Lenovo IdeaPad U110 unboxing and hands-on

Though our pals over at Switched managed to snag some hands-on video with a red pre-production unit, we figured we'd grab hold of the classic black edition of the IdeaPad U110 and give you a closer look. Made available for order just this week, Lenovo's latest ultraportable is high on style (and way high on gloss) and possesses the price tag to prove it. Meander on into the gallery below for a veritable plethora of unboxing and hands-on shots -- and rest assured, impressions are on the way.

Click for a full gallery.

Acer's 18.4-inch Aspire 8920G laptop gets reviewed

First things first: just in case that headline didn't really sink in, this is an 18.4-inch laptop. In other words, those of you with even the slightest of back problems should probably just pass this one right on by. If you're still with us, however, you'll likely be totally engrossed by Laptop Mag's review of the Acer Aspire 8920G. The larger of the two second-gen Gemstones was said to feature a "gorgeous" Full HD display, impressive audio output, a respectable webcam and plenty of power under the hood. They also found the unique CineDash Media Console to be quite effective, save for accidentally activating the multimedia hub on occasion. Overall, critics deemed the lappie a "stellar" machine, but we'd certainly recommend browsing through the review just to make sure you're really interested in picking up a slab this gigantic.

• Up next, Read the full Review!
  

First Look: Asus m70 1TB Laptop

By Danny Dumas

Well looky looky what we have here. Some say storage = snore-age. Know what? Those people are mostly right. Except when you get in the world's first notebook that contains a grand freaking total of one terabyte (!) of hard disk space .

First impressions? The m70 comes with Vista Home Premium (Meh.) and weighs a bone crushing 9-pounds. Seriously, it's pushing the limits of portability. Asus still hasn't gotten back to us yet about how much the unit's price. Our IT guru said it'll probably cost about $2500-$3000 considering the specs.

To give you an idea of what it would take to fill up the hard drive, hit the jump to see the breakdown on how much porn, MP3s, DVDs, games, and pictures would be needed to fill the roomy storage.

read more @ WiredBlogs

Dell launches the Vostro 1510 and 1310 laptops

by Joshua Topolsky

Just like we warned, Dell's new cheapo business laptops, the Vostro 1510 and Vostro 1310 have hit virtual shelves. The 15.4- and 13.3-inch models both feature Intel CPUs (up to Core 2 Duos), a maximum of 4GB of RAM, 80GB to 250GB hard drives, and a bunch of other features that should be totally adequate for your business affairs. The 1510 starts at $599, and the 1310 at $749; both are available now.

[Via Laptoping]

Alienware "Fastest Ever" 17-Inch Area-51 m17x Gaming Notebook

Alienware's latest community effort is AlienNetwork, a "digital channel" which debuted today. To kick off the show with a bang, they revealed that their "fastest ever" 17-inch Area-51 m17x gaming notebook shown back in November is launching today at 5PM (right now, give or take). Versus the m15x, it's got a higher res 1920x1200 screen, NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX SLI graphic cards, up to a Core 2 Extreme CPU and the option for two hard drives set up in RAID. It's in all black and if we might say so, just a bit sexier than the m15x.

via Gizmodo
Update: Here's the product page.

Final Specs for Lenovo IdeaPad U110 Notebooks, On Sale Tomorrow

Get ready, ultraportable fans -- here's the dirty details you've been demanding. Lenovo's IdeaPad U110, which becomes available in the US tomorrow in black and red -- is all set to start at $1,899 directly from Lenovo. Wondering what that'll net you? Here goes:

• Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 CPU (1.6GHz, 4MB, 800MHz)
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 11.1-inch widescreen WXGA (1,366 x 768) LED-backlit panel
• Intel's GMA X3100 graphics set
• 120GB 4,200RPM hard drive
• 2GB of RAM
  
• dual-layer DVD writer (external)
• 1.3-megapixel camera
• 10/100 Ethernet, WiFi and optional Bluetooth
• 2.4-pounds with 4-cell battery
• Dimensions: 10.8- x 7.7- x 0.72- through 0.88-inches

You'll also get a 1-year warranty, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire / VGA sockets, a 6-in-1 multicard reader, Mini-PCIe / ExpressCard slots, audio in / out and a pair of stereo speakers. It should be noted that the 4-cell battery is only rated for 2-hours of use, while the rig can withstand up to 8-hours if the 7-cell Li-ion expansion pack is utilized, too. You may also notice a slew of retailers carrying a $1,999 model starting in mid-May -- those come stocked with 3GB of RAM versus the standard 2GB on the $1,899 model.

via Engadget

Acer Aspire 8920G preview

Reviewed by: Rory Reid

Approximately six months ago, Acer debuted its Gemstone series -- a range of laptops that was co-designed by BMW. They were excellent products, spoiled only -- we believe -- by the questionable styling. Today, Acer has unveiled the latest evolution of the series, known as the Gemstone Blue. Not only are these more stylish than the previous models, but they're the first laptops to feature either 16-inch or 18.4-inch displays that offer true 16:9 aspect ratios. Starting at £899, the Aspire 8920G isn't available until later this week, but we've had the pleasure of testing a pre-production sample of this 18.4-inch desktop replacement.

Outlook
The Aspire 8920G is a very promising machine, and one which may set standards in years to come. The 18.4-inch display in particular is a marvel -- mainly because it has a true 16:9, 1080p resolution. We'll reserve judgement until we see a final sample, but early indications are that Acer is on to a winner.

For more: Upsides and Downsides
Video: Here
via: Crave@Cnet

Pedal your way to a fully-charged laptop

As someone who sits at home in front of a computer all day every day, I can — like Richard to Tommy in Tommy Boy — actually hear myself getting fatter.

So the thought of sitting all day every day in an apparatus that forces me to expend energy in order to provide power to my lifeline to the outside world and device by which I earn money for food, shelter, and clothing is intriguing to me.

Such is the "pedal-powered laptop" being developed by a group of MIT students. I live near MIT and every time I’m over near the campus, I like to look at all the people and try to figure out who’s legitimately an insane homeless person and who’s a genius that’s been working on a project like this and hasn’t slept or showered in a week. If you’re one of the latter, nice work!

The students "predicted that a bicyclist should be able to produce up to 75 watts continuously–far more than the 30 watts needed to power the laptop."

Students get charge out of pedal power [MIT News]

Source: CrunchGear