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Some of the cool high-end laptops from Asus we saw way back at CES 2010 are finally ready to hit the streets, according to the company. These include interesting systems such as the Asus NX90J -- the Bang & Olufsen themed multimedia laptop we've been waiting for since January.

Asus NX90J Designed by Bang & Olufsen designer David Lewis, this 18.4-inch laptop has two giant touchpads -- one on each side of the keyboard. Highlights include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 1.2TB of hard drive space. Available at the end of September, for $2,… Read more

Head-turning consumer tablets using Intel processors are still mired in to-be-shipped status, leaving the iPad as the sole high-profile 10-inch class consumer product.

Launched in April, the iPad is still racking up impressive sales numbers with 2010 shipments expected to be more than 10 million. Yet nothing has emerged from the Intel camp of computer makers, comprised of some of the largest computer companies in the world.

The latest "upcoming" tablet is from Dell: a hybrid design that may be more Netbook than tablet. The only shipment information available at this stage is "later this year," … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Dell showed off a 10-inch Windows-based hybrid tablet Tuesday at the Intel Developer Forum, boasting a slick design that allows it to be converted into a laptop-like configuration.

The Inspiron duo-branded tablet packs a dual-core Atom processor and comes with Windows 7. Its most unique feature is the ability to open up the case, flip the screen, and then convert it into a clamshell Netbook design (see video below at 2:40 mark.)

And Dell couldn't resist taking a swipe at the Apple iPad. "There are times that you have to do work. Tablets are great for entertainment, but they aren't exactly conducive to productivity," said Dave Zavelson, a marketing executive at Dell, at the conference. That's when he revealed the hidden keyboard.

The tablet will be available later this year, he said. … Read more

Small laptops aren't necessarily getting any smaller, but they are getting more powerful. Here's a quick look at the power-efficient engines purring inside the latest laptops from Hewlett-Packard.

The newest welterweight laptops from HP, introduced on Wednesday, offer more than flashy new skins. Inside is Intel's newest chip technology that offers more performance without a significant hit to battery life.

First up is the 3-pound Mini 210. This Netbook offers, for the first time, a dual-core Atom processor, a break from a long line of single-core-only Atom Netbook processors. Dual-core processors are better at handling multiple data streams than single-core processors and thus boost performance significantly for certain applications.

Despite having two cores, Intel's 1.5GHz Atom N550 has a thermal envelope of only 8.5 watts, only two more watts than its single-core N455 cousin. And this thermal envelope is even more impressive when you consider the fact that it also includes the 200MHz graphics chip, which is built onto the same piece of silicon as the main processor.

HP claims up to 10.75 hours of battery life with a six-cell battery. That said, even if HP is overstating battery life, anything within the ball park of eight to ten hours is decent for a Windows dual-core laptop.

The HP Mini 210 is available in the United States with a starting price of $329.

Pavilion dm3 squeezes Intel's higher-performance mobile processors into a slim form factor

The just-announced HP Pavilion dm3 laptop boasts an Intel Core i series chip matched with a new design that keeps the laptop cooler.… Read more

Market-leading PC maker Hewlett-Packard has been making headlines this summer, but not necessarily for its hardware. That's about to change with this collection of new laptop hardware and related accessories, ranging from 10-inch Netbooks to massive 17-inch desktop replacements that play 3D content.

Mini 210 and Mini 5103 NetbooksThe Netbook scene hasn't seen a lot of upgraded hardware since the start of the 2010, but new Intel dual-core Atom N550 processors are a potential bright spot (we've already seen Netbooks such as the Asus Eee PC 1215N with the current D525 dual-core version). The Atom N550 will be available on the new HP Mini 210 as an upgrade option. Otherwise, the new HP Mini 210 remains similar to what we've seen previously.

Starting at $329, the 10-inch-screened Mini 210 comes in Atom N455, N475 or N550 versions, with optional HD-resolution screens, Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerators, and GPS. New colors include charcoal, crimson red, lavender frost, luminous rose, and ocean drive. The new HP Mini 210s are immediately.

The higher-end HP Mini 5103 is the successor to the 5102, and shares its ProBook-like looks (both are technically part of HP's business laptop line, but still very popular with consumers). An Intel Atom N550 dual-core processor is the default, along with support for faster DDR3 RAM and 7,200 rpm hard drives.

A spill resistant, more durable keyboard, Espresso-color metal chassis, and optional Gobi broadband and GPS round out the features on this slightly more upscale 10.1-inch Netbook, which also starts a bit higher at $399. The Mini 5103 is available starting September 17.… Read more

Hewlett-Packard will refresh its Netbook lineup next month with new Atom chips that bring dual-core technology to these mini laptops for the first time.

Documentation on HP's U.S. Web site (PDF) indicates that the HP Mini 5103 will use the new chip. Under "Product Description," the just-announced Intel Atom dual-core N550 1.5GHz processor appears as one of three processor options in HP's support documentation.

Preliminary benchmarks of the Atom N550 are encouraging, indicating, in some cases, better performance than not only a single-core Atom but a dual-core desktop-class Atom processor, according to Web site … Read more

Bigger than a standard 10-inch Netbook, but still less powerful and less expensive than even budget-minded midsize systems, 11.6-inch laptops sit somewhat awkwardly between categories. Some call them premium Netbooks, others tag them as ultraportable systems. In general, they're what you get when you take a standard 10-inch Netbook and make it a little bigger, a little more powerful, and a little more expensive.

The timing for the current explosion of 11.6-inch systems couldn't be better, as the Netbook genre was starting to feel a little dated. That's mostly the fault of Netbook manufacturers, who … Read more

Intel announced on Monday the first dual-core Atom processor targeted specifically at Netbooks, finally putting the same number of processing cores inside these tiny laptops as found on larger mainstream laptops.

Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and LG all announced new dual-core Netbooks Monday. Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, MSI, Samsung, and Toshiba, among others, are planning similar announcements in the coming weeks and months, according to Intel.

This is a big step for the Netbook market. Since their inception back in spring 2008, Netbooks have been powered by single-core processors. This allowed Netbook suppliers to design 10-inch-class laptops that were relatively power efficient and inexpensive, typically costing about $350.

The widely reported downside has been lackluster performance, since all processing must be funneled through one core. The Atom performance gap with mainstream Core 2 Duo and Core i laptop processors is also due to design differences. (Mainstream laptop processors have a different architecture, delivering higher-level performance.) But the fact that the Atom for Netbooks has always been single core has exacerbated the performance gap.

Intel has other reasons for moving to dual core. Low-power dual-core processors from rival Advanced Micro Devices are already appearing in Netbook-class laptops. The Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dm1z, an 11.6-inch Netbook, uses an AMD Turion II Neo dual-core K625 processor (1.5GHz) and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 graphics processor, offering potentially stiff competition for single-core Atom Netbooks.

The new dual-core Intel N550 Atom runs at 1.5GHz and supports DDR3 memory, another performance benefit.

Despite the expected crush of updated models, the Netbook now has a new nemesis: the iPad. "The death of the Netbook has been greatly exaggerated," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC, referring to the rise of the Apple iPad and its impact on Netbook sales. Though O'Donnell doesn't discount the iPad effect, Netbooks are principally for consumers who want to use Windows on a small device--virtually impossible on an iPad--and they're less expensive than an iPad, to boot. … Read more

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. and IBM Research in Zurich say they are the first to use atomic-force microscopy to "see" the unknown molecular structure of a marine compound taken from the deepest place on Earth, a result that could speed up the development of new medicines.

In doing so, researchers discovered that the pressure-tolerant bacterium sampled from the deepest place on the planet--the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, 35,814 feet below sea level--contains the molecular structure cephalandole A, which was originally isolated from a Taiwanese orchid.

The group's findings appear online August 1 … Read more