CES 2010: Hardware rivals unveil new notebooks

Notebook manufacturers were out in force today at CES

MSI, Asus and Samsung have all been showing off their latest notebook devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today.

Samsung announced the extension of its R-Series range of notebooks with six new models, the powerful R780, R580 and the stylish R730, R530 and R430.

The notebooks include tools like a USB sleep-and-charge port (R780, R580 and R480 only), so that portable devices can be charged even when the notebook is turned off.

The AnyPC remote PC access application enables a secure one-click connection to a home or office PC, said Samsung.

MSI announced the launch of a range of X-Slim notebooks today, unveiling the 13in X350, X360, 14in X420, and 15.6in X620 models. All of MSI's new X-Slim notebooks feature the Intel CULV platform with Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

The MSI X420 has a 14in HD widescreen display in 16:9 format, with HDMI and Bluetooth. The X420 weighs in at 1.5kg including battery, and is less than 1in thick.

The X420 is specially equipped with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 discrete graphics card with 1GB DDR3 Video RAM, Intel's Core 2 Duo processor, and MSI's exclusive 3D Boost technology. MSI said that it supports both 3.5G and WiMax wireless technologies and has a nine-hour battery life.

The slimline MSI X620 comes equipped with a 15.6in, 16:9 cinematic LED backlit display with support for HD output. With a built in ATI Mobility Radeon HD discrete graphics card, the new generation X620 also features the unique 3D Boost button making it great for gaming.

The X620 comes with a built-in two-spindle optical drive, and an eight-cell battery giving 10 hours of battery life.

Other notebooks included in MSI's new X-Slim range are the 13.4in X350 and X360 models.

Meanwhile, rival Asus announced a new range of notebooks focusing on ultra-stylish design.

Industrial designer Karim Rashid's touch is fairly clear in the new Eee PC Seashell 1008P which appears in colours like 'Hot Pink' and 'Coffee Brown'. Under the bonnet is the new Intel Atom N450 processor, and it runs Windows 7, Express Gate and something called Super Hybrid Engine. Apparently it goes 14 hours between recharges.

Other Asus notebook models include the NX90 Bang & Olufsen ICEpower notebook which, besides looking nice, has decent speakers, and the U Series Bamboo Collection.