The recent flooding reported in Thailand is definitely going to impact the computer hard drive supply for at least the next six months, with Western Digital reporting that as much as a fifty percent reduction in production.  Western Digital’s main facility is mostly under water, and precision tools and clean rooms do not respond well to large quantities of muddy water.  Since many of the component suppliers for hard drive manufactures are located in the same general area, the entire industry will be affected as companies clean up, purchase new equipment and retool.

What does this mean for the consumer? Because computers are assembled largely in the Pacific Rim nations and work on a “just in time” supply basis, expect greater delays in receiving new machines and higher prices. In fact, be prepared to not be able to get certain size drives at any price.  There have been reports that the supply chain is already starting to increase the price on existing stocks.  The smart money would be to go ahead and purchase a new hard drive now, especially the higher capacity drives, even if you don’t expect to use it for a few months.  The other alternative would be to simply wait out the shortage, as often industries that suffer a supply chain problem over build and create excess product and prices drop accordingly.

The growing push toward cloud computing coupled with the price reductions in solid state drives (SSDs), at least in the 120 to 150 gigabyte range may push some PC laptop vendors to offer SSD drives while marketing cloud solutions to access user data. A lot will hinge on SSD suppliers willingness to cut prices further, possibly in exchange for significant order commitments from laptop OEMs to justify ramping up production.  It is a big gap to consider. A 120 gigabyte SSD drives costs anywhere from $99 to $140 USD.  $70 USD can buy one a top of the line two terabyte SATA drive.  For most users, it is not even a question.  Bear in mind while these are retail prices, the gulf between the respective cost per gigabyte is almost prohibitive.

Unless you don’t have a choice, which is where the PC OEMs are or you see a chance to really gain a foothold in the market, which is the opportunity that the natural disaster in Thailand has created for the SSD makers.

We shall see.

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Hard Drive Shortages Lead to Higher Prices-And SSDs in the Cloud?

Apple has released a 2nd update of the MacBook Air in 9 months with the latest Intel Sandy Bridge processors, thunderbolt and backlit keyboards.

Intel are claiming that the new Core i5 and i& processors make the MacBook up to 2.5x faster than previous generations, it also comes with the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor, which includes an on-chip engine for video encoding and decoding.

The new MacBook also has the new Thunderbolt port which Apple has been pushing a lot recently, this is a dual channel port running at 10 Gbps, that is twice as fast as the single channel USB 3m and over ten time faster than USB 2.0. Unlike USB technology, Thunderbolt provides native support for Mini DisplayPort displays. It also supports DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI and VGA displays through the use of existing adapters.

The 11.6-inch MacBook Air starts are £849.00 with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 2GB memory and 64GB flash storage, and the 13 inch models starts at £1,099.00 including a 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 4GB memory and 128GB flash storage.

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Apple updates MacBook Air

Although these haven’t been officially announced by Lenovo they appeared on their website showing off two new models to its Thinkpad X line with the X220 Laptop and the X220 Tablet PC. The Full specs were shown in pdf format but sadly we didn’t get any pricing or release details but we can tell you what we know about them.

ThinkPad X220

• 2nd Gen Core i-series processors
• 12.5” LED Backlit screen resolution : 1366×768
• up to 8GB DDR3 RAM
• Integrated Intel HD GPU
• up to 320GB HDD or 160GB SSD
• 3x USB 2.0, with 1 optional USB 3.0
• 720p Webcam
• Display Port
• 9 Cell Battery(15 hours) upgradeable 23 hours with the external battery pack.

As you can see from the image it’s not a complete Tablet PC more one of the dual Tablet/Notebook giving you the best of both worlds. Specs wise

ThinkPad X220 Tab

• 2nd Gen Core i-series processors
• 12.5” HD 2 finger touch/5 finger gesture touchscreen with Infinity Glass display
• up to 8GB DDR3 RAM
• Integrated Intel HD GPU
• up to 320GB HDD or 160GB SSD
• 6 Cell Battery(9 hours)+ External battery pack(18 hours)

If either of these are of interest to yourselves you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled on Lenovo’s site to get the release details and pricing.

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Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Laptop and Tablet

The ZX310 was teased to us at CES but we’ve got the full lowdown on this new MacBook Air like super slim laptop. Where you’d think the Apple version of this style of laptop would be the dearer one(much like all Apple’s products. This new Samsung one actually costs more. Now obviously there’s a reason behind that so lets take a look inside and see what this one has to offer over its rival.

Firstly it has the same size 13” screen as the MacBook Air and a similar brushed metal look of the MacBook Pro. Powered inside by Intel Core i5 1.4GHz processor it also has 4GB of RAM. Operating system wise it’s Windows 7 and you have the option of the on board SSD at 128GB or 256GB. Well looking at that it’s still as good as a MacBook Air, not better.

Available in the states in February they will retail at $1599 (£1050 ish to you and me) However this isn’t the first time Samsung has slapped a heavier price tag on its product that is obviously in direct competition with an Apple product. The Galaxy Tab was priced higher than an iPad on it’s release. Are Samsung nailing the market? Are they the true rival to Apple? Only time will tell.

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Samsung ZX310 Superslim laptop

Well as we all know Tablet PCs are the in-thing. We tell you enough about them here on MightyGadget but that’s just because everyone else seems to want a part of them. If you want to blame someone blame Apple for the iPad, simple. The next one in line is the Motorola Xoom another Android 3.0 toting device shown off this week at CES. Not only did Motorola show it (obviously) but Google’s main man Andy Rubin actually used this tablet pre-Motorola showing, to show off Android 3.0, read into that what you will, but i reckon he thinks it’s pretty good. I’m sure you will too.

Speccage :

• Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual-Core (yes Tegra 2 Dual-Core) processor.
• 10.1” 1280 x 800p display (16:9 cinema aspect ratio too)
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS
• 2MP Front Facing Camera
• 5MP Rear-Facing Camera
• 720p Video Capture
• Full Adobe Flash 10.1 compatability
• 32GB on board storage expandable via microSD
• WiFi and 3G as standard

Now as you can see ther this surely is a tablet to be reckoned with, everything about it screams greatness from the dual-core processor to the Flash support to the new Android OS. Motorola have said the XOOM “redefines the tablet device category by providing more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive on the go”. They have also said it will be available in the States in the first quarter of this year but haven’t named any prices as yet or when we will get a UK release.

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CES : Another Android 3.0 Tablet–Motorola XOOM

CES has been the talking point this week for all our up and coming gadgetry, whether it be cameras, mobile phones or computers. MSI have announced some new models from varying series of it’s top quality laptop, netbook and tablet range. So here they are click on for the goods.

G SERIES – Speed

• 17.3” GT720 and 15.6” GT680 and GE620
• High performance discrete graphics
• MSI Turbo Technology
• Dual SSD (RAID 0 Architecture)
• 720p HD Webcams
• THX TruStudio Pro Cinema Sound
• 16:9 LED Display
• USB 3.0

F SERIES – Performance

• Intel Core Processors
• DDR3 Memory
• 500GB HDD
• 720P HD Webcams
• USB 3.0
• HDMI 1.4

C SERIES – Multimedia

• 15.6” CR650, CR640 and CX640
• Intel Core processors (CR640 and CX640) and AMD Dual Core (CR650)
• SRS PC sound
• 720p webcams
• USB 3.0
• LED Displays
• Turbo Battery+ Power Saving Technology

U AND X SERIES – Portability

• 10” Wind U160 DX netbook, 12” 16:9 Wind U270, 13” X-Slim X370
• Wind U270 and X-Slim X370 use AMD Dual-Core Processors
• Lightweight and Super Slim
• Crystal diamond seal technology

WINDPAD – Tablet PC

• 100A and 100W tablet
• 100A runs Google Android, 100W runs Windows 7 Home Premium edition
• 10” Multitouch display
• 100A ARM processor , 100W Intel mobile processor
• GPS, ALS light sensor and WiFi (3G connectivity also available)
• 100W has 32GB SSD

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5 New MSI Series Laptops,Netbooks and Tablets

Just when you thought computing was going just with tablet PCs and all-in-one affairs, Lenovo have offered to the world two brand spanking new laptops and a pretty good desktop to boot. Sadly you can’t get one of these till the new year so Santa won’t be bringing you them even if you’ve been extra good

Firstly the laptops. The Y460p and Y560p are separated by the size difference. The first being a 14” the latter a 15.6” screen, both offering 16:9 widescreen

Specs so far are :

• range of processors up to Core i7(new “Sandy Bridge” architecture)
• up to 750GB HDD
• up to 8GB DDR3 RAM
• JBL speakers with Dolby Home Theater

The IdeaCentre K330 is the desktop computer which obviously being a desktop means it can pack a bit more punch

Specs so far are :

• again up to Core i7
• up to 16GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Twin RAID configured HDD
• up to 4TB of storage
• DirectX11 graphics capabilities
• optional add-ons including Blu-Ray, TV Tuner

The IdeaPads will be available in January, starting at $849 with the desktops starting at $699 but appearing later in the year.

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New Lenovo Laptops and Desktops

The MacBook Air lets remember is stupidly thin and weighs a meagre 2.9 pounds. Makes you wonder how on earth it works and how small technology can actually get. Well in the race for the thinnest and then obviously most portable laptop Apple are still in the lead but if you’re not into what Steve Jobs has to offer you have a look at the new Asus U36.

Ok it’s not as small and thin as a MacBook Air but it nearly is and it has a few of its own tricks up its proverbial sleeve. This 13.5” notebook is just a little bit heavier at 3 pounds and only a fraction thicker at 0.75” at it’s thickest point. Processor wise you get the choice of Intel i3 or i5 and the NVIDIA’s super smart Optimus graphics. However what the U36 does have over Apple for sure is the battery performance. The four-cell battery in this baby boasts a 10 hour life on full charge whereas the MacBook Air only manages 7 hours.

Sadly thats all we know for now and it’s all Asus is letting in on but certainly keep your eyes on this if you’re after a non-Apple super portable notebook.

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Asus U36 : Super Slim MacBook Air rival

Acer the computer manufacturer has teamed up with Mr Gates’ Microsoft and unveiled this beauty of a Laptop/Tablet PC opting for a dual-screen device rather than your standard one screen plus physical keyboard one.

With Dual 720p WXGA14” displays, both touchscreen the Acer Iconia is running Windows 7 Home Premium. Now with both screens being touchscreens this shows that the Iconia is opting for a software keyboard which can be placed or used on either screen.

Other Specs :

• Intel Core i5 processor
• 4GB of RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0
• HDMI
• 3G
• WiFi
• 1.3MP WebCam

Looking at them it’s not a bad little machine however it appears to have a slight downfall in having a small four-cell battery only capable of 3 hours off mains use.

The Iconia will be available in the UK in January and will set you back a cool £1500. Acer have also said to keep your eyes out for smaller 10”, 7” and 5” Iconia models in the future.

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Acer Iconia : Dual Screen Laptop/Tablet

Continuing with the tablet updates from last week, Toshiba recently released the FOLIO 100 on our shores as it’s iPad beater. The price is reasonable at £329 so if you’re looking for a good Christmas present this could be one for you .

Specs Wise :

• 10.1” 1024×600 multi-touch capacitive touchscreen
• Android 2.2 Froyo OS
• Flash 10.1 support
• HDMI connectivity
• 1.3MP Front Facing WebCam
• USB 2.0, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
• SD slot – storage upto 32GB

The Folio 100 also has a music service called “Music Place”. This is a digital service provided by the HMV owned online store 7Digital(who supply Spotify with their choons) which offers an alternative to iTunes where the user can access a massive catalogue of music and purchase tracks to download to their slate.

Available from most high street electrical stores, as said the price is a very reasonable £329.

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Toshiba FOLIO 100