Dell this week unveiled two new Inspiron PCs - one is a desktop for family activities and the other is a laptop geared towards students. The Inspiron 518 desktop prices at around $350 for a basic model, while the Inspiron 13 laptop costs around $700 at Wal-Mart.

Dell had this to say of its two computers, both of which are available now. “The Inspiron 13 laptop is a great choice for back to school shoppers looking for a small, light, highly efficient mobile PC. With a starting weight of just under 5 pounds, the Inspiron 13 combines a simple and clean design encased in glossy Pacific blue with black trim. Smart features include a 13-inch high definition display, capacitive touch media buttons, 8-in-1 media card reader and slot-load DVD drive. Optional features include built-in wireless networking, built-in webcam and Bluetooth connectivity.

Jointech has announced a Windows CE laptop which is pretty cheap when you look at what it has to offer. The Jointech JL7100 is priced at what looks to be around $100 (whether that is American or Hong Kong currency is unknown).

The Jointech JL7100 sports a 7-inch display capable of 800 x 480 VGA resolution. It runs Windows CE 5.0 and includes many of the typical Microsoft applications of that OS, including Word, Excel, Media Player and Internet Explorer. Keep in mind that this is not a full Windows XP or Vista laptop, so your choices for installing other types of software will be limited.

The initial buzz of the new Intel Centrino 2 chip technology now seems to have died down as related laptops settle into regular purchasing habits. Two last laptops we thought we’d highlight from the flurry of announcements the other week are the Toshiba Tecra M10 and A10. The former has a starting price around $1,400, while the other model has yet to be priced.

These two updated flagship business laptops from Toshiba will include, besides the Centrino 2, other features such as hard drive protection, spill resistant keyboard, fingerprint reader and an eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port. You can even have Toshiba throw in a solid state drive if you have a little bit of extra cash to pony up for this option.

Fujitsu’s got a couple of new tablet-style Windows PCs it is showcasing related to the recent Intel Centrino 2 processor. These are the LifeBook T5010 and LifeBook T1010 tablet PCs, with pricing beginning around $1,770 and $1,300, respectively.

Both the LifeBook T5010 and LifeBook T1010 tablet PCs sport 13.3-inch displays, a convertible form factor and touchscreen interfaces. You can read more about these after the jump via Fujitsu’s full press release.

Boutique computer manufacturer Zepto USA is unveiling two new gaming laptops, the company said today. These are the Zepto Mythos and Nox notebooks and they look to be available now for a starting price of around $1,530 for each.

Zepto said these new laptops, depending upon choices made, can be customized to include Centrino 2 technology, up to a 2.8 GHz Dual Core processor, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard disk. Each includes a 15.4″ WSXGA screen as well as a graphics card with 512MB dedicated DDR3 RAM, a HDMI connection and Blu-ray.

Another one of Sony’s recent VAIO laptop releases looks to be a lightweight by coming in with a body weight of just over three pounds. It is called the Sony VAIO Z Series and you’ll find pricing for models in this series ranging from around $1,800 to $2,300.

The Sony VAIO Z Series sports the new Intel Centrino 2 technology as well as a 13.1-inch display. Select models have a high-end resolution of 1600 x 900. The casing of these notebook computers is a carbon-fiber, which Sony says will be useful in protecting your VAIO Z from common bumps and knocks.

Toshiba earlier this week introduced a new laptop series that integrates Garmin GPS technology into the fold. It is called the Toshiba Qosmio F55 and pricing starts at around $1,400.

The Toshiba Qosmio F55 sports a 15.4-inch screen and is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and NVIDIA GPUs. The integrated GPS technology by Garmin lets you do all the things you’d typically do with a free-standing GPS system and the system include face recognition technology as well.

Sony is now offering up a new line of professional notebook computers powered by the new Intel Centrino 2 processor. It is called the Sony VAIO BZ Series and you’ll find pricing starting around $1,000.

The Sony VAIO BZ Series offers up a 15.4-inch widescreen display and full-size keyboard while weighing less than six pounds. It sports a magnesium alloy casing to help protect against bumping. Also noteworthy for day to day work is the shock protection on the hard drive and spill-resistant keyboard.

Lenovo contributed a number of new notebook computers today to the onslaught on laptops using the latest Intel Centrino 2 processor technology. The announcement brings two new notebook form factors - the 13-inch widescreen IdeaPad U330 and the 14-inch widescreen IdeaPad Y430 - to the IdeaPad line. Additionally, the new IdeaPad Y530 and Y730 notebooks make their debuts.

Key features of these new laptops, besides the new Intel processor, include more body color choices, HDMI output and optional Blu-ray DVD support. All will be available this fall for varying prices, depending upon the configuration. You can read more in detail after the jump about these four Lenovo laptops.

Sony late today unveiled the “world’s first 16.4-inch display.” It is more notable though for being one of the first notebooks powered by Intel’s new Centrino 2 technology. This laptop is the Sony VAIO FW Series and pricing ranges between $1,000 and $1,750.

The Sony VAIO FW Series is described by Sony as combining “the benefits of a slightly larger17-inch widescreen with the smaller ‘footprint’ of a 15.4-inch model.” Whether this makes much of a difference or not remains to be seen, but it does come with a nice load of technology features, including an integrated, optional Blu-ray Disc burner.

Worldwide computer manufacturer ASUS was showcasing last week a new laptop which more on the rugged side in terms of durability. It is known as the ASUS B51 and no pricing or availability information is known of as yet.

The ASUS B51 sports a lightweight magnesium alloy chassis which is buffered by rubber bumpers along its edges. The B51’s hard drive is “floated on a sponge protection system.”

Toshiba this week announced it had updated select models of its Satellite laptops with new processor technology and other features. These models include the Satellite P300, Satellite A300, Satellite M300 and Satellite U400.

These updated Toshiba Satellite laptops feature Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo processor technology in addition to other enhancements such as “sleep-and-charge” USB ports and face recognition. You can get the full details via a Toshiba press release after the jump.

Toshiba said with pride today it is launching the world’s first laptop with a 128GB solid state drive. It is called the Toshiba Portégé R500-S5007V and you’ll find it pricing around $3,000.

The Toshiba Portégé R500-S5007V, besides sporting a 128GB solid state drive, also comes equipped with a DVD SuperMulti drive. These two small form factor build-ins allow this laptop to be 0.77-inches thin and around 2.4 pounds. The R500-s5007V’s screen is a 12.1-inch backlit widescreen with transreflective LED.

Kensington seems to have been storing up on new product releases for notebook computers. The computer accessories maker yesterday unveiled some 24 new products across several notebook accessory related categories.

Highlights of this new product line up include a device for sharing USB devices between computers, wireless mice, notebook locks, column mount monitor arms and cases. We’ve provided more details on these new Kensington offerings via its press release after the jump.

Hewlett Packard, as you’ve probably noticed today, kicked out a ton of new digital products as part of a special coming out event. HP seemed to particularly go crazy in the laptop department, unveiling some 16 new notebook computers.

The rainbow of new HP laptops focuses across both consumer and business platforms. HP said in summary all of these notebooks are designed with new materials and software features that “enrich the user experience.” To get a general summary press release, check after the jump.