Today, HP announced the new HP Pavilion dm3. This 13.3-inch notebook features HP’s CoolSense Technology for better heat management and is available now.

The HP dm3 is a Intel Pentium-powered thin and light notebook that features HP’s black Imprint soft-touch finish, metal alloy chassis, and an etched aluminum bezel. It comes standard with 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB HDD, Intel HD Graphics, Bluetooth, and WiFi. It features a full-size island-style keyboard with one-touch action keys and an HP Clickpad with an On/Off button.

HP says that the dm3 is its coolest notebook to date. Aside from the complete redesign with changes in component and vent locations, the dm3 also includes HP CoolSense Technology which senses whether you have the notebook on a desk or in your lap. When in use away from a desk, HP claims that the notebook operates noticeably cooler. The user has ultimate control of the notebook’s cooling features using the HP Thermal Assistant app, which allows you to override the automatic cooling function.

The HP Pavilion dm3 weighs just 3.99 pounds and measures less than 1-inch thick. Unfortunately, due to the small form factor, it does not include a DVD drive. Its 6-cell battery offers up to 7 hours and 30 minutes of battery life. This is due in part to the low-voltage dual-core Intel Pentium processor and Intel HD Graphics. HP also added Dolby Advanced Audio with Altec Lansing speakers, which are also found on the HP Pavilion dm4. The HP Pavilion dm3 includes an HP TrueVision webcam with integrated digital microphone. Additionally, the dm3 features HP’s new Fences software, which keeps the desktop clean and clutter-free, and comes preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The HP Pavilion dm3 is currently available from HP Direct, starting at $549.99.

HP Pavilion dm3 Updated With CoolSense Cooling Technology is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Best Buy has the Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S Intel Core i5 powered notebook available for the back to school season for $1049.99. The Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S is a Best Buy Exclusive and is one of Best Buy’s three Blue Label notebooks which include a 2-year manufacturers warranty.

The Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S features a 2.26GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 13.3-inch LED backlit widescreen display, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Intel Wireless Display technology, and a built-in MOTION EYE webcam. These features come together to form a powerful notebook with many features that students will find useful.

This is a premium thin and light notebook because it contains one of the latest Intel processors, is only 1.2-inch thick, and weighs just 4.4 pounds. Combining the Core i5 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and its high-capacity 500GB hard drive, the Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S can handle most tasks that students may need it for. Web surfing, photo editing, and Microsoft Office applications should run just fine. Modern gaming on this notebook may be possible with the settings turned down. However, due to the integrated graphics the notebook may not be able to keep up with the high frame rates and may appear choppy or pixellated.

Some common complaints regarding the Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S include poor build quality with cheap materials, flawed Intel Wireless Display technology, poor audio, and bad technical support. Aside from these issues, the Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S is a very portable notebook that students could throw in their backpack and take to class. And with up to 5 hours of battery life, the notebook should last through a almost a whole day of classes unplugged.

If you are unimpressed with the Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S, Best Buy has plenty of cheaper notebook options that contain very similar specs. Another Blue Label notebook, the Toshiba Satellite E205-S1904, is $150 cheaper and offers a nearly as powerful Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Intel Wireless Display technology, and a backlit keyboard, all in a larger 14-inch notebook.

Sony VAIO VPC111FM/S From Best Buy Detailed Specs:

Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S: $1049 Core i5 powered Premium Thin and Light Notebook is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Best Buy has the Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 AMD Turion II Dual-Core powered notebook available for the back to school season at $499.99. This Toshiba notebook is a Best Buy Exclusive and part of the Toshiba Satellite line up.

The Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 features a 2.2GHz AMD Turion II Dual-Core processor, a 16-inch Widescreen HD display, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 320GB hard drive, ATI Radeon 4200 discrete graphics, and a stylish Fusion finish. All of these aspects come together to form a notebook suitable for most college students’ needs. Due to the 16-inch screen, Toshiba was able to include a dedicated numeric keypad, making this notebook great for working in Excel.

This notebook is considered a budget notebook due to its mobile processor. However, don’t let the budget word fool you. This processor is capable of handling most tasks that students would perform. The processor, when paired with its discrete graphics and 4GB of RAM, could handle web surfing, photo editing, modern gaming, and working on Microsoft Office documents. The 320GB hard drive should provide ample space for all of your photos, videos, and music.

Though photo editing should run smoothly on the Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000, running multiple Adobe applications at the same time, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, may diminish the notebook’s overall performance due to the DDR2 RAM and mobile processor. But, for a budget notebook, the Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 is definitely on the higher end.

The Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 is quite heavy and large when compared to other thin and light notebooks. At 6 pounds and 1.6″ thick, this notebook is not ultra-portable. If you are willing to spend $100 more, the Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4030 is a little more portable as well as powerful. This 14-inch notebook is 1.5″ thick and weighs 5 pounds. The Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4030 sports a more powerful version of the AMD Turion II mobile processor that is found in the Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000. Additionally, the Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4030 features faster DDR3 RAM, an LED-backlit display, and a more powerful graphics engine.

Some common complaints regarding the Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 include poor speaker and webcam quality, and short 2 hour and 55 minute battery life. Though it does feature Toshiba’s textured Fusion finish, which is designed to resist fingerprints as well as dissipate heat, many customers complain that it actually attracts fingerprints.

Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000 From Best Buy Detailed Specs:

Toshiba Satellite L505D-GS6000: $499 Budget 16″ Notebook w/ Discrete Graphics is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Samsung recently released two new thin and light notebooks. The Samsung X125 is available for pre-order in the United Kingdom, and the Samsung X180 is currently available in Korea. These notebooks are extremely portable and have quite a few unique features that aren’t found in similar notebooks.

Samsung X125

The X125 is available in the UK, sporting an AMD Athlon II Neo Processor K125 with an ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics card. The notebook features a new super silent mode, allowing you to lessen the humming noise coming from the laptop. Additional modes are normal and speed. Other features that Samsung included in the X125 are Bluetooth 3.0, a high-sensitivity webcam, and AllShare, which lets you stream and play videos, music, and photos from the laptop to DLNA devices without installing special drivers. Currently, the Samsung X125 is available for pre-order for 441 Euros, which is about $572.

Full Specifications:

• 11.6-inch LED backlit display (1366×768 resolution)
• AMD Athlon II Neo processor K125
• 3GB of RAM
• 320GB HDD
• ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics card
• Bluetooth 3.0
• High-sensitivity webcam – Provides less distortion and interruption, as well as a clearer image in areas with less light.
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• 6-cell battery
• 3.3 pounds
• 24.5mm thick

Samsung X180

The X180 is currently available in Korea. This model closely resembles the UK edition X125. The main exception is the inclusion of Intel components, rather than AMD. Differences from the X125 include an Intel Core i3-330UM processor and Intel GMA HD graphics.

Though not stated, we may see a US version of the Samsung X125 or X180, but no word on pricing or availability is yet available.

Via Samsung UK, Liliputing

Samsung’s New X125 and X180 Thin and Light Notebooks is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

When we first got a look at Dell’s 9.99mm thick concept notebook, the Adamo XPS, it was so thin and light that Xavier wondered if Dell would actually sell the concept notebook.

It looks like Dell is pushing forward on its quest to slice the competition down to the size with new images of the razor-esque looking Dell Adamo XPS leaking out which show us what ports the Adamo XPS will have.

Click for larger image

The first product shot we saw of the Adamo XPS appears to have been a picture of the notebook’s tiny rear end, about as thick as a Macbook Pro’s display, which is the only curviest part of the Adamo XPS.

The rest of the notebook, which Xavier estimates couldn’t weigh more than 2 pounds, looks like it could easily be used to defend yourself from any would be muggers; so long as you know how to use it.

Click for larger image

While still teasing, the new Dell Adamo XPS images do give us a little more info about the notebook. In addition to a solid state hard drive, which is the only storage that will fit in this small package, the Adamo XPS looks like it will come with the following ports.

• 1 DisplayPort connection
• 2 USB connections
• Headphone connection
• An odd shaped power connection.

Even though the Adamo XPS will be priced outside of my gadget budget it’s really exciting to see technology like this out there because it means that someday these smaller parts and batteries will make their way into cheaper gadgets that I can enjoy.

New Images of the Dell Adamo XPS Reveal Connections is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Toshiba’s introduced the Portégé A605 notebook, a lightweight consumer notebook that borrows some features from the Portege R500 , but isn’t quite as thin or light. The Portege A605 does have some sweet features, including an aluminum enclosure and 6.9 hours of battery life.

The Portégé A605 weighs in at 3.3 pounds, has a 12.1-inch display and is 1.18 inches thick. Toshiba managed to squeeze an optical drive into the Portégé A605. The ULV processor is one of the reasons the Portégé A605 can deliver a 6.9 hour battery life, which is very good for a consumer notebook.

The base price of the Portégé A605 is $1,399, which includes 3GB of memory, 250GB hard drive, a DVD burner, Windows Vista Ultimate, Web camand an Ultra-low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Toshiba also included a few professional features like keyboard spill protection, hard drive protection and a fingerprint reader.

If battery life and portablility are a priority to you the Portégé A605 is probably worth a look.

Toshiba Portégé A605 Notebook Introduced is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Lenovo’s introduced the ThinkPad X200s, a lightweight business notebook for business travelers and the X200t,the first widescreen ThinkPad tablet. Tom Ribble, the director of worldwide ThinkPad marketing, called me this morning to talk about the latest additions to the ThinkPad family.

According to Tom, the X200s is about as thin as the ThinkPad X300. Optimized for professionals on the move, the X200s can run for up to 13.2 hours with an extended 8-cell battery.

The ThinkPad X200t will replace the X61t. The new X200t has a maximum runtime of 10.5 hours with the optional 8-cell battery. It features many improvements over the X61t including improved inking sensitivity, an optional webcam and stereo speakers. Lenovo’s also improved touch sensitivity and palm rejection. The display now swivels in either direction.

update:Our friends over at GottabBeMobile got their hands on a ThinkPad X200t prototype:

Both the ThinkPad X200t and X200s can be configured with up to 4GB of RAM and the latest Intel Core 2 Duo low-voltage and ultra low-voltage processors.

The X200t and X200s will have a full range of 2.5-inch storage solutions, including 64GB or 128GB solid state drives, up to 320GB 5400 rpm drives or up to 160GB high-speed 7200 rpm drives. This breadth of drive options is lacking from several of Lenovo’s competitors’ thin and light systems, which often use 1.8-inch drives that spin as low as 4200rpm.

Lenovo also introduced a new Ultrabase that will be compatible across the ThinkPad X200 product line. The Ultrabase can be outfited with an optical drive (DVD or Blu-ray Disc) or a second hard drive. It can also charge a second battery.

Business notebook manufacturers have been bragging a lot about long runtimes lately, but as with other manufacturers you’ll have to shell out a steep premium to get the maximum runtimes of 13.2 and 10.5 hours that Lenovo claims. According to Lenovo, Pricing for optimized models of the ThinkPad X200s notebook starts at $2,242 and the ThinkPad X200 Tablet starts at $2,323. Much of that cost is due to still expensive SSD prices. The best bang for your buck in terms of battery life improvement is to opt for LED displays, which improve battery performance by about 20% compared to notebooks with LCD displays.

The X200s and X200t will be available from Lenovo.com and business resellers starting next week.

ThinkPad X200s Specifications
Processors
Intel Core 2 Duo, SL9400, SL9300, SU 9300
Operating System
Vista Home Basic 32, Vista Home Business 32, 64, Vista Ultimate 32, Vista Home Premium 32
Hard Drive
80, 160, 250, 320 GB/5400 rpm
100, 160 GB/7200 rpm
200 GB 7200 rpm full disk encryption
64, 128 GB SSD
Memory
Up to 4 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 memory
Wireless/Connectivity
Intel WiFI link 5100, 5300
WiMAX.WiFi link 5350
ThinkPad 11b/g wireless LAN Mini PCI
ExpressCard Adapter III
Gigabit ethernet
Ultrawide band
Bluetooth 2.0
WiMAX models available later in 2008
Security
Standard: ThinkVantage Client Security with Password Manager, TPM 1.2 chip, BIOS disable of all ports
Optional: integrated Fingerprint Reader, Smartcard reader, full-disk encryption HDD, optional Softex Omnipass and Ultimaco Safeguard Easy
Other
Optional: integrated digital mic, security cable slot, select models feature next-generation ThinkPad Roll Cage
Dimensions