It may be 2009, but the GeForce 9M series, just introduced last summer, is already last year's news: yesterday, Nvidia announced the new GeForce 100M series at CES.

Engadget reports that the GeForce 100M series' first three members exceed the performance of comparable GeForce 9M series GPUs by 17 to 35 percent. Initially, the GeForce 100M family includes:

* The entry-level GeForce G105M contains eight processor cores producing 38 gigaflops and running at 1.6GHz. It supports up to 512MB of DDR2 or DDR3 memory accessed over a 64-bit memory bus.
* The mid-range GeForce G110M features 16 processor cores producing 48 gigaflops, and runs at 1GHz. It features the same memory bus, memory type support, and memory clock speed as the G105M, but supports 1GB of RAM.
* The high-end GeForce GT 130M features 32 processor cores producing 144 gigaflop performance, running at 1.5GHz. It also supports faster DDR3 memory than the G105M/G110M, and * offers a 128-bit memory bus. It supports up to 1GB of RAM, and can run in up to two-way SLI configurations.

Lenovo's new Y-series IdeaPad computers, which we told you about earlier this week, will be the first to include members of the family: The top-end Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 will be powered by the GeForce GT 130M, while the lower-end Y550 and Y450 models will use the GeForce 110M part.

Hit Comment and let us know if the GeForce 100M series is the GPU family you'll be demanding in your next laptop.

Those who haven't yet tried out a netbook—the new category of cheap ultraportable laptops that have quickly followed on the heels of the Asus Eee PC's runaway success—may not appreciate the appeal of one, but it doesn't take more than a few minutes using a model like the Acer Aspire One to surmise the reasons behind their popularity. Like others in the genre, the Aspire One is a featherweight (tipping the scales at just 2.2 pounds) that's perfect for throwing into a bag or backpack or typing away in bed. And like the original Eee PC and the new MSI Wind U100, it makes use of Linux to keep startup and shutdown times short, though like those others (and HP's 2133 Mini-Note PC), it will be offered in both Linux and Windows XP flavors. The Aspire One is currently offered in blue or white (our test unit came in white), and Acer says brown and black versions will be available later this year.HP has so far marketed the Mini-Note as an educational product, which means Acer is the first top-tier laptop manufacturer taking aim at this nascent consumer market (Lenovo has just announced its forthcoming entry, the IdeaPad S10, and rumors are swirling about Dell and Sony soon joining the netbook fray.) The Aspire One probably won't disappoint the target audience of students or users looking for an inexpensive, highly totable second system, though we found the Wind unit we tested to be a more compelling buy.

One reason is that the Windows XP-based Wind packs an 80GB hard drive, whereas the Aspire One we received has just 8GB of onboard storage. That storage does come in the form of a solid-state drive, which can boot faster than a hard drive and lacks moving parts that could get damaged if the laptop takes a tumble. But if you want to place a sizeable multimedia library on your netbook, this Aspire One configuration doesn't offer you a lot of room. (The Windows XP version, however, ups the ante on the Wind by coming with a 120GB hard drive.) Both versions of the Aspire One do offer a dedicated SD memory-card slot, as well as an additional multiformat memory-card slot (which also reads SD cards) and three USB ports, which you can use to attach external storage to the system.

The Wind's 10-inch screen is also slightly larger than the Aspire One's 8.9-inch display. Nonetheless, the glossy LED-backlit screen on the Acer has good viewing angles and is more than fine for everyday use, until it gets washed out in bright light; under those circumstances, the display also suffers from a moderate amount of glare. Speaker volume is decent, though audio lacks warmth since there's almost no bass output.

Like the Wind, the Aspire One uses Intel's new Atom low-power mobile processor, but because its Linux OS needs fairly meager system requirements to run, the Acer comes with just 512MB of memory. (The Windows XP configuration comes with 1GB of RAM, and Acer also offers a $449 Linux version with 1GB of memory.) It runs Linux, so we couldn't run any of our normal benchmarks, but we didn't experience any hiccups doing everyday tasks like word processing and Web browsing at the same time. Bootup time was indeed impressive, taking only 20 seconds to get to the main interface screen. It did take another 30 seconds, however, for the device to find and connect to our wireless network.

As you can imagine with a laptop that measures just 1.1x9.8x6.7 inches (HWD), the Aspire One's keyboard isn't full-size, but it is large enough to make touch-typing possible, though we suffered the occasional spelling mishap with the slightly cramped keys. More problematic was the touch pad, which gave us problems, even after turning down its sensitivity.

Acer has gone to great lengths to make sure that the Linux underpinnings have been gussied up enough for consumers used to a Windows-based GUI. The main interface (which can be reached at any time by clicking on the house-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen) is divided into four sections—Connect, Works, Fun, and Files—under which the Aspire One's apps are grouped. The home screen also features an Internet search bar to speed up jumping online even further.

Apps grouped under Connect include Browser (Mozilla's Firefox), Messenger (an instant-messaging client that supports AIM, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger), Mail (an e-mail app that supports IMAP4, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, POP3, and SMTP), an RSS reader, and direct links to Google Maps, Microsoft Hotmail, and Wikipedia. The free office suite OpenOffice.org makes up three of the programs in the Works quadrant, providing a word processor, spreadsheet program, and presentation software; Acer also provides calculator, calendar, contacts, and notes apps.

Under Fun, you'll find a media jukebox, photo and paint apps, a utility to make use of the Aspire One's built-in Webcam, and a number of games (including one identified as Tetris, but which is really a knockoff called LTris). Files houses icons that let you access your documents, music, photos, videos, downloads, and miscellaneous files.

In addition to its memory-card slots and USB ports, the Aspire One offers VGA out, an Ethernet port, and headphone and microphone jacks. It ships with a three-cell battery, but because it doesn't feature an optical drive, we couldn't formally test its stamina with our DVD-playback benchmark. In our everyday use, however, it lasted roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes per charge. That duration doesn't really jibe with the idea of the netbook as an ideal traveling companion—if you're looking for the Aspire One to stay juiced for a cross-country flight, you'll need to secure the optional six-cell battery for a pretty price.

With its availability in Best Buy and Circuit City stores, the Aspire One is going to be successful, especially since Acer has the jump on Lenovo and any other major laptop manufacturers that decide to join the netbook fray. That doesn't make the Aspire One—particularly this configuration, with its puny amount of onboard storage—the best choice in the category. It does have a more appealing price than the MSI Wind, however, and it largely succeeds in showcasing the (albeit limited) charms of the netbook, a laptop that can finally serve as a lifestyle accessory for the masses.

Lenovo has entered the netbook market with the IdeaPad S9 and S10 netbooks.The netbooks are approximately one inch thin and weigh just over two pounds.

The S9 has an 8.9-inch screen while the S10 has a 10.2-inch screen. Both models come in glossy deep blue, ruby red and classic black. Lenovo has designed the keyboard to be 85 percent the size of a full-function notebook PC's keyboard, and an energy-efficient LED backlit display helps provide longer battery life than traditional displays.The netbooks feature Wi-fi and optional Bluetooth connectivity and also have an Express Card slot so users can enable the netbook for optional high speed mobile broadband connectivity. The netbooks feature a built-in web camera, two USB ports, a 4-in-1 multicard reader and come equipped with either Microsoft Windows XP or Linux.

The IdeaPad netbooks offer up to 1 GB of memory and either 80 GB or 160 GB hard disk drive space.
Lenovo has engineered the netbooks to reduce the heat emitted on key contact areas such as the bottom of the PC, the palm rest and the keyboard.

Additionally, Lenovo's OneKey Rescue System on Microsoft Windows-based netbooks helps users recover data at the touch of a button should a system error or virus occur.

The IdeaPad netbooks will be available in September in India at all Lenovo authorized storefronts, for approximately Rs. 15, 000 for the S9 and Rs. 17,000 for the S10.

Lenovo has announced the launch of the IdeaPad Y710 notebook PC in India.
The laptop has a 17-inch screen with a 1440 x 900 resolution. It features the ATI Radeon Mobility HD 2600, 512MB of RAM, WLAN connectivity, a Dolby Home Theatre system, an optional Blu-ray DVD reader and a performance control switch with Turbo mode for maximum power, which includes CPU overclocking and Quiet mode for saving energy.

What's unique about the Y710 is a hard drive of up to 320 GB with a speed of 5400rpm that also houses a second, hot swap hard drive. Lenovo for the first time has introduced RAID function in the IdeaPad Y710. RAID function simultaneously uses both the hard disk drives to achieve greater levels of input/output performance and data reliability. It also maintains mirror copies of the data on different drives to ensure complete data security."There is significant excitement globally for this product given its top notch specs. The IdeaPad Y710 will revolutionalise the market with its hot-swappable twin 160 GB hard drive that gives the user 320 GB of storage space. With the option of a dedicated Game Zone keyboard for gamers, the IdeaPad Y710 is definitely a multimedia powerhouse!" said Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo, India

Selected models of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 come with Game Zone functionality. Game Zone includes enlarged directional buttons for enhanced game play, four user-customizable buttons and a secondary display showing system information such as CPU speed.

The IdeaPad Y710 also features an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera and VeriFace face recognition software that recognizes a user's face for log-in and help eliminate the need to remember passwords.

The Y710 has a smooth, blue, metallic finish, embellished with halo lighting, accenting the top cover and backlit Lenovo logo.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 is available in all Lenovo authorized storefronts for Rs. 78,000.

Lenovo has announced the availability of the IdeaPad U110 consumer notebook PC in India.The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 - keeping the fashion conscious user in mind - is designed like an object of art, maintains the company. It has a tendril pattern etched into its aluminum lid, patterned vents on its base and a piano finish on the keyboard. The laptop is further enhanced by a frameless screen and weighing approximately 1.05 kg, is about 18.4mm thick and has an LED screen. The IdeaPad U110 is available in black or red.
The laptop comes with a 120 GB hard drive, up to 3 GB of memory, Intel Centrino processing technology, a built-in camera, WLAN, Ethernet and Bluetooth (select models) connectivity, an external DVD burner and the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. "Customers end up compromising either looks for technology or technology for looks. This no-compromise ultra portable notebook from Lenovo offers both. We're confident the much-anticipated IdeaPad U110 ultra portable notebook will excite customers and give them a unique and rewarding computing experience." said Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo India.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is available at all Lenovo authorized storefronts for a price point starting at Rs. 98,000.