Axioo enters Singapore notebook market

Is it only me, or is the laptop market getting a little crowded these days? Hot in the heels of Hasee's entry into the Singapore market, another manufacturer is elbowing its way into this competitive arena.

We know little about Axioo International, other than the fact that it choose a name that is difficult to pronounce and scores 12 points in scrabble. Its Web site title reads like an insurance company, though we must admit that this Singapore company has designed its Internet presence pretty well. According to a press invite, they will officially launch three laptop series on January 16. Its key message is to bring more color to otherwise boring portables in Singapore, though we believe that more than a few established vendors have already done so.

The ORIS lineup consist of two models and forms its light and stylish category. Budget-minded consumers can look forward to five sets in the NEON series while those who need power and performance can look to the CENTAUR line which holds another five configurations. We will bring you more details of the specifications and prices after the event.

Kohjinsha UMPC gets an optical drive

When we predicted that UMPCs may soon hit the same usability bracket as ultraportables, we didn't expect that the first step would be made this soon. The latest in Kohjinsha's series of mini-notebooks, the SR line, is likely to be the first UMPC to integrate an optical drive under the hood.

Don't ask us how they managed to squeeze a DVD writer inside a chassis barely wider than a standard CD. The company even managed to keep the same specifications as the optical driveless SH series. This includes an 800MHz Intel A110 processor, the Intel GMA 950 graphics chipset, a 7-inch 1,024 x 600-pixel screen and a 60GB harddisk. Singapore distributor, PA Mart, has confirmed that they will be bringing in this unit, most likely during the upcoming IT Show in March. At this time, prices have yet to be announced.

Wi-Fi laptop bag finds its own hot spots

The idea of Wi-Fi locators built into laptops always struck us as a somewhat Catch-22 solution: You have to pull out the computer, wait for it to boot up, and say a Hail Mary or two before finding out if you're even remotely near a hot spot. That's why we appreciate something so disarmingly logical as a locator technology that's embedded directly into the laptop bag.

Despite its awkward name, the "Wiffinder" series from Spain-based Soyntec would seem to make a lot of sense, letting you hunt for a wireless connection "SideShow"-style without a separate device or even the need to open the bag, according to GeekAlerts. And they don't even look half-bad, which is more than we can say for others we've seen recently.

Via CNET Crave | Photo credit: Soyntec

Hasee notebooks coming to Singapore

Bargain hunters rejoice! If the current crop of low-cost laptops are still too heavy on your wallet, then wait for the upcoming IT Show in March when a new entrant will be hawking its wares.

Hasee, an almost unheard of Chinese company, will be selling its range of low-cost TrueNote laptops at the IT Show. Starting at S$959 (US$687.70) for a 14.1-inch Pentium Dual-Core notebook, its top-of-the-line 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo model will be retailing for S$1,139 (US$816.78). Common features among them are integrated graphics chipsets and Windows Vista Home Basic operating system. Check out the table below for more details.

	TrueNote F233R	TrueNote Q400S
Price	S$959 (US$687.70)	S$1,049 (US$752.24)
Screen size	14.1-inch	14.1-inch
Processor	1.6GHz Pentium Dual-Core	1.6GHz Pentium Dual-Core
Memory	1GB	1GB
Chipset	SIS M672	Intel 965GM
Optical drive	DVD writer	DVD/CDRW combo drive
Harddisk	120GB	100GB
Weight	2.4kg	2.4kg

	TrueNote L213R	TrueNote Q400S
Price	S$1,049 (US$752.24)	S$1,139 (US$816.78)
Screen size	15.4-inch	14.1-inch
Processor	1.86GHz Pentium Dual-Core	1.5GHz Core 2 Duo
Memory	2GB	2GB
Chipset	Intel 945GM	Intel 965GM
Optical drive	DVD writer	DVD writer
Harddisk	120GB	120GB
Weight	2.69kg	2.4kg

Eye-catching HP notebook

This is the coolest looking notebook I've seen in a long time. Which is why I walked half-way across the ballroom at Sunday night's Digital Experience media event to check it out.

The design, called "Asian Odyssey", is splashed across the top of a Hewlett-Packard 14-inch dv2800 series notebook. HP's got the design thing down of late, so seeing design like this from them wasn't too surprising.

The designer was more of a surprise, however: Joao Oliveira, a 21-year-old design student from Porto, Portugal. Oliveira submitted his "Asian Odyssey" art concept--he's quite enamored of all aspects of Asian culture, he told me--after his friends heard about the contest HP was holding to imprint a laptop with a user's original design. His reward was a notebook PC with his limited-edition design and a trip out here to experience all of the craziness that is CES firsthand (lucky him!).

Via CNET News.com

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