Hi-tech Frontier

eMachines offers up stylish, underpowered EZ1601-01 all-in-one PC Remember that EZ1600 we peeked back in April? Seems its long lost cousin just got official courtesy of eMachines, as the EZ1601-01 all-in-one retains that same PC-in-a-monitor feel yet sports a clearly different model name. Or, you know, maybe eMachines just changed the label up on us. At any rate, the newest member of the EZ Series features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 945GSE chipset, 1GB of DDR2 memory, completely uninspiring GMA 950 integrated graphics, a 160GB SATA hard drive, 8x SuperMulti DVD burner, WiFi, five USB 2.0 sockets, built-in speakers, a bundled keyboard and mouse, multicard reader and a 18.5-inch LCD. Thankfully, the underpowered machine offers up Windows XP in order to keep resource demands in check, but the $399.99 price tag may be a bit much given the N270's age.

Rock delivers BD / Core i7-equipped Xtreme 790 and Xtreme 840 gaming laptops Can you believe it? It's been practically a year to the day since we've seen any new fragging machines from the lads over at Rock, but thankfully things are still moving after being rescued by a rolling Stone. The latest duo to take Europe by storm involves the Xtreme 790 and Xtreme 840, both of which can be outfitted with NVIDIA's 1GB GeForce GTX 280M (or two of 'em, if you're feeling froggy), Blu-ray drives, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, WiFi, four USB 2.0 sockets, an HDMI port, Windows Vista (with a gratis upgrade to Win7 this October), a 7-in-1 card reader, 3TB of HDD space and a 3-year on-site warranty. Heck, you can even toss a Core i7 in there if you think your legs are calloused enough to handle it. Both machines can be ordered up right now, with the 790 range starting at £1,999 ($3,258) and the less extravagant 840 line picking up at £1,699 ($2,769).

Lenovo IdeaPad S12 not-a-netbook sized up The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 just started shipping last week, and it looks like units have begun to arrive -- the folks at GottaBeMobile just posted up some quick impressions of their review unit. Sadly, it's sporting Intel GMA 950 graphics instead of the NVIDIA Ion chipset that's available for $50 extra, so it runs pretty much like every other 1.6GHz Atom machine with 1GB of RAM in the world. Hopefully those Ion units will arrive soon -- in the meantime, hit the read link to see how the S12 stacks up against the S10. (Hint: it's way bigger.)

Bandai RilakKuma netbook suffers from serious supercuteitis The RilakKuma is what's known in the business as a money-printing device. It might have the same spec -- Atom N270, 1GB memory and 160GB storage -- as every netbook since the time of Moses, but its killer feature is a set of eyes and whiskers painted on the lid. Having once already cashed in on popular children's characters, Bandai is clearly not shy about exploiting its intellectual assets in peddling outdated 8.9-inch 1024x600 displays to the undemanding youth. Only 500 units will be produced, making this a pretty exclusive item and the price is unsurprisingly steep: ¥79,800 ($862). Integrated WiFi and a 1Seg tuner go some way toward rationalizing the cost, but let's be frank, rationality doesn't play a huge role in a purchase like this.

GB Freepad X1200 12.1-inch Netbook Chinese company GuoBang (GB) introduces the Freepad X1200, a 12.1-inch netbook powered by Atom. The Macbook Air-like X1200 measures 30mm x 21mm x 24mm, not really impressive compare to MacBook Air. It weighs just 1.35kg with battery. If you want a MacBook Air lookalike with better processor, consider MSI’s X-Slim series.

Asus Eee PC T91 Netbook hits US, $499 While Asus is planning the new T101H tablet, the company’s Eee PC T91 tablet netbook finally lands the US market. The 8.9-inch touchscreen netbook (T91SA-VU1X-BK) is now available from for US$499. The US model is powered by an Intel Atom Z520, 1GB RAM and a 16GB hard drive. It has a 8.9-inch 1024×600 LED-backlit touchscreen. There are WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and a 0.3 Meagpixel webcam. You can now buy the Asus Eee PC T91 tablet from BigDig.com for $499.

MSI EX460 14-inch Notebook MSI announced the EX460 14-inch notebook PC that comes equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics card with 512MB video memory. Boosted by Intel’s Core2 Duo processor and SIS chipset, the EX460 has up to 4GB RAM, up to 500GB hard drive and a DVD SuperMulti burner. The EX460 comes with a 14-inch 1366×768 LED-backlight LCD display. It can handle WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth connection. A 1.3 Megapixel webcam, a 4-in-1 card reader, and two speakers are also included.

LG X13 netbook spotted in FCC photo shoot Sure, its phone lineup has more or less gone the way of the KIRF, but LG's other endeavors are decidedly more interesting, and this new X13 netbook (more than likely the X130 when it launches) that's popped up in the FCC is no exception. Compared with the X120, the body here appears to have a slightly wider form factor and the front doesn't curve quite as dramatically. All the FCC is testing for is Bluetooth and WiFI -- sorry 3G hopefuls -- but specs-wise, we'd venture a guess and say it's sporting a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM... you know, the same specs found in virtually every other netbook in existence. Hey, maybe we'll get proven wrong, but with no clue on when LG's going official with this one, we might be waiting quite some time for verification.

MacBook Pros with 7200RPM HDDs getting a touch too noisy? MacBook Pro hard disk storage really seem to be down on its luck this generation. First was the 3Gbps SATA transfers (now fixed), which honestly didn't affected but a marginal percentage of users upgrading to SSD themselves. Now comes word from a number of irate users on the Apple support forums that claim their HDDs, specifically those spec'd at 7200RPM, are suffering from performance issues and some audible clicking / beeping sounds. The folks at Other World Computing chimed in to say that it might have something to do with the Seagate Momentus 7200.4 G-Force drives, which takes anti-shock precautions that are possibly causing both noise and extra strain. If you're not hearing anything now, we wouldn't suggest you start getting hyper paranoid over the issue -- it's the internet, where things often get blown way out of proportion, in case you haven't noticed. If you're still worried / curious, hit up...

HP dv6Z – Artist Edition 2 Notebook – $ 680 Here’s a chance to save over $300 on the newer HP dv6z Artist Edition 2 laptop. Powered by a Turion X2 RM-75 2.2 GHZ processor, it includes 2 GB or DDR2; 250 GB of hard disk storage (free upgrade to 500 GB); HDMI; 4 USB 2.0 ports; 6-cell battery; Wirless-G; Webcam and Windows Vista Home Premium. There’s more that you can add onto this rig – and why not because our GearSponsor LogicBuy has a 15% off coupon that’s stackable on top of any deals offered at the HP site.

Packard Bell debuts updated ixtreme desktop PC Packard Bell already rolled out its updated line of imedia desktop PCs earlier this month, and it's now done the same with its higher-end "ixtreme" desktop, which gets some upgraded specs and a sleek new look. While that exterior is certainly a step up for Packard Bell, it's not quite as eye-catching as the specs, which include your choice of Core i7, Core 2 Quad, or AMD Phenom II X4 processors, up to 12GB of DDR3 memory, a max 3TB of storage space, your choice of a few NVIDIA graphics options (including the 1GB GeForce GTS 250), an optional Blu-ray combo drive, and ten USB ports for anything that won't fit inside. No word on a release 'round here, of course, but folks in the UK will be able to pick this one up this month with a starting price of £599 (or just under $1,000).

Acer Aspire One (Refurb) – $259.99 I have one of these Acer Aspire One Netbooks and it’s very handy for letting my kids log onto their favorite Club Penguin or Disney online sites without having them all over my MacBook Pro. In the interest of fair disclosure my Acer broke down once (keyboard completely stopped working) and was replaced by Amazon. Since then it’s been smooth sailing. Consensus seems to be that you rip out the Windows 98 Home that comes pre-installed and put in Windows 7. Technical specifications – 1 Acer Aspire One D150 Intel Atom 1.6Ghz 1GB 160GB 6 Cell Battery WebCam 10.1” XP Netbook – any color you like so long as it’s black, blue or red. This is a one day deal so if you’re interested order today (July 9).

Dell launches Design Studio for Inspiron 15, new FastTrack delivery service Hey, you in the market for a cheap laptop with some crazy custom artwork glued to the lid? Dell's got you covered -- the Inspiron 15 has just been brought into the Design Studio fold, meaning you'll be able to select graphics from a wide variety of artists when you spec out your system. Most artwork seems to be priced around $60, but we're told that could vary -- considering the base Inspy 15 is just $499, we're assuming / hoping the ceiling won't be much higher. Dell's also launching a new FastTrack next-day delivery service for pre-configured machines -- the company claims it's constantly tracking orders and will be able to keep the most popular models on hand. Of course, that's sort of the opposite of the whole "totally custom laptop" thing Dell's pushing with Design Studio, but hey, sometimes you need a bog-standard PC, and you need it now.

Getac 9213 "business rugged" laptop tones down the toughness, the ugly Looking for something a little tougher than your average notebook yet a little less fugly than your typical Toughbook? Getac's 9213 is a "business rugged" device that sports a full magnesium alloy chassis, a spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad, and a 13.3-inch WXGA display. With a 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn-class ULV processor, 3GB of RAM, a shock-mounted HDD (up to 250GB), and a battery life of up to eight hours, this guy shouldn't be slouch as far as performance goes -- and if that weren't enough you can swap out the optical drive for a second battery (extending its life another fifty percent or so). As you'd imagine, the connectivity options here include draft-n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and an optional 3.75G HSUPA module. Man, we can't wait to put this bad boy through one of our sadistic torture tests! Available now with an MSRP of $1,799.

Sony's VAIO P 'mark 2' hopefully learns from past mistakes While we had high hopes for Sony's sleek and beautifully crafted VAIO P back in the day, it's become a major point of frustration and thus, ridicule, ever since we first powered it up. This $900ish ultra-portable is the very symbol of what tends to go wrong at Sony: beautiful hardware is crippled by software leaving consumers wondering why they paid a premium for such an undistinguished user experience. Now Techradar is reporting that Sony has a VAIO P "mark 2" ready to launch in October or November -- we suspect right after Windows 7 launches. The only real detail provided is that the "mark 2" will feature a "much-improved boot-up time." Whether that's the result of inherently fast-booting Windows 7 alone or via some third party Instant-on technology like Corel, well, Sony isn't saying.

F88 netbook stands out with HD playback, VIA Nano What do we have here then? An OEM netbook, looking remarkably like a recent ASUS iteration, has come to our attention with some bold claims in tow. Spec'd with a 1.6GHz VIA Nano processor and S3 Chrome 9 graphics, this promises to be one of the most potent netbooks yet and backs up that claim with up to 4GB of memory and 500GB of storage. The major attraction of all this extra juice is full 1080p video playback, which is somewhat confounded by the 1024 x 600 resolution and 10.1-inch screen, but can be pumped out to an external display via HDMI. Expect this to be rebadged and hitting store shelves some time soonish, at which point we may consider the distinction between netbooks and laptops entirely academic.

ASUS U50VG announced, naming scheme remains impenetrable Coming in today with no less than five new laptops -- the U50VG, K50AB, K70AB, K50IJ and F52Q -- the king of market segmentation is clearly still in good form. Announced in Italy today, the main attraction for Intel fans is the U50VG, which sports a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T6500 chip alongside 4GB of memory, 250GB storage, and a Geforce G 105M for a price of €943 or $1,320. A backlit chiclet keyboard, WiFi and a 16:9 display stretching to 15.6-inches fill out the spec sheet. The AMD-based AB variants are 15.6 (€793 / $1,107) and 17.3-inches (€868 / $1,212) respectively -- their main attraction being an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 purring inside -- whereas the latter two models are targeted at the budget-conscious crowd. Click through for exhaustive specs and info on each model.

GB intros budget-priced, Atom-based X1200 thin-and-light This one doesn't look to be heading into the hands of consumers just yet, but China's GB is now apparently shopping its new X1200 thin-and-light around on the OEM market in the hope that some company will pick it up and do their rebadging thing with it -- and from the looks of it, they likely won't have much trouble finding some takers. Like some other hard to peg down laptops, this one packs the still somewhat rare combo of a 12-inch screen and an Atom processor, along with some otherwise standard specs including 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a built-in webcam, and a pair of USB ports. No word on a potential price just yet, but it'll no doubt be a fair bit more than the 2,200 yuan (or $322) that GB itself is currently asking for it -- in large quantities, presumably.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 12.1 Inch Core 2 Duo Laptop – $1,070 In the market for a 2.47 lb laptop? Try this Lenovo ThinkPad X200 for size. With a 12.1″ WXGA + LED widescreen it offers several options including up to 4GB DDR 3, a 64GB SSD and next generation ThinkPad Roll cage chassis. This GearSponsor deal is on sale now for $411 instant discount plus stack on a coupon code good for 15% savings and “out the door” configuration could cost as little as $1,070. Coupon expires on 7/13/09.

Sprint first to offer a 99-cent netbook, but is it worth it? We knew we'd see cheap / free subsidized netbooks eventually, and here we are: Best Buy and Sprint are offering up a Compaq-branded HP Mini 110c for just 99 cents when you sign a two-year data contract. Yeah, it looks good on paper, especially since AT&T and Verizon will ding you $199 for the same machine, but we just don't think it's worth it: at $60 a month for service, you'll be spending $1,440 for two years of pain with that 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and three-cell battery. We'd say you're way better off grabbing a 3G USB stick you can use with multiple machines, or, if you're feeling particularly baller, throwing down for a MiFi and kicking it mobile hotspot style -- it'll cost the same $60 a month from Sprint, but you'll be able to get five machines online at once. But that's just us -- any of you particularly hot for this almost-free netbook?