Asus Vivobook S15 and ZenBook UX430 in India

Taiwanese tech giant Asus has expanded its laptop lineup in India with the launch of two new laptops. The company has launched Vivobook S15 and ZenBook UX430 at Rs 59,990 and Rs 74,990 respectively. While the former will be available starting first eek of Octobe, the latter is already available. Both these laptops will be selling across all online and offline retailers and partners.

The Asus VivoBook S15 features a 15.6-inch a full HD (1920 x 1280) resolution with 178° wide-view technology and NanoEdge display and giving it an 80% screen-to-body ratio. Powered by an 8th Generation quad-core Intel Core i7-8550U and i5-8250U processor with up to 16GB DDR4 2133Hz memory, the laptop has dual storage drives, with a 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD). It also houses NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics card.

For the purpose of connectivity, it offers a reversible one USB Type-C port, one USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI port, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The laptop boasts of a "SuperBattery" technology that is claimed to give it three times the battery lifespan of conventional laptop batteries. The Asus VivoBook S15 measures 361 x 243.5 x 17.9mm and weighs 1.7 kg and has 7.8mm thin bezels.

The ZenBook UX430 is the company's thinnest ever ZenBook with a discrete graphics card. This laptop sports a 14-inch full HD (1080x1920 pixels) also with NanoEdge display. The company says that the canvas is 13-inch but the display it includes is of 14-inches. ZenBook UX430 is powered by Intel 8th Generation Core i7 processor with the main memory of 16GB DDR4 (2133MHz) and up to 512 GB storage. The laptop includes a Type-C USB 3.1 Gen.1 port, Type-A USB 3.1 port, USB 2.0 port, Micro HDMI and a SD card reader.

Lenovo laptops Yoga Tab Pro 3 And Yoga 900 Ultrabook Laptops

Chinese manufacturer Lenovo has expanded its portfolio with the launch of Yoga Tab Pro 3 priced at Rs 39,500 and Yoga 900 Ultrabook priced at Rs 1,22,090.

The Yoga Tab Pro 3 tablet comes with an in-build projector placed on a rotatable hinge.

It features a QHD display and runs on Android OS 5.1 Lollipop. It is powered by 2.24GHz quad-core Intel Atom x 5-Z8500 processor coupled with 2GB RAM and offers microSD card SIM support. It packs a 10,200mAh battery that lasts 18 hours on a single charge and delivers up to 49 days of standby time, according to the company.

Weighing 666gm, the tablet sports a 13MP auto-focus rear camera and 5MP fixed focus front camera. In terms of connectivity, the tablet supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth v4.0.

Sony launches VAIO Red PCs

Sony recently launched the bold red-colored PCs in limited quantity in an effort to raise the status of its VAIO Duo, Pro, and Fit laptops. The company is calling it “VAIO – Red Edition PCs”. The laptops in red went on sale earlier this year in Japan and Europe. Unlike other models, the red edition PCs combine "premium" design and engineering features, says the company. They come with Windows 8, Intel Core i7 fourth generation processors, and Sony display, camera, and audio technology. All models are touch-enabled.

More specifically, Sony says the VAIO Pro 13 is the first laptop to include a high speed PCIe SSD drive, which provides faster performance than traditional SSD drives. The VAIO Fit 15 offers a hybrid hard drive and optical drive that can read and write Blu-ray Disc media.

The VAIO Duo 13 model is available for $2,999.99. The VAIO Pro 13 model is available for $2,599.99. The VAIO Fit 15 model is available for $1,999.99. 

Laptops could be powered simply by typing

Battery life can be a deal maker or a deal breaker when shopping for a new electronic gadget, and laptops are especially notorious for over-promising and under-delivering when it comes to how long they can last between charges. A new twist on an old technological advancement might change all that by turning your keystrokes into power. Using a thin film that exhibits piezoelectric properties, the pressure of your fingers hitting each key could potentially generate enough energy to keep a notebook battery charged.

Piezoelectric materials, many of which are man-made ceramics, actually generate electric current when impacted. The science behind it has been used for many years in things like mechanical actuators and sensors, but has seen limited application in consumer electronics. Australian researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have been testing a piezoelectric film that could, in theory, be applied underneath a notebook keyboard. It would absorb the impact of each keystroke and use the electric current generated to charge the device's battery.

There are currently no plans for a consumer-level device that would employ the technology, but the research is promising. According to the scientists, other applications for piezoelectric material might also be on the horizon, including running shoes that could charge your cell phone and pacemakers that are powered by blood pressure alone.

Lenovo announces ThinkPad X220 Ultraportable Laptop

Lenovo has announced the ThinkPad X220 laptop, which is one of the early ultraportable laptops running on new processors based on Intel's Sandy Bridge microarchitecture.

The X220 comes with a 12.5-inch display and will be powered by Intel's Core i3, i5 or i7 processors running at clock speeds between 2.1GHz and 2.7GHz, Lenovo said in a statement. The laptop weighs less than 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms) with a four-cell battery.

The laptop can provide up to 15 hours of battery life with a nine-cell battery, according to Lenovo. The laptop's run time can stretch up to 24 hours with an external battery.

The company also announced a convertible variant of the X220 - the X220 Tablet - which will include a swivel touchscreen. The screen will accept multitouch input for users to manipulate photos, control applications or scroll down documents. The screen is based on Gorilla Glass technology for protection from scratches and cracks.

The X220 Tablet weighs 3.88 pounds with a four-cell battery.

The X220 and the X220 Tablet will both have hard-drive storage of up to 320GB or solid-state drive storage of up to 160GB. They will have up to 8GB of memory and select models will include USB 3.0 ports.

They also include a DisplayPort and VGA ports to attach monitors. The specification sheets for them do not list the availability of HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) ports, which are commonly used to connect laptops to high-definition TV sets.

The X220 laptop will become available in April starting at US$899. Pricing for the X220 Tablet was not immediately available.

PC makers have just started announcing ultraportable laptops with Sandy Bridge chips. Dell said it would announce a lightweight laptop with Sandy Bridge microprocessors in the next few weeks.

Acer unveils dual screen Iconia laptop

There's nothing all that special about a 14-inch Windows-based notebook PC these days - that is, unless we're talking about a laptop boasting two 14-inch displays, with the second screen taking the place of your standard keyboard and doing double-duty as a virtual QWERTY keypad.

Now it could be the time to meet the Iconia, which Acer unveiled at a press event in New York. Armed with an Intel Core i5 processor and powered by Windows 7, the Iconia offers the aforementioned dual displays (14 inches, 1366-by-768), not to mention an HD webcam and integrated 3G.

Engadget has a hands-on photo gallery of the six-pound laptop, and no question: The Iconia makes for an eye-catching piece of hardware, all right. Well, Engadget notes that the Iconia might be the first Windows laptop with a keyboard that's susceptible to glare, adding that the "hard-to-use" virtual keypad hampers the otherwise "clever" touch interface.

PCWorld gives much details on the Iconia and the Acer "Ring," a wheel-shaped touch UI that lets you flick and swipe between various on-screen elements, including the QWERTY keyboard, a "gesture editor," image capture and Web-clip apps, a "TouchMusic" player, and other touch-friendly applications.

The Iconia will also let you super-size your Web-browsing experience by extending pages across both of its 14-inch displays, although you'll have to put up with the gap where the laptop's hinge sits.

Other features on the Iconia include VGA and HDMI outputs, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, and three USB ports (two with USB 2.0, the other using the new USB 3.0 standard).

How much will the Iconia cost? No hard details on that yet, nor any specific word on when it'll arrive in the States.

Meanwhile, Acer also took the wraps off a pair of Android-based tablets - a 7-incher and a 10-inch model, both with 1280-by-800 displays and Flash Player 10.1 support, as well as a 10-inch Windows-based tablet.

Also on tap from Acer: an aircraft-carrier-sized Android smartphone with a whopping 4.8-inch, 1024-by-480 display, not to mention an 8MP camera, DLNA media sharing, and "immersive" sound courtesy of Dolby Mobile.

Again, pricing and release dates for the upcoming tablets and smartphone remain sketchy, with Acer saying all three of its new Android devices should arrive around April 2011, while the Windows tablet is slated for February.

Toshiba launches WiMax-ready Laptops

Toshiba has announced that several of its premium laptops will have WiMax-ready chips built-in.

What's interesting is the WiMax chips are based on Intel's Kilmer Peak, a PCI-e adapter that was supposed to launch in 2011 with Intel's next-generation platform, codenamed Huron River. But because Sprint and Clearwire, the two companies betting on WiMax technology, have made good on their promise to deliver wireless 4G broadband nationwide, Toshiba is wasting no time jumping onboard.

WiMax is like a Wi-Fi connection that covers an entire city, with an average download speed of 2-3 Mbps and prices as low as $40 per month. By December, Clearwire is expected to roll out WiMax in New York and San Francisco.

WiMax wireless chips will be available in the Satellite A665 Series, the M645 Series, the Portege R705-P35, and the Satellite E205-S1908. These are portable mainstream laptops, with screen sizes ranging from 13 inches to 16 inches.

Sony unveils VAIO 3-D Laptop prototype

Get ready for a laptop computer with 3-D video and games. Sony, hoping that could be the Next Big Thing, has showed prototypes of an upcoming VAIO 3-D laptop at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, and announced plans to launch a 3-D TV channel.

According to Sony CEO Howard Stinger, the laptop, with a 3-D button and active-shutter glasses, will formally debut in the spring. The prototypes use a frame-sequential technology that alternates between left- and right-eye views, with blank screens between them to keep them separate enough for the mind to create good-quality three dimensions. The video is displayed at 240 frames per second to create 60 fps video.

Sony is moving forward quickly on 3-D across its product line, in addition to TVs. It also announced at IFA that existing Blu-ray HD DVD players and the PlayStation 3 game console will be updated with firmware so they can play 3-D. Stringer demonstrated a variety of 3-D titles, including Major League Baseball, Mortal Kombat, Virtual Tennis 4, Killzone 3, and others.

The company has also announced a 3-D video projector and said its 3-D TV channel will focus on natural history, children's programs, science and movies. New 3-D feature films in the works from Sony include The Green Hornet, Resident Evil Afterlife, and new sequels in the Spider-Man and Men in Black franchises.

The presence of 3-D display technology on a laptop raises the possibility of third-party development of 3-D applications. Shim noted that this "chicken and egg problem," where developers will be reluctant to develop for a nonexistent or small installed base, might be resolved by "seeding" 3-D-based software. Sony has begun to do this with games, and Shim suggested other companies that are similarly interested in advancing this platform might also begin such development.

Giga-byte Technology displays CULV Laptop at Computex Taipei 2009

Giga-byte Technology revamped a netbook that takes advantage of touchscreen and tablet functions in Microsoft Windows 7 and put its first laptop with an Intel CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) microprocessor inside on display at Computex Taipei 2009 on Monday.

The TouchNote T1028 netbook sports a 10.1-inch touchscreen that swivels so that the screen can be turned around folded down to transform it into a tablet PC. The netbook is an update to its first netbook with the same function, but the main difference this time is the Windows 7 software, which includes functions that support both the touchscreen capability and the tablet mode.

Windows 7 is Microsoft's latest operating system, but so far only a beta (test) version has been released.

Giga-byte's new T1028 will include Intel's latest 1.66GHz N280 Atom microprocessor. It will cost around US$599 and could be on the market globally as early as July or August. The launch date will partly be determined by when Microsoft releases Windows 7. Should the T1028 launch early, it could come with Windows XP and will be upgradeable to Windows 7.

Giga-byte's first CULV laptop is part of its Booktop family of products, the M1305. Intel's CULV microprocessor is small, thin and energy efficient and designed for thin portable laptops.

The Booktop M1305 sports a 13.3-inch screen and can hold up to 8G byte of DDR3 (double data rate, third generation) DRAM, which is a newer version of mainstream DRAM that has not yet caught on widely.

The M1305 laptop that Giga-byte displayed Monday used Windows 7 as its operating system. The company hopes to launch the M1305 in September or October armed with Windows 7.

The laptop is only an inch (2 centimeters) thick and is built light as an alternative to netbooks, but includes a key feature lacking in netbooks, a DVD drive, as well as a larger screen.

Giga-byte also showed off another new netbook on Monday, the Myou S1024. The netbook is designed to be ultra-small despite its 10.1-inch screen, which is a big size for netbooks.

The Myou S1024 weighs 900 grams and is less than an inch thick. Giga-byte managed to put a 6-cell battery inside the device despite its small size for long battery life. The S1024 will be available globally within the next few months and will cost around US$599.

The three new devices can all be used with a number of wireless technologies, including 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Giga-byte will offer optional WiMax and 3.5G (High-speed packet access) modules.

Pricing information about the devices was not immediately available.

Samsung NC20 Laptop based on Via Nano processor to be launched soon

Samsung Electronics' NC20 laptop based on Via Technologies' Nano processor will be available in the UK from February 9th. UK operator BT has revealed this piece of info and is accepting preorders.

The £391 (US$564) NC20, which includes a 1.3Ghz Nano processor, 12-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard disk, and Windows XP Home, will first be available in a white case. A second version of the NC20 with a black case will be available from March 9th.

The NC20 fits into Samsung's laptop product line between its Intel Atom-powered NC10 netbook and more powerful systems, which is exactly where Via wants the Nano to be positioned.

News related to NC20's impending release have swirled online since December. The new laptop is a significant design win for Via, the smallest of the three x86 processor vendors, which has struggled to gain market share in the face of competition from its bigger rivals, particularly Intel.

Winning business from a top-tier vendor like Samsung gives the Nano greater credibility with users and other prospective customers. It also means the chip will be more widely available, which should translate into higher sales for Via.

Via could use the boost. The company is an unlikely rival for Intel. To get a clearer picture of just how mismatched they are, compare their revenue from 2008. Taipei-based Via earned revenue of NT$7.9 billion, (US$235 million). That's roughly equivalent to 2.5 days of revenue for Intel, which earned $37.6 billion the same year.

Despite its smaller size, Via has led Intel in key areas. Via executives anticipated the shift towards inexpensive, low-power processors at a time when Intel executives were still promising to hit clock speeds of 10GHz or more with the power-hungry Pentium 4.

With the Nano processor, Via hopes to compete against Intel in the market for more powerful systems than the low-end laptops powered by its older C7-M chip or Intel's Atom.

Intel isn't sitting by idly. The company officials have confirmed an updated version of its Atom processor is now shipping for netbooks. The Atom N280 is only marginally faster than the N270, running at 1.66GHz instead of 1.6GHz. But Intel has added a chipset that supports a faster 667MHz front-side bus and includes a hardware decoder for 720p high-definition video, a feature that was not originally counted among the basic computing tasks Intel envisioned for netbooks.

These new features give the Atom some added benefits, filling in gaps against Via's Nano, which uses an 800MHz front-side bus and is paired with Via's VX800 chipset. Like Intel's GN40 chipset used with the Atom N280, the VX800 also includes hardware video decoders for high-definition video playback.

India to display Rs 500 laptop on Feb 3

A elite group of Indian students from the Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and IIT Madras are coming out with a laptop just for Rs 500 ($10), which can be used globally for educational purposes and revolutionaries the computer market in developing countries.

The Rs 500 laptop, developed by the students and scientists with the help of companies like Semiconductor Complex, will be on display in Tirupati on February 3, at the launch of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology.

The $10 laptop project has come as an answer to Nicholas Negroponte’s The Children’s Machine project, which was part of the broader, One Laptop Per Child programme. In November 2005, at the World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunis, he unveiled $100 laptop, which he tried hard sell to India but was rejected by the HRD ministry.

Apart from a very attractive price tag, there is very little information on the specifications of the laptop but according to reports, it comes equipped with 2GB memory, WiFi, Ethernet, expendable memory and consumes a mere 2W of power.

Since there is no information on what operating system it will use, it is assumed that the Rs500 laptop will use the ordinary Linux-based GUI like the Eee PC as running Windows XP will be out of the question as the licence itself will cost more than the laptop.

The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal “Sakshat”, and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.

The government is collaborating with Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing for uploading their textbooks on “Sakshat”, where a small percentage of these books can be accessed for free.

The government will give Rs2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and also subsidise 25 per cent of costs for private and state government colleges by providing computer infrastructure and internet connection to over 18,000 colleges and 400 universities and institutions.

Dell Introduces Ultraslim Adamo Laptop

Dell Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal computers, introduced a 10-inch netbook which could be a possible competitor to Apple Inc's MacBook Air.

The new black laptop is called "Adamo," which means to fall in love with. The laptop has an ultraslim design that makes it easy to hold.

Dell said it would begin shipping Adamo in the first half of 2009 but declined to give any pricing info. According to Michael Tatelman, vice president of global consumer sales and marketing at Dell, “it won't be just a laptop, but a whole new brand name of luxury products”.

"There's things and products that you like, and there's things and products that you love. Adamo ... will be the new luxury franchise in the Dell brand lineup," said Tatelman.

The company did not reveal more specifications of the laptop, other than saying Adamo represented the best of Dell's craftsmanship, performance and design. More product details will be revealed at a later date and the product will ship this quarter.

Dell has also announced the Mini 10 netbook, which will include a 10-inch screen and a full-sized keyboard. It will also have some unique mobile features like GPS capabilities and a built-in TV tuner, which will allow users to watch broadcast TV on the go. The tuner supports certain standards in the U.S., Western Europe, Japan and China.

The netbook will be based on Intel's Atom Z-series processor and is scheduled for release in the next few months. Pricing information was not immediately available. Dell already offers Mini notebooks with 9-inch and 12-inch screens.

Acer launches Aspire 8930G-7665 with Intel's Quad-core Chip

Acer has launched a powerful quad-core laptop at a price that may appeal to buyers on a budget. According to Acer, company's Aspire 8930G-7665 laptop is designed as a gaming laptop or desktop replacement. The laptop is powered by Intel's Core 2 Quad mobile processor with four cores that runs at up to 2.53GHz and includes 12MB of cache.

With a starting price of US$1,799, Acer's laptop could be a bargain compared to expensive quad-core laptops from the world's top PC vendors. Hewlett-Packard and Dell both offer quad-core laptops as either gaming laptops or mobile workstations with prices starting at over $2,000.

The laptop includes an 18.4-inch screen that can display high-definition image and video. It also includes 4GB of RAM, Nvidia's GeForce 9700M GT graphics card with 512MB of video memory, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-ray Disc drive and Wi-Fi wireless networking.

Technical Specifications of Aspire 8930-7665 are following :-
• Intel® Core™2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000 (12MB L2 Cache 2.53 GHz 1066MHz FSB)
• 18.4" WUXGA Acer CrystalBrite™ TFT LCD (1920 x 1080)
• 4GB DDR3 1066 MHz Dual Channel Memory
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9700M GT with 512MB dedicated video memory
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Blu-ray Disc™/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
• 6-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• 802.11a/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
• Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
• Dolby Home Theater®
• Windows Vista® Premium 64-bit
• MSRP $1799.99


The laptop comes preloaded with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Premium OS. The laptop is now available in the US through retailers.

PCG 1P1L - New Laptop from Sony

At the beginning of this week, Sony New Zealand began a teaser campaign for a new Vaio laptop. That was followed by Sony Japan, which offered a visual clue to the new machine, and Sony US apparently let the laptop's specifications out of the bag.

Expectations for the new laptop began in early December. The machine was identified as the PCG-1P1L and the few details available indicated it will offer cellular as well as Wi-Fi connectivity.

At the beginning on this week, Sony New Zealand started promoting a "revolutionary" Vaio laptop that will be revealed on January 9 in the country. That works out to just a few hours after Sony CEO Howard Stringer is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8.

Later on, Sony Japan started promoting a new Vaio laptop and offered a better idea of the machine's design – “a compact laptop that could fit in a woman's purse”.

A Flash animation on Sony's U.S. shopping site, SonyStyle, offered details of a Vaio P laptop. Sony used the "Vaio P" name back in 2003 for a desktop PC but at present it doesn't offer any machines under that name.

The computer, according to the site, has an 8-inch LED backlight screen with 1,600 pixel by 768 pixel resolution. Other snippet,s including a 1.33GHz Intel processor, Vista Home Premium or Home Basic, and the choice of a hard-disk drive up to 60GBs or a 128GB solid-state disk (SSD).

From the regulatory filing, the computer appears about 22 centimeters long by 11 centimeters deep and its form factor would suggest a widescreen 8-inch display. The greater length could allow for a larger keyboard than is possible on most of the compact "netbook" computers now be offered by competitors and the combination of a high-resolution with LED backlight will likely make for an impressive display.

The 1.33GHz Intel processor matches the speed of the Atom chip that is included in some netbooks although the use of Vista would be unusual if this is indeed a netbook. If it's a compact but more fully featured machine, as the use of Vista might suggest, then it would appear to be based on the more powerful Core2Duo processor, which is the only other chip Intel offers at this speed.

More details about the new laptop may come out in Consumer Electronics Show to be held in January.

Zenith Computers offers Laptops for Rs 14,999

Zenith Computers has announced the release of a laptop for as low as Rs 14, 999. This is the first time that a hardware manufacturer has been able to break the psychological barrier of Rs 20,000 with a Windows based Laptop.

Thus far the cheapest Laptop in this category was the Asus Eee PC that was being sold for Rs 18,000. But the Asus laptop was linux based. Industry experts believe that the price reduction has been possible as the company expects to drive up the volume of sales substantially. The company expects to sell laptops worth 8 million this year and hopes to drive the sales to a figure of 18.3 millions next year. The company is also releasing a desktop for Rs 11,999.

Microsoft is also a partner in the initiative. They have scaled down the Windows XP to run it on low cost laptops. Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India said “Under the Microsoft Unlimited Potential initiative, our effort is to bring sustained social and economic opportunity to people who currently don’t enjoy the benefits of technology. Our aim is to propel a wider acceptance for IT amongst the masses by extending an opportunity to learn, connect, create, and succeed by combining advanced technologies and relevant partnerships.”

Intex to launch a series of nine notebooks in India

Intex has announced to launch a new series of notebooks in India. The new series consist of one model each in the Lifestyle, Gaming and Tablet Pad types and three models each in the Business book and Education notebook series.

All the newly launched Intex notebooks are equipped with connectivity features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The Lifestyle Book targets working women. The notebook comes in pink, black and white colors and weighs only 1.8 kg. It is priced in the range of Rs 33,000. The Gaming notebook is a high-end laptop. It sports the Intel Centrino technology with Nvidia Graphic Power. It has a hybrid TV tuner card and targets the younger generation of gaming enthusiasts. It is priced at 75,900.

The Tablet Pad has a 12.1inch TFT touch screen that can be rotated through 180 degrees. It is aimed at professionals. The Business Book variant comes in 15.4 inch and 13.3 inches size screens. It features a HDMI port, security features of finger-prints and hotkeys to play music. It is priced between Rs 32,900 to Rs 42,900.

The Education laptops are value for money laptops. They are targeted at students and promise to deliver high performance. The education laptops from Intex are priced between Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000.

Lenovo launches Ideapad Y710 in India

Lenovo has launched a high end Lap Top, the Ideapad Y710 in the Indian Market. It has many unique features such as a swappable twin hard drive and the RAID function.

Salient features of the Ideapad Y710 include a 17 inch screen with a resolution of 1440 X 900 pixels. It has WLAN connectivity, Dolby Surround Sound and an optional Blu-Ray DVD reader. The hard drive is of 320 GB and a webcam of 1.3 megapixel. VeriFace face recognition technology can be used for log-in.

High end gaming facilities have been included in certain models. Four customizable buttons can be used. Touch sensitive controls have also been incorporated.

The laptop will be available in India within a price range of Rs 45,000 to Rs 85,000.

Students to get Laptop for Rs 500

Here is a good news for the students. The Centre plans to provide specially designed laptops to them for as little as US $10. So, if the plan becomes a success, a student will get a laptop for lesser than Rs 500.

The minister of state for human resource development (HRD), Ms D Purandeswari, said this laptop once developed would be made available to students so that they make use of information technology and excel in studies.

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, are already working on a research project for manufacturing the $10 laptop.

“The research in this direction is on,” said Ms Purandeshwari at the inaugural session of ‘e-India 2008,’ an international conference of information and communication technologies (ICT).

“The initiative has been taken by government to enable students to make the most out of information technology, which is emerging as a catalyst for the country’s socio-economic development”.

If launched successfully the product will provide a boost to learning in India. A laptop made by Nicholas Negroponte, an alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is being sold for $ 188.

ASUS Eee PC 904H and Eee PC 1000H comes to India

After doing quite well with the Eee PC in the notebook segment, ASUS has launched two more notebooks in Indian market. The models Eee PC 904H and Eee PC 1000H and are targeting the middle section of the laptop market. They are ideal for computing applications combined with surfing the internet and music applications.

The Eee PC 1000H sports 10-inch display, ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine for longer battery which offers a lifespan of up to five hours and Dolby Sound Room. Unlike previous version of Eee, the 1000H features 95% size of generic notebooks facilitating easier typing. The ASUS Eee PC 1000H runs on the Intel’s Atom processor and features a 1.3M Pixel webcam. It’s also capable to get connected with LAN (10/100 Mbps), Wireless internet (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth.

The ASUS Eee PC 904H features a smaller 8.9-inch screen and offers 1024×600 resolution display and ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine for longer battery lifespan up to 4.5 hours.
Eee PC 904H and Eee PC1000H are priced at Rs. 26,990/- and Rs. 29,990/- respectively.

VAIO FW- World’s First 16.4 Inch Wide Multimedia Notebook from Sony

Sony has recently introduced a notebook which can play Blu-Ray discs. VAIO FW notebook will be capable of displaying HD movies.

Powered by a new Intel Centrino2 technology, the notebook is more responsive and energy efficient. It uses the Windows Vista Ultimate operating system. The software bundled with the notebook includes VAIO Movie Story software, VAIO Music Box software and the Disc/Editor software for creating DVD/BD video. It permits you to use the lap top in a wireless mode throughout your house.

FW is the world's first 16.4-inch widescreen notebook, meant to deliver a 17-inch widescreen 16:9 experience in a 15-incher's footprint. It's optimised for HD and Blu-ray playback. The SR-series notebooks bring some higher-end features down to the consumer level at a decent, with an LED-backlit 13.3-inch widescreen and G-sensor HDD shock protection.

According to Sony, VAIO® FW notebook- a multimedia PC displays HD movies the way they were meant to be seen. Extra-wide LCD and Blu-Ray Disc Technology Make for a Powerful HD Experience.

The VAIO FW notebook comes in multiple configurations, including a premium and a standard model. The premium model plays Blu-ay Disc™ high-definition content like movies in full 1080 HD resolution when connected to a compatible HDTV. It can also record, store and play back personal content on high-capacity BD media.

Weighing a little over six pounds, the FW notebook features the world's first 16.4-inch display, which combines the benefits of a slightly larger17-inch widescreen with the smaller "footprint" of a 15.4-inch model. The display is ideal for Blu-Ray Disc movies. Since many HD films are shot with a 16:9 aspect ratio, the unit's extra-wide LCD is constructed with the same dimensions. This minimizes the black bars that typically appear, letting you view movies in their intended format.

The extended workspace also lets you view two full websites at once or compare two documents side-by-side without tabbing back and forth. The notebook uses Sony’s patented XBRITE-HiColor LCD technology which enables glare free viewing with absolute picture quality.