Gateway spices up new notebooks
The new offerings include the 4530GZ and 4535GZ notebooks, which come with Intel Pentium M processors, a multiformat DVD±RW drive, an XGA thin-film-transistor display, wireless connectivity and improved battery life, the Irvine, Calif.-based company said. The notebooks weigh 5.5 pounds and are about 1-inch thick.
Two other products--the 7405GX and 7210GX--are considered desktop replacement notebooks, with 64MB of video memory, multiformat media card readers, wide-screen displays and full-size keyboards, Gateway said. These notebooks also can be hooked to a home wireless network. The 7210GX is powered by Advanced Micro Devices' Athlon XP 3000+ Mobile processor. The 7405GX uses the Athlon 64 processor 3200+ with HyperTransport technology for 64-bit computing.
Gateway debuted its retail notebooks this summer, in a step designed to expand distribution beyond its direct sales channels. The move followed its acquisition of eMachines earlier this year.
Other PC makers have also lined up a number of new desktops and notebook products for this holiday season. Hewlett-Packard has updated several of its HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario desktops. Meanwhile, Dell recently beefed up its low-end Dimension desktop, unveiling the Dimension 3000.
Gateway said retailers will start selling the new laptops this weekend. The prices of the 4530GZ and the 4535GZ start at $1,349.99, while the desktop replacement notebook PCs start at $1,249.99. All four notebooks come bundled with Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition.