17-inch unibody MacBook Pro gets disassembled, examined

The battery on the now-shipping 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro may not be removable for average, warranty-abiding users, but that didn't stop the folks at iFixit from removing it and just about everything else that isn't soldered on. As you might expect, however, apart from that over-sized battery, the internals aren't too different from the 15-inch unibody MacBook Pro, although the 17-incher unsurprisingly has a pair of noticeably larger fans to keep everything cool, and iFixit describes the component density as "amazing." Hit up the link below for the complete teardown, and try your best not to imagine a matte black MacBook Pro after catching sight of that battery.


Thanks: Mac Rumors

• WinSplit Revolution splits up your widescreen monitor space
• Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q725 reviewed: a nice performer, but it's still ugly

Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q725 reviewed: a nice performer, but it's still ugly

Toshiba's Qosmio X305-Q725, which was unveiled amidst a flurry of other gizmos at CES, boasts the same incredibly controversial motif as the higher-end X305-Q708, but with an MSRP of $2,700 (versus $4,200 on the Q708), it's at least a wee bit more affordable. The benchmarking crew over at HotHardware decided to put this newer, marginally more affordable iteration to the test in order to see if it still performed under pressure, and by and large, it did. While it couldn't go toe-to-toe with higher-end desktops, the GeForce 9800M GTX GPU, quad-core processor and SSD helped it to blaze through everyday tasks and hold its own in the gaming arena. Our biggest issue is the omission of a 1,920 x 1,200 display, but we suppose that's why there's the more expensive alternative. Hit up the read link for pages upon pages of test results and impressions.

Thanks: Engadget

• Shuttle ships liquid-cooled SDXi Carbon SFF gaming PC
• Edit Google Docs Spreadsheets on your iPhone

Lenovo said to be prepping 12-inch IdeaPad S20 netbook

This one's nowhere near official just yet, but DigiTimes is reporting that Lenovo is set to expand its netbook line to include a 12-inch model in the form of the Atom-powered IdeaPad S20 (no doubt not too dissimilar to 10-inch S10 pictured above). While there's expectedly no word on complete details, DigiTimes does say that the netbook would come equipped an Atom N280 processor and Intel's GN40 chipset, along with Windows XP, and cost about $586. It also says that since the 12-inch screen size falls outside of Intel's definition of a netbook, Lenovo would have to pay the full, non-preferential price for the Atom processor (about ten bucks more), although it's not clear if that's also been the case with something like the Dell Mini 12, which also pairs an Atom processor with a 12-inch screen.


Thanks: The Inquirer

• Dell Latitude XT2 multi-touch tablet with 11-hour battery now official (starts at $2,399)
• Hark! Dell Mini 12 kitted with an SSD

gScreen creating rugged dual-screen laptop for animated frogs and Navy frogmen

After spending some time with Lenovo's dual-screen wonder, the W700ds, we were left with somewhat mixed feelings. Having two screens is nice, but at 11 pounds it's not something you really want to take anywhere -- certainly not onto the battlefield. That's just where the gScreen TITAN M-1 is supposedly headed, a ruggedized version of the decidedly rendery 15-inch dual-screen G400 notebook pictured above, intended to meet the military's MIL-STD-810F conditions for operating in generally extreme conditions. Internally it'll be rocking an Intel QX9300 CPU (also found in Lenovo's W700-series), 4GB of memory, and 500GB of storage. This model and other non-rugged versions ranging from 13.3- to 17-inches are said to be releasing throughout the year, but we'll believe it when we see a photograph that wasn't whipped up in 3ds Max.

Thanks: Engadget

Acer Aspire One D150 reviewed, AT&T 3G deal 'only the beginning'

At last, after seeing it unboxed and fiddled with on camera last week, we've got out first in-depth review of the 10.1-inch acer Aspire One D150, courtesy of Laptop. How does the Intel Atom N270-based machine fare? Excellent for its $350 price tag, although the keyboard and touchpad don't compare favorably with the pricier Eee PC 1000HE or Samsung NC10. As for battery life, the 5800mAh-rated 6-cell had a very impressive 7 hour and 57 minute runtime, which is 49 minutes longer than the 1000HE and 38 minutes over HP's Mini 2140. Of course, seeing as most consumers will end up with the 4400mAh batteries, a more likely estimate is 5 hours per charge. Additionally, the site had a Q&A session with Acer VP of Product Marketing Sumit Agnihotry, who said that $100 Aspire One with AT&T 3G deal is "only the beginning" and they're developing a plan to offer discounted laptops with an hourly-use program. There's also talk of incorporating NVIDIA's Ion platform into future computers. Hit up the read links below for the full review and more deets from Agnihotry.

Thanks: Engadget

• IBM Tivoli comes to the cloud
• German Mac clone company thinks Germany doesn't have laws

Toshiba packs NB100, A350 with 3G and ships them off to EMEA

Toshiba has announced that its Satellite A350 and NB100 would soon be finding their way into Europe, Middle East, and African (EMEA) markets with an added bonus: HSPA technology. We've got precisely nada on the price tag for these iterations, however, which normally retail for around $800 and $500 without 3G. If you're on the lookout for a laptop with some extra portability, both models are expected to hit retail channels first quarter of this year.


Thanks: Notebook Italia

• AMD's new Phenom II chips take on Intel

HP UK spurns Linux in its new netbook offerings

Looks like anyone in the U.K. hoping to buy a new hp netbook with Linux is going to be sorely disappointed. For reasons unspecified, the company's decided not to offer the Mini 1000 or the Mini 2140 with a pre-install of Linux -- standard options for the U.S. versions of both. Current U.K. HP Linux offerings include the 2133, but it's an older model, so the lack of it for the newer models may signal a trend moving forward. HP will apparently offer its Ubuntu-based Mobile Internet Experience as a download, however, so all hope's not dead. Well, you can't always get what you want, can you?

Thanks: Engadget

• First impressions with the Eee PC 1000HE and its delectable keyboard
• S1Digital intros P500 media Center, updates ProLine Series of HTPCs

Apple delays 17-inch MacBook Pro shipments

Apple is having trouble getting its new 17-inch MacBook Pro out to customers.(Credit: James Martin/CNET News) apple is going to need a little more time to get its new 17-inch MacBook Pro out the door. Last week Apple updated its order page for the new MacBook Pro unveiled at Macworld 2009 to reflect a shipping lead time of 7 to 10 days. But AppleInsider now reports that those who preordered the systems from Apple have been told not to expect their systems before February 19. Apple didn't provide an exact explanation for the delay but told customers via e-mail that "wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected," according to AppleInsider. The company had promised to ship the new systems by the end of January when it first announced the notebooks.

Thanks: cnet.com

• iBook G4 benchmarked against hackintosh netbook, comes out even
• Panasonic's Toughbook 52 upgraded, shows its touchier side

Panasonic's Toughbook 52 upgraded, shows its touchier side

After watching its Toughbook 19 and 30 siblings get a makeover, Panasonic's CF-52 wasn't about to miss out on all the fun. The semi-rugged laptop has a few new tricks up its armored sleeve, chief among them an optional 13.3-inch XGA touchscreen with integrated stylus holder, dual overhead keyboard light, and intel GM45 video controller. If you're not the touchy-feely type, the 15.4-incher is still around, swapping tactile interface for WUXGA resolution and an ATI Radeon HD 3650. Both models sport Intel Core 2 Duos with vPro technology, 2-4 GB DDR2 RAM, Bluetooth and 160GB HDD. Look for these babies to hit retail shelves -- and still work -- later this month for an estimated starting price of ?1851 ($2677).

Thanks: engadget

• Eurocom lays claim to Core i7-equipped Clevo D900F
• Viliv's S5 MID goes haptic, will move you in March

Lenovo's American CEO steps down, Chinese leadership returns

After leaving Dell to become chief executive of Lenovo, Bill Amelio is stepping down from his post as CEO. Amelio joined Lenovo to help with the integration of IBM's PC business. The so-called "amicable" departure comes with the announcement of a quarterly loss three-times higher than expected. The US executive has been replaced by Lenovo's Chairman Yang Yuanqing who will continue to live and work from Lenovo's North Carolina office -- Yang's board leadership duties will now be assumed by Lenovo's co-founder, Liu Chuanzhi. That puts Lenovo back into the hands of executive Chinese leadership as it attempts to recapture ground given up to HP and Acer in corporate sales. And with IT bugdets slashed in a bid to keep corporations afloat, the executive changes are meant to accelerate Lenovo's strategy to dominate China's PC market, grow its business into emerging markets (specifically India and Russia), and expand upon its burgeoning sales to individual consumers. Seems like a reasonable move to us.


Thanks: Bloomberg

• Google Latitude coming to other devices, iPhone included
• Affixa integrates webmail with Windows

First impressions with the Eee PC 1000HE and its delectable keyboard

We were pleased to see Asus responding to its critics by unveiling the new 1000HE at CES, offering a far more pleasant keyboard that finally moved the right shift key just a bit to the left. With the new model about to ship, Laptop Magazine has been able to stack one up against an older 1000 model and play a little game of "One of These Things" to spot the differences between the two. There weren't many, just that chiclet-style keyboard, which was rated as "just better," and the new 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU, replacing the elder's 1.6GHz N270. Unfortunately the slight bump in clock and bus speed (from 133MHz to 167MHz) didn't make any noticeable change in performance, but if this thing can deliver on its promise of 9+ hours on a charge we don't think anybody will mind.

Thanks: Engadget

• EyesRelax is a better way to enforce computer breaks
• Google's GDrive inches closer to becoming a reality

iBook G4 benchmarked against hackintosh netbook, comes out even

Apple's been pretty resistant to putting out an OS X netbook, and we might have an inkling why -- according to benchmarks run on a hackintosh'd MSI Wind variant, Apple's OS runs just about as well on your average 1.6GHz Atom / 1GB RAM machines as it does on a four-year-old iBook G4. Sure, the Atom boots a bit faster and outperforms the G4 on simple tasks, but it slows way down when the going gets tough. Of course, the iBook was a much larger machine than most netbooks out there, but with numbers like this we'd say those of you searching for an OS X netbook can skip the EULA violations and just hunt down an old 12-inch PowerBook G4. Check out all the stats at the read link.


Thanks: Engadget

• Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package
• Intel: use our CPU (not their GPU) for game coding

Viliv's S5 MID goes haptic, will move you in March

Viliv has been showing some potential lately with its touchable upcoming products, the clean looking S7 netbook tablet and S5 MID. We received some further information on the latter of those two this morning, most notable being the inclusion of haptic feedback that should make its 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 screen feel a little more tactile. We also got confirmation that the device will be running windows XP hidden behind a custom UI overlay that, we presume, will be similar to the one we saw running at CES on the S7. Still no price, but the company is aiming for a march release domestically. Our fingers are tingling with anticipation.

Thanks: Engadget

• Access Windows 7, Vista exFAT partitions in XP
• Yahoo! Briefcase is finally being put out of its misery

Eurocom lays claim to Core i7-equipped Clevo D900F

Remember all those Clevo laptops revealed last month? While we're expecting more information at CeBIT 2009, those crazy Canadians at Eurocom have gone ahead and spilled the beans on the 17-inch D900F. As conjectured, the 11.9-pound behemoth's packing an equally-mighty Intel core i7 processor in 2.66, 2.93 and 3.2GHz varieties. It's also got three 500GB hard drives totaling 1.5TB of space, 8GB DDR3 RAM, an nvidia G280 GPU, and a Blu-ray burner. Launch date is May 1, although according to Notebook Reviews we shouldn't expect to get our hands on it until Q4 2009. No word on pricing, but we suspect this powerhouse is gonna burn a giant hole in our pockets from both the inside and out.


Thanks: Notebook Reviews

• Mac tidbits: 17-inch MacBook Pro shipping, new iMacs soon?
• Maingear intros Remix workstation for the creative professional