Laptops fight back at CES

• 
• 

 1 of 2

Gallery

Posted on 7 Jan 2009 at 03:10

Netbooks may have been the undisputed stars of 2008, but if the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is any gauge, then 2009 could be the year that innovative laptops fight back.

Click here for full coverage from CES 2009

The Consumer Electronics Show begins in earnest on Thursday, however, journalists have been given a sneak peek at some of the technology that will be making headlines in the coming year, with fully featured laptops among the stars.

MSI's MacBook Air rival

MSI drew first blood, launching a MacBook Air rival, dubbed the X-Slim X320. The X-Slim weighs in at an impressive 1.3kg, 60g lighter than the Air, though its 6mm thinnest point is slightly thicker than the Air's 4mm thinnest edge.

There's a 13.4in, 16:9 widescreen display, and though the company has yet to confirm the specification, it currently contains a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 2GB RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and built-in 3G connection.

It certainly looks the part, possessing the sleek lines of its much-vaunted rival, and nippy enough performance during our brief trials at the stand.

Release date has been scheduled for the second quarter of 2009. There's no word on UK pricing, but it's expected to be available for around $800 in the US, which could be low enough to trouble Apple's darling.

The Taiwanese manufacturer wasn't stopping there, though. Also on its stand was the Wind NetOn AE2203, the heavyweight of its all-in-one range. The NetOn features a 22in touchscreen display, dual-core Atom and Blu-ray drive. A series of software hotkeys offer access to multimedia functions, including the Blu-ray player and Windows Media Player.

Initial impressions are sketchy with the touchscreen feeling slow and unresponsive, however, the model on display was running XP, despite the fact that company representatives tell us it will ship with Vista.

Apparently the three new NetOn models, which are available with 16in, 19in, and 22in displays, are just the beginning of MSI's assault on the all-in-one market. Company representatives claim MSI will be "focusing heavily" on the form factor in the next few years.

Lenovo's taking the Wii

Lenovo was also showing off its first crack at the all-in-one market with the Idea Centre A600. Beneath a 21.5in 1,920 x 1,080 resolution screen, the A600 also offers "a choice of Core 2 Duo processors", an ATI graphics card, a potential 1TB of storage, and up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. There's also a TV tuner and Blu-ray burner, beginning at $999 in the US.

Strangely, the feature the company seemed most keen to eulogise was the bundled remote, which alongside its ability to control Windows Media Center, also doubles as a VoIP handset and Wii remote, allowing it to double as a wireless "air mouse" or games controller.

The CES teaser event also allowed us to get our first look at Lenovo's unusual dual-display W700DS laptop. The laptop comes with a slide out secondary 10in, 1,024 x 600 display, and is aimed squarely at graphic designers looking for the extra screen real estate. The secondary screen is capable of tilting 30 degrees forward, which is nice, and feels reassuringly sturdy in use.

The trade off is, of course, size. In person the W700DS is a monstrous machine, completely uncompromising in its slab-like appearance. Saying that, it weighs in at as surprisingly modest 5kg. More technical details can be found on our blogs.