New Asus EEE Windows-based Laptops to sell like hot cakes

5 million EEE laptops will be sold this year according to Asus's own estimates; the Taiwanese manufacturer is bullish about the sales figures that its little gadget will generate.

Of those, around 3 million are expected to be XP-based and the rest running on Linux; meaning that Windows XP might undergo an unexpected revival once again.

Windows XP Home has apparently been chosen to power non Linux computers; a surprising decision given that Microsoft's own Windows XP Fundamental for legacy systems would probably be better suited.

The EEE was designed to be compatible with Windows and even the first EEE models had their own Windows XP Drivers.

Asus has also revealed that the cheapest Windows XP model will cost $408, including a 4GB SSD storage, 512MB memory while the more expensive EEE PC 4G XP will come with an additional 4GB SD card, a more powerful battery and a 3mp webcam; all for $473.

Dell starts US Blu-ray war on laptops, UK customers have to wait

The high-definition format wars are over - and you won: Dell customers can now get a Blu-ray laptop for under a $1,000.

Available today on dell.com, movie buffs can pick up the Inspiron 1525 with optional Blu-ray disc playback starting at $899.

UK customers will have to wait a bit more though as only the Inspiron 1720 ships with an optional Blu-Ray drive, in a package that costs a eye-popping £918.99, with the Blu-ray drive accounting for more than a third of the price, more than twice the price.

As retailers and video rental companies expand their high-definition offerings, Blu-ray is the new "must-have" technology to help get the most out of your viewing experience.

The Top 12 UK £299 laptops

Searching for a bargain notebook without cutting too many corners? ITProPortal.com has rounded up twelve of the best sub £300 laptop deals in the UK in this exclusive report.

Laptops have never been so inexpensive and you can now get a cheap, quality laptop for £299 including VAT and delivery or even less. A few years back, a sub-£500 laptop was unheard of.

Back in April 2006, the HP Compaq NX6110 was sold for £600, right now, a HP laptop with a similar configuration and a few bells and whistles is worth less than £270, 55% less.

And it is certainly not a coincidence that popular consumer website Moneysavingexpert has dedicated a recent report on Sub £300 laptop bargains.

There are a few gems amongst the ten listed but you can rest assured that anyone of them will be a capable workstation provided your needs do not go beyond traditional office chores.

Qualcomm Aims At Turning Mobile Phones Into Mini Laptops

Mobile chip manufacturer Qualcomm will be producing key components to power mini laptops, riding on the success of the Asus EEE laptop; however, one big difference will be that the yet-to-be-named laptops will be using ARM processors rather than Intel based ones.

This means that they will resemble blown-up personal digital assistants rather than shrunken laptops and Inventec, rather than Quanta, will be the one manufacturing them.

PC World, who first broke the news, also mentions that the laptops will offer inbuilt 3G internet access although it is yet to be seen whether Wi-Fi will be included or not.

There's also persisting rumours that Windows Mobile 7 could be used to power mobile internet devices like Qualcomm's which means they won't be able to run applications designed for more traditional Windows platforms.

That said, Linux would also be a prime candidate and Android, as well as LiMo platforms, would potentially be the chosen ones.

Sony Vaio VGN-TZ17GN/B, Laptop Price Rs. 114,900

This laptop comes with Intel 1.2GHz Core2 Duo Processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM which is upgradeable upto 2GB and 100GB HDD. It has a DVD Writer, 11.1-inch widescreen display with a resolution of 1366x768 dpi. The laptop also has an integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950 video card, integrated sound card

Sony Vaio VGN-CR14GN/B, Laptop-Price Rs. 59,390

This laptop comes with Intel 1.8GHz Core2 Duo Processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM which is upgradeable upto 2GB and 100GB HDD. It has a DVD Writer, 14.1-inch widescreen display with a resolution of 1280x800 dpi. The laptop also has an integrated ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 video card, integrated sound card

Another UK Agency Loses FOUR Laptops With Sensitive Data

Continuing their characteristic sluggishness with IT data handling and management, another UK government agency, Insolvency Service has confirmed the theft of four laptop computers from its Manchester office on 27 August 2008.

One of those four stolen laptops contained detailed information including - names, addresses, date of births and National Insurance numbers of about 486 directors and employees of UK’s 122 bankrupt companies.

Insolvency Service has informed the people affected from the theft and has opened dedicated phone lines to provide any sort of further assistance to them.

Lorna Dennis, spokeswoman of the agency said, “Today the Insolvency Service has written to the companies who have been affected by the theft of the laptop.”

In addition to the infamous loss of details of 25 million beneficiaries of child benefit scheme, the UK’s Ministry of Defense had admitted the loss of a USB stick containing crucial movements and locations of soldiers last month