Centrino 2 aims to please with better battery life and more power

Toshiba's sleek-looking entertainment models (pictured) are loaded with multimedia features for HD tasks, while the company's business models have a slightly redesigned chassis that posses a toned-down look for the office.
This model from HP was the stand-out product. It's a 17in model with a liquid metal-looking chassis. It's definitely shiny and HP supplies a cloth with which to keep it clean. It's a desktop replacement unit with two hard drives installed for a total of 640GB of storage space.
Fujitsu showcased this beautiful S-Series laptop (S6520), which features all the benefits of Centrino 2, as well as an LED screen with a thin bezel.
NEC's VERSA M380-2001DR is a Centrino 2-based, 15.4in laptop that's aimed at users who want to be productive. It includes a 6-cell battery and a full-sized keyboard with a number pad.
ASUS is one of the first vendors to have products on store shelves. These will be multimedia powerhouses with Blur-ray and HDMI support.
Intel released its latest-generation Centrino platform today — Centrino 2, which is also known by its codename 'Montevina'. There is a big push for high-definition content with the new platform, which Intel says will decode Blu-ray movies better than the Santa Rosa platform (the previous-generation Centrino platform) and also last longer while not plugged in to an outlet. Nearly all notebook vendors were present at the launch today, but Dell and Apple were conspicuously absent.
Acer is releasing its Gemstone-inspired Aspire-series notebooks for mainstream consumers (pictured) as well as TravelMate models for business users. Models with Blu-ray start at around $1400.
Lenovo's new IdeaPad Y430 and Y530 are also multimedia-focused for mid-range customers. Prices start from $1499 for the Y430 and $1999 for the Y530. The company's ThinkPad range (not pictured), which will also get the Centrino 2 treatment, will also feature switchable graphics, so users can go select between integrated and discreet graphics in order to save power while on the go.

Show Comments

Follow PCWorld: