Posts in Notebooks

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Laptop hardware shortage

Darius Chang | Aug 02, 2007

According to a report by Reuters, notebook vendors may soon face a minor crisis in which they may not be able to obtain enough supplies for hardware components.

Chip price tracker and electronics market researcher DRAMeXchange claims that laptop devices such as harddisks, LCDs, batteries, etc., were hard-pressed to meet market demand last quarter. For this quarter, things are not expected to improve and could, in fact, get more serious.

DRAMeXchange expects second-tier brands, which depend largely on volume for profits, to suffer the worst hit.

Did you know?

Notebook brands are classified into tiers depending on their reach and support terms.

First tier: Retails internationally with good worldwide support.

Second tier: Retails internationally with limted worldwide or local support.

Third tier: Retails regionally or locally with local support.

CNET Asia has contacted some second-tier vendors like Acer and Dell regarding the possible impact of rising hardware cost and component shortage dampening the holiday buying spree at year's end. We'll update you once we have more information.

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Eurocom launches first quad-core notebook

Darius Chang | Aug 01, 2007

Dual-core? Ppfffttt. Power has taken on a whole new dimension in the mobile computing sector with the announcement of what Eurocom claims to be the world's first quad-core system.

The D900C Phantom-X Mobile Workstation from Eurocom is a monster in size and performance. Weighing a spine-bending 5.4kg, the 17-inch portable can be outfitted with the latest 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme Processor x6800 and up to two Nvidia GeForce graphics cards in SLI mode. It can hold up to three SATA harddisks for a total of 750GB storage capacity. We doubt it will be making its way this side of the Pacific, but with a starting price of US$2,726 we doubt it will be taken up by the average consumer. Gamers, on the other hand, will most certainly dream happy thoughts of this performance beast.

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How to get a discount for an Acer notebook

Darius Chang | Aug 01, 2007

Editors' note :

According to Acer Singapore, it does not provide support for Ubuntu Linux in its notebooks and the bundle by the retailer is not an authorized configuration. When contacted, Memory World said that it will provide troubleshooting for Ubuntu Linux Acer laptops sold by the retailer.

Fancy getting a brand-new Acer laptop for a couple of hundreds off its list price? Memory World at Singapore's Sim Lim Square offering just that, but you have to make a compromise.

The retail store has put up a special promotion on the Acer Aspire 5710Z at S$999 (US$710.78). This is almost S$200 (US$142.30) off the price listed at Acer's Web site. The catch: It is running on the Ubuntu Linux OS instead of the ubiquitous Windows operating system. A quick call to Memory World revealed that it can do the same for any other Acer model, but it has to be booked in advance so the company can get a unit from the manufacturer without Windows pre-installed.

Is this legal? Don't you have to pay for the Linux license, you ask? Well, Ubuntu is a community-developed, Linux-based operating system that is free and can easily be ordered or downloaded from its Web site. It comes equipped with drivers for most hardware commonly used in notebooks and desktops. Hence, if you so desire, you can actually convert almost any existing laptop to this operating system. Getting a notebook with Ubuntu pre-installed means you do not have to foot out the extra dollars for a Windows Vista license.

In the event that you decide Ubuntu is not for you, you can still replace the Linux-based system with a Windows OS of your choice. However, note that the full retail version of Windows Vista starts at S$340.99 (US$242.61) for the Basic Edition. So unless you have tried Ubuntu Linux, it will make more economic sense to purchase the Acer Aspire 5710Z with Windows Home Premium Edition at S$1,198 (US$852.37) and install Ubuntu later.