LENOVO IDEAPAD U1 TABLET WITH A DETACHABLE SCREEN

Tablet PCs usually have a display that you can swivel and fold down over the keyboard. But the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 tablet is different. It comes with an 11.6 inch detachable screen. Another interesting feature is that the tablet portion of U1 has a secondary processor in it.

The IdeaPad U1 can function as both a notebook and a tablet. In the laptop mode the device has a CULV processor and runs Windows 7. Other features include 4 GB of RAM, 2 USB ports, HDMI and VGA. Up to 128GB of SSD is also available for storage. Now what if you want to use the device in the tablet mode? Well, just detach the screen and you will have a fully functional touch-screen tablet PC powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM-based processor, 512MB of RAM and a 16GB of flash memory. The tablet version runs Skylight Linux, a custom OS developed by Linux.

The IdeaPad U1 weighs around 3.8 pounds. The detachable tablet alone weighs 1.6 pounds. The battery, WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth are all tucked away in the tablet. In the laptop mode you will get around 6 hours of uptime and in the slate mode you will get more. Prices start at $999.

OLPC SCRAPS DUAL-TOUCH SCREEN X0-2 CONCEPT MACHINE

The OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) team has scrapped their ambitious dual-touch screen XO-2 concept machine due to budget constraints. The folks are now busy building an XO laptop version 1.75. The first XO laptop arrived a few years ago and it sort of sparked the netbook revolution.

The first XO laptop featured an AMD Geode processor. The next version XO 1.5 had a faster VIA processor. The proposed XO 1.75 will have similar looks, but it will run on an ARM-based processor and as such won’t be able to run Windows. But that shouldn’t be an issue, as the XO laptop is designed to run on Linux.

But Negroponte and his friends, the folks behind the project, are still optimistic. In fact they are already thinking about version 3.0. The goal is for XO laptop version 3.0 to run on just 1W of power and cost $75. They expect to release the product in 2012. Sounds ambitious, right?

TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES TOUCH SCREEN NOTEBOOKS SATELLITE M505 AND U505

Toshiba has announced the launch of two touch screen notebooks. These devices will run on Windows 7.

The new touch screen notebooks will be called Satellite M505 and Satellite U505. Both notebooks will feature the Toshiba LifeSpace software package which provides users with a ‘Bulletin Board’ full of ‘touch’ features. Another useful feature is the ‘ReelTime’ software which gives a visual history with which users can find files based on when they were opened.

The M505 comes with a 14 inch display. It is due to be released on October 22nd. It will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz processor, integrated 4500MHD graphics, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. The U505 is due to be released on November 1. It will have a 13.3 inch display with similar specifications.

The M505 is expected to cost around $949.99, while the U505 will sell for $1,049.99.

HP LAUNCHES ITS DREAM SCREEN

HP’s DreamScreen offers the functionality of a mobile phone, PC and TV. It isn’t very portable. Actually, the device is built for sitting on the counter.

The DreamScreen is similar to Joggler or the Open Peak mediaphone. It is powered by an ARM-based processor. The device is available in two screen sizes – a 10 inch screen or a 13 inch screen. Other features include 2GB of memory, a card reader and Wi-Fi. There is no keyboard.

HP has designed the product to be used by the whole family. Services provided include radio, music, TV, video, digital photo frame and entertainment. The DreamScreen doesn’t have a full web browser but it does have some widgets that allow instant access to applications like Facebook.
Prices start at $249.

FUJITSU ADDS A MULTI-TOUCH SCREEN TO LIFEBOOK T5010 TABLET PC

Fujitsu has added a multi-touch screen to its popular LifeBook T5010 tablet PC. The new screen supports two finger gesture touch control. The multi-touch features will be available only after the release of Windows 7 in October.

The LifeBook T5010 has an LED-backlit 13.3 inch screen with dual digitizers. With its bi-directional hinge, it can be rotated in either direction. The tablet runs on Intel Core 2 Duo processors with integrated Intel graphics. Up to 4GB of DDR3-1066 RAM can be installed. Other features include a built-in WWAN and modular bay. Prices start at $1,759.

SNOW LEAPOARD SCREEN SHOTS LEAK OUT

Apple has done a prety good job of keeping the visual as well as non-visual details of Snow Leapord under wraps. But today we got a few more shots of the new OS and we have to say it looks quite interesting.

One feature allows you to perform nested browsing,Put Back menu which allows you to retrive accidentally trashed items. Other features include a redisigned launce bar and more. We would like to say more on it but Apple is not letting anything else leak.

But if you have time you can check out the gallery at the LINK provided.

GSCREEN G400 & TITAN M-1 – DUAL SCREEN LAPTOPS

gScreen has announced the G400 laptop which will be the world's first dual screen laptop. Though Lenovo was ahead in introducing a dual screen, it offered only a smaller secondary display. What gScreen promises is identical twins each having an awesome 15.4-inch display with LED backlit and a full-size keyboard.

These identical twins are powered by Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz T9600 or P8400 2.26 GHz, up to 8 GB of RAM and 160GB or 500GB 7200 rpm HD. The G400 with have either NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M Graphics with 512MB dedicated memory or NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT with 512MB dedicated memory. It also sports 6 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, Display port, Firewire and packs a 6 or 9 cell battery. The G400 comes with Windows Vista or Windows XP PRO and weighs just 7.7 pounds. The dual screen Lenovo weighed a hefty 11 pounds and gScreen has definitely made their twins highly portable.

gScreen has also announced a ruggedized model, the TITAN M-1 also with a dual screen. This rugged model has been manufactured to meet the military's MIL-STD-810F conditions to operate under extreme conditions. The TITAN M-1 will have an Intel Core 2 Quad QX9300 processor, 4GB memory and 500GB hard drive.

gScreen has also announced that you can pre-order a G400 dual screen laptop starting from February 25th . The new dual screen G400 will be sold through Amazon. Although the features of the G400 makes us want to hop up and down like their animated frog, the published picture looks equally animated. Think we just have to wait for a more official announcement with a real picture in it.

OLPC 2.0 DUAL SCREEN SHOWS OFF ON CAMERA

Remember that dual screen "computer" that OLPC had announced a while back. Well the reason why we put the "computer" in parenthesis is it currently has not form factor known to man and is closer to a slate than an actual netbook or notebook.

TOUCH SCREEN INEVITABLY COMES TO MINI 9

Touchscreen is old news to the Asus Eee PC and quite a few other netbooks out there but as for Dell no one has modded it with that cool (but impractical) screen (until now). Deldotb of the myDellMini forums has done just that loading Ubantu on his Mini 9 with a cool touch screen.

All this did come at a small cost (which is the use of one USB port) but other than that everything elese seems to be AOK. But if you must see proof check the video below.

TOUCH SCREEN IN MAC TOO

The world of touch screen have spread from your remote controls, to your phones and now touch sensitive screens are all set to be a reality on the laptops as the Touch-screen on the Mac is coming soon. The progressively more fashionable iPhone will no longer be the solitary Apple touch-screen apparatus. It's been established Apple lately filed a patent submission for touch-screen capabilities in what materializes to be a Mac tablet. The touch-screen submission emerges to look a lot like I-phone’s touch screen capabilities. According to the sources from the apple producers, the 52-page filing describes the tablet Mac with complete window crossing point to be inflamed, moved, and cycled.

TOUCH SCREEN USAGE TO GO ALL TIME HIGH

A number of recognized laptop vendors are anticipated to instigate new variants with built-in touch screen panels opening in June – a move that is to be expected to significantly stir up the requirement for touch panels, according to James Fang, president of Taiwan-based Abon Touch systems. The total number of tablet PCs and laptops with a built-in touch panels summed up to two million units in 2007, but the figure of such products are anticipated to top nine million units by 2012, Fang anticipated on the sidelines of the 2008 AsiaFPD held in Guangzhou from May 21-23. In the telephone segment, the quantity of mobile phones with a built-in touch panels is projected to go beyond 500 million units, accounting for over 30% of handsets sold all around the globe, Fang predicted. Citing data from various sources, Fang also distinguished that a total of 1.1 million UMPCs (ultra mobile PCs) will come planted with a built-in touch panel by 2012. By 2011, large-scale shipments of PNDs (portable navigation devices) are projected to reach 54 million units, with over 96% of models having a built-in touch board, Fang added. To muddle through with the greater than ever increase in demand, Abon Touch systems devices to set up a plant in southeast China, with the location for the plant to be determined later, Fang stated.

RUMOURS ALL AGAIN ON EEE PC- UPDATED VERSION EEE WITH TOUCH SCREEN

Rumors of EEE PC getting upgraded to the touch screen feature are as old as the EEE PC itself. In fact, these rumors even enkindled Jerry Shen, president of Asustek, to publicly turn down of any such development prior this year. Now, there's a fresh burst of rumor that the touch screen panel makers are indeed manufacturing a high tech resistive touch panel for next-generation EEE PCs. prelude reports suggest that such touch screen loaded EEE PCs are scheduled to be liberated in the 2nd quarter of 2008. It's fascinating to note that due to compressed size of EEE PCs, the resistive touch screen panel to be used in EEE PCs is to be enhanced than the touch screen technology for medium-size panel applications.

TIPS TO BETTER THE WAY YOUR NOTEBOOK SCREEN LOOKS

A notebook monitor is a flat screen labeled a liquid crystal display and these monitors are especially vulnerable to scores so they require some additional care and attention.

Caution: NEVER touch laptop screen as this can blaze out pixels.

Dry Dusting: If your display is not too unclean you can just use a bare cotton cloth. Very gently wipe the display in the same direction starting from the top and on your way down. The cleansing cloth must be malleable and preferably cotton.
Profound Cleaning: If your monitor is really filthy then you can use a cleansing solution for a deep cleaning. Never use any merchandises that include ethyl alcohol, ammonia, acetone, toluene, ethyl acid, or methyl chloride based cleaners these will make your screen getting yellow.
Self-made Cleansing Solution:

• Isopropyl Alcohol + Distilled Water
• Mix equivalent parts distilled water along with isopropyl alcohol

Use a soft cloth, cotton preferably or any special electrostatic cloths used to cleanse eyeglasses or industrial goggles.

Take a very small quantity of the solution onto the cloth and very gently wipe the screen in uni-direction from the top of the screen to the bottom.

LG FLATRON WITH EASY LINK MULTIPLE SCREEN OPTION

LG released its latest Flatron version LX206WU LCD monitor that will allow you to expand additional screens simply by linking it via USB. The Monitor permits you to link your laptop or desktop PC to extend up to 6 monitors without any additional graphics power. Other modular features include a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time and 2 supplementary USB ports to function as a hub as well. LX206WU is Available in Korea for a whooping $385. And no word till now about when and whether it would be available in North America.

SHOULD I PURCHASE A NEW LAPTOP OR REPLACE THE BROKEN SCREEN

In today’s busy world we are rushed daylight to dark. In all the hustle and bustle it is very easy to drop ones laptop, breaking the screen. If this happens there will be a serious decision which will need to be made, replace the screen or purchase a new laptop.

A few things to take into consideration are the age of your laptop and whether the warranty is expired. As an example the Dell 9300 costs about $1800.00 dollars fully loaded and to replace just the screen before installation is about $600.00 dollars. It will cost between 2 and 3 hundred to have the new screen put on the laptop, so one would be spending close to $1000.00 dollars just to keep their old computer.

It is very important to do your research before making a final decision on which option to choose. Search the internet as well as browsing through the retail stores to get the best price.

At the rate technology changes it would be more feasible to buy a new laptop than to stick with one that will soon be out-of-date. Of course there is nothing wrong with keeping and repairing your current note book if you feel it is a great asset and you are not ready to change to a new laptop.