Gateway’s EC14D series notebook has an 11.6 inch display and Intel CULV processor — which does absolutely nothing to set it apart from a dozen similar models from Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. But here’s one thing that does set it apart: This laptop has a built in DVD burner.

The Gateway EC14D07U went on sale in the US earlier this month. And now you can pick one up in Canada, although north of the border they like to call it the Gateway EC14D01h. And much to my surprise, it turns out the laptop is actually cheaper in Canada than the US. Canadians can pick one up for $579.99 CAD (about $571 US), while it sells for about $630 in the States.

The specs appear to be the same wherever you purchase the EC14D. It has a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, an 11.6 inch., 1366 x 768 pixel display, 4GB of RAM, a 320G hard drive, and an 8X DVD Super-Multi drive. It sports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 6 cell, 5600mAh battery, HDMI output, a multitouch touchpad, and runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

via Netbook Tech

A few days ago we noted that the Gateway EC14D07u laptop was available for pre-order. Well, today it looks like at least one retailer has the laptop in stock. B&H is selling the Gateway EC14D for $629.99.

This laptop’s claim to fame is the fact that while at first glance it looks like yet another 11.6 inch laptop with an Intel CULV processor, this model also makes room for an 8x SuperMulti DVD burner.

The disc drives does make the notebook a little heavier than similar laptops from Gateway’s parent company Acer. The Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ, for example, weighs 3.1 pounds, while the Gateway EC14D tips the scales at 3.6 pounds.

While that’s heavy for an 11.6 inch laptop in this day and age, it’s still a lot lighter than most 14 or 15 inch laptops.

Rounding out the EC14D’s specs are a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, Intel GMA 4500MHD grpahics, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

via Netbook Reports

Remember that Gateway EC14D notebook that was announced earlier this year? You know, the one with the 11.6 inch display, Intel CULV processor, and built-in DVD burner? Yeah, you can go ahead and pre-order it now. Amazon is taking pre-orders for the laptop for $629.99 + free shipping.

While that price makes the notebook a little more expensive than other CULV netbooks such as the Acer Aspire 1810 or Asus UL20A, it’s the only 11.6″ thin and light laptop with an 8 hour battery and DVD drive I’m aware of in this price range.

The Gateway EC14D has a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium and has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel HD display and Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics. The DVD drive is an 8x SuperMulti double-layer drive.

via Netbook Reports

The Gateway EC14D is an 11.6 inch thin and light laptop with an Intel CULV processor. There’s nothing too surprising there. Acer, Gateway, and Packard Bell (which are all really the same company) have more than a half dozen similar models between them. What sets the EC14D apart from the crowd is the fact that it also has a DVD burner packed into the rather compact frame.

The EC14D was first announced earlier this month. And while it’s not generally available in Europe yet, the folks at Notebook Italia got to spend some hands-on time with the mini-laptop.

As you’d expect, the 8X DVD Super Multi drive takes up a considerable amount of space on one side of the computer. But Gateway still manages to squeeze in a USB port, Ethernet jack, and SD card slot on the same side of the laptop as the disc drive. The other side sports two more USB ports, audio jacks, an HDMI port and a VGA port.

The laptop has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel HD display, a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core processor, GMA 4500MHD graphics, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. It should start shipping soon.

via Engadget

My buddy Lee picked up a Gateway LT2102H over the weekend and he’s posted the unboxing photos to prove it. The LT2102H is one of the first netbooks with an Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail CPu to hit the market, although a number of others have begun shipping in recent days.

The Gateway netbook looks an awful lot like Acer’s recent netbooks, and that’s for good reason. Acer owns the Gateway brand. The main difference is the Gateay logo on a metallic stripe on the lid. Lee seems pretty impressed with the aesthetics. He also says the laptop feels quite snappy. Windows 7 gives the laptop an Experience Index of 2.4, with the CPU getting the lowest score.

One of the most impressive things is that Lee purchased the model with a 3 cell, 2200mAh battery, and Windows reports that he can expect up to 5 hours of battery life. We’ll see if that holds true under real world conditions, but one of the main advantages to the new Pine Trail processor is reduced energy consumption. And that means we may start seeing 3 cell netbooks with the kind of battery life we’ve come to expect from 6 cell models.

I’ve asked Lee to write a detailed review for Liliputing, so we’ll have more information on the performance soon. In the meantime, head on over to MinFrag for more unboxing photos and first impressions.

It’s starting to look like the world of thin, light, and low cost laptops is being divided into two camps: 10 inch netbooks, and 11 to 12 inch laptops with Intel CULV or AMD processors. When I was putting together a roundup of mini-laptops set to launch with Windows 7 this week, I noticed that there wer an awful lot of 10 inch netbooks (mostly running Windows 7 Starter Edition) listed for around $400 or less. Meanwhile, there were a whole slew of 11.6 inch laptops with Windows 7 Home Premium going for between $400 and $600.

There doesn’t appear to be a lot of crossover between the two categories at the moment. Sure, there are a few higher-end netbooks with premium features and a price tag approaching $500. But you won’t find many 11.6 inch laptops with Intel Atom processors (unless they also feature NVIDIA ION graphics) or 10 inch laptops with CULV processors.

Anyway, now that I’ve got that musing out of the way, Gateway has officially announced a new line of Windows 7 laptops that includes two models that were featured in my Windows 7 roundup. The Gateway EC14 is an 11.6 inch laptop that weighs 3.1 pounds and ships with Windows 7 Home Premium. The ultraportable features a high definition display (I’m guessing 1366 x 768) and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It comes in several different configurations, with a range of hard drive, memory, and Intel CULV processor options:

• CPU: Intel Celeron single core / Celeron Dual Core / Pentium Dual Core
• HDD: Up to 500GB
• RAM: Ships with up to 4GB, supports up to 8GB

via SlashGear

Remember when an all-in-one desktop PC with a large, high resolution display would set you back an arm and a leg? Now, Asus, MSI, Shuttle, Acer, and other companies are putting out sub-$600 all-in-ones left and right. The latest entry is a bit more expensive, but also a bit more powerful. Acer subsidiary Gateway is introducing the One ZX all-in-one desktop line with starting prices ranging from $750 to $1400.

Here’s what you get for the $750 Gateway One ZX4800:

• Display: 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel multitouch screen
• CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300
• Graphics: Integrated GMA X4500HD
• Audio: 5.1 channel audio and built-in 5 watt stereo speakers
• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• RAM: 4GB DDR2
• Storage: 750GB SATA HDD
• Disc drive: 8X DVD-RW Super Multi drive
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFI, 6 USB ports,
• Peripherals: Wireless keyboard and mouse, integrated HD webcam

The pricier Gateway One ZX6800 has a 23 inch, 1902 x 1080 pixel display, Core 2 Quad processor, twice the RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics, a 1TB hard drive, 64GB solid state disk, and a TV tuner.

At these prices, it’s unlikely Gateway will go head to head with lower cost, Intel Atom and NVIDIA ION-based systems like the Asus Eee Top ET2002. But if you need a bit more power out of your all-in-one desktop, the One ZX series looks like a worthy alternative.

via Engadget and SlashGear

Tablet PCs that can be used either in tablet or touchscreen mode are nothing new. Years ago Microsoft founder Bill Gates proclaimed that touchscreens would forever change the way we interact with computers. That hasn’t really happened yet, but the success of the iPhone with its multitouch, finger-friendly interface has really changed the way we think about touch input. Whether that’s the reason we’re seeing so much interest in touch-only devices like the rumored Apple Tablet, Microsoft Courier, CrunchPad and other devices remains to be seen. But I’m a fan of keyboards for text input, which is why I really like the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028X which is a netbook-sized device that features a full fledged keyboard as well as a touchscreen and swivel for use in tablet mode.

The Gateway EC18T is an upcoming 11.6 inch laptop/tablet with a similar form factor. But it’s more powerful than the TouchNote, sporting an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, GS45 graphics chipset, and up to 4GN of RAM. It will be available with Windows 7 Home Premium or Basic, and while it’s not exactly a netbook, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the EC18T come in at a reasonably price. There’s no word on the final pricing yet though.

Engadget has more information and additional photos.

Oh, and in related news, I was on public radio tech program Future Tense yesterday talking about the prospects for touchscreen tablets.

The Gateway LT3100 series of laptops sport 12 inch displays and underpowered processors. But there are a few things setting them apart from most netbooks. First, the Gateway LT3100 packs an AMD Athlon 64 L110 CPU and ATI Radeon X1270 graphics instead of Intel’s Atom or VIA’s Nano or C7-M platforms. Second, the Gateway machines ship with Windows Vista instead of XP.

That means it can come with more RAM and storage than most netbooks, and the LT3103u model that’s available from Best Buy ships with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive.

We’ve already seen a basic review of the LT3103u, and the verdict was that the $399 machine does most of the things you’d expect a netbook to do. Now NetbookTech has picked up one of the Gateway laptops and put it through a battery of benchmarks. The results? Meh. An Intel Atom-powered Acer Aspire One scored higher on a number of performance tests, although the Gateway LT3103u seems to do better on hard drive and memory tests.

It’s worth noting that NetbookTech installed Windows XP on the laptop and found that it performed significantly better on most of the tests with Windows XP Pro than Windows Vista Home Basic.

The ATI Radeon X1270 graphics processor does outperform Intel’s integrated GMA 950 graphics, but it’s still a pretty lousy GPU overall. Like most Atom powered netbooks and notebooks with 1366 x 768 pixel displays, the LT3013u struggles with full screen Flash video from Hulu, YouTube and other sites, and forget about playing HD Flash video, although HD video should play just fine from your hard drive.

NetbookTech says the battery should be good for about 4 hours of run time.

Gateway has launched a new 11.6 inch laptop that should compete nicely in the netbook space. The Gateway LT3100 scoffs at the standard netbook conventions and sports a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 L110 single core CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 250Gb hard drive, and runs Windows Vista Home Basic.

The computer also has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, a 6 cell, 5200mAh battery, and a multi-touch trackpad. It weighs just 3.04 pounds, and measures 11.26″ x 7.99″ x 1.03″.

While that Athlon 64 CPU isn’t designed to be as energy efficient as Intel’s Atom or VIA’s Nano or C7-M processors, it’s not exactly the fastest chip around, so I wouldn’t expect battery life to be too bad. Gateway claims it should run for up to 5 hours. The laptop also has integrated ATI Radeon X1270 graphics.

The Gateway LT3100 should be available soon in black or red with a starting price of about $400.

via Engadget