HI-TECH GADGETS

If you're an Apple fan for whom price is actually a consideration, then you may be pleased to know that the sexy catwalk MacBook Air is about to become less of a burden on your bank account.

Apple has knocked the price of the world's thinnest laptop down to £1,719, from £2,029 due to the fact that Solid State Drives (SSDs) have gotten cheaper.

First off, that price cut is only on the 1.8GHz one with the SSD option and secondly, while you wouldn't turn your nose up at £310 staying in your pocket, £1,719 is still an awful lot to pay. Especially when you consider that the MacBook Air with an 80GB hard disk drive costs over £500 less at £1,199. Also, the SSD option on the 1.6GHz model will now cost £389, instead of the previous £639 - a saving of £250.

The SSD in the 1.8GHz MacBook Air is a 64GB model and if you don't mind the extra cash, you'll end up with a notebook with faster boot-up times, better overall read/write performance, near silent operation and less thirst for your precious battery life.-Martin Lynch

Solar-powered laptop bags are soon to hit the street. Yes, if you want to charge your laptop, or Mac if you’ve any sense, while using no fossil fuels, this is your answer.

And it’s yours for the bargain price of $599, when it comes out…

The Voltaic Generator is the first solar bag powerful enough to charge a laptop. It uses high efficiency solar cells to generate maximum power in the limited space available. It includes a battery pack custom designed to efficiently store and convert the electricity generated. It can also charge cell phones and most other hand held electronics.

For all you nerds - here’s the spec:

• Solar panel generates up to 14.7 watts, powerful enough to fully charge a typical laptop from a day of direct sunlight.
  The included battery pack efficiently stores the equivalent of a typical laptop charge and automatically delivers the required output voltages
  Common adaptors are included for easy connection to laptops, phones and other handheld electronics
  Other devices can connect via USB or car charger
  Will hold up to a 17″ Powerbook inside a protective case
  Fabrics made from recycled PET (soda bottles), which is tough, water resistant and light weight

• Fabric: 600D shell made from 100% recycled PET (soda bottles). Aluminum frame covered in UV resistant PU. Webbing, mesh and 150D lining all made from 100% recycled PET.
  Weight: 4.5 lbs (2,050 grams) including solar panel and battery.
  Dimensions: 17″x12″x 3.5″ (43×31x9cm)
  Volume: 700 cubic inches (12 liters)

In the least surprising announcement at Macworld Expo 2008, Steve Jobs took the covers off a much-rumoured and ridiculously thin laptop called, MacBook Air.

Apple, always one for inventing new words, described the process as “Thinnovation”. The notebook is just 0.16in at its thinnest point and 0.76in at its maximum, which is very thin indeed. It sports a 13.3in LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera, big trackpad with “multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe”.

It is powered by a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and comes with 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. Users can also opt for a 64GB solid state drive (SSD). Battery life is rated at 5 hours and prices start at £1,199.

“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.”

That said, Apple’s quest for a Size Zero notebook means that certain sacrifices did indeed have to be made. There’s only one USB port, no Ethernet, no Firewire and no optical drive.

Ah, the price of fashion. Jump for another shot.-Martin LynchIn the least surprising announcement at Macworld Expo 2008, Steve Jobs took the covers off a much-rumoured and ridiculously thin laptop called, MacBook Air.

Apple, always one for inventing new words, described the process as “Thinnovation”. The notebook is just 0.16in at its thinnest point and 0.76in at its maximum, which is very thin indeed. It sports a 13.3in LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera, big trackpad with “multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe”.

It is powered by a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and comes with 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. Users can also opt for a 64GB solid state drive (SSD). Battery life is rated at 5 hours and prices start at £1,199.

“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.”

That said, Apple’s quest for a Size Zero notebook means that certain sacrifices did indeed have to be made. There’s only one USB port, no Ethernet, no Firewire and no optical drive.

Ah, the price of fashion. Jump for another shot.-Martin Lynch

A monitor can make a big difference in how a game, or PC-based video, is experienced and trust us, not all LCD monitors are created equal.

Acer's latest gaming monitor looks to be more equal than the rest, so to speak, since it's the first to boast a contrast ratio of 50,000:1 - higher than many LCD TVs. This should allow for much deeper blacks and therefore, sharper playback of dark scenes.

I'm not sure how many extras you like on your Blu-ray movies but, if it's a lot, then you'll be delighted to hear that Pioneer has developed a 16-layer - yes, 16-layer - read-only Blu-ray disc capable of storing a staggering 400GB. Right now, dual-layer 50GB discs are the biggest.

Not only that, but the company said the technology will also be applicable to recordable discs.

The final details and pricing for the Asus Eee Box PC have just been confirmed and we're happy to report that this little stunner will set you back just £199.

Available in black and white [no pink yet] it measures just 22.2 x 17.8 x 2.7cm and is powered by Intel's 1.6GHz Atom N270 chip. It will come with Windows XP to start but a Linux version is planned for later this year. Under the hood, you get an 80GB hard disk drive, 1GB of DDR2 Dram, Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a 5-in-1 card reader, 2 or 3 USB 2.0 ports and DVI out. Asus are even throwing in a mouse and keyboard.

One very cool trick for this mini-PC though....

There seems to have been a bit of a mini-boom in the gaming PC market recently; we've already looked at Acer's rather elaborately designed Predator and Chillblast's more subtle Fusion Juggernaut.

Packard Bell isn't exactly the first brand that rolls off the tongue when it comes to high-end power PCs, but it's looking to get involved with the new ipower X2.0.