News Bits: Schools Laptop Programs Dropped, More HP Santa Rosa Notebooks, Asus Santa Rosa Notebooks
Some schools drop laptops after seeing no progress
Schools began investing in laptops over ten years ago after recommendations from groups who saw laptops as part of the 21st century classroom. States including Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota helped buy laptops for thousands of students statewide. While many school administrators have said that laptops in the classroom have motivated students to learn, it is not clear whether one-to-one computing has helped to improve academic performance. The laptop programs are still new and not very widespread.
The Texas Center for Educational Research found that there was no overall difference on test scores between 21 middle schools who received laptops in 2004 and 21 who didn’t. An education professor at the University of California, Mark Warschauer, also found that there was no evidence to conclude that laptop sincreased state test scores. The professor still supports the laptop programs because it takes time for teachers to learn the technology and integrate it into their lesson plans. Mr. Warschauer said “If the goal is to get kids up to basic standard levels, then maybe laptops are not the tool. But if the goal is to create the George Lucas and Steve Jobs of the future, then laptops are extremely useful.”
Apple confirms LED-based notebooks, will adopt panels from Taiwan
Apple has recently confirmed its plans to launch Macs with LED backlighting technology in 2007. The notebooks will use components from AU Optronics (AUO), Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), Coretronic, and Kenmos Technology.
Shipments of 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch panels from AUO and CMO will begin in Q2 or Q3 of this year. Notebooks will account for 39.5% market share of the LED backlighting applications by 2010, up from 4.9% in 2007 according to Displaybank.
More HP Santa Rosa laptops leaked
Last week it was revealed that the Pavilion line of consumer notebook would be refreshed with Santa Rosa, and in the past few days the rest of the HP Santa Rosa lineup has been leaked on the web. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming from HP and that will be using the Santa Rosa platform
Business Compaq notebooks:
- HP Compaq 6710b – 15.4" business notebook
- HP Compaq 6510b – 14.1" business notebook
- HP Compaq 2510p – 12.1" ultraportable
- HP Compaq 2710p – 12.1" notebook to Tablet PC convertible
- HP Compaq 6910p – 14.1" screen business notebook
- HP Compaq 8710p – 17" screen business notebook
- HP Compaq 8710w – 17" screen business workstation
- HP Compaq 8510w – 15.4" screen business workstation
- HP Compaq 8510p – 15.4" screen business notebook
Consumer Pavilion notebooks:
- HP Pavilion HDX – 20" screen gaming notebook
- HP Pavilion dv2000t – 14.1" screen notebook
- HP Pavilion dv9000t – 17" screen notebook
- HP Pavilion dv6000t – 15.4" screen notebook
The most interesting of the consumer notebooks is the HDX that promises to be quite a beast of a gaming notebook. Check out the pictures of this upcoming HDX below:
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Discuss the HP HDX in our forums
Samsung launches Q1 Ultra UMPC at $799
Samsung today officially announced the Q1 Ultra Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). It will be available with two processors, a 600MHz Intel A100 and an 800MHz Intel A110. The Q1 has a claimed minimum battery life of 4.5 hours with the standard battery. The UMPC includes 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR connectivity.
The screen is backlit by LEDs with 300 nits of brightness and has a resolution of 1024×600. Other features of the Q1 include VGA out, a 300k webcam, and a split QWERTY keyboard. Optional features include a 3.5G HSDPA cellular modem, docking station, GPS navigation, extended battery (6- and 8-cells available), and external double-layer DVD burner.
The entry-level model will retail for a reasonable $799, with top end models hitting $1,999. It will be available from a wide range of resellers, such as Best Buy.
Below are pictures from a Samsung event that took place today in New York to kick off the sale of this device in the U.S.
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Asus introduces two new Santa Rosa laptops
Images courtesy Notebook Italia
Notebook Italia has leaked two new Santa Rosa-based gaming notebooks from Asus, the G1S and the G2S. Both include Windows Vista Home Premium and will ship later this month.
The G1S is a 15.4-inch widescreen model weighing in at 6.8 pounds with an 8-cell battery. It has the following specifications:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/4MB L2/800MHz FSB)
- 15.4-inch WSXGA+ screen
- Nvidia GeForce 8600M 256MB graphics
- 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
- 160GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
- DVD Super Multi drive
- Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
- Intel 4965AGN wireless
Pricing is listed at 1700 Euros, or about US$2,306.
The G2S is the larger laptop, featuring a 17-inch display. Specifications are the same as the G1S, the differences being in the hard drive (200GB SATA drive) and screen (17-inch WUXGA). The G2S is priced at 1900 Euros, about US$2,577.
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