Hey readers, first I want to thank you for reading Tekno-Logic this week, this is where you'll find my thoughts and ramblings on recent technology and gaming news and what's on the rise and fall in all sorts of tech trends.
After a break from last week with job interviews and jury duty, I'm back and ready to tell you all about some new notebooks that were announced recently. We'll be taking a look at new netbook-like laptops from Lenovo and MSI, and Alienware has finally revealed what they're calling an “all-powerful” portable gaming laptop. It's a beast, and we'll get to that at the end. In the meantime, let's take a look at what MSI has coming out soon: the X340.

MSI has had some decent success with their endeavors in netbook devices and other notebooks of a wide variety in power and pricing. Their latest device comes from a line of Macbook Air influenced ultra-portable notebooks which are built with an emphasis on size, weight, and energy efficiency. The line includes three notebooks of varying strength in hardware, but share a familiar shape and size: they are all designed like a thin seashell that opens to a decently sized screen, but closes to a slim profile for portability and storage.
The modestly priced model, the X340, includes modest hardware like Intel's new Ultra Low Voltage processor (Core 2 Solo), and the video chipset is also from Intel (the integrated 4500MHD, a 320GB hard drive, and the external ports surprisingly include an HDMI port for easy connectivity to a TV or other HDMI-capable display. The reviews that are out already for the early X340 model are mixed with most noting that the keyboard is weak and flexible to the touch, and overall build quality is below-average. Gizmodo's results in playing 1080p on the device conflict with LaptopMag's review, but I think it's safe to assume that it can play 720p content with some ease. Both reviews also don't agree on the device's battery life, with Gizmodo claiming that it's relatively low for the device (~1.5 hours watching a video, Wi-Fi enabled). The X340 does edge out a little bit thicker in size than the Macbook Air, but weighs a bit less due to the overall size being smaller by sacrificing both screen and keyboard space.
Overall, from what I've read, it's not a very impressive purchase mostly because of the price, which is set around $800 to start.

Lenovo has made an addition to their line with a similar focus on portability with the new IdeaPad U350, but it doesn't start at the premium price while including the same or better hardware, and I do expect this ultraportable to have above average build quality since it will be a close cousin to the legendary Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads and their business-minded product lines. The U350 sports a larger screen than the X340 (13.3-inches vs. 10.1-inches), offers a wider variety of processors (in addition to the Core 2 Solo, there will be Pentium and Celeron ULV choices), and other nice things like large hard drives (500GB optional) and integrated with 802.11n WiFi plus a true Gigabit Ethernet port. The U350 weighs in at 3.5 pounds, and there aren't any definite measurements in size available at this time but it will be under 1-inch thick.
This device will start around $650, but the premium choices in memory, hard drives, and such will really dig deep into your wallet and ruin the attraction for those keeping affordability in mind. Don't go too crazy on the options and you'll make a great choice in picking up the U350 sometime soon from Lenovo.

Now Alienware is the place you'd look for top of the line performance in any computer you buy from then, and they don't hold back in their line of notebooks either. Now that their entry-level Area51 m15x model earning awards and distinction from the people at Laptop Magazine and PC World, they're focusing on the highest of high-end gaming laptops with their freshly revealed M17x model.
The M17x sports just about the best of what any laptop could offer, which means Core 2 Extreme processors overclocked for maximum performance, dual NVIDIA GTX280M's in SLI to take on the most complex of 3D environments (it runs the ever-demanding Crysis without issue), a full HD-capable 17-inch screen (native resolution is 1920x1200), and enhanced lighting features to add some flare to the already impressive appearance. It does sport a 9-cell battery which really couldn't handle this machine on its own for any extended amount of time, so you better keep this thing plugged into a charger at all times for uninterrupted gaming. Excluding any Intel Core-i7 equipped notebooks, this is pretty much the do-all, beat-all machine for gamers thanks mostly to the dual GPUs handling everything you throw at it and then some.
It'll be released sometime soon and available directly from Alienware, starting at the attractive price of $1799 with more modest hardware choices.