Crave

Does including an external drive make it a better deal?

(Credit: MSI)

Despite many Netbooks and thin-and-lights ditching optical drives in favor of more compact computers, corporate folks are apparently still concerned and looking out for us suddenly-DVD-free folk. MSI has announced availability of a new thin-and-light ULV (ultra-low voltage) notebook, the MSI X600, which comes with its own external DVD/CD drive right in the box.

For $899, the X600 comes with a 1.4GHz Intel SU3500 ULV processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, ATI HD 4330 graphics, and a 15.6-inch 1366x768 screen. It includes a six-cell battery, an improvement on the X340, which had a somewhat disappointing battery life. It also packs HDMI-out and Bluetooth while being a hair under an inch thin.

This all sounds good, with two exceptions. One: its processor is a single-core ULV. Two: this "thin-and-light" weighs 5.5 pounds. That's a serious chunking up from the X340's 2.9-pound frame.

Will a Core 2 Solo processor--the same that's in the X340--be enough for a 15.6-inch laptop? Time will tell. Until our review, we invite you to check out some images of the external drive, which at least stylishly matches the big sibling it comes packed with. The MSI X600 comes in black and silver.

MSI X600

The $299 PRS-600 has an improved touch screen.

(Credit: Sony)

After enduring a couple of rumors and leaks that took the lid off its latest e-readers a little earlier than it would have liked, Sony's officially announced the two new models: the Reader Pocket Edition ($199) and Reader Touch Edition ($299), both of which will hit stores at the end of the month. The other big news is Sony is going to match Amazon's e-book pricing, making new releases and best seller titles $9.99 instead of $11.99.

As for specs, here's what you're looking at:

Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300):

• 5-inch E-ink electronic paper display
• Comes in blue, rose, and silver
• Resolution: 800 x 600 pixels
• Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale
• 440MB of usable internal memory stores about 350 standard eBooks
• Three adjustable font sizes
• Sealed-in battery provides up to two weeks of reading on a single battery charge
• $199 MSRP
• Protective neoprene sleeve and USB cable included
• Files supported: Adobe PDF (with reflow capability), Microsoft Word, BBeB, EPUB

Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600):

• Touch-screen panel (navigate with your finger or the included stylus)
• Comes in red, black, and silver
• Resolution: 800 x 600 pixels
• Gray Scale: 8-levels gray scale
• Take handwritten notes with the stylus pen or type with the virtual keyboard
• Notes can be exported and printed out
• Onboard Oxford American English Dictionary allows you to look up a word by tapping on it (Amazon's Kindle has always had a built-in dictionary, but this is new to Sony Readers)
• Five adjustable font sizes
• 440MB of usable internal memory stores about 350 standard eBooks
• Sealed-in battery provides up to two weeks of reading on a single battery charge
• Expansion slots for both Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD cards
• $299 MSRP
• Protective case (similar to the PRS-700's) and USB cable included
• Files supported: Adobe PDF (with reflow capability), Microsoft Word, BBeB, EPUB

New Sony Readers slide show

Sony has also updated its eBook Library software to version 3.0, and it's integrated into the device itself (similar to Flip Video camcorders) and includes support for both Windows PCs and "many" Macs. Owners of the PRS-505 and PRS-700 should take heart that in the near future Sony will provide a firmware upgrade to both those models that adds the new eBook Library software to your devices and makes them Mac compatible.

Because Sony has dumped more than 1 million free public domain books into its eBook store, it's no longer offering its 100 free classics bundle with the new devices. It's also worth mentioning that unlike the Kindle, Readers are compatible with the formats that local libraries are using for their digital collections.

If you wondering whether the touch screen on this model is any better than the PRS-700's, the answer according to Sony reps I spoke with, is yes. Apparently, the PRS-700's built-in sidelight added an extra "light" layer or gap that made the screen less responsive, hurt the contrast ratio (made the screen dimmer), and created some glare issues. Sony has eliminated that layer and the overall touch experience has allegedly improved and the letters on the screen are darker. Also, as a result of eliminating the sidelighting, the PRS-600 is slightly slimmer than the PRS-700 and two ounces lighter.

Sony says there will be no wireless option for these models; they are "tethered devices." But in speaking with reps, they did say that Sony was committed to bringing out a wireless device and while they didn't mention an exact time frame, it appeared to be soon, perhaps within weeks. So, if you're waiting for a wireless Reader, whatever form it takes (built-in Wi-Fi or cellular), you should probably hold out a bit longer.

Comments?

The PRS-300 has a 5-inch screen, while the larger PRS-700 is a 6-inch model.

(Credit: Sony)

A couple of days ago I posted an item on how I'd heard whispers of a new Sony digital reader potentially hitting the market in August. Well, now some images and details of two new Sony Readers, the PRS-300 and PRS-600, have made their way into the blogosphere, thanks to a poster in the Sony Insider boards who simply wrote: "I just found service manuals for 2 unannounced Sony Reader model-the PRS-300 & PRS-600."

The links to the "freshly minted" PDF files have been taken down but Sony Insider preserved the information before it disappeared. (You can find the full PDFs here). According to the documents, the PRS-300 has a 5-inch display with 440MB of internal storage and no expandable memory card slots, while PRS-600 has a 6-inch touch-screen display, audio capabilities, 440MB of internal memory, and an expansion slot for MS and SD memory cards. Both models will come in red, black, and silver.

There's no mention of Wi-Fi or built-in lighting in either manual, but it's still possible Sony could offer a wireless option. If I had to take a guess on pricing, I'd say the PRS-300 will go for $199, while the PRS-600 will go for $299. No word on when these will be officially announced, but next month is a good bet.

Comments? Via Engadget via Sony Insider

The Haier HLT71 7-Inch LCD TV is currently the bestselling TV on Amazon.

(Credit: Haier)

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It's no wonder, then, that the top two bestselling TVs on Amazon are portable TVs with digital tuners. The Haier HLT71 7-Inch Portable LCD TV sells for $105.99, while the Axion AXN-8701 7-Inch Widescreen Portable Handheld TV is $119.99. Coby's 8-inch TF-TV891 Widescreen LCD TV isn't as popular, partially because of its higher $159.98 price tag, but it still sits in the top 15.

So far we really haven't seen any digital portable TVs from tier-one manufacturers, which explains why all the top-selling portable TVs are from budget brands. We're still waiting for Sony's waterproof Bravia XDV-W600 to show up. (The 4-incher turned up in blogs late last year, but hasn't been heard from since.)

Anybody looking for a new portable TV? (Let's hope that all the old ones don't end up in landfills.) As always, feel free to comment.

The waterproof Sony XDV-W600 may be the future of portable TVs--but we're still waiting for it.

(Credit: Sony)

While it's now easy to get a desktop with a terabyte or more of storage, it's still pretty hard to find a laptop with even 300GB. That's why I am very impressed with the Portege R600-ST4203 laptop that Toshiba announced Thursday.

The Portege R600-ST4203 is one of world's first laptops with 512GB of storage and it's definitely the first with that much storage in the form of a solid-state drive (SSD). Until now, most SSDs for laptops have remained in the 32GB to 128GB capacity range.

A Protege R600 laptop from Toshiba.

(Credit: CNET)

The Portege R600-ST4203 is the newest model in Toshiba's Portege R600 ultraportable series. It weighs just 2.4 pounds and is only 0.77 inch thin, which is about as thin as the Macbook Air. It has a durable, shock-absorbing chassis, and a 12.1-inch wide-screen LED display. The laptop includes Windows Vista Business and is powered by Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo SU94005 processor.

The SSD used in the Portege R600-ST4203 is Toshiba's newest second-generation SSD, which features SATA standard and multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology. The MLC NAND technology helps increase the density of the SSD, thus allowing more storage space. However, this means it is not the fastest SSD you can find. High-speed SSDs normally use single-level cell NANDs, like the Intel X-25E Extreme does. Nonetheless, Toshiba's 512GB SSD will likely be faster than traditional 5400rpm hard drives found in most notebooks.

Toshiba expects the new machine to provide customers with an enhanced level of protection, portability, reliability, and fast data access. The company claims that the adoption of this 512GB solid-state technology enables the user to enjoy shorter boot times, faster application loading, and access times that are 300 percent faster than 128GB or smaller SSDs.

While those claims still need to be verified, one thing is for sure: the new laptop isn't cheap. It's going to be available for purchase early next month exclusively on Toshiba's Web site for an estimated $3,500.

Samsung Hue II photos

When we saw Alltel's original Samsung Hue, we thought it was a decent phone, but we had a few issues as well. Most of all, we didn't care for the flat and slippery navigation controls. They didn't ruin our experience completely, but they weren't ideal for rapid texting.

With the new Samsung Hue II, however, we found some much needed refinements. The keypad and controls remain flush, but they're separated into individual buttons, which gives them a better feel beneath the finger. We also liked the good call quality, vibrant display, and functional feature set that includes Bluetooth.

The exterior has been redesigned just a bit, but you get the changeable faceplates. On the downside, the exterior display is a tad small, even if it's no longer vertical. Also, while the phone has a nice feeling in the hand, the hinge was a tad loose.

But even with those caveats, the Hue II is a dependable midrange phone for Alltel and we appreciate its improvements from the original Hue. Check out our Samsung Hue II review for the full story and see our Samsung Hue II photos.

Grace GDI-IR1000

The Grace ITC-IR1000B Wi-Fi radio wound up being one of our favorite surprise products on the year. We weren't familiar with Grace before testing this radio, but its solid mix of design, features, and sound quality made us fans, and it stacked up well in our Wi-Fi radio roundup.

Photos: Five new Wi-Fi radios from Grace Digital Audio

The company has announced five new Wi-Fi radios coming out this winter, ranging from a second-generation version of the ITC-IR1000B to new products like the portable GDI-IRP600. Here's the full rundown:

The Portege R600 is a 12-inch ultraportable laptop that weighs 2.4 pounds and measures less than an inch thick.

(Credit: Toshiba)

Toshiba released the Portege R600 today, an amazingly thin and hopefully more durable version of the R500 ultraportable. We liked the R500 the two times we reviewed it, but we had the system for only a few weeks at a stretch. If you look at the user comments on our reviews, you'll soon notice a trend of readers questioning the R500's build quality and complaining about its flimsy chassis. The Portege R600 looks very similar to the R500, weighing 2.4 pounds (with integrated DVD burner), and measuring 0.77 inch thick along its front edge. Toshiba states the R600 will arrive in a durable chassis; we can't wait to get our hands on one to put it to the test.

The Portege R600 uses the Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage SU9300 or SU9400 CPU on the Intel GS45 chipset, up to 5GB of RAM, and either a 160GB (spinning) hard drive or a 128GB SSD. Toshiba promises 8 hours of running time from the system's six-cell battery. Other features on the R600 include an LED-backlit transreflective display with a 1280x800, Toshiba's USB Sleep-and-Charge technology, and an eSATA port. Also on board is Toshiba's EasyGuard package, which monitors system components and includes hard drive protection, a spill-resistant keyboard, a fingerprint reader, and a Trusted Platform Module. Pricing starts at $2,099. Toshiba's U.S. site has yet to be updated to include the R600, but our neighbors to the north have the goods.

Also announced today is the Portege A600, which is a 12.1-inch ultraportable that adds a little heft but trims the price of the R600. The A600 weighs 3.2 pounds, measures 1.2 inches thick, and starts at $1,399. You also lose out on the R600's solid-state hard drive option and three-year warranty; the A600 is backed by one year of coverage.

Lastly, Toshiba released the Portege M750, an update to the M700 that moves Toshiba's convertible tablet to the Centrino 2 platform. It features a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display, an integrated optical drive, and a $1,699 starting price.