NEC has updated its rugged notebook family with a new model — the ShieldPRO N22G. This one’s a 12.1-inch rugged notebook computer for people who work in the field. Speaking of ruggedness, the ShieldPRO N22G can withstand a fall from 90cm and temperatures ranging from -20 to +50 Celsius. It is also waterproof and dust-proof. Specification-wise it is good too. The notebook is powered by Intel Core i7-660UE dual-core processor (1.33GHz) and features 4GB DDR3 memory, large hard drive or SSD, and 12.1-inch LED-backlit display (1,024 x 768 pixels). The ShieldPRO N22G is also equipped with Ethernet, 802.11sbgn WiFi, Bluetooth, card reader, 2 USB ports, and 12hrs battery Read more

ZiiLABS has introduced a new Android tablet reference design for OEMs. The Jaguar3 tablet has a 10.1-inch multi touch display (1280×800 pixels resolution) and is powered by dual-core ZMS-20 or quad-core ZMS-40 StemCell processor. What is interesting about this tablet is that it not only looks good, but is also very thin (8.1mm) and light (480g). Specification include 1GB memory, 16GB/32GB/64GB NAND flash storage, HD front facing camera, 12MP rear facing camera, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and GPS. The Jaguar3 also features accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, stereo speakers, dual microphone array, micro HDMI 1.4, Micro USB 2.0 port, and MicroSD card slot. Read more

Philadelphia Media Network is moving forward with its plan to provide discounted Android tablets to its digital newspaper subscribers. PMN announced today that it has partnered with tablet manufacturer Arnova to offer 5,000 of the company’s Android-powered Arnova 10 G2 tablets to PMN digital subscribers. The subsidized Arnova 10 G2 offer starts on Sept. 13, and means that consumers can pay as little as $99 for the tablet when you sign up for a two-year digital subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News for $9.99 a month (for a total of $218), or pay $129 for the slate with a one-year subscription to both papers for $12.99 a month (for a total of Read more

MSI today launched two new gaming laptops in the American market — the GT780DXR and GT683DXR. What is interesting about these two gaming rigs is the fact that they derive their graphics prowess from the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M graphics processing unit. Leading the fleet, the GT780DXR comes in a brushed aluminum chassis with 17.3-inch full HD Non Reflection display and SteelSeries programmable backlit keyboard. Specification include Intel Core i7 processor, 12GB of DDR3 system memory, 1TB hard disk with Raid 0 or no redundancy and DVD burner. All this and more for $1699.99. On the other hand the GT683DXR is a 15.6-incher, but with similar specification. This one retails Read more

LG has launched two new laptop computers in Korea — the Aurora Xnote S430 (14-inch) and S530 (15.6-inch). Both of them are designed for style conscious buyers and are based on second generation Intel Core i3/i5 processor. Specification include LED-backlit display (1366*768), up to 8GB DDR3 memory, max 750GB hard drive, AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics card and DVD burner. Both of them also provide Ethernet, 802.11bgn WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, 7 in 1 card reader, 1.0MP webcam, HDMI, and 6-cell battery. Operating system is Windows 7. The LG Xnote S430 and S530 are launched in Korea and will be available in Middle East, Africa and Asia in early September followed by Europe and America. Read more

Recently ARM detailed its processor roadmap. The most interesting product which will come out of ARM labs will be a SoC in which there will be full coherency on CPU and GPU. In the year 2015, ARM is planning to launch a SoC designed for general purpose computing. In addition, the firm will launch a new platform for mobile phones in 2013 which will convert smartphones into super phones! No kidding! The ARM Cortex A15 quad-core chip with Mali-T604 GPU core will be so powerful that high-end super phones will have tremendous power so as to replace laptops! Future of mobile devices looks very good Read more