Dell Announces Nile & Danube Notebooks

A new ultrathin notebook from Dell, the Inspiron M301z offering users the choice of an AMD "Nile" Dual-Core Athlon II Neo K325 (1.3GHz) or a Turion II Neo K625 (1.5GHz).


The 13.3" widescreen laptop comes with an HD display panel (1366x768), an AMD RS880M chipset with SB820 south bridge, integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 graphics,, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, Windows 7 Home Premium or Home Basic (64-bit), built-in speakers, a standard 320GB hard drive (7200RPM), 6-cell battery, 1.3MP webcam, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.1 and a Kensington lock slot. There's also HDMI-out a 7-in-1 card reader, audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, a mini-DisplayPort output and a starting weight of just 3.89 lbs.

Beside that, Dell also announced the Inspiron M501R, a 15.6-inch laptop based on the latest 2010 AMD Mainstream Platform for Notebooks nicknamed "Danube".


The Dell Inspiron M501R features mobile AMD Phenom II X4 quad-core processor (codename Champlain), ATI Radeon HD 4250 integrated graphics or optional ATI Radeon HD550v 1GB GPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, up to 640GB of hard disk capacity, a DVD writer or Blue-ray combo drive, and a 720p LED-backlight display.

Dell’s new laptop also includes an integrated 1,3MP web camera, two speakers, 802.11n WiFi, optional Bluetooth, Ethernet LAN, three USB ports, an eSATA/USB port, optional 7-in-1 media card reader, VGA and HDMI outputs, and a full-size keyboard with numeric pad. The laptop weighs 5.83 pounds with its standard 6-cell battery, integrated graphics and optical drive.

Over 100 Laptops with AMD's Upcoming Danube & Nile Platform

Reuters reported that Advanced Micro Devices may make some of its largest inroads into the fast-growing laptop computer market thanks to a new generation of power-efficient chips to be unveiled next week. The company's latest microprocessors are expected to be included in 109 laptop models in the coming months, the company's best showing during the crucial back-to-school sales season. Last year, AMD's chips were available in 40 laptop models.

"Danube" is the new platform for mainstream notebooks replacing "Tigris". On Ultrathin segment, we will see "Nile" platform to replace "Congo" or the second generation AMD's Ultrathin.

Here are the 2010 Mainstream Notebook Platform CPU

Here are the 2010 Ultrathin Notebook Platform CPU

Notebooks featuring the new silicon will start showing up "as early as June" from the well-known vendors : HP, Acer, Dell, and Lenovo.

Early signs that the new range of chips to be unveiled next week are getting positive responses from top PC makers due to AMD's attempts to simplify its numerous offerings under its new "Vision" brand, as well as improved battery life and performance across the line. In the first quarter of 2010, AMD represented 12.1 percent of worldwide mobile chip sales, according to IDC.