Fujitsu introduces mid-size LifeBook laptop

Fijitsu says that the 15.6 inch notebook offers a little more muscle for your money, with the $1,199 LifeBook AH530 packing a Core i5 processor and 500GB hard drive.

It doesn’t seem like long ago that the first $1,000 notebook brought forth howls of protest throughout laptop land.

Well, those were howls of protest from the notebook manufacturers who didn’t have a $1,000 dollar deal claiming that there would now be a race to the bottom, profits and margins were being sacrificed, yadda yadda yadda.

We people who buy notebooks were howling with delight, of course. And naturally it wasn’t long before every notebook manufacturer was playing at the affordable end of town – and they soon discovered that while margins might be lower, sales will be higher.

Fast forward to today, and what you can get for around the $1,000 mark is truly astounding. It’s also proof why notebooks are far outselling desktops.

For more information, please visit: http://apcmag.com/Content.aspx?id=6108

Lenovo launched IdeaPad Y560d multimedia 3D laptop

Lenovo has launched its first multimedia 3D laptop with the release of its IdeaPad Y560d notebook.

The 3D laptop is designed for the high-end gaming market and users that seek high performance, gaming and multimedia capabilities said Chet Joshi, an account executive at Lenovo Canada.

The IdeaPad Y560d is a 15.6-inch slim form factor laptop that's 3D enabled, providing its users with a 3D experience similar to what they'd get at home or in a movie theatre, he added.

"Right now the 3D notebook is still a niche market," Joshi said. "But there are actually a lot of games that were developed in years past that are 3D-ready, and with 3D becoming popular with movies we think the market will exponentially explode. This provides instant gratification because users are viewing multimedia in 3D."

For channel partners, even though 3D laptops serve a niche community, because the units are designed to be higher-end the margins are better, Joshi said. Partners can also see their revenues soar when they sell complementary accessories such as speakers, adapters, batteries and multimedia remote controls.

The notebook features a high-definition 16:9 widescreen display and comes with a pair of polarized glasses which are compatible with 3D movies and games. The average battery life for the unit is estimated to be about four to five hours, with the possibility of more, depending on how the notebook is used, Joshi said.

In addition, the laptop is built with TriDef 3-D technology, which enables users to view their standard 2D video and photos in a 3D format.

"TriDef takes standard movies and photos and converts them to make them 3D on the screen," he said.

For more information please visit:
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=58445

"HP LaserJet Pays You Back" - LaserJet printers to SMBs across EMEA

HP Middle East today unveiled the "HP LaserJet Pays You Back" global marketing campaign to demonstrate how an HP Color LaserJet Multifunction Printer (MFP) printing professional colour in your office pays you back.

The "HP LaserJet Pays You Back" campaign features a game-changing value proposition to illustrate the amazing return on investment (ROI) of an HP Color LaserJet Multifunction Printer: over time, the printer continues to pay customers back through energy, paper and toner savings.

The thought-provoking, fully integrated communications program combines social media, digital influencers and strategic partnerships including LinkedIn and International Data Group (IDG) to engage SMB and IT decision makers and broaden awareness of the HP LaserJet as a genuine business investment to the SMB community in the Middle East.

Unheralded heroes of business ROI

The campaign, which kicks off today, will run throughout the summer highlighting the measurable contribution of many other unheralded aspects of day-to-day business life that are able to generate quantifiable value. Discussions and debate will be initiated throughout the region on whether, how and how much practices such as a morning coffee break, the walk to work, a trip to the gym, an attractive working environment or a drink after work (with or without colleagues!) contribute to workplace productivity.

As Amin Mortazavi, General Manager IPG, HP Middle EastHP Middle East, explains, the campaign is about looking at products and practices which people typically consider as a cost in a different way.

"Many of these day-to-day workplace activities are considered a simple expense, when - in reality they generate a positive and measurable contribution to the overall business. As such, they can be considered as 'unheralded heroes' of office productivity, representing a fresh look at how we can view strategic investments in technology, personnel and every day costs," says Amin Mortazavi.

For more information please visit:
Zawya.com

DACC trustees approve bid for computers, networking to Zhai Network Parametrix

DANVILLE – Danville Area Community College will continue to improve technology on campus this summer.

Trustees on Tuesday awarded a $78,836 bid to Zhai Network Parametrix for 70 Lenovo desktop computers, 70 monitors and 12 laptops. The equipment will be installed in four existing computer labs throughout the main campus.

Trustees also awarded an $80,474 bid to CDW-G for Cisco networking equipment. That will improve wireless Internet capabilities on campus.

The computer equipment will be purchased with Perkins grant funding, and the networking equipment will be purchased with the remainder of a 2008 technology and equipment bond.

"There were a little bit of funds that were left over," Chief Financial Officer Gail Morrison said of the $1 million bond, which DACC officials issued to make technology improvements across campus. "That will exhaust any remaining money."

The college used to rely on an annual $250,000 technology grant from the state to do that, but that money dried up several years ago. Afterward, the college replaced some items using grants, but not nearly as many or as frequently as it should.

A first round of funding was used to buy more than 200 computers, monitors and other equipment in the 2009 fiscal year, and a second was used to buy more than 250 computers, monitors and 62 laptops this current fiscal year.

"We're certainly much more up-to-date with our technology than we were," President Alice Jacobs said, adding that couldn't have been done without the bond. "We have to have computers and equipment that's as up-to-date as other institutions of higher education and the high schools to meet not only the needs of the students but the needs of the area employers, as well."

Source:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2010-06-23/dacc-trustees-approve-bid-computers-networking.html

Lenovo Y560d laptop: works great for gaming

The 3D revolution making headlines in 2010 goes beyond just TVs and actually extends to Blu-ray players, game consoles, and even laptops. It seems every computer manufacturer has hopped on the 3D laptop display train, and now Lenovo is finally aboard too with the new IdeaPad Y560d.

Lenovo slow to follow

In terms of 3D laptops, Lenovo can be considered something of a slow starter since both Acer and Asus already come out with 3D notebooks of their own late last year in 2009. By now, over a half a year later, Lenovo was one of the few PC makers to have not released a 3D laptop model, although all this has been changed with the new IdeaPad Y560d. Of course, what do we mean by a 3D laptop? Well, we’re referring to the computer’s 3D display, but there’s also more to it.

3D display

A 3D display alone isn’t enough if you only have 2D content, so something else is required to turn the standard 2D media into three dimensions. One option for 3D laptops to display photos, movies and games in 3D is none other than Nvidia’s 3D Vision Kit, complete with glasses, that we introduced earlier in the year. Models like the recently unveiled Toshiba Satellite A665 3D notebook make use of the Nvidia alternative, and reviews, especially for 3D gaming, are generally positive with the Vision Kit. To the contrary, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d, with its ATI GPU, goes another route by employing TriDef’s 3D tech.

TriDef 3D technology

The TriDef 3D solution was also used in Acer’s first 5738DG 3D laptop from late last year, to much less positive reception. Criticism included no support for DirectX 10 games, something that’s still an issue, a poor 3D HD experience, and a failure to work well with incompatible games (for a full list of tested games we refer you to TriDef’s homepage). Then, even when the effect did work as planned, it was nothing too spectacular. Granted, these experiences were with an Acer, not Lenovo, laptop, but many of the TriDef exclusive problems extend to the Y560d. Another glaring TriDef 3D issue is the fact that the service doesn’t work with Blu-rays, at all. So if you’re expecting a portable 3D Blu-ray player with this 3D IdeaPad Y series computer, then think again. Still, it’s not all bad news as the TriDef Photo Transformer software was said to do an excellent job of bringing 2D photos into three dimensions. Oh, and unlike Nintendo’s new 3DS, polarised glasses are of course still mandatory.

Impressive gaming specs

Aside from its 3D prowess, the IdeaPad Y560d packs some of the latest and fastest in hardware. We’re talking about the latest Intel Core i7 2010 CPU, complete with Intel’s performance enhancing Turbo Boost tech, a high-end ATI Radeon HD5730 graphics card, an HDMI port, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, up to 8GB of RAM, as well as support for HD graphics on its 3D capable 16:9 widescreen. Furthermore, switchable graphics for the Radeon card work much in the same way as Intel’s CPU Turbo Boost feature, by only boosting performance when needed, and save both power and battery life in the process.

Unique and stylish design

Looking at the IdeaPad’s appearance, moreover, it seems Lenovo have taken a page out of Alienware’s book when designing gaming rigs. The sleek black 15.6 inch 3D laptop comes with a large tribal etching on its back, struck through the middle by a white beam, lending the computer a very fashionable and unique presentation.

For more information please visit:
http://news.idealo.co.uk/news/7792/lenovo-y560d-laptop-great-for-gaming-alright-for-3d.html

MSI Unveils GT660 Gaming Notebooks

MSI recently unleashed its GE600 gaming notebook for gamers. Now the company has announced the MSI GT660, calling it the ultimate gaming notebook and bestowing upon it the title of the king of gaming laptops. The MSI GT660 is born out of a collaboration between MSI and professional recording and sound system manufacturer Dynaudio. The device is first notebook in the world to feature MSI’s TDE+ (Turbo Drive Engine+) technology which enhances processor, memory and graphics performance.

The GT660 uses the Intel Arrandale notebook platform with the Intel Core i7 processor. It comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card with 1 GB GDDR3 display memory. With sound technology from world renowned Dynaudio, the GT660 immerses you in your games or multimedia.

MSI’s TDE+ technology enhances both processor and display performance. One touch of the luminescent Turbo hotkey above the keyboard allows users to control processor, memory and display chip performance. The laptop’s GeForce GTX 285M graphics card comes with 128 3D stream processors and supports Nvidia Cuda and Nvidia PhysX technology.

The MSI GT660 notebook comes with three DDR3 memory slots which enables users to expand memory to 12 GB. It also features the latest USB 3.0 ports which are capable of data transfer at speeds of up to 4.8 Gbs.

In terms of looks, the MSI GT660 packs a one-of-a-kind LED light show with LEDs lighting up around the edges of the notebook. This light show is controlled by a hotkey and the LED lights pulsate to the beats of music.

Source:
http://www.gameguru.in/hardware/2010/09/msi-unveils-gt660-gaming-notebook/

New products from Intel