We have talked quite a bit about Ultrabooks around here. Most of the chatter has centers on how much the thin notebooks will cost to build and what they will sell for when they hit the market. DigiTimes is reporting that a shortage of aluminum chassis materials is pushing some of the vendors that will be making Ultrabooks to use fiberglass.

Fiberglass is a lightweight and strong material. It has been used in vehicle construction to save weight for a very long time. In fact, notable performance cars like the Corvette make extensive use of fiberglass. DigiTimes reports that the shortage of materials and the lathes required to make the aluminum frames along with the expense of adding more CNC lathes is causing a shortage.

The two main makers of aluminum chassis for notebooks are supplying Apple leaving availability tight for other players. A fiberglass chassis maker called Mitac Precision in Taiwan has pointed out that it makes a fiberglass chassis that is about as strong as aluminum and $5-$10 cheaper than a magnesium-aluminum alloy one allowing for a price on the market for a notebook using the fiberglass chassis of $50 to $100 less than one using magnesium-aluminum chassis.

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Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops with up to 12 hours of battery life are released today and available online in 13, 14, 15 and 17-inch designs that offer the latest Intel 2nd generation Core I Series processors, SRS Premium Voice Pro software, and a full HD webcam with a noise reducing digital array mic for video conferencing using pre-installed Skype software. Each model also packs a chiclet keyboard, and come in an aluminum finish with a choice of Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red and Brisbane Bronze colors.

Vostro 3000 Series pricing:13-inch Vostro 3350 - $599




14-inch Vostro 3450 - $499




15-inch Vostro 3550 - $499




17-inch Vostro 3750 SAPP - $549




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The new Inspiron R series laptops from Dell, available in 14, 15 and 17-inch sizes, offer the ability to customize the look with a collection of new stylish interchangeable lids from SWITCH by Design Studio. According to Dell, you can easily switch the look of an Inspiron R laptop with just a pop and a click. There are about 25 lid designs to choose from to suite your taste, but they cost $39.99 a pop.
Inspiron 14R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $579.99
Inspiron 15R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $529.99
Inspiron 17R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $579.99



Inspiron R key Features
- 2nd generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and up to 8GB of memory
- Weight starting at 4.94 lbs for the Inspiron 14R
- 6-cell battery included with 9-cell battery options
- SRS Premium Audio and high-definition video performance
- Intel Wireless Display technology for wireless projection of full 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound to your home theater for a breath-taking movie-viewing experience
- Support for Blu-ray 3D movie playback when equipped with the optional Blu-ray drive and connected to your 3D TV (HDMI 1.4 required)
- Integrated Dell Stage software, providing one-click access to photos, music, videos, social-networking sites, e-books and more
- HD capable webcam
- ChicletTM-style keyboard
- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium with option for Professional
- Optional SWITCH by Design Studio lids featuring the new India Collection and designs from OPI, Threadless.com, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, (PRODUCT)RED and various artists

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Samsung’s sleek new ultra premium 9 Series 13-inch laptop was released today, sporting a thin and light design that will cost you. On sale now, the Samsung Series 9 13-inch with Windows 7 Home Premium is priced at $1,649, while the Series 9 13-inch with Windows 7 Professional will set you back $1,699 when it hits Best Buy and other select retailers and e-tailers in mid-April.  If you want to go even smaller and lighter, there's an 11-inch Series 9 laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium and 64 GB of HDD storage that will be available in mid-April as well.

Samsung 9 Series laptop specs:CPU:
    - 13” - Intel® CoreTM i5 Processor 2537M (1.4 GHz, 3MB)
    - 11” - Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 380UM (1.33 GHz, 3MB)
Operating System:
    - 13” - Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit) or Windows® 7 Professional (64 bit)
    - 11” - Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Memory:
    - 13” - 4GB DDR3
    - 11” - 2GB DDR3
Storage (max):
    - 13” - 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
    - 11” - 64GB SSD
Screen:
    - 13.3-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (400 nit)
    - 11.1-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (340 nit)
Resolution:
               - 13”/11” - 1366x768
Graphics:
    - 13” - Intel HD GT
    - 11” - Intel GMA HD (Integrated)
Speakers:
    - 13”/11” - 3 watt (1.5W x 2) stereo speakers
Battery: Lithium Polymer; up to 7 hours
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n; WiMaxi
Weight:
   - 13” - 2.89 lbs.
   - 11” - 2.31 lbs.

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Asus revealed a new laptop based on AMD Zacate processor namely Asus EEE PC 1215B via CES suite this week. It’s look like the other 1215 Asus series featuring 12.1-inch display with 1366×768 pixel resolution with two 1.6GHz x86 cores with Radeon HD 6310 DirectX 11 graphics accelerator.

The Asus 1215B available with 2GB or 4GB memory with hard drive you can choose 250GB to 320GB space and 6-cell battery. The graphic card using built-in APU graphics (AMD Radeon) handle all video tasks, Windows 7 OS, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0.
The weight is 3.2-pounds with chassis available in black, silver or red color. With Asus Super Hybrid Engine, you can overclock or underclock the processor with no worry. The price is not mention yet.


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The reason why most of us buy a laptop is due to its portability. It gives us convenience that a desktop computer cannot provide. However, it is sometime frustrating to use a laptop because of battery life. So here are some tips on how you can extend your laptop's battery life.


GENERAL USAGE OF LAPTOP


1. Reduce the brightness of your screen.

2. Minimize processes in the computer. Try not to open multiple application at the same time as this     consumes more power. Also, close applications that are running in background.
3. Turn off ports when not in used.

4. Make use of the power saving buttons.

5. Avoid using the CD/DVD drive if possible.

6. Defrag. Less power is consumed when your hard drive works efficiently. Defragment often so your hard drive will work as fast and efficiently as it can.