera has Photo Light and Photo Fix, useful to help get the shots. Up to 20MB of internal memory offers room for an entire photo album with additional storage on Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards. Users can transfer photos via USB, Bluetooth or Memory Stick Micro.

"The S302 Snapshot has been developed to make us all better photographers. That means making it easier to take great shots and never missing that magic moment," said Sven Totte, Head of Imaging Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "The S302i is perfect for those who don't want to miss a moment and like to send or Bluetooth their photos to their friends."

The Sony Ericsson S302i will be available in Crystal Blue and Thunder Grey

The Sony Ericsson S302i Features:

• Slick and slimline with a stylish design and a premium, high-gloss finish
• Built-in 2.0-megapixel camera with an easy-to-learn camera menu, just like a digital camera
• Capture the action with video recording and playback
• View high-quality pictures on the phones impressive 2.4-inch scratch-resistant mineral glass display
• Share memories by sending photos wirelessly to a TV via Wi-Fi (using DLNA)
• GPS-enabled for geo-tagging of photos and navigation support.