Laptop makers push size, price limits
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Smaller, lighter and cheaper is the order of the day for laptop vendors as they struggle to find new types of devices that will appeal to users.
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(InfoWorld) - The world's largest contract laptop computer maker shipped over 2 million notebook computers in the month of January, an all-time high for a single month, due to strong orders ahead of the launch ofÂ Microsoft Windows Vista, the company's president said Friday. Taiwan's Quanta Computer, which counts Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard among its clients, also expects its sales this year to exceed NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion), said Michael Wang, Quanta's president. Last year, its sales were NT$461.5 billion. This year, Quanta expects to ship over 25 million laptop computers, up about 30 percent over last year. The company believes the notebook computer industry will experience strong growth over the next three years. Despite strong laptop computer shipments, Quanta has seen profit margins fall as stiff competition among PC vendors forces pricing down. There are also several contract laptop makers for vendors to choose from, ensuring competitive bidding for big orders. To combat lower margins, Quanta has expanded its product offerings to include mobile phones, smartphones, and Apple iPods.
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Asustek and Intel are developing a line of notebook PCs priced as low as $199, for emerging and education markets.
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By unveiling a new line of stylish laptops ahead of both CES and Macworld, Lenovo stands alone in the limelight today. But is there still room for another large player in the laptop space?
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Lenovo and Best Buy For Business today announced that select Lenovo  notebook PCs will be available for purchase at approximately 300 Best  Buy For Business retail store locations across the U.S. beginning this  month.
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The so-called "$100 laptop" has moved one step closer to reality, with 2,500 units set to ship later this month to eight developing nations. If the small test proves successful, mass production of the units would begin.
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Intel and Asustek are working on a $199 laptop designed for emerging markets and for use in education.
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Via Technologies, best known for chipsets and tiny motherboards, announces a new design for budget ultramobile computers. Its Nanobook will weigh 1.9 pounds, be capable of running Windows Vista and cost less than six bills.
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As the deadline for a new contract nears, writers and producers are negotiating, but some are braced for the worst.            Presented By     From Dell? Home!      &nbsp;&nbsp;The new Dell? Inspiron? 1520 notebook with hi-def widescreen and long-range wireless for only $799. Add mobile broadband for $150. Limited time offer. Click here. www.dell.com    Ads by Pheedo
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Notebook computers can be as powerful as desktops these days, especially as hard-disk makers like Hitachi Ltd. grab industry bragging rights by unveiling a 500-gigabyte drive for laptops.
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And sells 100,000 units to Uruguay The $100 laptop, designed to save the children of developing countries from a world without technology, might have to be rebranded. The machine's price tag has now hit the $200 mark.â¦
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Nonprofit and chipmaker have faced off over low-cost laptops in the past, but they're coming together to bring PCs to kids.
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In the race to make ever lighter laptop computers, Toshiba Corp. is poised to take the lead in the 12-inch screen class with new models coming this month.
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Processors specially developed by Intel for&#160;Apple&#39;s new MacBook Air laptop&#160;will soon be used by other PC vendors in systems, possibly creating competition for what Apple calls the world&#39;s lightest and thinnest notebook.Two PC makers will use the miniaturized Intel Core 2 Duo processors used by Apple in MacBook Air, said a source familiar with Intel&#39;s plans. Systems powered by the chips will be released soon, the source said.The companies&#39; names weren&#39;t revealed, but the chip could bring smaller and lighter notebooks that could compete in size and performance with the ultra-thin MacBook Air, which weighs 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms) and measures 0.16 inches (0.4 centimeters) at its thinnest part and 0.76 inches (1.93 cms) at its thickest part.Apple asked Intel to develop powerful chips for MacBook Air that are 60 percent smaller than the normal size, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said during a keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo earlier this month. Intel obliged, which led to the development of smaller Core 2 Duo processors.&quot;All you have to do is check out the size and shape of the MacBook Air to see what the shrink enables -- smaller, lighter form factors that were physically not possible before,&quot; said Connie Brown, an Intel spokeswoman.The MacBook Air comes with miniaturized Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at either 1.6Ghz or 1.8GHz, with the Intel 965GMS chip set and integrated graphics. Manufactured using the 65-nanometer process, the chips belong to Intel&#39;s Merom family of processors.Intel shrunk the CPU and chip set for a 60 percent reduction in total footprint to comparable Merom processors, Brown said. While delivering similar performance, the chips use 20 watts of power, lower than comparable Merom chips that use 35 watts.The miniaturized chip was designed for Apple, but other PC makers can use it, Brown said.PC manufacturers could adopt the miniaturized Merom CPU in mini desktops or subnotebooks, but the Mac OS X Leopard operating system gives MacBook Air an advantage, said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64. Other systems could be based on Windows or Linux.Apple also has a leg up in product design, which potential MacBook Air competitors will find hard to emulate, Brookwood said.&quot;What has resulted from Apple&#39;s move to Intel chips is its forcing other OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] to pay more attention to the styling of their systems, which is clearly an advantage for users,&quot; Brookwood said.This was the first time Intel developed a small form-factor chip from a normal-sized mobile processor, Brown said.However, Intel has talked about developing chips with smaller form factors in the past.At the Intel Developer Forum last year, Intel talked about shrinking the size of chips by up to 60 percent for its next-generation Montevina mobile platform, which will include the new Penryn processors manufactured using the 45-nm process. The small form-factor chips will be released shortly after the normal-sized chips, due to ship by the middle of this year.It&#39;s not a coincidence that both Intel and Apple have talked about a 60 percent size reduction in chips, Brookwood said. Apple has taken a step ahead by adopting the Merom processor for the MacBook Air, and a natural path of progression is to upgrade to the small form-factor Penryn processors that will be part of Montevina, he said.Apple doesn&#39;t comment on future products, a company spokesman wrote in an e-mail.
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Some observers are concerned that Acer is paying too much for Gateway, and some say the deal doesn't add much to Acer's arsenal except size.
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Healthcare commission report points to staffing and commercial pressures.            Presented By     From Dell? Home!      &nbsp;&nbsp;The new Dell? Inspiron? 1520 notebook with hi-def widescreen and long-range wireless for only $799. Add mobile broadband for $150. Limited time offer. Click here. www.dell.com    Ads by Pheedo
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While Apple is cruising along, other computer outfits are frantically trying to crack the consumer-electronics nut. Dell (DELL ), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) and, yes, even Gateway (GTW ) are all pushing new products