ASUS makes EeePC 1015P and 1015PE official, endows them with 13.5 hours of battery life

It’s hard to differentiate yourself in the netbook world nowadays — pretty much every manufacturer is trudging along the same Pine Trail, with the same one, maybe two, gigabytes of RAM and 160GB to 320GB in storage. So ASUS, the original gangster of this sector, is aiming to wow consumers with a scintillating 13.5 hours of autonomous use courtesy of its 6-cell 63Wh battery pack. The EeePC 1015P and 1015PE differ only in aesthetics, with both sporting 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 screens and Atom N450 processors. No, that’s not going to break any performance records, but if that longevity number proves true, we suspect there’ll be plenty of eager buyers out there. Price and availability haven’t yet been revealed, but ASUS doesn’t usually keep us waiting so look out for these in the very near future.

ASUS makes EeePC 1015P and 1015PE official, endows them with 13.5 hours of battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Bamboo Collection laptops: now with Taiwanese pricing, more bamboo (update)

ASUS has been attaching bamboo to its laptops for some time now, but it was only ever really for show — though the wood itself was certainly biodegradable, adding veneer isn’t exactly the greenest statement in the world. This year, however, the company’s Bamboo Collection will be completely slightly more recyclable. With Core i5-450M processors, they should be reasonably good performers as well, and NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics technology gives them a factory-estimated (read: unlikely) 11 hours of battery life. The panda fodder cases will be found in Taiwan for around $40,000 NTD (approximately $1,300) next month, though US availability is yet to be announced. Check out the gigantic ASUS PDF for additional specs while you wait, and feel free to blow Ma Earth kisses all the while.

Update: Our friends at Engadget Chinese inform us the new U series laptops aren’t 100 percent recyclable after all; they still have a sizable plastic substrate underneath those thicker bamboo panels. It seems ASUS still hasn’t managed to shake its wooden façade. Get specs and first-hand pics from the event at our more coverage link.

ASUS Bamboo Collection laptops: now with Taiwanese pricing, more bamboo (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: what’s the best 13-inch Core i5 / i7 Wintel ultraportable for running OS X?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Dan Murphy [great name!], who needs to know which ultraportable on the market today is best equipped to roll both ways… if you know what we’re sayin’. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“Real simple: what’s the best Core i5 or Core i7 13-inch laptop (with discrete graphics) for running both Windows 7 and Mac OS X? I’m a video and photo guy who does marketing work for a university, and while I’ve been using a Dell M1330 to operate on both sides of the fence, I’m in dire need of a hardware upgrade. I’m not fussed by the Windows vs. Mac debate and use both on a daily basis, but I need as much power as possible in an ultraportable form factor in order to handle both of these operating systems (sorry, 13-inch MacBook Pro, but you aren’t cutting it). Here’s hoping your readers can help out!”

We’d sure the master Hackintoshers out there would love to help out, and we’re sure Apple will weep when realizing they’d have a sale if they would’ve crammed a Core i5 into their 13-inch MBP while refreshing the other guys last month. Go on, folks — let this guy in on your secrets in comments below.

Ask Engadget: what’s the best 13-inch Core i5 / i7 Wintel ultraportable for running OS X? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba updates Satellite Pro line with Core i3 / i5, Athlon II-based models

Continue reading Toshiba updates Satellite Pro line with Core i3 / i5, Athlon II-based models

Toshiba updates Satellite Pro line with Core i3 / i5, Athlon II-based models originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 lives, but only for Aussie students

If you’ve been dying to get your hands on a ThinkPad netbook — and we mean a real Atom-based, 10-inch ThinkPad — we’ve got some good news and bad. The good is that Lenovo has indeed been making them, the bad is that you’ll have to enroll in a school in New South Wales to get one. Yep, the official word from Lenovo is that the product was a one off deal for the Australian school district. Luckily one unit escaped from the land down under and ended up in our hands yesterday, though we must admit the little laptop is pretty underwhelming since it’s just a X100e with a 1024×600 10-inch screen, rather than the original 11.6-inch one. But if an overflowing bezel is your thing, you’ll want to enroll in Summer Heights High ASAP (video after the break for those that are unfamiliar with the amazing, yet expired HBO show). We also confirmed that it has an 1.6GHz Atom N450 processor, which has less power than the AMD Neo being used in the X100e, but we’d venture to guess pumps out at least two more hours of juice with the same six-cell battery. The hands-on pictures below are probably the closest you’ll come to seeing one of these, so click on through.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 lives, but only for Aussie students

Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 lives, but only for Aussie students originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad L Series doesn’t look or feel like it’s made of recycled materials

Alright, so we didn’t really expect the made-partially-of-post-consumer-content (PCC) Lenovo L Series laptops to feel any different than past ThinkPads, but we did get a chance to play around with the recently announced 14- and 15-inch machines yesterday. The solid-feeling chassis is on the heavier end, though that’s to be expected from this mainstream line which has built-in optical drives and discrete graphics options. While you may not be getting the svelteness of the T Series, you do get that always-reliable ThinkPad quality — the classic spill-resistant keys felt solid under our fingertips and the touchpad with its raised dots was equally satisfying. We’re actually big fans of the smooth surface treatment they’re using on the palmrest as well as the shortcut keys that flank both sides of the keyboard. Obviously, we didn’t get a chance to test the battery life or performance in our short time with it, but our guess is those Core i3 and i5 processors won’t disappoint spreadsheet and PowerPoint multitaskers. Shouldn’t be long before these systems hit Lenovo.com in May, but in the meantime you have the pictures below to help you make a decision on this greener than grass business lappie.

Lenovo ThinkPad L Series doesn’t look or feel like it’s made of recycled materials originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maingear rolls out updated eX-L 15 gaming laptop

Continue reading Maingear rolls out updated eX-L 15 gaming laptop

Maingear rolls out updated eX-L 15 gaming laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad L Series arrives for the eco-conscious professional

We told you Lenovo’s ThinkPad team was up to something, and two days earlier than its predicted Earth Day launch, the ThinkPad L Series has been released into the atmosphere. While it may look like the ThinkPad R Series – which it will eventually replace — Lenovo says the 14-inch L412 and 15-inch L512 are the greenest ThinkPads ever made. Besides being 40 percent more power efficient than “other laptops,” they’re partially made from recycled office water jugs and miscellaneous used equipment. If all that green stuff doesn’t stir your soul, the L Series has the standard ThinkPad chassis and can be specced up to be a pretty solid mainstream business system — it’ll be available with Core i3 or i5 CPU options along with integrated or ATI Radeon graphics. For those with a bit less cash to spare, an entry-level $649 model is equipped with a Celeron P4500 CPU, 160GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM. Pricing on the higher end models remain ambiguous, but these puppies should be available for pre-order on Lenovo’s site soon enough, and then ship in what we expect to be very eco-friendly packaging early next month. Until that fateful day arrives, feel free to enjoy the gallery and press release below.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad L Series arrives for the eco-conscious professional

Lenovo ThinkPad L Series arrives for the eco-conscious professional originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony announces ‘division two’ series of VAIO laptops built by other manufacturers

Well, here’s a bit of a surprise. In an interview with PC Pro, the deputy president of Sony’s VAIO Business Group, Ryosuke Akahane, has revealed that the company will soon be effectively splitting its laptop business into two distinct groups. The first, called “division one,” will continue with laptops designed and built by Sony as before, but the second, or “division two,” will rely on laptops built by other manufacturers. Those behind-the-scenes changes may not be readily apparent to consumers, however, as the so-called division two laptops will still carry the VAIO name, and will apparently have the same “taste of VAIO” and “style of VAIO,” with Sony naturally first approving all third-party designs. Presumably, this will also lead to some less expensive VAIO laptops, although Akahane was quick to point out that it’s not following the Dell model with different brands at different price points, saying instead that a new brand is “not efficient,” and that it wants to “enhance the identity of VAIO more and more.”

Sony announces ‘division two’ series of VAIO laptops built by other manufacturers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacBook Pro Core i7 review

While the MacBook Pro is just another Intel-based computer with standard internals, slightly inflated price tags, and a familiar (if legendary) design sense, Apple having the absolute corner on the market for building machines that legitimately run OS X can be a little rough on the upgrade obsessed. Waiting 10 months for a new computer, without an industry full of hungry competitors with wild alternatives to quench your thirst, can be difficult, and the January launch of Intel’s new Core i5 and Core i7 chips for laptops further fueled the saliva. Still, Apple would like you to believe these new MacBook Pros with their 2010-ready internals and same-as-last-year good looks have been worth the wait. Find out for yourself in our full review after the break.

Continue reading MacBook Pro Core i7 review

MacBook Pro Core i7 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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