Asus unveils Dolby-driven laptops
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Asus this week lauded its latest laptops’ successful attempt to win the thumbs-up from audio specialist Dolby. Announcing two new machines, Asus said one comes with the Dolby Home Theater stamp of approval, while the other ships with “gameplay transforming” Dolby Digital Live technology.
The Home Theater accolade goes to the W2J for its 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound system ready for playback through the notebook’s speakers, headphones or a multi-speaker set-up. It also an analogue and digital TV tuner that comes with a remote control.
Specs
[ul]
[li]Centrino-branded machine.[/li][li]2GHz Core Duo T2500 processor. [/li][li]17in, 1,680 x 1,050 display.[/li][li]ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB of dedicated memory, expandable to 512MB using HyperMemory-linked system RAM.[/li][li]1GB of 667MHz DDR 2. [/li][li]802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. [/li][li]120GB of HDD storage.[/li][li]DVD±R/RW slotload drive.[/li][/ul]
The A7J has much the same spec., though it’s based on a lesser, Core Duo T2400 and ships with a 100GB hard drive. It also has an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, but the stand-out feature is Dolby Digital Live, which converts any audio source in Dolby Digital in real time, “immersing players in high-quality surround sound that puts them at the center of the action”, Asus claimed.
Price
Both machines are available now and come with a two-year collect and return warranty, free case and a mouse. The A7J costs around £1,399, the W2J £1,999. Both prices include VAT.
[B]Acer touts ‘super 3G’ notebook duo
But full HSDPA likely to come later as a wireless-card upgrade[/B]
Acer has re-iterated its plan to bundle Vodafone-branded ‘super 3G’ HSDPA data cards with a pair of upcoming notebook PCs, pledging to introduce TravelMate and Aspire laptops with the cards in the coming months.
However, don’t expect HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) support on day one. According to Acer, the data cards it plans to ship with the TravelMate 4260 and Aspire 5650 will be standard 2100MHz 3G products and are merely “upgradeable” to HSDPA. The cards will also support GSM/GPRS/EDGE connections thanks to a tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) radio.
Dell announced three 3G-equipped notebooks last month, having already stated earlier this year - as Acer did - its plan to ship laptops with bundled HSDPA cards. Like Acer, Dell will offer Vodafone data cards. Unlike its rival, Dell appears to be holding off doing so until the HSDPA service is commercially available.
Fujitsu Siemens is also planning to offer HSDPA-enabled notebooks this year, though it’s partnering with T-Mobile.
Vodafone is currently trialling HSDPA in the London area and in Newbury, Berkshire. The cellco has said it hopes to roll out the service within the M25 some time this coming Summer. Other major UK towns and cities should be wired up by the end of the year.
Both Acer notebooks will be Centrino-branded machines running Core Duo processors and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.
[B]Samsung Plans to Ship World’s Slimmest Cell Phones
The Samsung SGH-T509 will compete with the Motorola RAZR and SLVR[/B]
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The Samsung SGH-T509 is just a tad slimmer than most phones available today.
The third largest cell phone maker in the world, Samsung, hopes to make a big splash in the US with one of its newest phones. The company has unveiled the t509 which will be the thinnest cell phone on the market in the U.S. The Samsung T509 will be released in May, designed specifically for the T-Mobile wireless service.
Specs
[ul]
[li]A color display to watch videos.[/li][li]Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology[/li][li]Instant messaging[/li][li]External battery slot.[/li][li]Slim phone is 9.8 millimeters thick, compared to the 11.5-millimeter thick Motorola SLVR.[/li][/ul]
Samsung will unveil the new phone and other models at the annual CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas this week in a bid to boost its market share in the United States, where it competes with Nokia and LG Electronics for second place, according to the Gartner research group.
The popular Motorola RAZR cell phone shows that there is a high demand for ultra-thin cell phones in the United States. MobileMedia has a few more specifications for the device.