AST adds 120-MHz Pentium Processor and 11.8-inch display to the Ascentia Notebook Family, Making the 950N/120 a perfect choice for the power-hungry.family, AST's line of award-winning professional notebooks with Pentium(r) processors, has just added a new high-end member. Editor's Summary: o Designed to be the ultimate traveling partner, the Ascentia 950N/120 is aimed at the high-end professional who needs a desktop replacement to perform processor-intensive and multimedia applications on the road. o The new Ascentia packs a huge 11.8-inch diagonal display into its compact dimensions, giving users approximately 35 percent more viewing area than 10.4-inch displays. o AST (AST Computer, Irvine, CA) A PC manufacturer founded in 1980 by Albert Wong, Safi Quershey and Tom Yuen (A, S and T). It offered a complete line of PCs that sold through its dealer channel. added a larger screen and reduced the overall weight of the system by almost 1/2 a pound, for a total travel weight under 6 lbs. o Aggressively priced between $5,249 and $5,649, the 950N/120 will be available through AST's reseller channel in November. In conjunction with today's announcement of Intel's 120-MHz mobile Pentium See Pentium M. processor, AST introduced its newest high-performance Ascentia 950N incorporating Intel's fastest mobile processor and one of the industry's largest high-resolution displays. The 120-MHz Ascentia 950N is designed for the high-end professional user who needs a desktop replacement that can perform processor-intensive applications, such as multimedia presentations, on the road. The 950N/120's long-life lithium ion A rechargeable battery technology introduced in 1991 that provides greater charge per pound than nickel metal hydride. In 1993, Toshiba introduced the first notebook in the U.S. with a Li-ion battery. battery works in tandem Adv. 1. in tandem - one behind the other; "ride tandem on a bicycle built for two"; "riding horses down the path in tandem" tandem with AST's Advanced Power Management program to deliver up to four hours of battery life on the road. Combined with the new lighter-weight of this Ascentia and the 950N/120 is the ultimate travel partner, at only 5.95 pounds. "The newest addition to the Ascentia family puts AST in a leadership position in the high-end professional market," said Chet Pribonic, AST's vice president, products division. "Our 120-MHz Pentium notebook will be one of the first to market. The combination of its large high-resolution display, aggressive pricing and long battery life make the 950N/120 a perfect choice for the power-hungry professional." The Ascentia 950N/120 incorporates 256 KB of Level 2 cache See L2 cache. level 2 cache - secondary cache and comes with either an 800MB or 1.2GB hard drive, 8 MB of RAM and a huge 11.8-inch diagonal active-matrix display at prices that are sure to please most buyers: $5,249 (800MB) and $5,649 (1.2GB). The 950N/120 will be available through AST's reseller channel in November. "Without missing a beat, AST has stepped up to the plate with a notebook that takes advantage of the high-end features offered by Intel's 120-MHz Pentium processor," said Stephen Nachtsheim, Intel's vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Handheld Products Group. "AST customers now have a choice of mobile Pentium processor solutions to support the wide variety of mobile users' needs," said Nachtsheim. Multimedia Comes to Life with the 120-MHz Pentium Processor Mobile users who need to take the show on the road will appreciate the multimedia enhancements the Intel 120-MHz Pentium processor and the 11.8-inch diagonal high-resolution display bring to this Ascentia 950N. In addition, advanced 32-bit graphics technology allows users to play full-motion video Video transmission that changes the image 30 frames per second (30 fps). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye. on their notebooks. An integrated hardware solution on the video chipset called Motion Video Acceleration (MVA MVA abbr. motor vehicle accident MVA Motor vehicular/vehicle accident, see there ) allows for high-quality MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). video playback that runs smoother and faster than software-only or PC-card based solutions. In addition, it is a more cost-effective method than MPEG hardware, while providing the same capabilities. A 16-bit Creative Labs' Sound Blaster A very popular family of sound cards from Creative Labs. In the days of DOS, Sound Blaster was the de facto interface for gaming sounds. Monaural Sound Blaster cards were introduced in 1989, and stereo cards followed in 1992 (Sound Blaster Pro). (r). Vibra 16 sound card lets users be their own multimedia specialists by giving them the ability to easily incorporate WAV and MIDI audio functions into almost any file. A built-in microphone allows for recording voice, music or other sound effects sound effects Noun, pl sounds artificially produced to make a play, esp. a radio play, more realistic sound effects npl → efectos mpl sonoros . A large, built-in speaker provides high-quality sound, while the audio line in/out ports lets users connect to an external stereo sound system. The 950N/120 gives sales, service and training professionals the upper hand they need when taking multimedia presentations on the road. 11.8-inch Diagonal Super VGA See VGA and PC display modes. Super VGA - Super Video Graphics Array TFT (Thin Film Transistor) The term typically refers to active matrix screens on laptop computers. Active matrix LCD provides a sharper screen display and broader viewing angle than does passive matrix. See LCD and thin film. TFT - Thin Film transistor Display Equals Larger Viewing Area and Lighter Weight The definition of a large display got larger with the new Ascentia 950N. This 8.5-inch x 11.5-inch x 1.8-inch machine packs a huge 11.8-inch diagonal display into its relatively small confines. With the new screen dimensions, AST is able to give users approximately 35 percent more viewing area than 10.4-inch TFT displays. And not only is the display larger, but it's also lighter -- reducing the overall weight of the system by almost 1/2 a pound. This high-resolution Super VGA screen displays 64,000 colors at 800 x 600 resolution for super-crisp, colorful images. One megabyte of video DRAM and a high-speed 32-bit local bus keep the display running fast and smooth. AST's expanded mode gives the 950N the ability to play video, display graphic programs or view any 640 x 480 image in full screen mode, without the one-inch black border characteristic of other high-resolution displays. The ProStation Puts Complete Multimedia on Your Desktop Because the 950N/120 is a desktop replacement system, many customers will want to take advantage of the convenience and power provided by the optional ProStation Docking Station (1) A cradle for a portable device that serves to charge the unit and connect it to other sources or destinations. For example, an iPod docking station charges the iPod and connects it to a computer, speakers or TV set. that minimizes the hassle of connecting cables and cords to the 950N whenever a user comes into the office. And for those who want a complete multimedia solution on their desktop, the optional ProStation Multimedia incorporates an integrated quad-speed enhanced IDE See EIDE. Enhanced IDE - Advanced Technology Attachment Interface with Extensions CD-ROM drive A device that holds and reads CD-ROM discs. CD-ROM drives generally also play audio CD discs by sending analog sound to the sound card via a 4-pin cable. For specifications of 10x, 20x, etc. drives, see CD-ROM drives. See CD-ROM, CD-ROM changer, CD-ROM server and CD-ROM audio cable. , two eight-watt AC-powered speakers, Creative Labs microphone and Sound Blaster Vibra 16-bit audio card. Professionals can use the multimedia docking station to develop multimedia presentations, install CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). software and explore the growing world of CD-ROM software titles. With AST's Windows(r) 95 plug and play support built-in, users can dock or undock their notebooks while in suspend mode. The estimated selling price of the ProStation is $549, while the ProStation Multimedia is $749. These units work with all Ascentia notebooks. A Wide Range of Professional Pentium Notebooks "With the addition of an aggressively priced 120-MHz Pentium to our Ascentia 950N line, we're giving customers the kind of purchasing power Purchasing Power 1. The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you'd be able to purchase. 2. and choice they've come to expect from AST," said Robert Brown, AST's mobile products marketing manager. Those looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a value-priced Pentium processor-based system can opt for the aggressively-priced 950N/75, a notebook with many of the same features but a slightly slower processor. At the mid-level range is the 950N/90, up until now the most powerful Pentium processor-based system available. "AST's top-of-the-line 950N/120 is the right choice for those who need the raw processing power of the 120-MHz processor and want a huge 11.8-inch color display. This breadth of products allows companies to match the performance requirements across a wide range of applications," Brown said. The Perfect Desktop Replacement System The Ascentia 950N series are ideal desktop replacement systems due to their large removable hard drives (500MB, 800MB or 1.2GB), a minimum 8MB of memory, expandable to 40MB, and bright, full-color displays. A full complement of ports, including two serial, a parallel, a Super VGA, a PS/2 and an infrared, lend the Ascentia to further expansion. A PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, San Jose, CA, www.pcmcia.org) An international standards body and trade association that was founded in 1989 to establish a standard for connecting peripherals to portable computers. PCMCIA created the PC Card. See PC Card. Type III slot supports one Type III card See PC Card. or two Type II cards and lets users expand storage, add a CD-ROM drive, LAN card and more. Users not ready to make the switch to Windows 95 have the option of installing their new Ascentia with either MS-DOS MS-DOS in full Microsoft Disk Operating System Operating system for personal computers. MS-DOS was based on DOS, developed in 1980 by Seattle Computer Products. Microsoft Corp. bought the rights to DOS in 1981, and released MS-DOS with IBM's PC that year. and Windows for Workgroups A version of Windows 3.1 introduced in 1992 that added peer-to-peer networking. See Windows. (operating system) Windows for Workgroups - (WFW, WFWG) A version of Windows 3.1 which works with a network. Although stand-alone 3. or Windows 95. Additionally, all 950Ns come loaded with plenty of software for helping mobile users make the most of their time. Some of the programs include: Delrina's WinFax(r) and COMit LITE, ConnectSoft's E-Mail Connection, OAG OAG Office of the Attorney General OAG Office of the Auditor General (of Canada) OAG Official Airline Guide OAG Open-Angle Glaucoma OAG Open Application Group OAG Operational Advisory Group Flight Disk, News Electronic Data's Taxi - San Francisco Edition, Microsoft's RunTime Video for Windows The name of Microsoft's first video playback implementation in Windows. Supporting the AVI movie format, Video for Windows (VfW) was installed separately in Windows 3.x, but was later built into Windows 95 and subsequent versions. and starter kits for all the major online services --America Online(r), Prodigy(r) and CompuServe(r) Worldwide Service and Support The Ascentia 950N is covered by a worldwide three-year limited warranty Limited warranty A warranty with certain conditions and limitations on the parts covered, type of damage covered, and/or time period for which the agreement is good. , giving users the flexibility and convenience of having their notebook computer serviced throughout the world. Users who purchase and service their Ascentia 950N notebook in the United States will receive AST's free 48-hour rapid repair service, ExeCare Plus(sm), for the first year. Years two and three are covered by a carry-in warranty. International customers are serviced on a carry-in basis by any of the authorized AST Service Providers located in more than 30 countries around the world. Upgrade programs are also available outside the United States, and service may vary according to the warranty terms of each country. Corporate Background AST Research Inc., a member of the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial and service companies, is one of the world's leading personal computer manufacturers. The $2.468 billion company develops a broad spectrum of desktop, mobile and server PC products that are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. AST systems meet a wide range of customer needs, ranging from corporate business applications to advanced home and home office use. Corporate headquarters is located at 16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif., 92619-7005. Telephone, 714/727-4141 or 800/ 876-4278, fax: 714/727-9355. Ascentia 950N Professional Pentium Processor-Based Notebooks at a Glance
950N/120 950N/90 950N/75
Est'd Selling Price $5,249 - $5,649 $3,849 - $4,449 $2,799-$4,449
Processor 20-MHz Pentium 90-MHz Pentium 75-MHz Pentium
Display 11.8" SVGA TFT 10.4" SVGA TFT 10.4" SVGA TFT
10.4" SVGA DS-STN 10.4" SVGA DS-STN
Memory (Min./Max.) 8MB/40MB 8MB/40MB 8MB/40MB
Removable hard drive 800MB, 1.2GB 800MB, 1.2GB TFT: 800MB,
1.2GB
DSTN: 500MB,
800MB,1.2GB
Battery Lithium Ion Lithium Ion Lithium Ion
4 hours 4 to 6 hours 4 hours
Weight 5.69 pounds TFT: 6.4 pounds TFT: 6.4 pounds
DS-STN: 6.2 pounds S-STN: 6.2 pounds
Note To Editors: Photography and additional technical specs available upon request. AST is a registered trademark and Ascentia, ExeCarePlus and ProStation are trademarks of AST Research, Inc. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. WinFax is a registered trademark of Delrina Technology, Inc. SoundBlaster is a registered trademark of Creative Technology LTD LTD 1 Laron-type dwarfism 2 Leukotriene D 3 Long-term depression, see there 4. Long-term disability . Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Prodigy is a registered trademark of the Prodigy Services Corporation. America Online is a registered service mark of America Online, Inc. CompuServe is a registered service mark of CompuServe, Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. CONTACT: AST Research Inc. Ruth Rosene, 714/727-7961 ruth.rosene@ast.com |
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