Although the company is still integrating itself with new parent Acer, Gateway has quietly updated its M-seriies notebook computers to include the new M-151X and M-151XL models, offering improved graphic performance, HDMI output, and (in the case of the XL) new 45nm “Penryn” CPUs from Intel.
The M-151X series features a 1,280 by 800-pixel 15.4-inch LCD display driven by an ATI Mobility Radeon 2400 XT graphics controller with 256 MB of dedicated video memory. The 151X also sports a 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 processor, 2 GB of RAM, an 8× dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11.a..g.n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless networking, a 5,400 rpm 250 GB hard drive, along with a fingerprint reader, 5-in-1 media card reader, 100Base-T Ethernet, and an integrated 1.3 megapixel Web cam. The 151X also comes with a plethora of ports, including 3 USB 2.0 ports, an ExpressCard/54 slot, plus both VGA and HDMI output. The units ship with Windows Vista Home Premium and are available in red, silver, blue, and “arctic bloom” designs; prices start at $999 with an instant discount, and the systems should start shipping next week.
The M-151XL takes things up a notch, adding an 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 processor and shipping with a defaults 3 GB of RAM. Prices for the 151Xl start at $1,299 with a $100 instant discount, and the systems also start shipping next week.
