News Bits: Sony VAIO TX, Dell XPS M170, Inspiron 9400?, Dell and Verizon, PowerBook Update

[Andrew Baxter]

New Sony VAIO TX Announced for US

Sony VAIO TX (view larger image)

The Sony VAIO TX is Sony's latest ultraportable release and will replace the current VAIO T series.  Sony's newest 11.1" XBrite widescreen feather-weight PC contender combines no-nonsense business functionality and a fashion-forward physique. The VAIO TX notebook packs wireless WAN connectivity via the Cingular EDGE network, entertainment playback and a white LED display into a slick carbon fiber casing that weighs no more than three pounds.

The carbon fiber chassis of the TX notebook line lends not only lightweight durability but head-turning elegance to this ultra-portable companion. LED backlight technology and newly designed display circuitry gives it a razor thin profile. At 2.8-pounds and less than 1-inch thin, this notebook will slide unobtrusively into your carry-on bag for comfortable computing whether you fly first class or coach.

Sony VAIO TX with 11.1" widescreen (view larger image)

"Sony pioneered the exploration of ultra-light materials such as magnesium and carbon for PC casings and ultra-slim components, as well forward-thinking technology such as integrated wireless WAN to create notebooks that are a joy to carry and add value to your life," said Mike Abary, vice president of VAIO product marketing for Sony Electronics in the U.S.

Sony VAIO TX notebooks will be widely available later this month in charcoal without WWAN starting at about $2,250 and next month with WWAN for about $2,300. Exclusive colors platinum and slate blue can be purchased online at www.sonystyle.com or at SonyStyle stores in select fashion malls around the country.

Dell Inspiron XPS M170 Coming Soon -- Possible Dell Inspiron 9400?

The Dell XPS M170 should be arriving by months end according to documents published by nVidia touting it's new Go 7800 GTX card.  On one page it clearly shows that the Inspiron XPS M170 will be available upon launch of the card, which will be September 29, 2005.  Rumor is that an update to the Dell Inspiron 9300 will come at that time, the logical update would be an Inspiron 9400, but only Dell employees would know that information and they don't tell us such stuff.  We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available, it might be best to hold off on an XPS or Inspiron 9300 purchase to see what the update is.

nVidia Go 7800 GTX marketing sheet mentions the Dell XPS M170 (view larger image)

Dell and Verizon Announce Partnership to Integrate EV-DO into Dell Notebooks

Dell and Verizon Wireless have teamed to lead the evolving convergence of computing and communications devices. This collaboration allows Dell customers to purchase and activate the Verizon Wireless V620 PC Card directly from Dell. 

The V620 PC Card is available through www.dell.com for $249 and can be bundled with new systems or purchased separately.  Upon receiving the card, Dell customers can sign up for Verizon Wireless' unlimited BroadbandAccess plan for $79.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement or $59.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement and a qualifying voice plan.

Dell says they will release notebooks in 2006 with integrated EVDO technology without having the need to place a card in the PCMCIA slot.

$80 a month is too much for the average consumer, so this is certainly a business targeted add-on, but it's nice to see the option become more available.

Link to Dell information on V620 wireless card: http://www.dell.com/downloads/us/products/latit/verizon_bba_v620card.pdf

Apple PowerBook Updates Coming This Week?

Apple fan sites are reporting that Apple will announce an update to the PowerBook at the Mac Expo in Paris, France this week.  But don't get excited, it will just be a bump in processor speed, standard RAM available and maybe a faster hard drive.  A bit of a yawn.  Sadly, the availability of Intel processors in Apple machines looks like it's going to take until mid 2006 rather than early as was first hoped.

More: http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/story?newsID=14907

 

 

[UFG]

The most exciting thing about the VAIO TX is that it's 11.1" screen is true widescreen (16:9) and none of that 16:10 BS that we keep seeing. Awesome, now we just gotta wait for the larger screens to go 16:9 too so I can watch those 16:9 widescreen DVDs without stupid black bars on the top and bottom of my screen.

[LuckMC11]

u know what would be something reallly really simple???...if companies just had a few models and just updated and changed the stuff in it when the older hardware got outdated...i think it would be a LOT easier than just having more and more model numbers...in a few years there will be wayyy too many model number of notebooks

[Eliwood]

The best part about the Sony (besides the stunning looks) is the battery life which CNET reports to be between 6-7 hours, truly amazing for any laptop. And this is coming from Sony, king of overstating battery life.

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Wow, the 7800 is coming out fairly soon then! Any news on the mid-range (7600) and lower end components (7200, 7400)?

Here are the specs. We're roughly looking at twice the performance which is right on schedule as far as things go.

[Rahul]

The TX looks really, really nice, I just wish I wouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

So the dudes at Sony FINALLY put a SD slot in their notebook, never thought I'd live to see the day.

[Goren]

Eliwood, couldn't help but noticed ur sig.. you already have the new BX series!?

[sguart]

the info on the slide is misleading... it's only getting twice the performance if you went from the 6800 go (none-ultra, i9300) to the 7800 go. if u already have xps gen 2, with 6800 go ultra, which will get u 3dmark2k5 scores in the 5000+, you are only gaining 1000+ 3dmark2k5 scores... there are rumor that xps gen 2 will get 7800 go as well... wondering if the i9300 will have such luck, or is it a straight notebook upgrade to i9400?

[Eliwood]

More like a 1500 increase. People get between 5000 and 5300 out of the box (after reformatting to get rid of all the pre-installed junk). The difference decreases if you overclock, but that doesn't count unless you also overclock the 7800 (which would allow it to attain insane scores in the high 7000's probably). The 9300/9400 won't be getting this specific card unless it undergoes a redesign because this card (hence the GTX branding) is designed for the 6800 ultra form factor, not the original 6800 form factor.

Edit - The XPS M170 is one of several members in the "Lexus" lineup that Dell was talking about hence it's technically incorrect to call it an "Inspiron" because it isn't.