MSI is about to start a new round of the “How Should We Define Netbooks?” debate with their new Wind U230 machines. The company is calling the 12-inch replacements for the Wind U210 netbooks, but they have awfully ultraportable-ish leanings.
To start, they have 12.1-inch screens — not unheard of for netbooks, but rarer than 11.6-inch form factors. Then there’s 2GB of RAM, the Windows 7 Home Premium (instead of Starter), and, oh yeah, the dual-core processor inside. Not a dual-core Atom as we saw on the Eee PC 1201N, but an AMD chip coupled with an ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics chips are responsible for processing all images sent to your computer?s display.
Learn Moregraphics card.
These new Winds, whatever they are, come in two models: the U230-033 has an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU and a 250GB The storage device that holds your OS, programs, and data.
Learn Morehard drive; the U230-040 has an AMD Athlon X2 L335 CPU and a 320GB drive. Otherwise, the two models are identical from their HD displays (16:9, 1366 x 768 WXGA), b/g/n wi-fi, 1.3MP webcam and 6-cell batteries. And, of course, HDMI out amongst the usual ports.
Lest this sound too exciting, there’s a fly in the ointment as concerns that battery: it’s only rated for 4 hours of life by MSI. I imagine that size display combined with the power-hungry AMD chip makes for an ultraportable that still needs tying to an outlet.
The MSI Wind U230-033 will set you back just $429 and the beefier Wind U230-040 ups the price to $479. They’re available now at Newegg.

MSI, U230, Wind

The HP ProBook 4520s, the latest 15.6-inch business notebook from Hewlett-Packard, is now available for purchase.
The ProBook 4520s features the Intel Core i7-620LM, i5-520M, i5-430M, i3-350M, or i3-330M CPU, the Intel HD integrated graphics or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4350 512MB dedicated video card, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, up to 500GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner or Blu-Ray Combo.
The 15.6-inch LED-backlit HD display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and BrightView in some models.
The HP ProBook 4520s also sports a full-sized keyboard with separate numeric keypad, an optional 2MP web camera, stereo speakers and an integrated microphone, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, the optional HP un2450 EV-DO/HSPA Mobile Broadband Module 2.0 with GPS support, a Gigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth, and optional 56k modem, as well as VGA and HDMI outputs, three USB ports and a combo eSATA/USB port, an ExpressCard slot, a media card reader, and optionally a fingerprint reader.
The laptop starts at around 5.5 pounds with the standard 6-cell battery and runs Windows 7 or SUSE Linux.
It can be ordered through HP’s website for a base price of $799.

4520s, HP, ProBook

Lenovo haven’t forgotten about their mainstream home users at CES 2010; the company has unveiled two new models, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 and Y560 notebooks, complete with various options from Intel’s latest Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. The IdeaPad Y460 has a 14-inch 1366 x 768 display, Core i3 or i5 CPU, ATI Radeon HD5740/HD5650 graphics and up to 320GB hard-drive, while the IdeaPad Y560 has a 15.6-inch display, Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU, ATI Radeon HD5730 graphics and up to 500GB hard-drive.
Both machines have up to 8GB RAM, combo Blu-ray/DVD drive and standard WiFi b/g/n. There’s also optional Bluetooth, 3G and WiMAX. Ports include three USB 2.0, an eSATA/USB combo, ExpressCard slot and HDMI, together with ethernet, audio in/out and a multiformat memory card reader.
Battery life for the IdeaPad Y460 and the IdeaPad Y560 is around 5hrs with the standard 6-cell battery. The Y460 will go on sale in February 2010 and the Y560 in March 2010, both priced from $849.99.

IdeaPad, Lenovo, Y460

Dell made a huge splash back in December when it launched the Core i7 Extreme Precision M6500 beast, but it isn’t exactly a perfect mobile solution weighing in at 8.5 lbs weight and 17-inch screen. The new Precision M4500 aims to solve that dilemma by offering nearly the same power with a Intel Core i7-920XM Quad Core Extreme Edition and Nvidia Quadro FX GPU options, but with a so-much-more portable 15.6-inch screen and 6 lbs weight.
Dell is calling this the most powerful 15.6-inch notebook available and we can find no fault in that claim. The company came to that conclusion by the combination of the Core-i7920XM Quad Core Extreme Edition and the Nvidia Quadro FX 1800m GPU. Combined with a maximum of 16GB, the M4500 will stand toe to toe with the M6500 and nearly any graphic workstation. The 100% user selectable color gamut sRGB LED-backlit screen helps secure its spot as a true desktop replacement notebook, too.
Dell also worked in some mobility solutions, too. The M4500 packs the obligatory webcam, along Gobi 2.0 mobile broadband support and an 64GB SSD MiniCard for additional data storage that doesn’t require users to swap out the optical drive.
The M4500 is also the first notebook available for Dell’s new instant-on application. Dubbed Dell Precision On, it provides users near instant access to email, calender, contact, and even the internet and virtual remote desktops. Think of it as a business-oriented splash launch screen like what’s found on most netbooks and consumer notebooks these days.
The M4500 line starts out at an somewhat affordable sub-$2,000 price point, but that’s the plain jane, Core i5 model. You’re going to want to ask your IT department to get you the fully-stocked rig, which will no doubt cost more than your company-issued Corolla when they ship later this month.

Dell, M4500, Mobile Workstation

The MSI has a brand new X-Slim X360 notebook for the masses, where this slim model will be powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, aided by Intel’s Turbo Boost/Hyper-Threading technology alongside a 13″ display at 1,366 x 768 resolution, up to a 500GB hard drive, a 2-in-1 memory card reader, HDMI/VGA output, a couple of USB 2.0 ports, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a pair of speakers, a 1.3-megapixel camera and up to 4GB RAM. No idea on pricing or availability yet, but that is even more reason to start saving up from now on if you want one.

MSI, X-Slim, X360