Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

While most likely not their only game plan, Intel ponied up to the netbook game by buying netbook.com.  By combining the grim economic outlook with one part of tech that continues to boom, Intel is hedging their bets that netbooks will continue to thrive, perhaps even more so in the run up to the holidays.

But what’s a netbook?

Find out by clicking more

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Yesterday’s stock tumble has hit tech businesses hard. Nasdaq, which is primarily tech businesses, fell nearly 200 points, and several big tech businesses saw similar drops.  Apple fell 18%, AMD nearly 17%, and Intel over 10%. Similarly, Google saw its stock fall over $50 to $381 a share. That’s nearly a 12% drop.

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By now most of us are probably aware of the Intel Atom processor, the little chip inside nearly all of the netbooks out right now.  Intel has started shipping a desktop version of the processor with two cores.  Intel is saying that it is made specially for “nettops.” A nettop being to a desktop computer as a netbook is to a notebook computer.

These new chips will allow for small footprint desktops with little electricity usage to be released at low price points.  According to the eWeek article, Intel is hoping the Dual Core Atom will help sell PCs in China and India for families who don’t yet have computers in the homes.  It could also be used for cheap computer for North American and European families who are looking to add another computer to their home.  It would also make sense for public terminals, such as in a public library where the PCs are usually used only for word processing and Internet access anyway.

Can you get by with a machine using this chip?  Hit the jump to find out.

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Toshiba unveiled not just one but seven new notebooks which all belong to its SS RX2 notebook series. These are models T9GG, T9G, T8GG, T8G. T7GG, T7G, and S7G. All seven notebooks are packed with a 12.1-inch LCD screen with a 1,280 x 800 WXGA resolution, 1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor, Intel GS45 Express Chipset, 2GB of RAM which can be expanded up to 3G, Wi-Fi, a fingerprint sensor, SD/SDHC card slot, three USB ports, one e-SATA port and a DVD SuperMulti Drive.

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Tired of all those chargers for all of your gadgets?  Cameras, cell phones, PSPs, laptops, everything has a power cord even if it’s portable.  In a few years that may be a thing of the past (well, maybe more than a few years).  Intel has been researching wireless charging technology and has shown it off for the first time.

Intel’s system uses two metal rings connected by to a power amplifier.  The two rings transmit power to any device close to it.  Sure, it’s not entirely efficient (the numbers seem to say it’s only about 75 percent efficient when transmitting 60 watts two feet), but it given time that could improve.  The Wired article assures that the technology is safe for humans, so that’s a plus.

Imagining the day when all our gadgets could be charged wirelessly, when laptops aren’t bound to the wall when the battery runs out makes me quite happy.  I doubt that day will come very soon, but it’d be nice if it did.

Read [Wired]

Toshiba is bringing in two new highly-durable laptops into its Tecra series. These are the 15-inch Tecra A10 and the 14-inch Tecra M10. Both laptops come with a well crafted chassis that can withstand drops and shocks. Additionally both feature a fingerprint scanner and Toshiba’s EasyGuard for data security purposes.

These two laptops are both packed with Intel Centrino 2 with vPro technology or Intel Centrino with vPro Technology featuring a Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista for the operating system, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G connectivity for the M10, DVD RW super multi drives, as much as 250GB of hard drive space and anywhere from 2GB to 8GB of RAM.

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Not wanting to be outdone by their competitors, Panasonic has upgraded two of its Toughbook models with the new Intel Centrino 2 chipset. These newly updated Toughbooks are the 15.4-inch CF-52 and the 13.3-inch Toughbook CF-74 and in addition to the Centrino 2 chipset they also now have Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity.

Both machines are packed with 160GB shock-mounted hard drives, full magnesium alloy case, spill resistant keyboard and touchpad, and are mobile broadband ready for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless networks. The CF-52 also features an integrated fingerprint scanner and a DVD multi-drive, while the CF-72 boasts a durable, spill-resistant touchscreen LCD.

These upgraded Toughbooks will both be available sometime in August with retail prices starting at $1,949 for the CF-52 and $3,199 for the CF-74.

Product [Panasonic] Via [I4U]

Lenovo has just released the new SL400 and SL500 ThinkPads touting a 14- and 15-inch LCD display respectively. Both laptops are loaded with the new Intel Centrino 2 processor. Covered in black-gloss design, these ThinkPads are being geared for small- and medium-size business users. Aside from the Centrino 2 processor, the laptops feature high-speed mobile broadband connectivity, various software for data recovery, Internet connection setup and some optional service package for online data back-up and on-site warranty repair.

Some other noteworthy features of these Lenovo ThinkPads include; high definition audio and video including an optional Blu-ray DVD optical drives and HDMI port, high resolution WXGA widescreen displays, SXGA webcam, and a full-size ergonomic keyboard.

The Lenovo SL400 and SL500 ThinkPads are both available now and are priced starting at $799.

Product [Lenovo] Via [electronista]

Here’s another announcement of new PC’s loaded with Intel’s Centrino 2 processor, this time its from Fujitsu with their new LifeBook tablet PC’s, the LifeBook T5010 and LifeBook T1010. Both models have 13.3-inch widescreen displays and are said to be the lightest convertibles in the market sporting the that size display. The LifeBook T5010 weighs only 4.5 pounds while the LifeBook T1010 weighs 5.3-pounds.

Both of these Tablet PCs have a bi-directional display hinge that would let you turn the screen in both directions for added flexibility. In addition, these notebooks feature the next-generation Intel wireless draft-N or Atheros N which are touted as three times faster than the usual 802.11n-based wireless connectivity. Both notebooks also come with an option to have a Bluetooth v2.1 and optional wireless WAN for additional wireless connectivity features.The T5010 and T1010 both come with spill-resistant keyboards and are equipped with the Fujitsu Shock Sensor for protecting their hard drives from damage due to sudden jolt or drop.

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We’ve all seen it happen time and time again. What was hot and happening even six months ago, is suddenly a dinosaur. It’s the nature of the ever-evolving technology game. Which is why industry giant Intel may just be well served by sitting up and taking note that the maker of cell-phone chips Qualcomm, just may be a major force to be reckoned with these days. 

With a latest innovation, the Snapdragon, Qualcomm packs a rather mighty punch in a tiny package. An engineer for the company demonstrated a palm-sized circuit board capable of displaying high-definition video. While a fairly high quality video image is nothing new to write home about, what did make it pretty special was it’s microprocessor chip, the Snapdragon. This micro-chip drives the display with less than half the power of a similar chip recently introduced by Intel. Qualcomm designers further sweeten the deal by saying that it will also cost less.

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