Santa Rosa
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May 09, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Intel Corp. launched the "Santa Rosa" upgrade of its Centrino laptop platform today, with the new technology slated to run on hardware from Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd., Gateway Inc. and others.
Intel has seen strong sales for its original Centrino platform, and a market success with the improved version could help it continue its comeback against chip-making rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Already, Intel said it has tallied 230 platforms from various PC vendors that will be designed around the new Centrino.
The new version adds longer battery life and faster computing to the technology bundle of a processor, chip set and wireless card. Intel will keep the name Centrino Duo for the consumer version, although changes include a faster Core 2 Duo processor, support for the draft version of 802.11n wireless networking and a Turbo Memory feature that supplements the standard hard drive with NAND flash for faster booting.
"Probably the thing most people will notice is the graphics controller, for better video capability," said Mike Trainor, Intel's chief mobile technology evangelist. That will earn the new platform high marks from video gamers and DVD watchers, since improved color control will make the monitor show images nearly as vivid as a TV set, he said.
read on... -
install vista and that's it..bk to square one...
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Support for 802.11n draft version... if N is not going to be verified... hor say liao lor... and it's been like drafting for how many years liao?!
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i think this is shd be able to support vista nicely.....Originally posted by kaobeikaobu:install vista and that's it..bk to square one... -
Next 'MacBook' update a yawner; Ultra-portable to get 13-inch display
A forthcoming update to Apple Inc.'s 13-inch line of consumer MacBooks won't deliver much in terms of new features, AppleInsider has learned. Meanwhile, the dimensions of the company's ultra portable sub-notebook initiative are taking shape.
MacBook update
People familiar with the Mac maker's portable plans tell AppleInsider the Cupertino-based firm is looking to absorb a bit more from its initial 13-inch MacBook design.
Unlike an upcoming revision to its professional 15-inch MacBook Pros, the next version of Apple's consumer MacBooks is unlikely to benefit from architectural enhancements recently presented as part of Intel Corp.'s "Santa Rosa" notebook platform.
Similarly, the 13-inch notebooks won't reap the benefits of an LED-backlit display until a successive revision later in the year.
As it stands, the MacBook remains the most rigorously-redesigned Mac system to break free from Apple's industrial design labs in recent years -- an accolade it will soon surrender to a pair of radically restructured 20- and 24-inch iMacs.
MacBook Pro update
For the time being, Apple will reportedly focus on boosting the grade of its professional MacBook Pro line which, unlike the MacBook, is expected to draw an enhanced set of features from Santa Rosa.
These should include faster front-side bus speeds of 800MHz, and second-generation Core 2 Duo mobile processors that scale up to 2.4GHz.
As reported by AppleInsider, a new 15-inch MacBook Pro model will also signify the first Mac to trade in its cathode fluorescent-backlit display for one that uses LED backlighting.
MacBook ultra-portable
At the same time, Apple continues to pound away on an ultra-thin portable designed to capture a slice of the growing sub-notebook market and boost sales in Japan.
In what's sure to be a warmly received move, people familiar with initiative tell AppleInsider that the Mac maker plans to go easy on our eyesight and is building the model around stunning, ultra-thin, 13-inch LED backlit display.
That's right -- it appears those recent Apple orders for 13-inch LED backlit panels are destined for the firm's ultra-portable initiative and not its impending 13-inch MacBook update.
Combining this latest tidbit with information presented in previous AppleInsider reports, here's a summary of what we know and don't know about the next-gen Apple sub-notebook:
What we know:
13-inch ultra-thin, LED-back lit displayNo optical disc driveOn-board NAND flash for faster application launching and boot timesBuilt-in iSight webcamThinner and lighter than existing MacBook offeringsAirPort Extreme 802.11n enabledMagSafe power adapterTarget launch late '07, early '08
What we don't know:
Precise Intel architecture (but appears to be Santa Rosa-based)Target price pointRAM and HDD storage capacity and expandabilityI/O port breakdownOperating system software (appears to be Leopard)Expected battery lifeEnclosure makeup
Additional reading (backstories):
Next-gen MacBook Pro to shine brighter
Apple to re-enter the sub-notebook market
Apple's next-generation iMacs to add a touch of grace
Resetting the timeline for Apple's ultra-portable initiative
Steve Jobs confirms first Macs with LED backlighting due this year
Apple delays Leopard release until October
Apple moves to certify LED-backlit panels for 13-inch MacBooks
Intel rolls out Santa Rosa notebook platform -
i dun mind the 13"
good enuf for me
i want slim and light can liao -
IBM also jumps on the bandwagon with T61 and R61!
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hands-on/lenovo-t61-thinkpads-magnesium-rollcage--wolverines-bones-258878.php
"It has come to my attention that the T and the R series Thinkpads, which were leaked by specs last month, have gnarly magnesium roll cages that remind me of Wolverine's reinforced adamantium skeleton. I've always been a Thinkpad fanboy. And while most of the other PC makers are handling this Santa Rosa launch with minor upgrades, I'm so glad to see the Lenovo Thinkpads are still evolving with robust engineering. These are the fastest, toughest, quietest Thinkpads ever."
There's a 3D, honeycomb sub frame below the surface, which makes the lid not only stronger, but roughly 50% more durable against uneven impacts (like a baseball hitting the back of the LCD in one point). The antenna for WiFi and WWAN is placed inside the plastic, but outside the lid cage, so reception is 2x that of the previous generation. Flexing the laptop hard resulted in minimal flex, and only a bit of protest from the optical bay. I'm tempted to make comparisons to toughbooks and other rugged notes, but I'm unqualified to do so.
Oh, I'm also happy to report that the IBM moniker, while not on the wrist rest, isn't gone as reported. The logo, which is available for Lenovo's use for five years from the purchase, is still on the lid.
The Thinkpads also have better thermal management, thanks to extremely tweakable software that shows you how much additional juice you get from turning components off, as well as better cooling hardware, along with that rollcage doing a great job of dissipating heat. And they've even gone and made the bottom a little bit more Mac-ish than the fugly old bottoms. It still has the drive head parking, which it pioneered before the Macs, and a fingerprint reader which is my preferred method of signing into Vista these days.
And they've got some 1GB of memory hanging off one of the express card controller (you'll have to sacrifice something) to be used as a disk cache. This is their alternative to using hybrid drives. They found it to be much faster than the very limited 256MB on a drive, and now you can swap in big old perpendicular drives without losing your big cache. It's called Intel Turbo Memory, and they find that it can bring a 5400RPM drive to faster then a 7200RPM drive in some cases." -
i wanted vaio
then bo lui, change to thinkpad
now kena converted to mac
but i still think abt thinkpad! -
New range of MacBook to be out at 8pm tonight.