backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 24 comment(s) - last by tallcool1.. on Jun 24 at 11:45 AM

Gateway LT3100  (Source: Gateway)

Lenovo T400s  (Source: Engadget)
Gateway netbook is more like an ultraportable notebook

The netbook market is flooded with machines from virtually every computer maker on the planet. The only hold out is Apple, which has still not introduced its own much-rumored netbook. Gateway has introduced a new netbook called the LT3100.

The machine features an 11.6-inch screen with HD resolution. The netbook runs on an AMD Athlon processor, which really makes it more of a notebook than a netbook based on the specs. It's interesting that more so-called netbooks are hitting the market running AMD processors, AMD grabbed some of Intel's market share last quarter. The overall weight of the system is 3.14 pounds. The ultrabright screen has a resolution of 1366 x 768 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The size of the netbook also allows for a full-size keyboard.

“The Gateway LT3100 is a smart netbook choice – it gives customers the freedom to connect to the Internet for everything from staying up-to-date on the latest viral videos and enjoying digital music and photos, to checking on the status of projects and studying for classes,” said Ray Sawall, senior product marketing manager for Acer America, which owns Gateway. “At the same time, it delivers reliable mobile communications. Customers get the larger-sized 11.6-inch display along with enhanced netbook performance, so they can do even more while on the go.”

The machine will come with ATI Radeon X1270 graphics, 250GB HDD, and up to 2GB of RAM with power coming from a 6-cell battery good for up to five hours. The touch pad of the notebook supports gestures for zooming and scrolling. Color options include black or red. The MSRP for the system is $399.99 and it runs Windows Vista Basic.

Lenovo also introduced a new machine called the T-400s that offers a 14.1-inch screen that is under an inch thick and starts at less than four pounds. The notebook will use an Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.53GHz and stores to a 128GB SSD or a 250GB HDD. Something you don’t see in many thin and light notebooks today is an optical drive and Blu-ray is an option on the machine. Other options include WiMAX, WWAN, Bluetooth, and more. The battery promises six hours of run time and the rig features VGA and DisplayPort outputs. The machine starts at $1,599.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Specs...
By WoWCow on 6/23/2009 11:26:55 AM , Rating: 3
I am disappointed with Lenovo, and AMD on this part...

quote:
The machine will come with ATI Radeon X1270 graphics, 250GB HDD, and up to 2GB of RAM with power coming from a 6-cell battery good for up to five hours


The x1270 isn't going to decode anything major. The Athlon processor they mentioned is probably the "Neo". Which I believe is another shrinking of the k8 by AMD designed for ultraportables, NOT netbooks.

Of course again, it depends on the price it is sold at.

The HP dv2 for roughly 600$~800$ (12 inches, same processor but with dual core option, and 3410 for HD decoding) is probably a better deal.




RE: Specs...
By WoWCow on 6/23/09, Rating: -1
RE: Specs...
By tallcool1 on 6/24/2009 11:45:48 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
need an edit button :(
Why don't you just read what you type when using the preview button, and not proof read it after you post! Otherwise don't whine about an edit button and just suck up your mistake.


RE: Specs...
By nvalhalla on 6/23/2009 11:31:14 AM , Rating: 5
It's $400, which isn't bad. x1270 isn't good for HD decode, but it's still better than the GMA950. The CPU will be better than Atom I'm sure and $400 is cheaper than many netbooks. It's a win in my book.


RE: Specs...
By johnsonx on 6/23/2009 11:39:59 AM , Rating: 3
Yes, I don't understand the OP's position on this. This netbook is superior to almost every other model on the market in almost every way. Faster cpu, better graphics, better display, longer battery life.


RE: Specs...
By PAPutzback on 6/23/2009 12:08:32 PM , Rating: 2
The machine features an 11.6-inch screen with HD resolution. The netbook runs on an AMD Athlon processor, which really makes it more of a notebook than a netbook based on the specs.

It is not a netbook. Netbooks are 10" or less. Someone is just trying to slip it in thru the backdoor of the less knowledgeable people.

So you are correct, this ultra portable notebook is far superior to almost every other model, which it should be. It is not in the same class.


RE: Specs...
By murphyslabrat on 6/24/2009 1:31:08 AM , Rating: 2
So, lemme get this straight: the fact that it is an inch too big for Microsoft's arbitrary spec makes the fact that it beats out nearly every other netbook on the market irrelevant.

I think I can ignore that inch for the sake of a real CPU, a decent battery, and a decent resolution.


RE: Specs...
By psychobriggsy on 6/24/2009 6:30:42 AM , Rating: 2
It's better than all the other 11" - 12" 'netbooks' that are on the market, e.g., Dell had a 12" Atom based machine built around a 1.2GHz Atom and GMA500 graphics - appalling.


RE: Specs...
By thornburg on 6/23/2009 1:44:16 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
longer battery life


5 hours as a manufacturer spec? I thought most netbooks were quoting 8-ish?

Now verified. Check http://eeepc.asus.com/

9.5 hours for a 10", the largest Netbook they sell.


RE: Specs...
By PrezWeezy on 6/23/2009 7:21:17 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The CPU will be better than Atom I'm sure

The CPU is a single core 1.2 GHz with 512 L2 cache. I'd be very surprised if it was substantialy faster. Even a Sempron 2.0 GHz has a very similar performace to the dual core Atoms. The graphics are far superior though as this is for the netbook market it won't be for gaming so graphics will be rather mute.


RE: Specs...
By amanojaku on 6/23/2009 11:33:38 AM , Rating: 2
I'm surprised you didn't point out the memory. At $1,600 and up I'd expect to see 4GB. I mean, retail price is $50 for 2x2GB DDR2 SODIMMs.


RE: Specs...
By amanojaku on 6/23/2009 11:39:37 AM , Rating: 2
Forgot to mention that I was talking about the Lenovo notebook, not the Gateway netbook. If you check the base specs for the T400 it comes with 2GB. Funny thing is, the website is showing discounts of up to $450, so it's $1,150.?


RE: Specs...
By Kibbles on 6/23/2009 11:41:01 AM , Rating: 1
I have the DV2 and it has trouble hardware decoding several h264 files that my 9400M has no trouble doing. I usually turn off dvxa when that happens and play it in software. It's probably a driver thing, but ATI mobile graphics support is just not as great as nvidia.
As for the NEO, I have no trouble decoding in software anything below 720p and a few 720p content even runs ok. Youtube SD will run decent if you don't full screen it. Oh and the thing runs HOT, waaaaaay hotter than an atom.


RE: Specs...
By Goty on 6/23/2009 1:40:57 PM , Rating: 2
It also runs "waaaaaay" faster than the Atom, too.


RE: Specs...
By teldar on 6/23/2009 4:08:39 PM , Rating: 2
The only problem with this platform is the chipset, which is crap.
They need to update the 780 chipset to run the older/lower end procs which are used in these platforms.

This is a 690 chipset, not the newer 780 chipset. The 700 series chipsets are the m9000 chipset competitors.

Once AMD updates these chipsets to use a 700 or 800 chipset NB (and once I have a job again) this is I'll probably buy for my wife, and maybe myself as well.


RE: Specs...
By psychobriggsy on 6/24/2009 6:50:33 AM , Rating: 2
They also need to have a single chip "laptop/netbook/nettop" chipset.

It doesn't need 12 USB ports or 6 SATA ports or 20+ PCIe lanes. It can probably do with a half-width HyperTransport link to the CPU although a GDDR5 sideport memory bus seems like a good idea to include, for the integrated graphics.


RE: Specs...
By Screwballl on 6/23/09, Rating: 0
RE: Specs...
By Chris Peredun on 6/23/2009 12:59:01 PM , Rating: 5
The overall weight of the system is 3.14 pounds
How much does that Buy.com refurb weigh? I'll bet more than double that number.

The machine will come with ... a 6-cell battery good for up to five hours.
Speaking of "more than double" how about that battery life?

It's fine if the ultraportable/netbook market isn't for you, but it doesn't mean they're worthless.


RE: Specs...
By psychobriggsy on 6/24/2009 6:53:12 AM , Rating: 2
How is this even relevant?

You're effectively buying a second hand machine that's a full laptop, presumably 5lbs+. Yet the screen is the same resolution despite the larger size, and you only get 2 hours battery compared to the quoted 5, probably 3-4 in reality of the $400 new, portable, lighter, device.


RE: Specs...
By teldar on 6/23/2009 4:05:27 PM , Rating: 3
It'a NOT the Neo. The neo is apparently an MV40. This is an athlon 64l110 that runs at 1.2Ghz. The Neo runs at 1.6.
So this is slower.

But it also uses less power. So it's not all bad.

It's a win in my book as it has a slightly higher screen resolution and slightly larger screen, has and OOO executing processor and still has 2GB of ram.
And it's still cheap.


RE: Specs...
By psychobriggsy on 6/24/2009 6:29:05 AM , Rating: 2
It's a 1.2GHz Single Core Athlon 64 CPU.

That's faster than a 1.6GHz Atom, but not by much.

What grates for me is that VGA port.


Soooo Close!
By phaxmohdem on 6/23/2009 9:59:56 PM , Rating: 2
I thought the T400s may finally tempt me to upgrade my 6 yr old T40p, and it came Ohhhhh so close. Not having the option of upgrading over the Integrated Intel graphics is a deal breaker for me. The other T400's (albeit thicker and heavier)have to option to sport ATI 3470 discreet chips. I think I'll hold off for now and keep hoping for a T series quad core + decent graphics somewhere down the road.




Netbooks or Notebooks
By crystal clear on 6/24/2009 5:59:42 AM , Rating: 2
Do people really know what they want or what they bought ?

What do they really need ? ....a netbook or a notebook..

In the introduction to the report, Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, wrote that the "cannibalization and price degradation of standard size notebooks are a very real threat for the success of netbooks." About 25 percent of netbook buyers ended up purchasing their netbooks despite initial plans to buy a notebook PC , NPD found. And, because the average selling price of netbooks is about $300 less than notebook PCs, that resulted in a significant amount of lost revenue for the vendors.

NPD found that 60 percent of consumers who purchased a netbook instead of a notebook thought their netbooks would have the same functionality as notebooks.

Baker also wrote that confusion over the difference between netbooks and notebooks makes it important for manufacturers and retailers to be very careful about how they communicate the value proposition of netbooks.
"Too much emphasis on price, PC-like capabilities, and general features could easily convince consumers that the netbook is merely a notebook replacement. Not enough emphasis on mobility, portability and the real need for a high-quality, large-screen, additional specific-use PC could easily push the netbook into the toy category, driving consumers away," Baker wrote.

In a statement, Baker wrote it is important for vendors and resellers that consumers buy the right kind of portable PC.

There is a serious risk of cannibalization in the notebook market that could cause a real threat to netbooks' success. Retailers and manufacturers can't put too much emphasis on PC-like capabilities and general features that could convince consumers that a netbook is a replacement for a notebook. Instead, they should be marketing mobility, portability and the need for a companion PC to ensure consumers know what they are buying and are more satisfied with their purchases."

http://www.crn.com/mobile/218100953;jsessionid=YHJ...




Interesting
By Bateluer on 6/24/2009 11:36:42 AM , Rating: 2
Not quite as small as I would like, but this'd make a very nice ultra portable machine at a decent price.




"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." -- SCEA President Jack Tretton











botimage
Copyright 2010 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki