Sony VAIO GS series pops up in the FCC -- a cheap Sony ultraportable?

by Nilay Patel,

We don't have a lot to go on, but a machine called the VAIO GS just popped up in the FCC database, along with the usual nasty gub'ment photos. Doing some extremely rough back-of-the-napkin calculations, it looks like it's Sony's answer to the Dell Mini 12 -- 11 inches wide with a 12ish-inch 4:3 screen. We're also seeing an optional built-in optical drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, three USB ports, a PC Card slot (that's what it's marked -- let's hope it's really ExpressCard), a Memory Stick slot, Ethernet and modem ports, and VGA out. We're guessing the optical drive explains the netbook-ish hinge battery placement, but nothing explains how ugly this thing is -- let's hope the downgrade in style from the VAIO P comes with a corresponding downgrade in price. A few more shots after the break.

Update: As a few astute commenters have pointed out, this could be an updated US-bound version of the Japan-only VAIO G from 2006 -- if things haven't changed too much, you're looking at a two-pound machine with a 12.1-inch display. We'll see -- the exterior is definitely a little different, and we don't think the market is right for the VAIO G's original $2,000 pricetag.

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Nokia N79 Active to come with heart rate monitor, guilt

by Chris Ziegler,

We knew something was up with these Bluetooth heart rate straps from Polar, and sure enough, Nokia has announced a partnership to get serious fitness monitoring integrated with its products. The first to take advantage will be a special version of the N79, creatively dubbed the N79 Active, which will include 4GB of onboard memory the requisite strap right in the box and sell for about €375 ($494) when it ships "soon" in "select territories." Of course, the new hardware isn't any good without new software, and it just so happens that the N79 Active will include a new version of Nokia's Sports Tracker app for keeping tabs on workouts. We'd heard that other Polar accessories like cadence sensors for biking fanatics were in the works, so this could end up developing into a whole franchise.

[Via All About Symbian]

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Acer kicks out TravelMate 6593, 6493 laptops for the corporate set

by Donald Melanson, posted Jan 14th 2009 at 1:42PM

As you may or, more likely, may not, remember, Acer introduced a pair of TravelMate 6593 and 6493 laptops way back in July of last year, but it looks like the company isn't one to let a good model number go by the wayside, and it's now rolled out some new, seemingly updated models aimed specifically at corporate customers. From the looks of it, the new models will also only be available in some stock configurations, with the 15.4-inch TravelMate 6593 packing a Core 2 Duo T9500 processor, 4GB of RAM, the usual integrated Intel graphics, and a 250GB hard drive, while the 14.1-inch 6493 comes equipped with a Core 2 Duo T8300 processor and 3GB of RAM, along with mostly similar specs across the board. You''ll also be able to pair each with an ezDock II or ezDockII+ and, yes, you can get your hands on 'em right now (for between $1,099 and $1,499).

[Via PC Launches, thanks Vinit]

engadget.com

M&A Technology offering Intel's Classmate convertible online for $499

by Darren Murph,
Intel's latest and greatest Classmate convertible PC swung by the FCC in late November, and now it's time for the general populace to get their paws on one. M&A Technology has just announced that it is currently hosting the so-called Companion Touch up for sale to anyone who's interested, and packed within will be a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, an 8.9-inch touchscreen, Windows XP Home, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, WiFi and a 4-cell battery that'll last for around 3.3 hours. Optionally, you can downgrade to a 30GB hard drive, add in a 6-cell Li-ion (good for 5 hours of life) and opt for Linux over WinXP. It's yours for the taking at $499.

engadget.com