Lenovo’s most environmentally responsible desktop PC to date

Lenovo has announced their ThinkCentre M57/M57P “Eco” ultra small desktop PC, which is what they claim to be the first desktop PC from any manufacturer to receive GREENGUARD certification, and Lenovo’s most environmentally responsible desktop PC to date. The ThinkCentre M57/M57P is EPEAT Gold rated, Energy Star 4.0 rated, and the first ThinkCentre with recycled material from consumer plastics.

The ThinkCentre M57/M57P family is comprised of the quietest running ThinkCentre offerings ever. With acoustic levels measured at 4.0 bels or lower in all modes of operation, the M57/M57P provides a consistently quiet operation. It also features Lenovo’s full suite of ThinkVantage Technologies. With the touch of a single button the user can recover from viruses, update the system, clean up the hard drive and find help. The ThinkCentre M57/M57P also comes with Intel vPro technology. The ThinkCentre M57/M57P “Eco” also features the latest Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security chip, which uses hardware to encrypt keys, passwords and digital certificates.

Lenovo also announced additional ThinkCentre models: The M57e, a high-performance, value desktop PC for large businesses; and the A57 PC, a rock solid desktop designed for small and medium businesses. Both include some of the latest technologies, including Intel 45nm processors, Intel Quad Core technology and Direct X10 graphic cards.

The ThinkCentre M57 “Eco” ultra small desktop PC is priced starting at RM2,999. The base price for the A57 is RM1,349. The Vertical PC Stand is priced at RM299. Monitors are sold separately. Read on for more info.

USB gadget that reacts

Tengu is a fun little USB gadget that reacts to sound and makes faces with its LED array.

Tengu is made by Solid Alliance in Japan, where else could such a gadget be coming from, but it was actually designed by British designer Crispin Jones.

Tengu sells for $49.99 on Think Geek.

Gearlive already published a review of Tengu. See also the Tengu homepage for more details.

Nyko is introducing a wireless nunchuck

Nyko is introducing a wireless nunchuck controller for the Nintendo Wii.
If you have a Wii, you know that the standard nunchuck has to be connected to the Wiimote with a cable. The new wireless nunchuck controller from Nyko gets rid of this cable.

A small receiver unit has to be attached to the Wiimote and the new Nyko nunchuck is powered by two AAA batteries providing 30 hours of play time.
The Nintendo Wii Wireless Nunchuck is available for $34.99 on Amazon.com and will ship on March 25th.

Nyko offers also Cord-Free, which converts your existing original Nunchuck into a wireless one.

Macbook Air is out

Apple has announced that the MacBook Air, which is purportedly the world’s thinnest notebook, is now shipping. MacBook Air measures at 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.

MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe. MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.

We’ve built the world’s thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “When you first see MacBook Air, it’s hard to believe it’s a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is.”

Although the official availability of the MacBook Air in Malaysia isn't until sometime at the end of this month, that doesn't mean you can't do an early booking for it. So stay tuned for the availablity and pricing of the MacBoook air. Meanwhile you can read on for the specifications of the MacBook Air.

MacBook Air delivers up to five hours of battery life for wireless productivity and includes AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, which delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Apple’s Migration Assistant software now enables users to quickly transfer files, applications and preferences from your old Mac to MacBook Air right over your wireless network.

Every MacBook Air comes with iLife ‘08, the most significant update ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing. The new MacBook Air also comes with Leopard, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system.

Leopard introduces Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; and major enhancements to Mail and iChat. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their home computer from a MacBook Air over the Internet while out on the road

MacBook Air Specifications

• 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280x800 resolution;
• 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;
• 800 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
• 80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
• Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• one USB 2.0 port;
• one headphone port;
• multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and
• 45 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Vertu's 10th Anniversary Monogram Constellation Cellphones

Nokia's luxury subsidiary Vertu is celebrating 10 years of selling over-designed, under-featured, overpriced cellphones with a new collection of over-designed, under-featured, overpriced cellphones called the Monogram Constellation. Soon to reach your nearest Louis Vuitton shop in Chinatown, these models have the V monogram printed on the leather back in a four-hour process that is for sure going to increase battery life and reception signal. The Pewter, Green, Red, Skye Blue or Cerise colored Monogram Constellation will be launched on April 1st, and their price won't make you laugh.

Netronix E-Book To Have Touchscreen and Wi-Fi

Taiwanese manufacturer Netronix is promising a new spin on an old idea: putting a touchscreen on an the EB-100, an E-Ink-based e-book reader. We've actually seen the basic design before, in the gen-3 Cybook by Bookeen. But there was never promise of touchscreen, nor anything said about 802.11g Wi-Fi, which Netronix is also offering. The rest of the specs are pretty straightforward: 6" screen, SD card slot, support for PDF, RTF, TXT, HTML, MP3, AAC, and some image files. But as much as I enjoy the Kindle, a touchscreen interface may really be what's needed to bring mass appeal to the e-book concept. You hear me, Jeff Bezos? [Product Page via Tecnogadgets]

Malaysia’s newest 3G and Mobile Live TV

Malaysia’s newest 3G and Mobile Live TV service provider today announced the launch of Surf with U, the company’s first ever high-speed mobile internet plan for the mass market. Combining affordability, simplicity, ease of use and convenience all in one plan, U Mobile is confident that Surf with U will appeal greatly to its young, dynamic and highly mobile target market who appreciates value for money.

Surf with U taps into U Mobile’s unique HSDPA-driven high-speed network to deliver a true broadband-like experience to mobile users. Priced at only RM78 per month, the plan which includes one of the smallest HSDPA USB modems currently available in the market as part of its package, is considered to be one of the most affordable plans of its kind in the country.

The milestone launch is a result of U Mobile’s continuous quest for intimate consumer understanding which revealed that there was a desire in the market for an affordable yet powerful data-driven plan that is also easy to use. This underlines U Mobile’s commitment to continue to develop products, services and content that is always relevant and more importantly, truly enriching for its target audience.