Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Notebook News: An Energy-Efficient Laptop at Wal-Mart

Everex Systems is now selling a new energy-efficient notebook for $498 at over 2900 WalMart stores throughout the U.S. According to the vendor, the StepNote NC1500 gives you a 20 percent improvement in battery life over comparable systems.

Notebook News: More Powerful Laptops Coming Next Year

PC World Plugged In columnist Eric Dahl says he's looking forward to Intel's successor to Centrino, scheduled to launch in the first half of 2007. Code-named Santa Rosa, the platform includes a technology called Robson that will reportedly speed boot and resume times and save power with the help of a large cache of flash memory on the motherboard. Santa Rosa will also include faster wireless networking and other improvements.

Wireless News: T-Mobile's Wi-Fi/Cellular Mash-Up

Subscribers to a new T-Mobile service, HotSpot@Home, will be able to use one phone to make unlimited U.S. calls over Wi-Fi networks that don't require a password, or over the T-Mobile cellular network. The shift between networks will happen without interrupting a call. The service is currently only available from 24 T-Mobile stores in the Seattle area and costs $20 per month. In addition, a voice plan of $40 per month or higher is required.

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