For those of us in Japan and are interested in buying a new laptop no matter how pricey it gets, then Toshiba's got your back. In this news update, we catch wind of the electronics giant updating two of its laptop lines, the Qosmio and the Dynabook. Check out the relevant stats and figures of what could be your next weapon against ignorance (and disorganization) in the full article.

 

Sony and NEC Corporation released, simultaneously but separately, the other day a new line of computers that carry Hybrid HDD. For the uninitiated, these are new kinds of hard disk drives employing large buffer of non-volatile flash memory.

Sony's VAIO Type F was released yesterday while NEC's LaVie C came out the day before that in Japan. Like we said, both carry hybrid HDD that give users the following advantages: speed increase, decrease of power consumption, improved reliability and lifespan, faster boot process, and less noises.

The following features are available for the high-end units of both lines:

• Sony VAIO Type F (FZ71)
• 15.4 inches monitor
• GeForce 8400M GT
• Wi-Fi A/B/G/N
• 200GB of Hybrid HDD (256MB of Flash)
• 1 to 4GB RAM
• Core 2 Duo T7250 at 2GHz (BTO up to 2.8GHz)
• Webcam
• HDMI, Blu-ray drive
  

• NEC LaVie C (LC950/KC)
• Face Pass: face recognition system that lets users log on into the computer once they show up  their face to the computer web camera
• Blu-ray disc drive (read only)
• HDMI output for HD Video
• Hybrid HDD of 160GB with Flash Memory (256MB)

MSI has started rolling out a new notebook model that brings together high-definition entertainment and Intel's fourth generation Centrino platform.

According to Akihabara News, the new notebook - called the MSI-1221 - features a 12.1-inch WXGA monitor and HDMI support. It boasts of a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor (it looks like user can choose to go with the T7300 or the T7000) and the GM965 Express Santa Rosa chipset.

The MSI-1221 also has 2GB of RAM, 40 to 120 GB HDD (SATA), 1.3 megapixel webcam, A/B/G WiFi, and TurboMemory. This notebook falls into the 150,000 Yen (US$ 1,225) to 200,000 Yen (US$ 1,633) price range.

  

Offering wide scale upgradability and options for users to plug in parts for added performance, ASUS C90 basically broke the mindset of the non-upgradeable laptop by significant measures. But since ASUS and MSI-branded lappies have offered such features before, the C90 probably leads the rest with a rich feature set and the curves to boot.

The C90, although configurable, can actually go up to Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 while being merry with an NVidia DX10 compliant 8600GT graphics chip with 256 MB of memory. An MXM graphics swapping concept allows the video capabilities to be expanded with a simple switch of the module. S-Video, VGA and HDMI are all supported by the C90 - especially the new and improved HDMI 1.3 - while the graphics system also revolves around a built-in TV tuner.

    

Memory is a no-brainer for the C90 as it supports all the way up to 3 GB of DDR2 memory, while sporting a four (yes four) fan ventilation unit right behind the LCD screen to keep heat from frying the sleek monster. It also boasts E-SATA interfacing, PS2 and USB connectivity, and IEEE 802.11n wireless networking support.

Bluetooth connectivity is also provided, while ASUS nests a 2.0 megapixel camera right on top of the 15.4-inch, 1680x1050 resolution LCD screen. A finger print reader is adds to the features of the C90, while both HD-DVD drives and Blu-Ray can both replace the standard issue DVD burner.

The barebone version of the laptop might reach up to US$ 1500, PC Perspective reports, although it should make up for the costs with ASUS standard issue overclocking customizations. And PC Launches reports that a C90 is offered up on E-Bay right this instant.

  

Okay, time to give you guys a sneak peak at some tech that you wish would hit North American shores. This one even has that much hyped "Santa Rosa" Core 2 Duo T7300 (2GHz) CPU. It even can handle Direct X 10.

The Qosmio F40W is a 15.4 inch laptop that has a 1,280 x 800 resolution, Intel's Core 2 Duo T7300 (2GHz) CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, 120GB of hard drive space, a dual-layer Label Flash-enabled DVD writer, built-in terrestrial digital TV tuner, and NVIDIA's new 128MB GeForce 8400M GS for DirectX 10.

It has four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector, ExpressCard slot, a multicard reader that handles SD, SDHC, MMC, xD, and MSPro, 802.11a/b/g, Ethernet, VGA / S-Video / HDMI outputs, S/PDIF audio output, and a Li-ion cell that Toshiba claims should last around 1.3-hours.

Given all those numbers this unit is obviously a media centric mobile computing/entertainment machine. Of course, that 1.3 hour cell may be a hindrance for those truly on the go, but hey, at least the laptop is graphically sweet.

As mentioned, there's still no word of an American release. Those in Japan should be able to purchase this notebook for around US$ 2,136.

Taiwanese company BenQ recently showed off the BenQ Joybook S41, their new Santa Rosa notebook. Yeah, the name's kinda funky, but boy, is it a beauty.

According to Akihabaranews.com, aside from running on Intel's fourth-generation Centrino platform, the Joybook S41 also features a 14.1-inch widescreen, up to 2GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive. These are just the bare essentials, and the notebook also offers Wireless a/b/g/n, an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, HDMI output, and an ExpressCard slot.

Price information for the BenQ Joybook S41 has yet to be revealed, but the notebook will reportedly become available sometime this month. Check out the images below for a look at it.

   

Some might say that the advantage of the desktop over the laptop is that almost all the aspects of your desktop could be upgradeable. Well, Asus has that in mind, and that's probably the reason why they came up with a laptop that is user-upgradeable.

NotebookReview reports that over at the Asus labs, they were able to try out the Asus C90 desktop replacement style notebook. The C90 is one of the few customizable notebooks around and this baby will use the Intel Conroe processor platform. It would also allow customers to buy the barebones version of the C90 notebook and drop in the components that they want. But still, here are the C90's basic specs:

•  Supports Intel Conroe desktop processor platform, 1.86GHz - 2.66 GHz (E6700)
•  15.4" screen
•  2.0 Megapixel camera built-in
•  HDMI
•  Bluetooth
•  TV-Tuner integrated
•  E-SATA
•  8-in-1 media card reader
•  802.11n
•  Graphics: NVidia (???? -- we can't tell)
•  Finger Print reader
•  HD-DVD and Blu-Ray drive capable
•  3 USB ports
•  Piano gloss finish with inlaid pattern

Just what of C90's components are upgradeable? According to Asus - processor, LCD, hard drive, memory, graphics card, optical drive...yup, you name it, you could customize it. The C90 would be out by mid-May but no specific date and price tag has been revealed. Here are some of the images of the C90, feel free to click on our Read link to know more about the Asus C90.

  

A company named eCinema Systems has recently announced a new LCD technology that can surpass CRT in virtually every aspect...or so they say. Although LCDs are technologically more advanced than CRTs (Cathode Ray Tube), they have been left behind by their older counterpart in the field of color response, saturation, accuracy and black-level response. The new LCD innovation from eCinema is being tagged as the high dynamic range LCD or the DCM40HDR.

Apparently, this developed LCD can support deep color - which is higher than 24-bit color and this one can support up to 48-bit color. The new panels are able to display 36-bit color (12-bits per color channel), and 1000 to 4000 step gray-scales, producing fantastic gradients.

Most LCDs today produce only 256 gray steps at most. This new "deep color" technology will be standard with the new HDMI 1.3 specification. What's most interesting about eCinema's LCD display however, is its contrast ratio: 30,000:1. At this rating, eCinema's new DCM40HDR panel can achieve black levels that even CRTs cannot match. If that happens, CRT technology would be in deep trouble.

But this eCinema development is definitely a double-edged sword: If it performs well, higher quality LCD panels will be rampant in the industry. On the other hand, if it doesn't do good, not only would eCinema suffer the consequences but they would also give headaches to other LCD-making companies. Now that's a heavy load if you ask me. Let's wait and see what happens next.