John Morris and Sean Portnoy deliver straight talk about notebook and desktop computers.
John Morris is a former executive editor at CNET Networks and senior editor at PC Magazine.
Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.
Intel hasn't released its 32nm Westmere processors yet, but executives spent the first day of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) talking about technology even farther down road. In his keynote, executive VP Sean Maloney gave a glimpse of a desktop running Sandy Bridge, the new microarchitecture that comes after Westmere, also at 32nm (they'll talk more about that today).
Two stories about AMD jumped out at me this week. First, market researcher iSuppli reported that Intel had increased its share of the worldwide PC processor market, by revenues, to more than 80 percent--a level it hasn't reach in nearly four years.
Almost nine months to the day after Nvidia announced its Ion Platform, the first real netbook to make use of the technology has finally shipped. HP announced the Mini 311, an 11.
One way to wean customers off of cheap netbooks is to offer a better alternative. Many computer makers are now offering ULV-based laptops.
Just when I was starting to wonder what happened to all those ultra-low voltage (ULV) laptops, computer makers opened the flood gates. These laptops, which are thinner, lighter and less costly than mainstream notebooks, are now available in a range of display sizes, including some models with 11.
Nvidia's Ion platform may be off to a slow start, but that could change once Windows 7 arrives in late October. To date Ion has been used only in nettops--including two new ones from Asus and Lenovo--but the first netbooks should finally arrive around the time Microsoft releases its new operating system.
We've seen netbooks such as the Dell Mini Inspiron 12 (R.I.
Businesses may not be buying, but that hasn't stopped Dell from trying. The company is rolling out three new additions to its small business line, the 14.
I've been skeptical of 12-inch netbooks, especially as prices for real notebooks continue to fall fast. At that size, netbooks start to run up against laptops, so it's no surprise that the PC industry is feeling its way.
Novatel's MiFi mobile hotspot, which is available from both Sprint and Verizon, has received great reviews and is selling well, according to Sprint Nextel CEO Daniel R. Hesse.