This post was written by Maureen Jones
3K Computers has launched a $299 device, RazorBook 400 Mini Notebook Ultra Mobile PC, to heat up competition in the ultra mobile PC space. 3K is targeting the machine as a low-cost portable internet appliance for professionals and students, offering web browsing, Flash games and instant messaging. With a boot-up time of under eight seconds, the RazorBook 400 is designed to be turned on and off instantly with an energy-saving processor, no fan and quiet running. The open source Office Suite opens most of the Microsoft files in the laptop and includes an email client and a PDF reader as well as the Mozilla Firefox browser.
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Acer has launched its new Aspire one mini-laptop and has forecasted sales of up to7 million units this year and 15 to 20 million next year. The new-mini laptop will compete with a growing number of rivals in a market jump-started by the popularEee PC from Asustek Computer of Taiwan. Acer believes the Aspire one, which will cost between $399 and $499, can attract a new kind of PC buyer, primarily those who want a low-cost, convenient mobile device they can use to surf the Internet from anywhere.
ASUS Computers has launched what could be the world’s smallest, cheapest and most accessible laptop. The company has redesigned and launched its second generation ‘Eee PC’, a small, highly portable laptop computer costing only a fraction of other computers. The small one kilogram laptops have up to 12″ screens, 2GB memory and 40GB of storage space. They are also equipped with Bluetooth and wireless technologies. ‘Eee PC’ is aimed at the burgeoning Asian consumer market and is believed to be a bridge between mobile and regular laptops.
The latest addition to Panasonic’s Toughbook line of rugged computers is designed not only to weather dust, water and accidental drops. It is made to keep up with the increasingly mobile demands of corporate users thanks to its mini-PC form factor. The CF-U1 Toughbook sits somewhere between a handheld PDA and a laptop computer in an attempt to combine the best of both worlds — the portability of a handheld and the power of a PC. The mini computer is based on Intel’s Atom processor and is compact and relatively light at 1.06 kilograms. It runs on either Windows XP or Vista.
Hewlett-Packard, a leading global IT company has recently announced the launch of its two, 12-inch EliteBooks for business travelers. The company launched its pint-sized business laptops - the EliteBook 2530p and the convertible tablet EliteBook 2730p and also a refreshed HP Compaq 2710p at Intel’s Developers Forum (IDF) 2008. Nowadays, frequent business travelers are also known as elitists, hence the name Elitebook is derived. Despite a miniature size frame and weighing at roughly 3.2 pounds, the model 2530p features anodized aluminum—the new business looks for the EliteBooks. HP also incorporated a 12-inch LED widescreen for its 2530p, new Centrino 2 processors, built-in DVD burner, which can be removed only to be replaced by a second 1.8-inch hard drive. As the primary drive is concerned, the 2530p has enough room for either1.8 inch or a 2.5-inch hard drive.