Schenker XIRIOS W710 Mobile Workstation

Here comes a new mobile workstation from a German-based company Schenker, the XIRIOS W710. The system packs a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 glossy or matte finish display, up to Intel Core i7-990X Extreme or Xeon X5690 processor, an Intel X58 chipset, up to two NVIDIA Quadro FX 5010 graphics cards, up to 24GB RAM and up to three hard drives, hybrid hard drives or SSDs. Price starts at 3,568 Euro (about $5,020). [LaptopSpec]
source: TechFresh

Acer TravelMate 8481 Hits The UK Market

The Acer TravelMate 8481 delivers all the power required for serious business on-the-go via the 2nd generation Intel Core processor that not only allows to run business productivity applications 60% faster than the previous generation, but it also delivers smart performance that adapts to the task at hand, enabling more responsive multitasking while ensuring energy efficiency. The laptop features a 14-inch Acer ComfyView LCD LED backlit display with HD (1366×768) resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio, an Intel HD Graphics 3000, the Intel Wireless Display technology, up to 8GB of advanced DDR3 memory, up to 320GB of hard disk drive and up to 64GB of solid state drive. The integrated multi-in-1 card reader supporting the most used formats, simplifies data sharing and provides more storage options. Its battery offers up to 9-hour of operation time. The Acer TravelMate 8481 will be available in the UK at the end of August 2011 with an RRP of £699($1,124) ex Vat. [Acer UK]
source: TechFresh

Concept notebook wants to recharge battery by swimming

Although we highly doubt there will be a real life application of such a device any time soon as usual, the Plantbook is definitely taking a step outside the box of traditional notebook concepts and designs. Designed by Seunggi Baek & Hyerim Kim, the Plantbook is inspired from the water-soaking abilities of a bamboo plant.

This device itself looks like a bamboo stick in which the ‘screen' can be rolled in and out, splitting into two to become a virtual keyboard and a screen. As if the whole portability factor of the Plantbook wasn't cool enough, it charges itself using water! Much like a real plant, the Plantbook concept utilizes an external water tank and the process of electrolysis to produce electricity to charge the device.

We all know that water and computer hardware aren't exactly the friendliest of combinations, but the Plantbook definitely defies all logic in that regard. It may sound completely ridiculous, but the designers seem to have it all figured out:

"The system uses an external water tank, hence the Plantbook continuously absorbs water when soaking it in water and generates electrolysis using power stored in a solar heat plate installed on the top. In this process, it is operated using hydrogen as energy source and discharges oxygen. If you put it into a water bottle while you don't use the laptop, it automatically charges a battery and discharges oxygen. A leaf-shaped strap hanging on the top is made with silicon. It plays a role of a hand ring and a green LED indicates when the battery is charged. Using this LED, users can check how much spare capacity the batter has."

Unfortunately it is just a concept, so don't expect to be carrying your laptop in a water bottle any time soon
source: 2DayBlog.com

ASUS G74Sx Gaming Laptop

Gaming rigs are usually desired for their pumped up specs. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be big, like a desktop rig big. Even gaming notebooks like the new ASUS G74Sx Gaming Laptop has features fitting for a desktop PC but encased in a notebook.

The ASUS G74Sx Gaming Notebook features a 2nd generation Intel core i7 CPU coupled with a NVIDIA GTX 560M GPU with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM to provide all the gaming power the user needs. Tests made on this gaming rig makes it the current fastest notebook in the land. It also supports the new Microsoft DirectX 11 graphics, ensuring that gaming experience need not lag behind.

The new ASUS G74Sx Gaming Notebook also features support for 3D video and audio. It comes with the NVIDIA 3D Vision and 3DTV Play Technology to make sure that gamers can enjoy videos in 3D or, if a larger screen is needed, can use it to connect to a larger size 3D-enabled HDTV for a bigger experience. Other features include up to 1.5 TB HDD or SSD storage options, DVD or Blu Ray playback options and on-the-fly overclocking. The ASUS G74Sx is now available in the US and starts at a base price of US$1,500.
source: Gadget.com

Rumor: MacBook Airs, OS X Lion to Arrive Wednesday

Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates iOS 5, Mac OS X Lion and iCloud at WWDC 2011. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Apple may be preparing to release two major products simultaneously this week: upgrades for its MacBook Air subnotebook and Mac OS X Lion, the latest Mac operating system.

The MacBook Air refresh and the arrival of OS X Lion will arrive Wednesday, possibly at 8:30am EST, sources told AppleInsider. The tip comes in line with a report last week published by All Things Digital, which also claimed the products would debut sometime this week.

The MacBook Air last got a reboot in October 2010 as a 13.3-inch and an 11.6-inch model with super slim silhouettes (0.68 inches at their thickest point, to be exact). OS X Lion, which was announced at Apple's Back to the Mac event and previewed at WWDC 2011, is supposed to marry iOS and OS X, merging some of the more successful features in iOS into their new desktop platform. (However, early reviews have not been promising.)

The new MacBook Airs will feature backlit keyboards and Thunderbolt ports, like their MacBook Pro big brothers, according to AppleInsider. They'll also include Sandy Bridge processors and come standard with 4 GB of RAM and a minimum of 128-GB storage capacity — the better to run OS X Lion with.

Apple's Steve Jobs last year said that both OS Lion and the super slim MacBook Air are taking lessons learned from the iPad and rolling them into a PC system. Indeed, Lion will incorporate some characteristics from the iPad with new multitouch gestures and a Launchpad for opening apps, which resembles the iPad's home screen. The MacBook Air's long battery life and usage of flash memory also mimic the iPad. These two products symbolize the gradual convergence between PCs and mobile products as traditional laptops become thinner, lighter, more low-powered and more dependent on web-based storage.
source: Gadget Lab

Acer Aspire 5755 15.6-Inch Multimedia Laptop

Acer has come out with another multimedia laptop called the Aspire 5755. The system packs a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display, up to Intel Core i7-2820QM processor, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, up to 1TB hard drive, a Blu-ray / DVD drive, an HDMI port and a built-in Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) technology for viewing movies on a larger display. Price starts at 899 GBP (about $1,440). [TechDigest]
source: TechFresh

Acer announce Aspire 5755, comes with WiDi-equipped

Always carry your laptop around for work usage, but also likes to watch some nice video contents on your home's huge ass 3DTV from your laptop? Well, sometimes the HDMI cable is a big hinder. You'll need to place your laptop near to your TV, and also mess things up. Won't it be better if all you need to do is to link both together wirelessly? Well, such technology already exists, and it's called the Wireless-Direct, aka WiDi, and Acer's latest Aspire 5755 comes with it.

This one packs a 15.6-inch display with a rather lowly 1366 x 768 resolution, but it at least boasts some built-in WiDi so you can easily view movies (or anything else) on a larger display without the need for any pesky cables. Otherwise, you'll get your choice of Intel Core processors (up to a Core i7-2820QM), up to 8GB of RAM and a maximum 1TB of storage, NVIDIA's Optimus-enabled GeForce GT 540M graphics, and either a Blu-ray or basic DVD drive — all for a starting price of £899 (or roughly $1,440). This one's available in the UK right now, but there's no news on availability on other regions.
source: 2DayBlog.com

ASUS Eee PC 1011PX Netbook With Ubuntu Linux

ASUS has rolled out the Eee PC 1011PX 10-inch netbook in Italy. Powered by the Linux Ubuntu OS, the netbook features a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 single core processor, a 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 250GB hard disk drive. It also has a 1024 x 600 pixel display and an Intel GMA 3150 graphics. Its 3-cell battery offers up to 4-hour of operation time. The ASUS Eee PC 1011PX is priced at €185,89($261).
source: TechFresh

ASUS Eee PC 1215P 12.1-Inch Netbook With Ubuntu

ASUS has released their latest 12.1-inch netbook ‘Eee PC 1215P' in Europe that runs on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat operating system. Powered by a 1.5GHz Intel Atom N570 dual-core CPU, the system sports a 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display, a 2GB DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a VGA webcam, a multi-format card reader, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 (optional) and a 6-cell battery. Price is set at 279.47 Euro (about $395).
source: TechFresh

ASUS U56E 15-inch Notebook

ASUS today unveiled the new U56E 15-inch notebook. Measuring at only 1-inch thick, the laptop comes jam packed with the 2nd generation Intel Core family processor, a 1GB nVidia GeForce GT 540M graphics, USB 3.0, a fast USB Charger+ for quick charging of devices and up to 10-hour of battery life. Additional specs include a 0.3MP webcam, LAN, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, a card reader, a couple of USB 2.0, HDMI and an 8-cell battery. No word on pricing at this time. [ASUS]
source: TechFresh