Last year “small” was the key word when it came to mobile computing, and the netbook was king. This year the trend is toward personalized performance. People are discovering that a tiny machine has its drawbacks. If a laptop is just being moved from the living room to the bedroom, then why try to watch a movie on a miniature screen or type on a puny keyboard? And for gamers, netbooks are just sad, little devices.
Powerful PCs used to be bulky and unattractive, but now there’s no reason to equate high-performance with ugly. Dell has just added 26 color choices to its consumer Studio and Inspiron PC lines through an exclusive deal with nail lacquer manufacturer OPI. This means that a woman’s laptop can now match her nail polish. These PCs, with displays up to 17-inches, will come in colors such as “I’m Not Really a Waitress,” “Big Apple Red,” “Strawberry Margarita,” “Rosy Future” and “Kyoto Pearl.” Beginning next month, all the color and artwork offerings will be shown as options in the Dell Design Studio. Select OPI colors also will become available at many retailers.
“Beautiful nails really are the ultimate accessory to any look,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive Vice President & Artistic Director. “And now, with Dell laptops that coordinate with OPI Nail Lacquers, you can match your nails to your e-mails!”
But a machine clad in “Rosy Future” may not be as important as top performance. Toshiba has just unveiled its Qosmio X500 Series, an enthusiast-class line of performance laptops geared for high definition multimedia and gaming. The Qosmio X500 Series features Toshiba’s Fusion Finish in Omega Black with red chrome accents and a full keyboard with LED Backlighting and numeric 10-key pad. An intuitive touchpad with multi-touch control, enables greater flexibility to browse and control what’s happening on-screen with gesture-commands, such as two-finger pinch, swipe, rotate and scroll.
Toshiba bills the Qosmio X500 Series laptops as “pro-class.” These laptops feature the new Intel Core i7 processor, Windows 7 and Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology. The Qosmio X500 Series offers ultra-fast DDR3 system memory, dual hard-drive configurations, as well as NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M graphics with 1GB of GDDR5 video memory. This pairing of high-performance technologies allows users to rip through the latest 3D games at fast frame-rates or create hi-definition video and audio more efficiently with smooth rendering and encoding.
For hi-def lovers, select models of the Qosmio X500 Series laptops will be available with an integrated Blu-ray drive, so movie fanatics can enjoy their favorite films right from the laptop’s high-definition 18.4-inch diagonal widescreen display. A premium sound system featuring built-in Harman Kardon speakers and Dolby Home Theater audio, plus an integrated HDMI-CEC port amplifies the entertainment experience.
But for some, beauty and power aren’t enough in a laptop. Then it’s time to sign up for “pure domination.” That’s the pitch line for the Alienware M15x. It claims to be the “most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe,” but that title may belong to Clevo’s just released a 15.6” laptop with an i7 processor and GTX280m.
Nevertheless, the Alienware M15X is still awe inspiring. In addition to its mobile Core i7 processor, the M15x also offers a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU and up to 8GB DDR3 1333MHz memory. With its QuickTouch System Control Pad, mechanical buttons and control knobs are rendered obsolete. The QuickTouch control pad uses touch-capacitive sensors to access and manage power and volume controls, wireless connectivity and both Command Center and Stealth Mode launch functions. The M15x’s case design has aggressive lines and an in-your-face attitude that quickly dissipates system heat. It can be personalized in Metallic Red, Metallic Silver or Metallic Black. Fully loaded, the M15X can be purchased for a mere $5000.
