Gizmo Zone

ModBook upgrade will due to ship in May

Axiotron today announced that it has doubled pen pressure sensitivity on its ModBook Mac tablet line to 512 levels, but pushed back the shipment date to May of this year. The updated pen offers users of applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel painter improved sensitivity and control of pen strokes. Axiotron is offering the free upgrade to new customers and is retroactively applying the change to all ModBook orders placed since its introduction, which accounts for moving first customer shipments to May of 2007.

Axiotron’s ModBook features Wacom Penabled hardware, the same technology used in Wacom pen tablets and interactive pen displays. The ModBook’s Digitizer Pen boasts 133 position updates per second and supports 20x display resolution. The Axiotron ModBook enables users to draw and write directly on the screen, and the handwriting recognition built into Mac OS X Tiger turns hand scribbles into text in every application while providing extended control of the system through gesture recognition. The ModBook is priced at $2,780, and will now ship in May of 2007.

HP Maybach ns42 - the Luxury Ultra-Portable Notebook

Hewlett Packard is to releasing its HP Maybach ns42 luxury ultra-portable laptop, created in collaboration with Maybach car maker’s designers according to  Tech2.ru.

“The frame is decorated with genuine leather and classic Maybach labels. Sensory buttons with amber-colored highlight are disposed under the touchpad. Configuration is not certain, but the new model is supplied with Intel Core 2 Duo processor, built in 64GB solid-state drive and video adapter (presumably GeForce Go 7 or 8 series),” according to Tech2.ru, which has also provided the pictures of the HP Maybach ns42.

It is also reported that the luxury sub-notebook weighs three pounds. There is no information on notebook’s screen size, but the pictures show it has the standard 4:3 screen, contrary to majority of modern widescreen laptops. The full HP Maybach package contains special case for transportation, Bluetooth mouse and additional battery.

“The price is unannounced yet, but to all appearance it will work out at not less than $4000,” the report says.

Source: Tech2.ru

Belkin Flip: flip your monitor from laptop to desktop

If you’re working on a laptop but would like to use your desktop monitor, you’ll flip over this product. As Belkin’s ad line reads: “Two computers. One monitor. No problem.”

It’s simple. Just place the remote anywhere on your desk and press to flip your monitor from one computer to another. You can also connect your old and new desktop computer, giving you instant access to files, programs, and games on both computers. Besides letting you share one monitor, keyboard, and mouse between computers, it also enables you to share one set of speakers, handy when the good ones are connected to the desktop.

Supports both PC and Mac notebook and desktop computers; features a 2-color LED that indicates which computer your Flip is accessing; comes with 2 cables to connect computers and is also available with a wireless remote. Priced from $49.00 to $79.00.

Acer Aspire 9810-6994 with huge widescreen display

The Aspire 9810 is designed to enhance your digital lifestyle. Its superb feature set includes an extra-large 20.1″ WSXGA+ wide-screen display, a powerful Intel Core Duo Processor, integrated webcam, superb NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics and Bluetooth technology.

More features of the Acer Aspire 9810-6994 :

* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz, Centrino Duo Technology
* Screen Size: 20.1″ CrystalBrite WSXGA+ TFT LCD (1680 x 1050)
* Memory: 2 GB (1 GB x 2) / 4 GB (max)
* Hard Drive: 240 GB (120 MB x 2)
* Optical Drive: DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / HD DVD-ROM
* Integrated Features: Stereo speakers, subwoofer , wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna, TV Tuner, Webcam

* Networking: Ethernet 10/100/1000, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth
* Graphics Controller: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600
* Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, (Windows Vista Capable)
* Battery Life: 1.5 hours
* Weight: 17.2 lbs
* Warranty: One Year Limited

HP Compaq 6515b business laptop

The HP Compaq 6515b delivers a highly portable business tool that helps keep you connected and productive so your office can now go where you go.With the low-profile 14.1-inch widescreen display you get 30% more viewing content than the standard 14.1-inch XGA display.

The HP Compaq 6515b delivers a highly portable business tool that helps keep you connected and productive so your office can now go where you go.With the low-profile 14.1-inch widescreen display you get 30% more viewing content than the standard 14.1-inch XGA display.

HP 510 Budget Laptop

HP has launched a new laptop HP 510 for budget minded consumers. The 15.4-inch notebook comes with 1.40GHz Intel Celeron M processor 2.13GHz Pentium M, 512MB RAM (upgradeable to 1GB), 60GB hard drive, DVD combo, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900, 802.11 b/g wireless and installed with Windows XP pro.

The HP 510 weighs about 2.7kg, and is now available for $565.

Asus T83 UMPC with QWERTY Keyboard

Asustek introduces a new ultra-mobile PC, the Asus  T83 UMPC, which features 7-inch widescreen, a 1GHz Via C7-M processor, up to 2GB of main memory, and an upgradeable 30GB HDD.

The T83 has a QWERTY keyboard and six hours of battery lifea and also features GPS module, Bluetooth, wireless and a digital camera.

The Asustek’s T83 UMPC will be available starting in Q3 2007 for between $899 and $999, and will feature Windows XP and Linux operating system options.

Motorola Announced ML910 and MW810 Laptops

Motorola, has announced the new ML910 Rugged Laptop and MW810 Mobile Workstation, fully-rugged, wireless-enabled mobile computers that give government, public safety and enterprise mobile workers quick and secure access  to vital information.

Built and tested to the MIL-STD-810F United States Department of Defense standard, the ML910 Rugged Laptop offers an Intel Core Duo 1.66Ghz processor and also features an ATI Radeon X1400 discrete graphics controller from AMD, with 128MB dedicated video memory and a video capture card that enables high performance graphics and real-time video processing.

The laptop includes as a standard feature a hard drive heater for startup and operation in freezing temperatures and also has diagnostic software that monitors internal conditions and prevents outages due to extreme heat and cold.

The ML910 Rugged Laptop has been designed to excel in wireless performance and is capable of integrating up to four radios including Wireless Local Area Network (LAN), Bluetooth wireless technology, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Wide Area Network (WAN) radios. In addition, Motorola offers software to provide seamless and secure intelligent roaming across multiple wireless networks.

The MW810 Mobile Workstation supports multiple internal radios for seamless multi-network roaming, providing reliable connectivity—even at highway speeds. The MW810 Mobile Workstation internal GPS and Dead Reckoning GPS module options ensure reliable and accurate vehicle location verification.

The MW810 Mobile Workstation offers installation and lifecycle management advantages over other products through its versatile three-piece design with separate display, Central Processing Unit (CPU) and keyboard. A choice of configurations allows customers to outfit their vehicle types with the same CPU platform, customized to their own needs and specifications.

The Motorola ML910 Rugged Laptop and MW810 Mobile Workstation will be available for demonstration at Booth # 2119 and 2200, March 20-22 during FOSE 2007 at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Motorola will also showcase its broader portfolio of data solutions, devices, and the Mobile Wireless broadband vehicle that features a comprehensive suite of incident command and law enforcement technologies.

HP Pavilion dv6255 , an entertainment laptop PC

HP has announced the new DV6255 ideal for movies, photos, music, and video chats. HP DV6255 it’s a 15.4 -inch widescreen laptop and is available with Windows Vista Home Premium system operation.

This entertainment laptop PC ships with AMD Turion Dual-core processor (at 1.8GHz), 2 GB of DDR2 SDRAM, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics card, a 160GB SATA HDD (at 5400RPM) and a multi-format LightScribe DVD burner.

Other features include a built-in webcam with integrated microphone, 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity, 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Por, or xD Pictures cards.

The DV6255 is now available for about $1,200.

Any laptop can be a tablet PC

For a mere $130 you can just attach this to your LCD monitor and plug it into an available USB port and you’re ready to go. Although we don’t have much further information, it would seem logical that you could also hook this up to a standard LCD screen for your desktop PC.

I think this is a great idea, however, I think it might be somewhat difficult to use. Granted, the setup might be simple, but one of the great things about tablet PC’s is that the monitor can turn around and lay on top of the keyboard. Despite that one minor drawback, I think this would be an awesome product.