Las Vegas Overrun By Laptops

Tablets -- except they're called slates now because the Apple tablet allegedly will be -- were all the buzz at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but they're mostly vaporware. Devices like the HP handheld seen in Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote or the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 laptop with detachable slate screen aren't expected to arrive until midyear.

By contrast, conventional notebooks were everywhere at CES, with more new models than there are Cirque du Soleil shows on the Strip (i.e., scores), many featuring Intel's just-unveiled Core i3, i5, and i7 mobile processors. Here's a rundown of the announcements and introductions.

We'll pass quickly over all the new netbooks built around the second-generation Atom CPU that Intel unveiled on December 21. Except for that Atom N450 processor with integrated graphics and the increasing availability of 250GB hard drives (breaking last year's 160GB ceiling), netbooks like Gateway's LT21, Toshiba's Mini NB 305, and HP's Mini 210 and 2102 are mostly variations on the 10.1-inch-screened theme their vendors played last year.

HP's Mini 5102 ($399 and up) and Lenovo's IdeaPad S10-3t ($549), on the other hand, add something new to the netbook formula: Standard on the Lenovo and optional on the HP is a multi-touch display that enables gestures, taps, and swipes across the screen as alternatives to keyboard and touchpad input.

As for non-netbook news, Lenovo made its share a few days before CES, unveiling four new ThinkPad laptops -- mainstream 14- and 15-inch models, a thin and light 14-incher, and a 15-inch mobile workstation -- along with an 11.6-inch, $449 ThinkPad X100e for ultraportable buffs and 13-, 14-, and 15-inch ThinkPad Edge models aimed at small businesses.

HP unveiled two mainstream models -- the 5-pound, 14-inch ProBook 6440b and 5.5-pound, 15.6-inch ProBook 6540b -- and four EliteBooks, business-rugged PCs that pass MIL-STD 810G tests for survival in hot, cold, damp, and dusty environments.

The 14-inch EliteBook 8440p and 15.6-inch model 8540p can be outfitted with optional batteries for up to 24 hours of unplugged operation. The 8440w and 8540w mobile workstations -- the former the industry's first 14-inch mobile workstation or portability champ in a category better known for 17-inch luggables -- pair magnesium-alloy chassis with 512MB Nvidia Quadro FX 380M graphics and a full roster of ISV software certifications.

Choose Your CPU

Next to its new processors, Intel's biggest news at CES was what wags are already calling WiDi -- Wireless Display technology, an HDMI-over-WiFi solution that puts the PC screen on a big screen with no cables in between. Toshiba and Netgear have teamed with Best Buy to sell the solution, the former with Wireless Display-enabled notebooks and the latter with a receiver or adapter for HDTV sets. Alas, the 14-inch, Core i5-powered Satellite E205 that's the centerpiece of the scheme is a $1,000 consumer laptop, designed for showing off videos and DVDs rather than office presentations.

Toshiba showed several more business-worthy notebooks, however, led by the Tecra A11, a 15.6-inch corporate model starting at $880. Thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the charcoal texture-finished A11 is available with all three of Intel's new CPUs -- the modest Core i3-330M, midrange i5-430M, or mighty quad-core i7-720QM -- and optional Nvidia GeForce graphics. It's backed by a three-year warranty.

Toshiba's most affordable models, the 15.6-inch Satellite L505 and 17.3-inch Satellite L555, start at $460 and $650, respectively, with Core i3 power (Core i5 CPUs are optional). The Satellite M505 ($700) is a 5.1-pound, 14-inch step-up model with the 2.13GHz Core i3-330M on board, while the Satellite U505 ($650) is a 4.7-pound, 13-inch executive traveler with available WiMax. Both the M505 and U505 flaunt optional touch screens.

Two other Toshiba models span the extremes in screen hardware: The AMD Athlon Neo-powered Satellite T115D ($450) is an 11.6-inch ultra-thin that weighs just 3.5 pounds, while the Satellite P505 ($800 and up) is a deskbound notebook with a whopping 18.4-inch, 1,680 by 945-pixel display, available with a Blu-ray drive and quad-core Core i7 horsepower.

Meanwhile, Gateway has made a liar out of HardwareCentral: In last month's review of the EC14 ultraportable, we stated, "Like other slimlines, the [EC14] does not have an optical drive." But the new EC14D model ($630) adds an integrated DVD±RW drive to the 11.6-inch mini while keeping its weight below four pounds (3.6 pounds, to be precise). Its Pentium SU4100 processor and other specs are unchanged.

Another new Gateway notebook, the EC58 (starting at $650), is a 1-inch-slim, 15.6-inch-screened model with 1,366 by 768 resolution and a claimed eight hours of battery life.