Unlike the set of notebooks before it, the XPS 15z is neither lightweight nor ultra thin but it’s one beefy machine, sporting an Intel Core i7-2620M with 6 GB of RAM and an nVidia GeForce GT 525M paired with Sandy Bridge’s built in Intel HD Graphics 3000.

Processor: Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
RAM: 6 GB DDR3
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000 + nVidia GeForce GT 525M with Optimus switching technology
Storage: 750 GB 7,200-RPM HDD + DVD+R DL
Display: 15.6 inches widescreen with 1366×768 resolution upgradable to 1920×1080 for $100
Add-ons: Bluetooth, USB 3.0, and a 64 WHr battery
Battery rating: 64 Wh battery that lasts for 6 hours.

Looks a bit familiar? Yep. Dell seems to have drawn inspiration from Apple’s MacBook Pro line and sheathed the Adamo XPS 15z in aluminum. Looking at the specs and price, the 15z could stand as a cheap 15″ MacBook Pro alternative (sure Apple’s offering costs twice as much but it sports a quadcore processor and an IPS display).

The Adamo XPS 15z is available now in the U.S. and the U.K. for $999 and £899 respectively.

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Apples to Apples?  Huh?

For some reason, Dell’s marketing thinks it’s own offerings are comparable and superior to the MacBook equivalents.

The page pits Dell’s Studio 15 and 17 laptop line up against the equivalent MacBook Pro models and its desktop offerings up against the Mac Mini and iMac.

Here’s some of the comparisons made by Dell:

System Studio 15 MacBook Pro 15 Studio 17 MacBook Pro 171 Processor Intel® CoreTM i7 Intel® CoreTM i7 Intel® CoreTM i7 Intel® CoreTM i5 Color Available in 6 colors Silver Available in 6 colors Silver Webcam Built-in 2.0MP Built-in iSight Built-in 2.0MP Built-in iSight Screen 15.6” TrueLifeTM 15.4” Glossy 17.3” TrueLifeTM 17” Glossy Memory 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB Hard Drive 500GB 500GB 500GB 500GB Graphics Mem. 1GB 512MB 1GB 512MB Software Windows® Live Essentials iLife® Windows® Live Essentials iLife® Warranty 1 Year Limited 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection 1 Year Limited 1 Year Limited 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection 1 Year Limited Price $1348.99 $2,199 $1268.99 $2,299 Discount $399 $0 $219 $0 Total $949.99 $2,199 $1049.99 $2,299 Savings: $1249 $1249

Dell seems to have forgotten the comparison of some of the more technical aspects, such as battery life, size and weight, display panel type and resolution, among other things but hey, at least the site is up so we can draw our own conclusions from it.

source Dell’s comparison site here

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MSI’s GT660 is powered with Intel’s Core i7 CPU, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M with 1GB of GDDR3 VRAM.  Other specifications are listed below:

MSI GT660 Gaming Laptop Specs

• Quad-core Intel Core i7 processor
• 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 285M graphics chip
• Three DDR3 RAM slots, allowing up to 12GB of RAM
• 500GB hard drive, with an option for a second drive
• 2x USB 3.0 ports
• HDMI output
• Weighs 7.7 lbs
• 16-inch HD display
• Dynaudio-developed sound system
• 9-cell battery
• MSI Turbo Drive Engine+ (TDE+)

The 16-inch display is bright and crisp with a maximum resolution of 1366×768 pixels.  Battery life with it’s high-capacity 9-cell (7800mAh) Li-Ion battery is a meager 2 hours on a single full charge but since this beast is top heavy, I doubt you’ll be doing any “portable” workload with it.

The MSI GT660 is powered by Intel’s Core i7 720QM with 4 cores and 8 threads that runs at a base clock speed of 1.6GHz for each core but can boost up to 3.2GHz. Now if both the i7 and GTX 285M isn’t enough, you can force this laptop to crank more numbers by using MSI’s TDE+ technology (Turbo Drive Engine+) which throttles up processor and display chip performance instantly.

US Price and availability still isn’t announced but for those in the Philippines, you get already order one for Php 109,990.

images from YugaTech

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The American Consumer Product Safety Commission said that “the computers can overheat, posing a burn hazard.” Sony however, denied that “this is not a recall,” but simply and emergency rectification of a problem fixable with a software update [ED: isn't that the tenet of a recall?].

When interviewed by the BBC, Nick Sharples, Sony’s European communications director said, “The word recall has been used by the CPSC in the States, but we are not calling it that. It is possible to update the firmware online, which will rectify the problem.”

Sony says 260,000 laptops in the US, 103,000 in Europe, 120,000 in South East Asia and 52,000 in Japan need to be fixed. Although there are no reports of any users suffering burns, Sony say it has received a number of reports of its laptop overheating, distorting keyboards and casings. This recall is to prevent bodily harm from ever occurring due to the unpatched problem.

The problem resides within the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 family of notebook PCs.

If you believe that you have purchased a Vaio laptop that encompasses the recall, you can download a firmware update for the BIOS that supposedly fixes the issue.  If you are unsure how to check your model numbers of your laptop, refer here.  If however, you have qualms about tinkering about your laptop and for further questions, call the Sony technical support hotline for your country.

source BBC

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The M11x is packed with a Core 2 Duo processors and both Intel Integrated Graphics and a 1GB nVidia 335M graphics card (you can switch between them for normal use or gaming mode). Additions to this awesome unit are an HDMI, DisplayPort, Firewire, an a 3G SIM slot and an 8-cell battery that boasts upto 6.5 hours.

Want it? It’s just $999

The Alienware microsite has more info

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With the Vostro V13 you have 3 processors to choose from
Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 @ 1.3GHz
Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 @ 1.4GHz
Intel Celeron 743 @ 1.2GHz

and the standard specs of:
13.3″ LED-backlit display @ 1366×768 pixels
Up to 4GB DDR3 RAM
Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD
Up to 500GB 7200rpm HDD
External 8X DVD+/-RW
1.3MP webcam
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1
Gigabit LAN
34mm ExpressCard
5-in-1 card reader
6-cell battery

The Vostro V13 is between 0.65-0.78 inches thin and weighs 1.59kg. It will be available in January 2010 priced at $449 for the Linux-Celeron version and $599 for the Windows-Core 2 Duo version.

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