Hitachi first to offer laptop with vein recognition
A technology that is supposed to be faster and harder to fool than fingerprint recognition is vein recognition, and that is exactly what Hitachi is putting in an offering of a laptop.
Engadget chimes in on the subject:
The company announced the “FLORA Se210,” a Windows XP Embedded system with no hard drive (for security purposes, we take it), 600MHz Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM, and otherwise normal specifications. Set at around $1,625, the system will launch on December 1st and is apparently the first notebook in the world to feature vein-recognition technology…
Amazing idea, I never knew that their was such a thing. I guess that “beats’ laptops that only have fingerprint recognition…so old school!
Gateway CX200 Review
A laptop with tablet abilities is great, especially at a sub-$2000 pricetag, but the biggest drawback for the CX200 is its weight at 6.8-pounds. Laptop Magazine looks at the machine and has some nice things to say.
The Gateway CX200, the first convertible with a widescreen display, won’t take the Tablet platform mainstream. However, this system succeeds in making a mainstream notebook with Tablet functionality a desirable and affordable option. That’s no small feat given larger convertibles have been around for nearly two years.
What you get for $1,399 is all of the features and performance you would expect from a regular notebook, including a fast DVD burner, plenty of ports, and a 7-in-1 memory card slot. We consider the pen-based input to be a bonus.
A Tiny Windows Laptop With a Sense of Fashion
An article over on The New York Times made me laugh out loud as it was funny and informative, so I thought I better share it with the readers here. It is about the Flybook, a really tiny laptop.
Everywhere you look, the electronics industry seems to be playing its own mutant variations of limbo. But the question isn’t “How low can you go?” At Dell, it’s “How cheap can you go?” At Apple, it’s “How cool can you go?” And at Microsoft’s Windows division, it’s “How slow can you go?”
Among the Asian makers of Windows laptops, though, the game for some time has been, “How small can you go?”
Read it and let me know if if made you laugh.
Samsung X06 Review
No matter how great a laptop may be, having a low battery life is a big no-no from me. The Samsung X06 gets a good once over on Notebook Review, but as nice as they say it is, the 2 hour battery makes me cross the X06 off my list of “want-to-haves”.
The Samsung X06 is one of a raft of recent offerings from Samsung. It comes under their “Thin and Light” range, though I’d suggest in practice it fits somewhere between “Thin and Light” and “Ultra-Portable”. I suspect Samsung were designing a machine for modestly stingy people wanting performance and a CD-RW/DVD in a remarkably small 14.1″ case. There have been a few concessions to achieve this, but they are minor compared to the resulting portability and performance gains. You can carry the X06 around town without noticing its weight or bulk and yet it has a large enough screen and processing power to make using bigger applications an almost “desktop-replacement” experience.
Sony VAIO FJ Series Review
Notebook Review has a look at the VIAO FJ series. I find all Sony VAIO laptops very expensive for what you get, and the FJ series looks no different to me.
The Sony VAIO FJ series notebook is a thin-and-light notebook designed in the typical stylish Sony way. The unit being reviewed is the Sony VAIO VGN-FJ170 which sports a Pentium M 1.73GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 100GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive. The VAIO FJ series features a nicely integrated built-in web camera and microphone for easy video conferencing and chat.
Toshiba Tecra M4 Tablet PC Review
With a score of seven out of ten, the Tecra M4 is looking a fair bit above average, and it is no wonder with its focus on being the best tablet pc that it can be. Pocket-Lint has a few things to say on the M4:
So, rather than opting for a super thin and light machine with no keyboard, we get a full sized laptop that comes with full-sized power – none of this ultra low power nonsense. Weighing in at 2.8kg, this isn’t a machine you’ll see being carried around like a slate tablet.
Built around the Intel 915PM chipset, processing comes from an Intel Pentium M 740 running at 1.73GHz. In combination with 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM, the M4 is well specified for most tasks. The addition of a 60GB hard drive also means there is plenty of space to store files and those smashing hand-written notes you’ll be creating.
In the end they call it the tablet for people that don’t like tablet pc’s, and I think it is pretty close, though its three hour battery life stops it from being something I could carry around all day.
Dell XPS M170
Dell has tried and tried again to make sure it appeals to the largest segment of computer users, as the money made on each computer sale is very small. With the M170, you have a pretty well rounded laptop that is a little heavy to travel with, but makes a great desktop replacement. Laptop Magazine has a look at the XPS M170 and gives it a four and a half out of five.
Previously known as the XPS Gen 2, if the M170 looks similar to its predecessor, that’s because they’re identical. Dell decided not to mess with a good thing, especially when it comes to weight. At 8.6 pounds, the XPS is one of the lightest desktop replacement units available. That may be too heavy to lug through airports or take it to coffee shops, but it’s a huge achievement compared to the 13-pound monsters that usually dominate this space. The light load is possible largely because Dell has custom built the motherboard and not relied on the stock factory design that virtually all other 15-inch gaming notebooks use, making it easier to slim the system down.
Apple Planning Intel-Ready iBook Debut for January
I knew that Apple was in a hurry to release Intel based notebooks as soon as possible, but January is right around the corner, and that leaves me thinking that Apple rushed it a little too much, but Think Secret has found out from a reliable source that the Intel processor will be in the iBook by January.
It is not known exactly what processors or price points the new models will debut at, but it is thought Apple will expand the iBook line with one additional model and will lower prices—in some cases possibly $200 or more—to entice current Windows users and prove to the market it will be more competitive with the likes of Dell, Gateway, HP and Sony.
I can’t wait to see how this effects the market as my friends and I look at the shift to Intel CPU’s as a good move by Apple, and if done right, they could make some good money selling their stylized hardware to thousands of non-mac enthusiasts. I know…I know…Apple is a software company…but with all the iPod, iBook, iMac machines that are hardware, I think Apple is also a hardware company and can do great at that.
Thanks Think Secret.
Sharp M4000 WideNote Review
The laptops that I have been looking at that have the battery life of over four hours that have the features I want, all cost an arm and a leg, and unfortunately that is more or less the case with the Sharp M4000. It meats all my expectations for a notebook, but at $1800 USD, I just don’t see myself picking up one of these any time soon, though its still a great machine and earns itself a four and a half out of five possible points at Laptop Magazine.
This is the lightweight notebook you’ve been waiting for. The Sharp M4000 WideNote combines well over five hours of battery life with a brilliant 13.3-inch widescreen and wraps it all up in a 3.7-pound silver package. Even better, the M4000 doesn’t sacrifice anything when it comes to comfort, features, or performance. At $1,799, this ultraportable isn’t cheap, but if you’re constantly on the move it’s worth every penny.
HP Pavilion dv4000 Review
Laptop Magazine has looked at a few laptops lately and one of them was the HP Pavilion dv4000.
It is a little bigger than I would like for extended travel use, but with its features and battery life, I would consider this laptop one to keep near the top of your list.
HP has updated its 6.5-pound Pavilion dv4000, and the new version offers a great balance of entertainment and productivity performance. You still get a crisp widescreen and instant-on DVD and music playback, but there’s a handful of upgrades, including a LightScribe-enabled DVD burner, a faster processor, and a graphics processor from ATI that makes this a bona fide gaming notebook in a mainstream notebook’s clothing.
The dv4000 maintains the elegant design of the previous version. It has a wide keyboard layout that’s pleasing to type on. The wide silver touchpad is nice, but the mouse buttons remain a little erratic. If you push them too far down in front, it’s hard to get a proper click.
This laptop also recieved a 4/5, but earned a Best Buy label from Laptop Magazine, and I can understand why. With its 12 cell battery it was able to last over five hours on a single charge. It has some pretty good features, including an independant video card for the gamers out there, and the price is not too rediculous either.
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