FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR RELEASES A REFERENCE DESIGN FOR A CHEAP TABLET

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced a reference design with which you can build a dirt-cheap ARM based web tablet. The proposed machine will run either Linux or Google Android. Freescale plans to showcase the prototype at CES which begins in a few days. The company is also hunting for hardware makers interested in producing devices based on its design.

Freescale says that companies can produce laptops for as little as $140 using its design. The Freescale prototype has the following specifications:

Display: 7 inch touch-screen display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Battery: Up to 12 hours of battery life
Thickness: less than 0.6 inches
Weight: less than 1 pound
Storage: 4GB/8GB/16GB Flash-based storage
Other features include an SD card slot and WiFi. There is no 3G.

The Freescale tablet is aimed at students and young people in the age group of 15 and 25. Freescale isn’t worried about not having a QWERTY keyboard on its device. The company says that users in its target group are comfortable with onscreen and thump keyboards. More details should emerge at the CES.

AOJIE RELEASES DIRT CHEAP CHINESE NETBOOKS

Netbook prices are falling in all parts of the world, but in China they are getting dirt-cheap. Two netbook models from Chinese PC maker AOJIE now sells for $146 and $160. Agreed, some other mini-laptops are also available at or below these prices, but they tend to sport a 7 inch display and an ARM processor. The AOJIE models, however, are comparable to mainstream netbooks in many aspects.

The AOJIE X100V and X100A both have 10 inch displays. The cheaper X100V has a 1.6 GHz VIA C7-M processor. The other model priced at $160 sports a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor. Both netbooks run Windows XP. Other notable features include WiFi b/g/n, 1.3 MP webcam, and a 3-cell 220mAh battery. There are 2 USB ports. On the flip side, they only have 512MB of RAM and a 4GB SSD for storage.

PINEVIEW ATOM PROCESSORS DON'T COME CHEAP

Intel is expected to release the official details of its next generation Pineview Atom processors at the Intel Developer Forum scheduled to be held on September 22. The Pineview platform has chips aimed at the netbook/mobile devices.

Unoffical sources claim that the N450 Atom clocking at 1.66GHz will carry a price tag of $64. The faster N470 Atom having a clock speed of 1.83GHz will cost around $75.

Currently the most popular processor for netbooks is the 1.6GHz N270 Atom. It costs just $44. Compared to this the new processors are expensive and will make netbooks costlier. The inclusion of Windows 7 will further push the prices up.

EDGE TECH 128GB USB FLASH DRIVE IS ANYTHING BUT CHEAP

How would you like a flash drive that holds 128GB of flash memory? I'm almost sure that no one would pass up such an offer. What if I told you that it can be yours on July 31st for $390 USD.

ASUS F8VA-B1 NOTEBOOK – CHEAP WITH HIGH-TECH SPECIFICATIONS

People that are fond of inexpensive laptops along with high-tech specification must check out Asus F8VA-B1. This outstanding portable notebook has impressive features that used to be in expensive ones. Lets look at the chief specification offered:

• Processor & Cache Memory - Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400 2.4GHz 3MB 1066MHz FSB
• Memory: 4GB
• Operating System - Windows® Vista™ Home Premium
• Hard Drive & Optical Drive – 250GB SATA 5400rpm & DVD Super Multi Integrated.
• Graphics Card & Video Memory - ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 & 1024MB Fingerprint reader.
• Hard Drive RPM: 5400rpm
• Card Slot Port: 1 x Express Card
• Video Camera – Built-in 1.3M pixel Swivel Camera
• Keyboard – Standard one with 88/89 keys
• Battery Life – 6 Cell (Lithium), 4800mAh, 53Whrs
• Attractive New Intel P8400 CPU.
• Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi
• Dimension & Weight - 34.0 x 24.4 x 3.72 cm 2.59kg (with 6-Cell Battery)
• 2 years limited Manufacturer Warranty
• 2 years limited Manufacturer Labor Warranty

This one is beyond doubt a worthy laptop for wide range of customers. Apart from its interesting features you can carry it easy around. ASUS F8VA-B1 could be obtained at the price of around $1050.

CHEAP LAPTOPS OF 2008

So you have been looking for the latest great deal on a laptop, eh? It seems like everyone is these days. With the way the economy is doing and the fact that everyone is scraping by on pennies does not throw out the need to continue running your business and upgrading your equipment.

I want to let you know that instead of actually testing these for myself, I am basing my reviews on consumer reports.


The first laptop is the Dell Vostro 1500. The price tag is usually somewhere around $500.00. Some have labled it the best cheap laptop overall and I would agree. It is supposed to be a business laptop but does have the power to handle a lot of the other stuff you might want to use it for as well. Many have described it as an “ugly duckling” as there really is nothing special about this one. One other thing to note is that you might consider upgrading this one which would put the price closer to $600.00. For this price you will be in good hands with a nice Core 2 Duo processor, 2 gigs of RAM, and a hefty 250GB hard drive, not to mention a DVD burner. This little fatty is 7 pounds and has a 15.4 inch screen, again, not the prettiest.

I am a fan of Dell as I had my own Dell laptop and never had any problems with it. So, I will stick with the same brand and give second place to Dell’s Latitude D630. The reason it sits at second place is because it is a bit more expensive. Unlike the Vostro 1500, this one does have a newer look to it. It has the lightweight construction that many people are wanting as it weighs in only at 4.5 pounds. This is again another business oriented laptop but still has a lot of power to do other things with it.

The third laptop would have to be given to Asus Eee PC 4G. This laptop is the cheapest of the three with a price tag of about $350.00. The downside is that this thing is not made for old people with bad eyesight. It has a tiny 7 inch display screen. This also probably is not for the non-technical group either. This laptop actually runs Linux, a less popular, but more stable operating system than Windows. This also means several types of software will not be ran on this machine without a little bit of configuring. Another downside is that it only holds 4GB of data. The upside is that it is supposed to be good for kids or beginners to play on. The limitations on it though would prevent it from being ideal for all buyers.

Your best bet is to not be afraid to shop or around or ask other technical gurus around you what would be best for your situation. If you are into downloading lots of applications and movies and that type of thing, you probably need lots of storage. Whereas, a gamer would be looking for a higher end video card and less emphasis on the storage space that it has. The casual internet surfer would probably be looking for just a good all-around system and utilize only an on-board video source with potential to upgrade in the future. Basically, do not be afraid to shop around, there are several types of laptops that will fit what you need all within the same price range. Make sure you find one that will fit what you want to use it for or you may find yourself with something you are not happy with.

HCL JOINS FORCES WITH MICROSOFT TO MAKE A CHEAP NOTEBOOK

HCL and Microsoft team up together in a dual combo effort to create an ultra-cheap ultimate notebook. HCL and Microsoft have joined up to produce the "world's cheapest Windows laptop." That’s what the company claims. HCL, a firm that is based in India, has lately triggered a team-up along with Microsoft to design what they portray as “THE worlds cheapest notebook." They won't give an precise price as, but have not yet affirmed the machine is called Mi-Leap H, and will house a 7" swivel touch-screen, and powered by the Intel processor, Intel 945 GU Express chipset for the mother board, 1GB of RAM for quick clocking, 30GB hard drive enabling decent memory, coupled with 1.3 megapixel webcam, integrated Wi-Fi, and will utilize XP as it's main OS.

ACER TRAVELMATE 5720 REVIEW – ACERS CHEAP OPTION ON OFFER

Swathed in Acer's new magnesium alloy "Profile" chassis, the TravelMate 5720 can be furnished with a concrete selection of Intel Centrino Duo mobile processors and enough expediency to make your mobile computing a little more enjoyable. In this budget laptop a worthwhile procure compared to low-priced offerings from HP and Dell?

Design
The TravelMate 5720, with its lustrous black and grey trade design on the outside, is much nicer than I expected. It practically screams no-nonsense without appearing like your grandfather's hardware. Inside, there is an interesting metallic ribbon around the touch-pad and a shiny metallic strip which houses your emblematic LED indicator lights. The 5720 also comes with an impressive feature called DASP technology (Disk Anti-Shock Protection) which is a rubber damper under the hard disk.

Performance
For a 2.0GHz contemporary processor and a 5400 rpm hard drive I really expected better recital from the Acer. However, again, there is something with Acer build quality which doesn't always interpret into high quality. It takes about 2 minutes to finish starting up with these processes running: Norton Anti-virus, Photoshop Elements 3.0 Open Office, Quick starter, a calendar widget and the Acer business widget. When compacting with tasks, it is normally snappy.

Acer will have notebooks that can contend with the big boys in screens, but for now, there is nothing we can do but groan and squint a bit. The screen is an LCD, and a faded one. It's even more taciturn than the Aspire LCD, which I didn't think would be possible.

In terms of acoustic, the speakers are astoundingly great. The bass is repairable, and the sound is not metallic at all. This notebook is quiet. The fan usually only runs at a perceptible level during installation processes that are bulky and processor intensive and at short intervals during expanded use. As for heat, there is nominal warming on the left palm rest. Otherwise, the notebook is virtually silent. Nice!

Acer asserts the battery life for the customary 6-cell battery to be about 4 to 6 hours. The 1st charge gave about 4 hours and 20 minutes, and charges afterwards, with nothing disabled and battery at upper limit power tolerated for 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Overall
I would surely recommend the Acer TravelMate 5720 to anyone on a financial plan who wants a state-of-the-art machine for cheap. While they often look routine compared to some laptop designs, for some people the simple palette will be pleasing, and the Acer TravelMate software will be deemed useful for everyone apart from Windows power users. The Acer TravelMate will be functional for students on a budget, and some small businesses.

Pros
+ Scuttles very cool and very quiet
+ Excellent price
+ Excellent interface, useful side panel keys

Cons
- Display can cause some eyestrain
- The keyboard is arced, enter key is differently shaped.
- Sluggish performance than some likely configured machines

Value For Money

Our Rating