ASUS Eee PC 901 gets mobile freedom

The reason why most people can live with an underpowered Netbook and limited features is because this category of machines are best used when linked with the Internet. However, no matter how widespread the wireless coverage in your country may be, chances are it cannot begin to match the mobile phone network.

Sometime this month, ASUS will announce a collaboration with one of the Singapore telcos and offer an Eee PC 901 with HSDPA/HSUPA capabilities. Faster than older 3.5G devices, this Eee PC can access the Internet at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps downlink and 2Mbps uplink. Only the Windows XP edition with 16GB SSD will be offered, though this version also come with 20GB of free online storage.

Eee PC 901 owners planning to retro-upgrade current units with this new capability are out of luck, as previous editions do not come with the necessary hardware to support HSDPA/HSUPA internally (though a USB dongle can still be used as an alternative). No news on the price and which particular telco ASUS is partnering with, or if other Asian countries will soon be getting their own HSDPA/HSUPA Eee PC 901 as well.

Toshiba boosts flash amounts for laptops and Netbooks

The latest storage drive launched by Toshiba is its new high-density 256GB solid-state drive (SSD). Toshiba claims the 2.5-inch drive offers the essential performance needs for modern notebooks: Reliability, fast read/write speeds (120MBps/70MBps) via a SATA 3.0Gbps interface, and plenty of space for your ones and zeros.

But, if you're saying to yourself "Forget notebooks; I need a bigger drive for my Netbook!" Well, Toshiba's got you covered there, too, with the launch of small SSD Flash Modules in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. Not quite up to the speeds of the 2.5-inch drive, the SATA-3.0Gbps modules feature read/write speeds of 80MBps and 50MBps, respectively.

Mass production begins in Q4 2008. No pricing was announced.

Via CNET Crave

Seagate launches new FreeAgent drives

The main selling point of Seagate's FreeAgent drives lies in the bundled software for Windows, which provides an easy interface to backup and encrypt your data. Moreover, recognizing that most people have digital content stored on multiple machines, the Seagate Drive Manager automatically synchronizes the latest updates and, at the same time, stores up to 10 archived copies of the changed file, much like Apple's Time Capsule. New upgrades include an optional S$49 (US$35.28) docking station with case for the FreeAgent Go drives as well as the latest desktop drives that can hold up to 1.5TB of data.

Model	Capacity (GB)	Connector	Color options	Price
FreeAgent Go Drive (2.5-inch)	250	USB 2.0	Silver, black	S$159 (US$114.49)
	320		Silver, black, blue, red	S$189 (US$136.09)
	500		Silver, red	S$299 (US$215.29)
FreeAgent Desk Drive	500	USB 2.0	Silver	S$169 (US$121.69)
	1,000			S$279 (US$200.89)
	1,500			S$349 (US$251.30)
FreeAgent XTreme	1,000	USB 2.0, FireWire 400, eSATA	Black	S$319 (US$229.69)
	1,500			S$399 (US$287.30)

How about Mac users? Well, we have good news and bad news.
Read more »

Is this the new MacBook Pro?

The Interwebs are atwitter with a single blurry cell phone shot of what may or may not be one of the newly redesigned MacBook laptops we've been reading about.

The pic briefly showed up on a French Web site, and just as quickly vanished, but not before several sites (from Valleywag to Wired) were able to grab copies of the photo. (The original post is now up again.)

Some Apple faithfuls are crying "fake!" while others think it's the real deal--we should all know for sure at Apple's next big press event in mid-October.

We present the original photo here for your examination and interpretation.

Via Crave CNET

New MacBooks dropping plastic for aluminum

The MacBook redesign is just around the corner, and further proof has surfaced that it's going to look a lot like its siblings.

AppleInsider reports that new MacBooks and new MacBook Pros have been spotted by people-in-the-know, and that as expected the new systems will get aluminum-based exteriors similar to the ones found on the MacBook Air and iMac. This will give Apple some consistency across the Mac notebook lineup entering the holiday shopping season; for years, the MacBook has had a distinct look separate from the MacBook Pro.

One interesting part of the report also suggests that Apple plans to drop the Firewire 400 port and the DVI-I ports currently found on the MacBook Pro in favor of a Firewire 800 port and a mini-DVI port.

New MacBooks have been expected for months now as the MacBook design gets a little long in the tooth. The last time new details surfaced on the notebooks, October 14 was targeted as the introduction date.

Via Crave CNET

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