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Resellers are beginning to show a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion laptop with Intel's more powerful mobile Core i5 processor, which will debut at the Consumer Electronics show on Thursday along with its lower-end sibling, the Core i3.

The HP dv6t.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

The 15.6-inch HP Pavilion dv6-2170us comes with a 2.26GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor that is advertised as automatically overclocking to 2.53GHz via Intel's Turbo boost technology. This feat is not possible with laptops packing the Core i3 chip, which doesn't feature Turbo Boost.

Prices of the new HP laptop typically range from $900 to $920 at resellers.

Intel will officially roll out the mobile Core i5 and i3 processors on Thursday in tandem with a slew of system announcements from PC makers. The Core i5 and i3 are the first Intel laptop processors to combine two processor cores and a graphics function in one chip package (previously, the graphics chip was in a separate chipset), resulting in better overall power efficiency.

The Core i3 and i5 part ways on ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

The newest crop of notebooks and Netbooks are not just leaking but beginning to flood out of reseller sites. The latest: a Costco Canada posting of an upcoming Dell Inspiron laptop based on Intel's Core i3 processor.

Costco's Dell Inspiron with Intel Core i3 chip

(Credit: Costco)

At the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts on Thursday, PC makers will debut laptops using Intel's freshly minted Core i3 processor, as was previously reported. Core i series processors are based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture. The Core i3 is the first Nehalem chip targeted at mainstream and lower-cost laptops.

The Dell offering, at least as posted at Costco, is a bit more expensive than other leaked models from Gateway or Hewlett-Packard, so we'll have to see how pricing shakes out in the coming the weeks. And note that Costco lists the Intel processor as ... Read More

Toshiba and Gateway are early participants in the growing cavalcade of Netbook makers expected to stretch across the exhibition floor at the Consumer Electronics Show.

New Toshiba Netbook packing Intel 'Pine Trail' silicon.

(Credit: Future Shop)

These Toshiba and Gateway listings at a Canadian reseller follow Hewlett-Packard's leak of its iMini 210 Netbook specifications. All three models from HP, Toshiba, and Gateway are based on Intel's new N450 silicon, aka "Pine Trail."

The Toshiba and Gateway models both appeared on the Canadian reseller Web site Future Shop and both have similar configurations: the 1.66GHz Atom processor, 160GB (Gateway) or 250GB (Toshiba) hard disk drives, a 10.1-inch screen, 1GB of memory, and an Intel "GMA 3150 Express" graphics chip.

And both systems come with the Windows 7 Starter edition operating system.

Pricing is where the two Netbooks part ways, however. The Gateway Netbook is listed at $299 Canadian, or about $285 U.S. Toshiba's Netbook is listed at $459 Canadian, or $438 U.S.

New Netbooks aren't the only laptops expected to make a splash at CES, which starts Thursday. Full-fledged laptops have leaked already from HP, Toshiba, and Gateway that use Intel's new Core i3 mobile processor.

Thought that the newest laptop technology is always priced at a premium? Think again. Due in the next few weeks from Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Gateway and a host of other PC makers, some of the first laptops using Intel's new Core i3 processor will be priced as low as $700.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts January 7, PC makers will debut laptops using Intel's freshly minted Core i3 processor, as was previously reported. Core i series processors are based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture. In 2010, the chipmaker will move most of its processor lines from the current Core 2 technology to the Core i design.

Core i3-based laptops are, in a word, cheap. Cheap in the context that these are systems using a brand new processor based on a new Intel microarchitecture--in the past, this kind of technology has commanded a steep premium. A system from HP now posted on online retailer eCost is priced at $865. And a Gateway laptop listed on Canadian retailer Future Shop is priced at $730 Canadian dollars or about $694 U.S. dollars.

And add a Toshiba system to the mix (priced at $799 Canadian dollars or about $763 U.S. dollars). The Toshiba Satellite (PSLS6C-00F005) packs the same Core i3 processor but uses a 16-inch screen, according to a posting on Future Shop.

HP Core i3-based Pavilion laptop (WA786UA#ABA) as listed by eCost:

• Processor: 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330m
  
• Display: 15.6" LED
  
• Memory: 4096MB DDR3
  
• Hard disk drive: 320GB 7200rpm
  
• Optical drive: DVDRW
  
• Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
  
• Video card: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator HD
  
• Price listed by eCost: $864.99
  

The $694 Gateway system has the same screen size (listed with a 1600 x 900 native resolution) and memory configuration as the HP laptop but ups the ante with a 500GB hard disk drive and, most interestingly, uses an as-yet-unannounced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 graphics chip instead of Intel's graphics silicon.

Gateway Core i3-based laptop is below $700

(Credit: Future Shop)

Product specifications aside, one of the most anticipated laptop technologies at CES this year is Arrandale, the codename for Intel Core i series mobile processors targeted at the mainstream laptop market. The Arrandale-based Core i3 is the first mainstream Intel laptop processor to combine two processor cores and a graphics function together in one chip package (previously, the graphics chip was in a separate chipset), resulting in better overall power efficiency.

And the new built-in graphics technology will offer better graphics performance than current technology, according to Intel. The chipmaker will try in earnest to prove this at CES with plenty of demos showing off Arrandale's graphics prowess. (Though not all PC makers are convinced that Intel's new graphics technology is the way to go, as evidenced by Gateway's decision to use a discrete ATI graphics processor from Advanced Micro Devices).

One thing worth noting is that the Core i3 won't ... Read More

How will Apple redesign the ultraslim, seminal MacBook Air that launched dozens of me-too ultraportable laptops? Only Apple knows. But here are some gratuitous musings anyway.

Dell Latitude Z: a 16-inch laptop that's less than 0.8-inches thick and under five pounds.

(Credit: Dell)

In a previous post, I said I wouldn't hazard any guesses on what Apple may do with the MacBook Air. And I won't. That doesn't stop me from looking at the most recent ultrathin laptop competition to see where Apple might be able to improve the design that turns two years old in January.

Enclosure: This will be a tough act to follow. The original design was good enough that Apple didn't change it for gen 2--aka Rev. B--of the Air. And the aluminum enclosure was a trendsetter, which all MacBook Pros (and other PC makers) eventually copied.

But that doesn't mean the Air is perfect. The razor-thin slab of aluminum provides little room for ports and connectors. (Apple's implementation is a flip-out set of USB, Mini DisplayPort, audio ports that retract back into the body.)

A design modification that the Dell Adamo uses (some say retrogressed to) was putting the ports on the back (behind the screen). This allows Dell to offer a fuller array of connectors.

Could Apple come out with a tablet version of the Air?

(Credit: OLPC)

Hewlett-Packard, for its part, went another route: it just made its Envy 13 slightly thicker (at 0.8 inches) than the Air, allowing a couple more connectors (a second USB port and an SD card slot). HP also molded the base of the Envy in magnesium, which makes it lighter, according to HP.

Then there's just-announced Dell Adamo XPS. This is even thinner than the MacBook Air and puts the CPU-complex-plus-circuit-board (aka motherboard) behind the screen, not underneath the keyboard--standard design practice for all laptops.

Sony Vaio X is a good example of how small and thin a premium laptop can be: it has an 11.1-inch screen.

(Credit: Sony)

Of course, there's the recurring rumor that Apple is looking at different materials to make it even lighter while maintaining its famous sturdiness. This could potentially be a combination of aluminum and something like carbon fiber. (Though, as stated above, HP claims that magnesium is the way to go.)

Other possibilities: make one model bigger (wider), a la the Dell Latitude Z, which offers a 16-inch 1600x900 WLED Display and at its thickest point is only 0.79 inches.

Or make it smaller. The Sony Vaio X is a great example of how light (1.6 pounds) and thin (0.55 inches) a premium laptop (technically it's a Netbook) can be.

Tablet? There is the remote possibility that a version of the Air becomes a tablet. And that would mean potentially a new enclosure and new silicon.

Graphics:. The second feature I'll touch on is graphics. A good graphics chip is tough to squeeze into ultrathin designs and this a major feature that set the Air apart from other slim designs, ... Read More

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Hewlett-Packard hasn't announced the Mini 210 Netbook yet--but a reseller has.

The follow-on to the popular Mini 1000 and 110 Netbook series, the 210 packs Intel's newest Atom N450 silicon, which features an updated graphics chip built directly onto the central processing unit, or CPU. Netbooks are tiny laptops designed for undemanding Web-based tasks and typically sell for about $350.

Reseller eCost lists the Mini 210 at $389 and shows a few models as "in stock." A call to a sales representative confirmed this.

And even HP has jumped the gun. A full menu of items about the unannounced Netbook on HP's support Web page includes information about "software and driver downloads" and a user guide.

Here are the Mini 210 specs as listed by eCost:

• Operating System: Win7 Starter
  
• Processor:1.66GHz Intel Atom N450
  
• Display: 10.1" Flush Glass
  
• Memory: 1GB
  
• Hard disk drive: 250GB 7200RPM
  
• Video Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
  
• Battery: 6 cell
  
• Wireless Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n
  
• Other Device: Integrated Webcam & Mic
  
• Price: $398.99
  

Intel is launching the biggest makeover of the Atom processor since the seminal chip debuted in the spring of 2008, and consumers can expect a crush of new Netbooks to follow.

Dozens of Netbooks are now offered at this Fry's Electronics store in southern California

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

As previously reported, Intel's latest N450 processor and NM10 Express chipset--technology that had been previously referred to as "Pine Trail"--will be used in a new raft of Netbooks that will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo and others are expected to either announce new systems before the show or exhibit new models there.

Intel said there will be more than 80 new Netbook designs--typically priced around $350--on the way, with systems coming available by January 4.

The Pine Trail design squeezes the graphics function, previously on a separate chip, onto the central processing unit, or CPU, a first for Intel. The result--by decreasing the number of chips from three to two--is a reduction in the overall chip package size by 60 percent.

"This is the first monolithic processor with the graphics built in and the memory controller built in," said Anil Nanduri, director, Netbook Marketing at Intel, in an interview. The size of the accompanying NM10 "I/O" chipset has also been reduced, Nanduri said.

To the consumer this means better battery life and thinner designs. "We'll see sleeker designs coming into the market and longer battery life," said Nanduri, adding that average power consumption has dropped 20 percent over the previous generation of Atom technology.

"We got more than eight hours of battery life out of this system," said CNET Review's Dan Ackerman, after testing the new Asus Eee PC 1005PE Netbook, which is equipped with the updated Atom silicon.

Intel has integrated the graphics function onto the CPU, resulting in lower overall power consumption

(Credit: Intel)

Atom-based systems will be sold primarily with Windows 7 Starter or Home Basic. "These are the ones that hit the right price points," Nanduri said. "The kind of applications you load up as you go into Home Premium--with a much more richer experience--more performance is needed for that," Nanduri said, referring to higher-price Windows Home Premium.

Windows XP Home and Intel's Moblin Linux operating systems will also be supported. Moblin offers some benefits over Windows. "You will get a very snappy experience on Moblin and faster boot times because it's very purpose-built for this category," Nanduri said.

Intel expects robust growth ahead for Netbooks. Nanduri cited numbers from ABI Research that show Netbook annual shipments reaching ... Read More

Intel is about to roll out some pretty impressive mobile processors, finally bringing its "Nehalem" Core i architecture to the mainstream mobile space. So, what can we expect from Apple?

First, a little recent history. Apple, so far, has elected not to use the Core i7 quad-core mobile processors announced back in September in its MacBook Pro line. Which isn't that surprising. The first crop of laptop i7s barely qualify as mobile processors: they have a desktop-like TDP (thermal design power) of 45 watts that wreaks havoc on battery life.

That said, as an example of what an Apple rival has chosen to do, the Hewlett-Packard Envy 15 now offers both the i7-720QM (1.6GHz, 6MB cache) and i7-820QM (1.73GHz, 8MB Cache)--both quad-core Core i7 processors.

A big imponderable is whether Apple will adopt a future 32-nanometer version of the quad-core mobile i series for the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Presumably, this would have a lower TDP and be more amenable to Apple.

Now, for some armchair analysis. Arrandale: One of the burning questions (at least among some in the tech media) is whether new MacBooks will use Intel's "Arrandale" mobile Core i series of processors. Arrandale is significant for two reasons: it is part of Intel's 32-nanometer chip roll-out and is the first instance of Intel combining the graphics function with the main "CPU" processor. This results in better overall power efficiency and integrated graphics performance that "doesn't suck" anymore, as some observers have put it.

One school of thought is that Apple will not use the processor. If there is any truth to that rumor, that makes for a head-scratching scenario since Arrandale will be the pillar of the mobile Core i3 and i5 lineups. A likely scenario is that Apple--one way or another--chooses to attach Nvidia or ATI discrete graphics processors to Arrandale, or a facsimile thereof.

Nvidia or ATI: And speaking of Nvidia and ATI, instead of trying to second-guess Apple on all of the possible graphics chip permutations, the easier question to ask is: which graphics chip supplier will prevail this time around? Nvidia--despite defects in some of its past offerings--has been dominant over the last year or so across the MacBook lineup. Will this continue? Or will Apple strike more of a balance between Nvidia and ATI?

Remember, that Apple is touting the general compute function of the graphics processing unit, or GPU, in OS X Snow Leopard. "Now a new technology in Mac OS X Snow Leopard called OpenCL takes the power of graphics processors and makes it available for general-purpose computing," according to Apple ad copy. (Translation: using the GPU more like general-purpose CPU.) Are Nvidia and ATI OpenCL equals?

MacBook Air: And what, pray tell, will happen to the MacBook Air? Which is coming up on its second anniversary in January. I won't venture a guess (not yet at least), though I have a personal interest in this subject since I have been using an Air since February 2008.

Blu-ray: And finally, next-generation optical drives. Will MacBook Pros finally get Blu-ray? Maybe. There seems to be some pessimism about Apple adopting Blu-ray, as reader comments (and threads on other forums) suggest.

Apple, in all of its wisdom, will provide the answers to these questions soon enough.

Updated at 6:05 p.m. PST: adding Blu-ray discussion.

On December 17, Intel will preview new processors for laptops, among other chip technologies.

The preview is significant because it will be Intel's first chance to show off its ready-to-ship, commercially viable next-generation 32-nanometer technology. Almost all Intel processors are currently built on a 45-nanometer process. Generally, the smaller the geometry, the faster and more power efficient the processor is.

Intel's Core i series of processors will be the focus of the San Francisco event that will serve as a venue to preview and demonstrate products to be rolled out at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The "Nehalem" microarchitecture that powers the Core i chips was introduced in November of last year and is considered a major step up in performance over previous architectures. To date, Intel has shipped the high-end Core i7 for gaming machines and mid-range Core i5 processors.

Intel is expected to preview the first Core i3 processors--some, including the 2.93GHz i3 530, have appeared on retail sites already--as well as updates to the Core i5 series.

One of the most anticipated processor technologies is "Arrandale." This will be the first mainstream Intel laptop processor to put two processor cores and a graphics function together in one chip package, resulting in better overall power efficiency. And the new built-in graphics technology is expected to offer materially better graphics performance than current Intel graphics.

Arrandale will eventually come under the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 brands, though initial versions are expected to appear as the Core i3 and i5.

Intel is also expected to make a push to get its Turbo Boost technology into more Core i5 and i7 processors--including Arrandale i5 models. Turbo Boost speeds up and slows down individual cores to meet processing and power-efficiency needs, respectively.

Separately, Intel is also getting ready to roll out new Atom chip technology for Netbooks, commonly referred to as "Pine Trail." That is also happening later this month.