Several notebook technology innovations were unveiled at
the US Consumer Electronics Show 2006 in Las Vegas earlier this
month.
The main developments centred on giving laptop users better
portability, wireless computing and power consumption. Dell,
Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba were among suppliers
demonstrating dual-core processors, new screens and more efficient
battery technology.
Notebook makers including HP, Dell, Lenovo and Acer used the
show to promote dual-core Intel processor-based notebooks. With
twin computing units (cores) to enable data to be processed faster,
these are built around Intel's Centrino Duo mobile technology
platform.
The dual core chipset supports more wireless standards than
previous Intel chips, through Intel's wireless 802.11 a/b/g
technology. They also support more efficient battery usage, faster
processor memory and a 2Mbyte cache. Another bonus is the ability
to shut down one of the processor cores if the application workload
is light, which saves notebook battery life.
Toshiba demonstrated its Centrino Duo-based Qosmio notebook,
which also features a High Definition-DVD drive, which is capable
of storing between two and four times as much data as a standard
DVD.
The notebook also supports screen resolutions up to the
industry-leading high-definition 1080p format, which is suited to
users who work with video and images.
In addition, Toshiba demonstrated flatbed three-dimensional
displays and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC). The display
technology creates 3D images on flatbed displays with no need for
the user to wear special glasses.
Toshiba said this would benefit e-learning and simulations of
buildings and landscapes. It could also be used in games and for 3D
menus in restaurants, for example. Toshiba has developed 24-inch,
15.4-inch and 7.2-inch 3D displays.
The DMFC notebook battery technology uses fuel cells that run on
a methanol-oxygen fuel mix to generate and supply power directly to
the PC.
DMFC has an energy density several times that of a typical
lithium-ion battery, and can provide longer notebook usage. Because
of this, analysts believe the next generation of notebooks will run
on fuel-cell batteries.