Acer revs new Ferrari notebook
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The Ferrari 3400 uses Advanced Micro Devices&#39; Athlon 64 processor 3000+, as well as AMD&#39;s technology for extended system battery life, Acer said.
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(InfoWorld) - AcerÂ plans to start selling a Ferrari PDA (personal digital assistant), adding to aÂ line of Ferrari-branded computer gearÂ that already includes notebook PCs and a monitor. The black PDA has candy-apple red trim and runs Windows Mobile software. It's officially called the Ferrari Racing Personal Navigator, a reference to its built-in GPS (global positioning system), and bears a strong family resemblance to Acer's c500 PDA. While the two PDAs may look alike, they use different hardware under the hood, according to Acer. Detailed specifications were not available. The Ferrari PDA comes with special wallpaper that features Ferrari cars, and it offers special sound effects, such as the sound of a roaring engine, for various user actions, the company said. Other specifications include ALK CoPilot version 6 navigation software, a slot for an SD (Secure Digital) card, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The PDA will first be available in Europe beginning during the third quarter. Pricing has yet to be determined.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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MacCentral - Apple on Monday announced a modest speed bump to its line of PowerBook G4 laptops, increasing the high-end processor from 1.5GHz to 1.67GHz. That's not all: The refreshed laptop line gains 512MB of standard RAM, faster graphics, faster hard drives and 8x "SuperDrives," as well as standard 802.11g-based wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.0 and two patent-pending technologies -- the scrolling TrackPad and the Sudden Motion Sensor.
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Company claims its new laptops feature the world's brightest screens.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple introduced a refresh to its line of MacBook Pro laptop computers on Tuesday, raising CPU speeds and memory capacity and improving graphics performance across the line. The new systems can accommodate up to 4GB of RAM and feature CPU speeds of up to 2.4GHz. These new MacBook Pros are the first Apple laptops to feature Intel's Santa Rosa chipset, said Apple vice president of worldwide Mac product marketing David Moody. That's increased the systems' bus speed from 667MHz to 800MHz and also explains why the new MacBook Pros can allocate an extra gigabyte of RAM. The new 15-inch MacBook Pros are also the first Apple laptops to feature mercury-free, LED-backlit displays that Apple CEO Steve Jobs first hinted at in an open letter in May discussing Apple's environmental efforts. "These new displays are more power efficient as well," said Moody. "We've seen battery life extended 30 minutes to an hour." Unlike the CCFL (Cold Cathode Florescent Lamp) technology that powers previous MacBook Pros, LED-backlit displays don't require any "warmup" time to achieve full brightness, said Moody. The 17-inch MacBook Pro's display continues to use CCFL, according to Moody. 1680 x 1050 pixels remains the standard resolution on the 17-inch, but a higher-resolution 1900 x 1200 display is available as a configure-to-order option for an extra $100. "The new display lets video pros work in HD," said Moody. "You can see all 1080 lines of vertical resolution now." These are the first MacBook Pros to use Nvidia graphics processors. Previous models have been equipped with ATI's Mobility Radeon graphics. Inside the new mdoels is Nvidia's GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. Features offered by the graphics processor include 128-bit High Dynamic Range support and 16x Full Screen Anti-Aliasing support. The chip features Nvidia's new "Lumenex Engine." "Nvidia just introduced this chip a few weeks ago," said Moody. Moody also shared some performance details of the new systems: Compared to Apple's first-generation Intel Core Duo-equipped MacBook Pros, the new systems are up to 50 percent faster working in select graphics applications, 57 percent faster in Quake 4, and 53 percent faster in Doom 3. It's also up to 37 percent faster working in Motion, Apple's pro video motion graphics software. The new models are clocked at either 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz (up from 2.16 or 2.33GHz, respectively) and utilize Intel's Core 2 Duo microprocessors equipped with 4MB of shared Level 2 cache, 800MHz frontside bus, and standard 2GB of 667MHz DDR SDRAM memory. All of the new MacBook Pros also feature 8x dual layer/double layer SuperDrives, built-in iSight cameras, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless networking, ExpressCard/34 expansion, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port and FireWire 400 port, one audio line in, and one headphone out port, each with optical support; scrolling trackpad, and illuminated keyboard; Apple Remote and infrared port; and a DVI connector to attach up to a 30-inch display. The MacBook Pros ship with Mac OS X v10.4.9 and include Apple's standard iLife applications along with Safari, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row, and Photo Booth. The new MacBook Pros are now shipping. The base 15-inch model is clocked at 2.2GHz and includes 128MB VRAM and a 120GB hard drive. It's priced at $1,999. The 15-inch is also available at 2.4GHz with 256MB VRAM and a 160GB hard drive for $2,499. The 2.4GHz, 160GB 17-inch model costs $2,799. The higher-resolution display for the 17-inch adds $100 to the price.
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If you need a battle-ready rugged notebook that runs Linux, the EmperorLinux Wasp CF-19 may be for you. read more
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Love a (Mandarina) Duck Hardware Widow Sony's Vaio C Series notebooks, launched this week, go right to the heart of cosmopolitan chic - or so the consumer electronics giant would have us think. Laptop as lifestyle accessory - or fashion accessory? It depends, I suppose, on who you are: a "free spirit", an "explorer", a "jet-setting nomad"? Whatever, Sony's got a hue for you.â¦
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A multitalented mouse and a Webcam designed expressly for notebooks are among the newly launched peripherals.
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LED-backlit display and Blu-ray Disc drive too Hardware Widow Asus has formally announced its anticipated U1F 11.1in compact notebook, a luxury laptop run up in carbon fibre and magnesium-aluminium alloy, decorated with piano lacquer, and mounted with a made-to-measure leather palm rest. It even has a Blu-ray Disc drive.â¦
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Taiwanese PC vendor Acer predicts its PC shipments will grow as much as 35 percent this year led by a strong notebook PC market, a pace of growth that could see the company challenge U.S. rivals by the end of this year.Acer&#39;s revenue grew 25 percent last year to NT$461.7 billion (US$14.42 billion) and the company made inroads to the world&#39;s largest PC market, the U.S., by acquiring Gateway. The revenue figure is preliminary and only includes Gateway&#39;s last two and a half months of the year because the merger process took place late in the year.Acer bought Gateway&#160;for US$710 million last year.But the figures and PC shipments had a tremendous impact on Acer&#39;s global PC rankings in the final three months of 2007.The company took a solid third place in global PC shipments last year,&#160;topping Chinese rival Lenovo and gaining ground on Dell. Acer&#39;s global PC shipment market share during the fourth quarter of 2007 reached 9.6 percent in the fourth quarter, up 60 percent over the same time a year earlier, according to IDC, the industry researcher.Lenovo, which had been jockeying for third place with Acer all year, fell to fourth with a 7.5 percent share of the global market. HP retained its first place ranking with 19 percent market share, while Dell remained firmly in second place at 14.6 percent.&quot;Combined Acer/Gateway growth continued to be the fastest among the top vendors and is a very solid performance for the first quarter of merged operations,&quot; IDC said in a statement. &quot;Acer also clearly established itself as the third largest vendor, overtaking Lenovo, and seems to be handling the Gateway integration quickly,&quot; the statement says.This year, Acer forecast its PC shipments overall will rise between 30 percent and 35 percent, led by 40 percent shipment growth in notebook PCs. Such strong growth could help the company challenge Dell, which saw its PC shipments grow only 1.7 percent in 2007, according to figures from Gartner. The market researcher put Acer&#39;s shipment growth last year at 32.9 percent for the year.Acer&#39;s chairman, J.T. Wang, predicted last October that Acer could take up to a 12 percent share of the global PC market, putting it in the position to challenge Dell.Acer&#39;s net profit was NT$12.9 billion in 2007, up from NT$10.2 billion a year earlier. The company&#39;s 2007 figures are all preliminary, Acer said. Final results will be published later.&#160;
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Taiwanese&#160;laptop maker Micro-Star International (MSI)&#160;plans to add Turbo-battery mode to a laptop PC aimed at computer gamers later this year in a bid to increase battery life and put out a more environmentally friendly product.The laptop will be the next generation of its G-series, which includes the GX600, a laptop with a button users can press to overclock the microprocessor. The Turbo-overclocking button on the current GX600 will gain a new use on the next generation laptop, Turbo-battery mode.Turbo-battery mode will add 20 percent more life to the battery, said Sam Chem, director of notebook computer sales at MSI, in an interview. The battery on the GX600 lasts for around two hours, so the addition of Turbo-battery mode would increase its power to two and a half hours.Turbo-battery mode only kicks in when a user hits the overclocking button while the battery is being used. When the laptop is plugged in, Turbo-battery mode will not come on.MSI&#39;s GX600 was one of the first laptop PCs to include a button for overclocking. Mobile devices in general aren&#39;t ideal for overclocking because of heat issues. When the microprocessor is prompted to work harder, it gives off far more heat. Desktop PCs are bigger and have more open space, as well as cooling devices such as bigger fans, making them more suitable for overclocking. But mobile devices encase the microprocessor and other hot-running chips and components into a much smaller area. Too much heat from one component can damage other parts.But MSI included new thermal technology in the GX600 to ensure its laptops wouldn&#39;t have a meltdown, Chem said. The result is that computer gamers using the laptop can get more performance for their money out of the microprocessor, which is one of the most expensive parts in a laptop. Overclocking can make a 2GHz microprocessor perform like a 2.4GHz or 2.5GHz microprocessor, he said.The GX600 weighs 2.7 kilograms and carries an Intel microprocessor, Nvidia 8600 graphics, 512MB GDRAM (graphics dynamic RAM), has a 15.4-inch screen and includes a number keypad along with the QWERTY keypad.MSI has been making laptops for three years. The company is also known for its motherboards and graphics cards.
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Blog: At an event space in New York City, the company showed off what it calls a "new line of richly designed, high-performance ultraportable notebooks" for the U.S. market.
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ThinkPad T42 series notebooks now feature an embedded fingerprint reader.
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Alienware's new Area 51 m15x gaming notebook will hopefully provide some balance in today's notebook news, offering graphical processing power over a small profile.
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(InfoWorld) - YahooÂ reached a deal for prime real estate on all Acer PCs shipped globally, with a co-branded toolbar, homepage, and search engine, the companies said Wednesday. In a deal that extends the battle for the PC among Internet companies, Acer laptops and desktops shipped from Oct. 1 will direct users to an Acer-Yahoo homepage when they click on a Web browser, complete with Yahoo portal content such as the Yahoo search engine, news, music, sports and the Yahoo Personal Assistant. The pact mirrors anÂ agreement between Dell and GoogleÂ earlier this year, and ups the ante with MicrosoftÂ and other companies battling to drive PC users to their Internet-based services. The PC desktop has become a battleground for companies fighting to increase their brand awareness and Internet ad revenue. The comingÂ launch of Windows VistaÂ highlights the issue because Microsoft is moving toward putting more and more Internet capabilities, such as search, on its OS, which would make it the first item users see when they boot up their computer. In May, Dell agreed to install Google homepage and search tools on all desktops and notebooks shipped to consumers and small and medium-size businesses worldwide, effectively kicking Microsoft out of a position it has occupied for years. The Yahoo, Acer deal does essentially the same thing, and while Acer isn't nearly the size of Dell, it is the fastest growing PC vendor among the top 10, and is based in Asia, the fastest growing PC market in the world, according to market researcher IDC. Yahoo and Acer referred to the agreement as a multi-year deal, but did not specify how many years, nor whether it would involve any kind of revenue sharing. Acer will factory-install the co-branded toolbars and homepages on all of its desktops and laptops, the companies said. Once Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 7, Acer will set Yahoo as the default search engine for IE7 on all of its computers. Neither Yahoo nor Acer representatives were immediately available for comment.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Acer Inc. plans to start selling a Ferrari PDA (personal digital assistant), adding to a line of Ferrari-branded computer gear that already includes notebook PCs and a monitor.
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A hot new graphics chip, improved display technology, and support for more memory top the list of enhancements in Apple's latest MacBook Pro laptops.