Whilst I’m not too convinced about the moniker Joybook, a laptop in leather certainly looks the part. BenQ’s latest Joybook, the R45 whilst sporting leather binding also boasts a nice list of specs too

Specs

* Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T8100
* Windows Vista Home Basic/Home Premium/Business
* nVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M G graphics
* DDR2-667 512MB memory (up to 4GB)
* 120 GB HDD (up to 250 GB)
* 8x DVD Burner
* 14.1 inch 1280 x 800 res WXGA display
* 4 x USB 2.0 ports
* RJ-45 ethernet port
* HDMI output port
* Built-in 2 MP web cam
* 6 cell lithium-ion battery giving 53 Whrs for an approx 2.5 hrs duration
* 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* 340 x 246 x 33.4 mm

Unfortunately the key spec, the price tag, is conspicuous by its absence so we will reserve judgment until we find that out. Not only that but this sucker is likely to be unavailable in the US whilst most of Asia and Russia will be able to enjoy it’s leather bound qualities in April this year. Despite these limitations the BenQ R45 certainly has all the bells and whistles and of course that luxuriant leather covering!

Source: Benq JoyBook R45

Featured Tags benq, joybook, laptop, r45


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Looks like HP have jumped on the mini laptop bandwagon with the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC aimed fairly and squarely at students

“HP listened to our needs and now is delivering a product designed by education for education,” said Chris Sieger, director of information technology for Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia. “Teachers and technology are the two most important assets in education. HP’s announcement demonstrates that it understands what schools need from industry.”

So would your average non-student be interested in their latest offering? Check out the specs on the educationally minded 2133

* sturdy and lightweight aluminium casing
* full-sized qwerty keyboard
* 8.9 inch 1280 x 768 res display
* 1.18 kg
* 1.0 GHz cpu
* 4 GB of flash
* 512 MB of RAM

All that will set you back US$500, whilst an extra US$250 will get you a 1.6 GHz processor, 120 GB HDD and Vista Business. We checked out a few reviews and all seemed generally favourable with jkontherun and notebooks.com giving it a thumbs up and notebookreview.com whilst being positive were not exactly gushing either. So HP could have a hit on their hands with the 2133 Mini-Note laptop.

Featured Tags 2133-Mini-Note, hp, laptop


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Yeah, we don’t know who Van der Led are either – they seem to be into outdoor led (!!!) lights more than gadget hardware, but they’ve just announced that their Jisus laptop will be out in Europe in May for 300 Euros (US$470). Here’s the low down on the little unit

* 8.9 inch LCD screen with LED backlight of course
* 1 GHz 64 bit Loongson processor
* 512 MB DDR2 memory
* 4 GB Nand flash memory
* 802.11b/g connectivity
* two USB 2.0 ports
* 10/100 Mbps RJ45 port
* battery life of 4.5 hours
* Unbuntu OS

I must admit I was intrigued by the Loongson processor so I dug a bit deeper and unearthed this on Wikipedia. Literally translated Loongson means ‘Dragon Core’ which sounds like a pretty cool name for a processor, however this statement concerned me

The primary purpose of the chip is to run localized Chinese versions of Linux, with emphasis on Chinese character support.

Hopefully they’ve extended this to other languages otherwise there may be only be a very small demand upon its launch in Europe!

Source: Engadget

Featured Tags jisus, laptop, loongson, van-der-led


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It wasn’t long ago that we were drooling over Rock’s Xtreme XL8 gaming notebook, and now they’ve produced a notebook at the other end of the scale certainly in terms of size, the Pegasus 210. The 210 is a nifty ultra portable notebook that boasts a six hour battery, weighs in at 1.2 kg and has a magnesium alloy chassis just in case you drop the sucker. Here are a few other bits and pieces to make you go oooh and aaah.

* Intel A110 Processor 800MHz
* 12 inch 1280 x 800 res display
* 1GB DDR2 memory
* 80GB HDD spinning at 4200rpm
* 3.6Mbps 3G/GPRS Integrated modem*
* Wireless LAN 802.11 a/g/n
* Bluetooth connectivity
* Windows XP Professional or Vista Business Edition

Firmly aimed at the business person on the move, the Pegasus 210 sports the kind of specs that really do underwhelm, however it’s the portability that counts on this baby and on that point it scores highly. All that for just a snip under 1000 pounds sterling (US$1850) too.

Source: Rock

Featured Tags laptop, pegasus-210, rock, ultraportable


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Verizon have just launched the XV6900 just in time for CTIA Wireless 2008 and will be available from their stores and website in April. The XV6900 is the HTC Touch rebranded for Verizon and whilst sporting a new white face contains the usual bells and whistles available on the Touch as follows

* Windows Mobile 6 Pro, Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile
* AIM, MSN and Yahoo messenger services
* One touch access as per the HTC Touchflo
* Speakerphone
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* microSD slot for up to an extra 8 GB
* 2MP camera for stills and video
* 2.8 inch touch screen

This little sucker will set you back US$350 with a $50 rebate plus the usual two year plan. If you’re still keen check out the video review we dug up a while ago of the HTC Touch.

Featured Tags htc, htc-touch, verizon, xv6900


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