Maverick - New Notebook Computers - Maybe Some New Design Wins for AMD's K6
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zdnet.com
Notebook lines will be
overhauled
Compaq, NEC, Toshiba to unveil new models at
PC Expo
By John G. Spooner, PC Week Online
05.25.98
Compaq Computer Corp., NEC
Computer Systems Division and
Toshiba America Information Systems
Inc. are readying upgrades and
overhauls to their respective notebook
PC lines.
At PC Expo in New York next month, each is expected to
display new systems based on Intel Corp.'s fastest Pentium II
and Pentium II Processor with MMX Technology chips. The
three are also expected to demonstrate at the show, behind
closed doors, prototypes of portables featuring Intel's
forthcoming 300MHz mobile Pentium II, sources said.
The 300MHz mobile Pentium II is due from Intel in September,
sources said.
Compaq will demonstrate two new Armada 7000 series
notebooks, which feature 266MHz Pentium II processors, 8GB
hard drives and 14.1-inch screens, sources said. Also included
will be 24-speed CD-ROM drives. Pricing was not available.
Though Compaq officials in Houston declined to comment on
unannounced products, they confirmed plans to refresh the
entire notebook line with Pentium II processors by the end of
the third quarter.
NEC, of Mountain View, Calif., will release a new line of
systems, internally dubbed the "Universal" notebook, which
share common components and docking solutions, sources
said.
One unit will be a thin-and-light notebook, measuring about 1.2
inches thick and weighing less than 5 pounds. The notebooks
will feature Pentium Processors with MMX Technology and
Pentium II processors as well as 13.3- and 14.1-inch screens,
sources said.
Pricing for a unit with a Pentium II processor and a 13.3-inch
screen will start between $3,000 and $4,000, sources said.
NEC officials declined to comment on unannounced products.
Toshiba, of Irvine, Calif., will demonstrate the new Satellite 335
series, which will be based on Intel's 266MHz Pentium MMX
and will feature a 12.1-inch display. Prices will start below
$2,500, sources said.
NEC and Toshiba will announce their models prior to the show,
sources said.
Officials at both companies declined to comment.
In related notebook news, Acer America Corp., of San Jose,
Calif., next week will announce several models in its new
Extensa 700 series.
A high-end Extensa 710 model will include a 233MHz Pentium
II processor, a 13.3-inch XGA-resolution display, 32MB of
RAM, a 4GB hard drive and a digital versatile disk-ROM drive,
sources said. Priced at less than $4,000. The new models are
expected to be available by mid-June.
Officials declined to comment.
One IT manager said he would focus on sturdy, midrange
systems when evaluating new notebooks at the show. "If I were
looking to buy, I'd look at the middle range. Something with a
13.3-inch screen, bigger hard drive and longer battery life is of
more interest to me," said Dave Boychuk, PC/LAN specialist at
Sun Core Energy's Sunoco refinery, in Sarnia, Ontario.
The portable road to PC Expo
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Paul
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