Concept Mac "triBook": fold out wings for extra screen space

tribook-mac-concept.jpg

Portable computers are great but they’re not known for their screen real estate. The concept “triBook” based on an Apple notebook computer is a pretty impressive idea which solves that.

As the photo shows, it features a fairly standard notebook but with two additional side screens that fold out and can be angled to provide additional working/gaming space on each side of the main display. Together, they offer a total 21-inch diagonal widescreen…

Pano selling what appears to be an empty box – the Pano Zero Client cloud computer

It’s not often we can feature a photograph of a computer at very nearly life size here on the main page, but the Pano Zero Client has helped fulfil that minor ambition.

It’s a tiny little computer designed entirely around streaming “cloud” apps via the internet or from an internal network, hence its small size – there’s nothing in it apart from the bits the Ethernet, VGA and USB ports plug into. It only uses 5 Watts, so it’ll be fine to leave it on doing whatever it is that it does all night.

pano-zero-client-ultra-ultra-ultra-small-pc.jpg

According to Pano, the Zero Client has “no CPU, no memory, no operating system…

Medion launches Akoya P8610 18" media centre notebook

medion-akoya-p8610.jpg

Medion, the mid-range laptop producer who sell great machines at surprisingly low prices, yesterday announced the Akoya P8610 at Dolby’s sound laboratories in deepest darkest Soho. It’s a whopping 18.4″ beast of a machine, with Blu-ray drive, and some awesome Dolby sound-enhancing technology. Let’s take a look in more detail.

The aforementioned 18.4″ screen runs at 1,680 x 945 resolution, which the astute among you will recognise as 16:9 aspect ratio. The Dolby audio system will happily output in 5.1 surround, or alternatively you can use the surround virtualisation filter on a stereo signal to make it sound like it’s a surround source, either on a speaker system or on headphones.

Axiotron updates its ModBook Mac tablet

axiotron-modbook.jpg

Remember the ModBook “Mac Tablet” we showed off at Macworld a couple of years ago? Well, since Apple hasn’t decided to release its own tablet computer yet, Axiotron has updated its own offering.

The new ModBook is based on a MacBook and features a range of enhancements including full Bluetooth connectivity, lightweight, scratch-resistant exterior, an upgraded drawing surface and AnyView LCD/ForceGlass screen cover which has a better contrast ratio than the first model, plus a firmer drawing surface…

Shiny Video Review: Advent 4213 Netbook

Zara got her hands on the Advent 4213 netbook the other day, and she liked it a lot. For me though, it seems to be trying to be a full-size laptop, rather than a diminutive netbook. It’s got a 10.2″ screen, a massive hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and it runs Windows XP – three things which I avoided when buying my Aspire One netbook a couple of months ago.

Still, if you’re not the sort of person who wants the full-on Linux-and-SSD netbook experience, then perhaps it’s for you. Check out the video above to see.

Advent UK

Related posts: PC World launches low-energy Advent Eco PC with decent specs | Advent Netbook 4211: PC World launch home brand MSI Wind

Asus launches quad-core gaming laptop – claims 'fastest in the UK'

asus-g71-quad-core-gaming-laptop.jpg

Asus has just announced the UK’s first quad-core gaming laptop, claiming it’s the fastest gaming laptop that money can buy. It’s got an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 processor running at 2.53GHz, 4GB of RAM, a Geforce 9700M graphics card, and a pair of 250GB hard drives in RAID-0.

The beast packs a 17″ screen, with 1920×1200 resolution, and a smaller ‘VFD’ display too, which can show email notifications and framerates while in-game. It’s got a 2 megapixel webcam, 802.11n wireless, HDMI and eSATA ports, 2.1 speakers and a subwoofer, and ‘programmable chassis lighting’…

Intel on Netbooks: "it's fine for an hour. It's not something you're going to use day in and day out."

A few weeks back, AMD slammed the netbook, with CEO Dirk Meyer saying “We’re ignoring the Netbook phenomenon–just thinking about PC form factors above that form factor.” Well, Intel has joined them in decrying netbooks as a fad. Sales and Marketing VP, Stu Pann, said:

“We view the Netbook as mostly incremental to our total available market. If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out.”

He’s right, but missing the broader picture. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t use a laptop day in and day out. They have a Desktop PC at work, a Desktop PC at home, and they want something to fill in the gaps in between – when travelling, for example. Netbooks are small, light, and cheap – a perfect fit for this niche.

Netbooks probably don’t deserve the level of rabid attention they currently get, but they’re not that bad. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater…

Intel’s comments (via Cnet)

Related posts: Lenovo promises two new netbooks – S9e and S10e | More netbook competition on its way as Ubuntu embraces ARM processors

Lenovo promises two new netbooks – S9e and S10e

lenovo-s10e.jpg

The hail of netbooks continues as Lenovo updates its S10 Ideapad netbook with ‘Splashtop’ capabilities. This is a rather nifty little facility that makes the netbook very nearly ‘instant-on’. This means that basic email, IM and internet tasks can be accomplished within seconds of pressing the power button, though to do more complex stuff you need to boot into Windows.

Similarly, the S9e is an update of the S9, and adds the same ‘Splashtop’ functionality to the existing model. Both updates feature identical specs to their originals, but have the new instant-on Linux OS which dual-boots with Windows. The S10e will cost 299 pounds, but I can’t seem to find anywhere how much the S9e will cost. If you know, then drop us a line in the comments.

Lenovo (via PC Advisor)

Related posts: Keep your porn more hidden than ever with Lenovo’s 128-bit encrypted ThinkPad USB Portable Secure HD | Lenovo IdeaPad U8: Mobile Internet Device

SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Asus Bamboo U6V

I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try out Asus’s new recycled, recyclable laptop over the last few days. I was expecting considerably less of it than it delivered, but in reality it’s a solid workhorse laptop, with decent specs and good build quality. If you’ve got the cash, then I recommend it, though it is a little on the expensive side.

Asus Bamboo

Related posts: SHINY VIDEO PREVIEW: Asus Bamboo Notebook | Asus “Bamboo” EcoBook laptop now just slightly laminated on the inside