Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

While Panasonic’s rugged Toughbook 30 has been strutting its stuff with a Core 2 Duo within, the poor, poor Toughbook 19 has been going without. No more, however, as Panny has just announced that it’ll be boosting the speed and expanding the memory available in the beastly convertible tablet. Available now, the 5.1-pound rig is stuffed with a 1.06GHz U7500 processor (2MB L2 cache), up to 4GB of SDRAM, 80GB shock-mounted HDD, 10.4-inch daylight-readable display, a battery good for around seven hours, optional integrated WWAN / GPS / 2-megapixel webcam and a magnesium alloy case that won’t mind getting trampled. So, what’s the price for such an (almost) impossible-to-destroy machine? $3,199 and up, we’re afraid.

Continue reading Panasonic Toughbook 19 gets Core 2 Duo, expanded memory

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Filed under: Laptops

Uh, we figured this whole Penryn update thing was all taken care of by now, but for whatever reason, Dell has found it quite pleasing to roll out said chips to its machines on a one (or two) at a time basis. Just a day after the new processors landed in the Precision M2300 and M4300 — and merely two days since they crawled within the M6300 — the Round Rock powerhouse has seen fit to hook up the all-business Latitude D630 and D830. Effective immediately, interested consumers can snatch up one (or both, we ’spose) of the aforementioned machines with a 2.5GHz T9300 or 2.6GHz T9500, both of which include 6MB of L2 cache. Meanwhile, prospective M1530 buyers are becoming increasingly incensed at Dell’s apparent negligence of their favorite machine.

[Thanks, Juha]
Read - Latitude D630
Read - Latitude D830

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Filed under: Laptops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/MacBook_and_MacBook_Pro_Lines_Refreshed’;Aw snap. It finally, really happened… kind of. Apple has just dropped a nasty refresh on its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, knocking the processor speeds up, and giving the Pros that tasty multi-touch the MacBook Air has been sporting. Still, they couldn’t break off an even slightly new form-factor for us? Both lines are sporting Intel’s downsized new Penryn chips, which should make your lap and / or battery quite happy. Right now we’re seeing updates to the GPU memory, an LED backlight (option!) for 17-inchers, as well as LEDs on all the rest of the Pros (sorry again MacBookers). New specs on the MBPs include a CPU boost to a base speed of 2.4GHz all the way up to 2.6GHz, that suspiciously new 3MB or 6MB L2 cache on the CPUs, added RAM to the graphics cards (up to 512MB for the higher-end 15-inch, and all 17-inch models), and of course the new trackpad. On the MacBook front, things look even more familiar, with only minor bumps to speed (2.1GHz up to 2.4GHz) and CPUs. Both new lines get hard drive increases, with the MBPs rocking 200GB or 250GB options, while the MBs range from 120GB all the way up to 250GB. Ports, weight, and size all appear to be just the same for both lines, undoubtedly to the chagrin of many readers, and Apple is skimping on the Apple Remote across the line; it’s now a $19 add-on. Full SKU rundown after the break.

Update: Just to make it totally clear, Apple confirmed to us that the processors are indeed Penryn, as noted above. As for future updates and notable omissions in this round, they had little to say.

Continue reading Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro get refreshed with faster CPUs, multi-touch

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Filed under: Laptops

If you’ve been replying to our earlier post on Apple rumors by repeatedly typing “MacBook Pro update” across the screen, you’ll be happy to hear this latest news. AppleInsider claims they have confirmed three new Apple part numbers which are showing up in both the Best Buy and Apple inventory databases. The numbers, MB402LL/A, MB403LL/A, and MB404LL/A, have appeared on these systems with the prices of $1,999, $2,499, and $2,799 in tow — leading some (read, all) to believe that they may be those new laptops everyone’s been talking about. Of course, we haven’t seen these inventory management systems with our own, bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes, so don’t be too disappointed when it turns out this was just a really, really specific typo.

Update: Apparently AI had an actual typo in their part numbers (which we reprinted) — they’ve been fixed.

[Thanks, Mark]

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Filed under: Gaming

Look, we’re not trying to say anything, but that 40GB model looks real, real lonely sitting there on its own. Could it be possible that all those juicy rumors of a refreshed, resized PS3 package are actually coming to fruition? Maybe — or maybe Sony is just downsizing big time… but we doubt it.

[Thanks, Jason]

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Filed under: Gaming

According to T3 magazine and a “particularly well-informed insider,” the PS3 is due not just for hard drive updates, but a total design revamp down to a slimmer and smaller package sometime in the Fall. If you believe what you read, the refreshed console will sport all the same specs, but will receive a fresh coat of paint, a trip through the shrinking machine, and probably a lightened load. Of course, this is all just wild speculation coupled with salacious, magazine-selling 3D renders of the phantom device, as Sony denies the existence of an update and we don’t really know who this source is. On the other hand, the company pulls this kind of ditzy “who me?” stuff whenever it’s got a new product up its sleeve — though we’re not feeling the timing on this shocker.

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Filed under: Gaming

According to Ars Technica, Sony has some big plans for a PlayStation 3 refresh, starting with a phase-out of the 80GB model. According to an “inside source” — which Ars claims has been consistently right on video game-related predictions — the console-maker’s new plot is starting to take shape, holding fast to a two-SKU approach on packages, upping the hard drive capacity on systems, and including the Dual Shock 3 controller. The new bundles will take the high / low road, with the source stating that the 40GB model will remain on shelves, while the 80GB, Spider-Man 3-inclusive system will disappear, only to be replaced with a 120GB or 160GB configuration. Of course, right now these are just words on a screen, though in light of Best Buy’s recent stock changes, there certainly is an air of movement over at Sony.

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Filed under: Gaming

Despite what you’ve been hearing about this fancy, extra “lite” DS Lite coming to town, Nintendo would like to tell you otherwise… sort of. In a response to analyst’s claims that a new system — thinner, with larger screens and on-board storage — was headed out in the near future, the company said that the news was, “Rumour and speculation and we are not commenting further.” Tough talk, right? Well, while that sounds all doom-and-gloom — it’s not quite a denial. If anything, one might conjecture that Nintendo doesn’t want all you holiday shoppers holding off on wallet-bashing purchases in the hope that something newer and / or better is just around the corner. Of course, we could just be speculating.

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