CES 2010 latest news
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Laptop gamers have always had plenty of high-end 17-inch desktop replacement systems to choose from, so we were excited to see that one of Alienware's pushed this year at CES was the Area-51 m15x, a rare 15-inch gaming laptop.
Watch the Alienware Area-51 m15x video on CNET TV.
With this new model, initially announced in December but available starting later in January, Alienware has updated its iconic look, keeping the classic alien-head motif on the back of the lid, but cleaning up the design with a simple, flat look called "Ripley," which removes not only the ridges found on the lids of previous Alienware laptops, but also the indent at the edge of the touchpad, working the control surface seamlessly right into the wrist rest, where it's outlined by a backlit rectangle.
While the most exciting component in the m15x is Nvidia's GeForce 8800 video card--the first 15-inch laptop to offer that new part--we're equally enamored of the Alienware Control Center, which lets us control the system's many lighting zones. You can set different lighting colors for the backlit keyboard, the touchpad outline, the light pipes on the side of the monitor, and the quick-launch buttons.
The m15x should be available later in January, running from around $1,500 to more than $5,000, depending on configuration. Alienware is also working on a 17-inch version, but there's no availability date on that yet.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
Alienware put on what it termed a "technology statement" in Vegas tonight with the aptly named "curved display." That's its unofficial name. It also has no price yet, and no release date more specific than "second half of 2008." What we can tell you is that after the brief minute or so we spent with this monitor, we think high-end PC gamers are going to be excited for it.
Off-angle shots aren't DLP technology's strong suit, but up close it sucks you right in.
(Credit: CNET)The specifics are that it's a rear-projection DLP screen that can run at a resolution of 2,880x900 pixels (wider than a 30-inch LCD, but not quite as tall). Alienware also said it was running off only a single, midrange ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics card. We only sat down (crouched, really) in front of the curved display for a minute, but we were instantly impressed by the level of immersion. The panoramic screen encompasses your entire line of sight, including your peripheral vision. The effect eliminates almost all visual distractions from your gameplay.
As weird as it may sound, this is actually the most practical panoramic display we've seen. You can see from our picture that the screen will fit relatively easily on a desktop. We expect it won't be cheap, but whatever the price, we imagine Alienware will get plenty of interest from the high-end gaming community once the curved display becomes available.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
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