News Bits: Toshiba Vista Laptops, Acer and Asus to be first with Intel 802.11n, WiFi Booster

Toshiba readies two new Satellite notebooks for Vista

Toshiba today announced two new Satellite notebooks which will be available with Windows Vista when Microsoft releases it.

Satellite P105

The P105 is a multimedia PC featuring a 17" widescreen display. It will retail for $1,600 and will be available for sale on January 30. Specifications are as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 (1.6GHz/2MB/533MHz FSB)
• 2GB DDR2 RAM
• 160GB hard drive
• Full-size keyboard

Satellite U205

The U205 is a 12.1" widescreen notebook. It will retail for $1,300 and be available for sale on February 6. The U205 will have similar specifications as the P105, but with only 1GB of RAM.

Both notebooks features 5-in-1 card readers and dual-layer DVD burners.

Read More (BusinessWire)

Asus and Acer to ship notebooks with draft Intel 802.11n cards in January

DigiTimes reports that Asus and Acer will begin distributing the new Intel 4965AGN wireless card in late January. The Intel 4965AGN card is an based on draft 802.11n wireless technology, and has improvements in speed, range, and battery life versus the previous 3945ABG wireless card. Read more about the Intel 4965 here.

Read More (DigiTimes)

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to arive 2H 2007

Consumers and business users especially who are waiting for the first Windows Vista service pack to come out may not have long to wait - according to internal Microsoft emails, Service Pack 1 for Vista may come in the second half of 2007. According to the email, Microsoft plans to deal with "regressions from Windows Vista and Windows XP, security, deployment blockers and other high impact issues [as its] primary focus for the Service Pack.  The Windows TAP team will work with customers to identify and drive these issues."

Read More (DailyTech)

Brando releases USB retractable notebook cooling pad

This cooling pad is ideal for both Tablet and notebook users. The cooling pad helps keep your notebook cool, while you work and it prolongs battery life. Brando states that the notebook cooling pad was designed with travel in mind, the retractable design reduces its size making it lightweight and portable to take with you on the go. It will easily fit in your bag with your Tablet, while still leaving room for your other gadgets.

Read More (TabletPCReview.com)

Buffalo AirStation USB Wi-Fi Reception Booster

Buffalo is releasing a USB based WiFi antenna that's supposed to boost reception over your built-in antenna by "210%". That's a lofty claim, and somewhat hard to believe. The device will initially be released in Japan for ¥3,700 ($31) and no word on when or if this would make it to the U.S. market. The FCC might have something to say about such a device.

Read More (Engadget)

Quanta Storage to start volume production of slim Blu-ray disc burners in 2H 2007

Quanta Storage plans to start volume production of slim Blu-ray disc burners in the second half of 2007. Quanta Storage is the largest manufacturer of slim-type optical drives for notebooks in Taiwan. The company will get the technology from Sony.

Currently there are only a few brands producing HD DVD or Blu-ray slim-type DVD burners in volume.

Read More (DigiTimes)