Toshiba is showcasing its latest business-based products including the Toshiba Portege Satellite Pro, and Tecra product lines at CES 2009.Toshiba recently announced cooperation with Sun Microsystems to deliver notebooks pre-configured with OpenSolaris OS which are targeted for availability in early 2009.Toshiba showcased four notebooks. The Portege R600-ST520W is the company's first ultra-portable notebook with WiMAX capability. The notebook features a 12.1-inch LED backlit panel with pricing starting at US$2,149.99.The Portege A600-S2201 is an ultra-portable notebook without WiMAX capability. The notebook features a 12-inch LED panel and pricing starts at US$1,399.99.The Tecra R10-S4401 is a business notebook featuring the Intel Centrino 2 platform with vPro technology, a 14.1-inch display, and mobile Nvidia Quadro NVS 150M GPU with 128MB dedicated graphics memory. The notebook will be priced starting at US$1,549.99.Finally, the Satellite Pro S300/S300M series notebook with Intel Centrino processor and a choice of 14.1-inch or 15.4-inch TruBrite display will have a price starting at US$729.Toshiba Portege R600 business notebook with WiMAXPhoto: Company

Toshiba will launch its new portable 500GB external 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD), the R500E03D, in its main markets around the world in February 2009, according to Toshiba's manufacturing subsidiary Toshiba Digital Media Network Taiwan.The USB 2.0 two-platter HDD can store either 142,000 digital photos or 131,000 songs, 222 hours of DVD movies or 58 hours of high-definition movies, the Taiwan subsidiary indicated. The HDD has a maximum speed of 480Mbps, a dimension of 81(W) × 16.6(H) × 127(D)mm and a weight of 171g.Toshiba R500E03D portable hard disk drivePhoto: Company

In addition to introducing the new U series netbooks, Micro-Star International (MSI) will launch the new Wind Neton all-in-one PCs, X-Slim series and G series notebooks at CES 2009.The MSI X-Slim series X320 is equipped with the latest Intel platform and a 13.4-inch display of the 16:9 aspect ratio. The notebook's overall thickness is 1.98cm with the thinnest part being only 6mm, while the notebook only weights around 1.3kg.In addition to the U115 Hybrid netbook, MSI will launch the U120 netbook that provides WiMAX capability.MSI will showcase four new Wind Neton all-in-one PCs, the 22-inch AE2203, and 19-inch AP1900, AE1901 and AP1902. The AE1901 is equipped with the dual-core Atom processor, while the AE2203 comes with multimedia and entertainment functions, and supports full HD.The company will also showcase the CD130 nettop that adopts a dual-core Atom processor, and the G series gaming notebooks GT725, GT727, GT627 and GX420.MSI X-Slim series X320 notebookPhoto: CompanyMSI U120 netbook with WiMAX capabilityPhoto: CompanyMSI Wind Neton all-in-one PCPhoto: Company

Lenovo has announced the latest additions to its Idea brand of personal computers for consumers - the IdeaPad Y650, Y550 and Y450 notebooks and IdeaCentre A6002, an all-in-one desktop PC.The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one PC features a 21.5-inch frameless screen and provides a design that measures only one inch at its slimmest point, the company claimed.The all-in-one PC offers a 16:9 aspect ratio screen and support for 1920x1080 full HD resolution. The integrated speaker system includes a bass sub-woofer and Dolby Home Theatre audio certification, while the optional Blu-ray player completes the home cinema experience.At the core of the all-in-one PC is a desktop computer with choices of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Radeon graphics card technology with DirectX 10 support, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory for multitasking and up to 1TB of hard drive space for storage.The expanded Y series adds new screen sizes to the IdeaPad notebook lineup: the 16-inch Y650, the 15.6-inch Y550, and the 14-inch Y450. The new Y series notebooks are configurable with up to 500GB of hard drive storage space and up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.To provide HD entertainment and multimedia experience, the Y series notebooks are equipped with 16:9 format widescreen panels, optional Nvidia GFX graphics for gaming, HD video playback and Dolby Home Theater surround sound.The IdeaPad Y650, Y550, Y450 notebooks will be available beginning in March. The prices start at US$1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650, US$829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450. The IdeaCentre A600 will be available beginning in April with price starting at US$999.Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 notebookPhoto: Company

MSI has announced the U115 Hybrid netbook that is capable of operating both a solid state drive (SSD) and hard drive simultaneously.The U115 Hybrid uses an SSD to run Windows while storing files on its hard disk drive.To help extend battery life, hybrid storage technology can temporarily disconnect the hard drive and storing all files on the SSD.The netbook features Intel's Menlow platform with an Atom processor and 10-inch widescreen LCD display and LED backlight. MSI U115 Hybrid netbook specifications Item Detail Processor Intel Atom Z530 processor Operation System Windows XP Home Chipset Intel Poulsbo US15W Memory 1GB DDR2 533MHz with support to 2GB LCD 10-inch LCD panel Storage 120GB or 160GB HDD 8GB/16GB SSD Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, December 2008MSI U115 Hybrid netbookPhoto: Company

Asustek Computer announced the newest member of its Eee PC family, the Eee PC 1002HA, featuring a redesigned chassis adorned with a brushed aluminum LCD cover and palm rest.The Eee PC 1002HA weighs 1.2kg with the battery attached and measures in at 1-inch thick. The Eee PC 1002HA features a 10.2-inch LED-backlit display with resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, a keyboard that is 92% the size of a standard one, a digital array microphone, a 1.3 megapixel built-in webcam and Bluetooth connectivity.The netbook is available with both Linux and Windows XP Home edition operating systems, while the netbook also provides a multi-touch touchpad.The Eee PC 1002HA also features the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) which consists of the Power4 Gear Hybrid application and the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) to save power consumption and allows a longer running time. Asustek Eee PC 1002HA specification Item Detail Display 10.2-inch LED backlight display with resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels Dimensions 264mm (W) x 181mm (B) x 27.6mm (H) Weight 1.2kg (with battery) Battery 4200mAh, up to 4.15 hours Processor Intel Atom N270 Chipset Intel 945GSE / ICH7-M Main Memory Windows XP: 1GB DDR2 (supports up to 2GB) Linux: 1GB DDR2 (supports up to 2GB) Storage Hard disk drive up to 160GB Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, December 2008Asustek Eee PC 1002HA netbookPhoto: Company

Lanner Electronics has released the FW-7872, a 1U half-rack network appliance for network security and acceleration applications.Built around the Intel 945GME chipset, the FW-7872 provides Core 2 Duo and Celeron M support, up to 4GB of DDR2, four Gigabit Ethernet ports and two internal 2.5-inch drive bays. It also includes remote management features through IPMI and IP-KVM support, enabling administrators to monitor the system and perform maintenance tasks remotely, as well as hardware bypass and redundant power supplies, highlighted Lanner."The FW-7872's half-rack form factor achieves the same level of power and efficiency as a full 1U appliance but in half the space, leaving half of the rack space for additional hard drives, power supplies or another half-rack appliance." pointed out Jesse Chiang, Network Communications Product Planner at Lanner.Lower power consumption and less heat generation round out the "green" aspects of the FW-7872, making the platform suitable for environment-conscious applications, said Lanner.The Lanner FW-7872 is available for sample orders immediately.Lanner's FW-7872 network appliancePhoto: Company

OCZ Technology has unveiled its Flex EX memory series, the high-density modules that operate at DDR2 and DDR3 for PC gaming."Memory is the primary storage device of any modern computer system and defines how fast the CPU can access data," said Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ. The new OCZ Flex Ex series provides the combination of density, frequency and access latencies for any system architecture by delivering speed at 4GB density with cooling options, according to Schuette.The new Flex EX modules will be available in 4GB (2x2048MB) dual channel kits.OCZ EVP (Extended Voltage Protection) is a feature that allows a VDIMM of 2.25VPhoto: CompanyOCZ DDR2 PC2-9600 Flex EX 4GB SeriesPhoto: Company

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has launched its TouchSmart tx2-1003AU touch screen notebook in Taiwan.The notebook features an AMD Turion X2 RM-74 processor, 250GB hard drive, ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU with 64MB DDR2 sideport memory and 12.1-inch WXGA capacitive touch panel. Quanta Computer manufactures the notebook for HP.HP pointed out that it plans to abandon single-touch technology and completely enter the multi-touch era in 2009.HP's TouchSmart tx2 series notebooks will target the consumer market with prices around NT$34,900 (US$1,054). The company believes the series will expand the scale of the touch screen notebook market.Touch panel makers are also optimistic about touch panel demand in 2009 and expect monthly shipment volumes of around 100,000 units.HP TouchSmart tx2 touchscreen notebookPhoto: Yen Ting Chen, DIGITIMES, December 2008

Cooler Master has introduced the Black Label Limited Edition case and accessories with a global availability of 500 individually numbered sets.The set brings together the company's Hyper Z600 cooling fan, Cosmos chassis and PSU with a new black appearance and is priced at US$599 or 499 euro.Cooler Master Black Label Limited Edition casePhoto: Company