Hewlett-Packard just announced the Compaq nc6400 notebook, the first laptop that features built-in global mobile broadband. The new technology is provided by Cingular Wireless and will offer a faster internet connection anywhere, without the need of Wi-Fi Hotspots.

“HP and Cingular Wireless are expanding the boundaries of mobile computing both within the U.S. and abroad with products like the HP Compaq nc6400 Notebook PC,” said Carol Hess-Nickels, director, worldwide business notebook marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “By integrating our powerful and innovative computing products with Cingular Wireless’ 3G network, we enable our mobile customers to stay connected in more places to the people and information that are most important to them.”

The HP Compaq nc6400 is also the first notebook with a tri-band UTMS modem and features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 14.1-inch diagonal widescreen display, Wireless LAN and Bluetooth technology, dual-antennas (that provides the connectivity to Cingular’s 3G network) and it is Windows Vista capable.

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Dell announced that the XPS M1710, their highest-end multimedia notebook, will feature Blue Ray Discs technology, that will give users more storage space and additional DVD features.

Blue-Ray discs are high-density optical discs that can store large amounts of data and digital content (including high definition) and that allow reading and writing high-definition videos. A blue-ray disk is able to store 50GB of data, which is five times more than a DVD’s capacity.

“Blue-ray optical drive technology has gained broad industry support and we believe it will become the optical drive standard of the future” said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president, Dell Product Group.

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The HP Pavilion dv6000t is one of the first HP laptops to get the upgraded Intel Core 2 Duo processor. With an elegant and flashy design, a 15.4 inch wide screen and a weight of 6.2 pounds, the machine is the one of the lightest in the HP notebook’s series.

The HP Pavilion dv6000t features a set of strong entertainment features and a decent processor, but a battery life bellow average. Hence it will meet the needs of multimedia users who do not necessarily expect a high speed and who don’t travel a lot.

Best features:

• remarkable 15.4 inch widescreen with a 1,280×800 native
• big keyboard with smooth keys, comfortable to type on, quiet and usable mouse buttons
• ability to turn on/off the touchpad in order to prevent moving your mouse cursor while typing
• 640×480 resolution webcam integrated on top of the screen
• tv tuner

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Apple MackBook Pro is Apple’s first laptop with an Inel Centrio Core Duo processor. The new ultra-portable laptop is only 1 inch thick, weights 5.6 pounds and it is the thinnest and lightest notebook out there. Featuring a 15.4 inch diagonal, and one of the greatest designs, the Apple MacBook Pro targets video editors, graphic designers, educators and business people.

Configuration: 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 128MB of VRAM, and an 80GB 5,400rpm hard drive.

Best features:

• unique aluminum casing
• the AC adapter connects magnetically to the notebook so that whenever you stumble over the cord, it automatically disconnects
• a tiny built-in iSight camera on top of the Mac screen
• big keyboard with wide keys, making it very comfortable to type
• the touch pad gives you the possibility to scroll long documents and webpages by dragging two fingers over the pad
• dual-layer DVD burner that allows you to burn up to 8.5 GB of data
• a 15.4 inch widescreen with a 1440 x 900 pixels resolution, which is a lot lighter than other models

The MacBook Pro also features a Firewire 400 port that offers high-speed communication with digital audio and video equipment, an ExpressCard Slot, DVI and VGA ports that are used to connecting a notebook to a digital monitor, a Bluetooth and a 802.11g Wi-Fi radio and Gigabit Ethernet that enables your laptop to connect to the internet.

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According to MacScoop, Apple is soon to release a new 12 inch MacBook Pro.

The ultra-portable notebook, which is thinner and lighter than other Mac laptops, will feature a 12 inch display, a built-in optical drive and a dual core CPU.

Rumor has it that the new 12 inch MacMook is not to be available any sooner than February 2007 and its cost is estimated to be $1800.

Toshiba announced today through a company release its new 100GB 1.8 inch hard drives for notebooks and portable media. The new Toshiba MK1011GAH hard disks have the highest storage capacity, having 25% more storage space than the other current models of that size (which can hold up to 80GB).

With an areal density of 155.3 Gbit/in2, the drive is specially designed for thin and light mobile computers with an 8MB cache. In addition, Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch capacity leader features the same tunnel magneto-resistive (TMR) head technology combined with perpendicular recording that delivered the company’s world-leading 200GB capacity in the 2.5-inch HDD class with an areal density of 178.8 Gbit/in2.

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HP announced its new Windows Vista compatible products and services that are supposed to facilitate users with a smooth transition to the new operating system.

Some of the hardware and software offerings include HP ProLiant , HP BladeSystem servers, HP StorageWorks products and HP Software and are meant to improve access to information.

HP’s education team also offers training (classroom or online training) so that businesses can benefit from a fast and easy upgrade, without spending too much time away from core business activities.

HP has worked extensively with Microsoft to develop complementary products and services across our portfolio that help customers realize the full value of the latest Microsoft offerings,” said David Booth, senior vice president and U.S. country manager, Technology Solutions Group, HP. “With HP and Microsoft technologies, customers can create a more agile, adaptive and successful business

Dell announced that its latest notebooks are now ready for Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007’s requirements. This was accomplished by a software which is based on a migration strategy and which has the purpose to speed up and simplify the transition.

Dell engineers have invested more than 100,000 man-hours during the past two years testing and validating Windows Vista to help ensure that customers’ customized hardware works as soon as they power up systems with the new operating system

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Toshiba DynaBook SS S30 and SS M36 are the latest additions to Toshiba’s line of notebooks.

Toshiba DynaBook SS S30 - targets professional users

• loaded with Microsoft Windows XP Professional service pack 2
• Intel Core Solo U1300 (1.06-GHz) ULV processor
• 512MB of DDR2 memory
• 40GB HDD
• weight: 1.2 kg
• 12.1-inch WXGA display
• three USB 2.0-ports
• biometric fingerprint scanner
• SD/CF card slot
• prices start at $2,300 and will be avialble next month

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Toshiba Satellite K11, K16, and J61 notebooks are the latest additions to Toshiba’s Satellite series:

Toshiba Satellite K11 - targets average users

• 15.4-inch WXGA displays
• Core 2 Duo processor
• 40GB hard drives
• up to 2GB of RAM (512MB standard)
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive

Toshiba Satellite K16 - business oriented

• 15.4-inch WXGA displays
• Celeron 1.73 GHz M 430 processor
• Radeon Xpress 200M graphics
• 40GB hard drive
• up to 2GB of RAM (512MB standard)
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive

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