Laptop and Notebook Computers

A funny thing happened at Microsoft's 2009 Worldwide Partner Conference on Wednesday. In a presentation with various company executives, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner claimed that Apple actually called to complain about the Laptop Hunters ad campaign, according to a transcript of the presentation (via Gizmodo). Here's the pertinent excerpt:

SEATTLE - Worldwide personal computer shipments declined at a gentler pace than expected in the second quarter as consumers snapped up inexpensive laptops, two technology research groups said Wednesday.

NEW YORK - Intel Corp. has had a near lock on supplying processors for netbooks — the cheap, tiny laptops that are the biggest hit in the computer market these days. Now there's an alternative from a Taiwanese competitor, Via Technologies Inc. It might be time to leave your Intel-powered comfort zone.

"Bummer," that about sums up the communal groan twittered round the Internet last night when Take-Two let slip it was delaying BioShock 2 until 2010. I was busing back from London to Oxford battling a fickle Virgin Mobile USB wireless connection when the bad news blipped into my laptop's RSS reader.

Netbook shipments will double this year, while mainstream laptop shipments will remain flat, research firm DisplaySearch said on Monday.

Intel appears ready to deliver, starting next month, new server, laptop and desktop processors based on its new microarchitecture, which offers improved performance.

Contract manufacturer Flextronics opened a research and design center for laptop computers in Taiwan, aiming to tap into the island's pool of engineering talent.

Summer in the U.S. brings plenty of sun, travel and also an opportunity to use seasonal gadgets. Solar-powered devices, like a lounge table from Intelligent Forms and a weather station from Oregon Scientific, draw energy from the sun to charge devices. The blazing sun could also bake laptops, which could be prevented with a laptop cooler from Logitech or a special laptop tent from LapDome.

QuickerTek has released a lower-cost version of its Apple Juicz external battery for MacBooks laptops. The Apple MacBook Battery and Charger Lite provides up to five hours of extra battery life for MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air models.

Attention road warriors: Would you like to get to your e-mail immediately on your netbook or laptop without waiting for it to boot? Wouldn’t it be a relief to stop worrying about the data on your portable computer, should you lose or break the machine on the go? How about accessing your information wherever you are—wouldn’t that be cool?

SUN VALLEY, Idaho - Google Inc. is hoping to gain greater control over how personal computers work by developing a free operating system that will attack Microsoft Corp.'s golden goose — its long-dominant Windows franchise.

After being hampered by slow adoption, laptops with quick-boot capabilities may soon be upgraded with new features that could make them attractive to users.

TOKYO - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will launch a tiny new laptop starting in August, the company's belated entry into the growing but cutthroat "netbook" PC market.

Sony on Tuesday unveiled the Vaio W PC. Many observers are pegging it as a late-to-the-game netbook.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for around 60,000 yen ($629) in Japan in August, making an entry into the fast-growing netbook market.

Synology rolled out a Network Attached Storage Device for 2.5-inch hard drives that the company says offers lower power consumption than devices using larger hard drives and a small footprint. The 4-Bay Disk Station DS409slim can support up to 2TB of storage in a 120-by-105-by-142-mm enclosure.

Demand for the next generation DRAM chip, DDR3 (double data rate, third generation), has spiked recently as systems makers turn to it for increased power efficiency and performance.

Once the most popular form of personal computer, the desktop PC, has faded as more users choose notebook PCs instead.

Accessory vendor Macally on Wednesday announced a number of new products for the Mac, including several wireless input devices and two "eco-conscious" laptop stands.

The Maine Department of Education on Tuesday announced that it has expanded its student laptop program to include high school students. It’s a huge win for Apple, because the state will be acquiring another 64,000 MacBook laptops, with up to 7,000 additional MacBooks possibly ordered in the coming weeks.

QuickerTek has introduced the Quicky Jr. II, a device purported to triple the wireless networking range of any Mac laptop equipped with USB. It costs $90.

San Francisco - When Apple introduced its new MacBooks recently, it touted a doubled battery life -- but noted that the laptops' batteries were sealed into the case, not user-swappable as is the norm on laptops.

There's been a lot of debate, mostly influenced by AMD, about how Bapco's MobileMark 2007 unjustly represents battery life on laptops. But is that debate justified?

Lenovo put nearly a year of research into two design changes that debuted on an updated ThinkPad laptop this week. No, not the thinner, lighter form or the textured touchpad — rather, the extra-large "Delete" and "Escape" keys.

Apple's iPhone 3GS is much faster than Apple has claimed, according to testing by Medialets, a mobile analytics company. In tests using JavaScript, the iPhone 3GS proved nearly three times faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 3G -- not twice as fast, as Apple has boasted.

Hewlett-Packard is previewing a new netbook designed with mobile professionals in mind. HP, which claimed the number-one spot in U.S. PC sales during the first quarter due to solid demand for its consumer notebook products, is taking its netbook strategy one step further by specifically targeting enterprise customers with the new Mini 5101.

What to do when your navigation product costs almost as much as a cheap portable navigation device but requires a laptop for use in the car? Bring out a version with a simpler, USB key GPS module. That's Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 with GPS Locator.

Acer announced three low-to-middle end laptops on Monday, adding to its Gemstone Blue series of sleek multimedia notebooks.

Late last week, Sony dropped news of its "affordable" entertainment notebooks ($880 isn't too shabby for a notebook sporting a Blu-Ray drive, but still . . .). Of course, it didn't take Acer long to fire back with bargain deal of its own. Acer's new line of budget-friendly Aspires promise full-size performance, but in a netbook's price range. And a $749 all-purpose all-star that offers a Blu-ray drive.