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CNET has a story on the suitability of the major PC manufacturers' lines to survival in these tough economic times. There will be fewer people shopping for new PCs, and more notably, fewer businesses, and these manufacturers will have to make solid strategic moves to make it out (relatively) unscathed. So out of the top five PC makers, who's got what it takes?
Yes, there is a stigma associated with buying refurbished laptops. I understand it to a degree—I mean, there is nothing like liberating a fresh, shiny gadget from its plastic packaging prison. What I don't understand is how this stigma exists in a society where buying a used car is so widely accepted. As many others have pointed out, the process of buying a refurb and a used car are actually very similar—except the financial risk we take on with the latter is generally much, much higher. So why are we so hung up on this? We shouldn't be—and here is why.
Back in August we brought you official news, specs and pricing for Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 ultraportable, and now one month after its launch you might be interested to learn that it's getting a Splashtop instant-on pre-bootup option. In the Lenovo incarnation, the system is being called "QuickStart" and it'll let you connect to the web, check your email, online chat or video conference "seconds after turning on" the S10e. Press release and gallery below.
China will be getting its own version of an Android device in the first quarter of 2009, but rather than going with HTC's G1 handset, China Mobile is opting for a Lenovo Mobile version of the Google phone instead. Details on the Lenovo Android are scarce, but considering the G1's already available through less-than-legal channels in the country, it'll be interesting to see how it fares. Though the black market version costs a pretty ridiculous $US550 right now, it's possible that unauthorised resellers are keeping the price high until other Android sets hit the streets. [Shanghaiist and Electronista]
Sprint's Xohm WiMax network got extra super official today with a party and all, so laptop makers are tossing out confetti in the form of WiMax-enabled notebooks. Here's what you've got to pick from. Acer dropped a pair of Aspire cheapies in 14- and 16-inch sizes, while Asus's 14 and 15-inchers are a bit mo' better for a bit mo' money. Oh, there's more.
Sprint's enticing Xohm WiMax network is slowly making its way across the country, but Lenovo has complained of a major problem with it gaining popularity. According to GigaOM, Lenovo expected to dominate the market with a variety of WiMax products since they had put a lot of time and effort into testing equipment. But Lenovo explained that Sprint is requiring a "narrow" pipeline of internal product testing—something you don't see for Wi-Fi equipment—which has nixed much of their WiMax product line for launch. It's tough to tell where WiMax will go from here, but when a big company like Lenovo can't get products approved for release, it's hard to believe that the countless, smaller companies necessary to drive down prices and promote popularity will break into the market any time soon. [GigaOM]
Lenovo's X200 tablet isn't the best kept secret, but it's a nice looking convertible laptop now that we have the full specs. At 3.5lbs, the configurable tablet features a 12.1" touchscreen (in pen or finger input options) Core 2 Duo processors up to 1.86GHz supported by 4GB of RAM, and available upgrades to 128MB SSD, WiMax, integrated camera, fancy dual array mic (designed to cancel ambient noise) and thumbprint reader. But that's not all!
The tablet version of Lenovo's ThinkPad X200 laptop, sensibly named the X200t, was photographed in the wild, looking pretty much like an X200 with a swiveling screen. (That means it's also awfully similar to Lenovo's last tablet, the X61t.) Tablets don't really rock our world, but the X200's form factor and build quality should mean the X200t is also a solid machine. [GottaBeMobile via Engadget]
Muffled by the cacophony of like a million netbooks and the wireless power that'll power our cyborg brains at the Intel Developer Forum was the low-key introduction of Intel's next-gen 45nm dual core chips for ultra-thin notebooks--i.e., the dwarven chips that made the MacBook Air possible. Now that everybody can snag them, expect a surge of similarly limber notebooks that can suck in their gut to fit into narrow pockets of ugly paper.
The lilliputian IdeaPads from Lenovo are coming, as we know, and now they're a little closer, having passed through the FCC's certification process. This is the final regulatory hurdle the IdeaPad S9 and S10 faced before going on sale in the US and comes just in time, as the duo of subnotebooks are expected to hit shelves next month. [Engadget via SlashGear]
