The Dell Inspiron iM501R (M501R) 15.6-inch mainstream AMD-based laptop is now available, including a model with a quad-core CPU.

There are two configurations offered by Amazon – the Dell Inspiron iM501R-1459MRB and iM501R-2272MRB. The iM501R-1459MRB features the AMD Athlon II Dual-Core P320 2.1GHz processor and integrated graphics, while the iM501R-2272MRB includes the AMD Phenom II Quad-Core P920 1.6GHz CPU and ATI Radeon HD550v 1GB dedicated video card. Both Inspiron R series laptops have 4GB of DDR3 memory, 500GB of hard disk space, a DVD burner, and a 1366×768 display resolution.

Dell’s iM501R also includes a 1.3MP web camera, Wi-Fi, Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth in iM501R-2272MRB, three USB ports, an eSATA/USB combo port, a 7-in-1 media card reader, and HDMI and VGA outputs.

The notebooks start at 5.76 pounds with the standard 6-cell battery and run Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

The Dell Inspiron iM501R-1459MRB and iM501R-2272MRB are priced at $579.99 and $763.22, respectively.

Hewlett-Packard is going to release the HP Slate 500 Windows 7-based tablet device, according to leaked info on the company’s website.

The Slate 500 (XB830PA – HP Slate 500-1002tu PC) has a 8.9-inch touchscreen display with pen input support and runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS. There are also two (video and still) cameras.

Previous reports say the HP Slate will feature the Intel Atom Z530 processor, 32GB or 64GB of storage space, and support for 1080p video playback.

It will reportedly cost around $550.

HP is also expected to unveil a similar tablet with WebOS operating system, made by recently acquired Palm.

The MSI FX600, a 15.6-inch notebook that belongs to the company’s new entertainment-oriented F Series, is now available.

Newegg offers two FX600 models – the MSI FX600-002US with the Intel Core i5 450M processor and a DVD writer and MSI FX600-003US with Core i3 350M CPU and a Blu-ray combo drive. Both configurations feature the Nvidia GeForce GT325M 1GB dedicated graphics, 4GB of DDR3 memory, and 500GB of hard disk space. The product page of the FX600-002US says the laptop includes NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics and THX Surround Sound technology. It is not clear if these features are available in the FX600-003US.

The notebooks’ 15.6″ display has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels.

MSI FX600 has a 720p HD web camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, three USB ports, an eSATA/USB combo port, 4-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot, and HDMI and VGA outputs.

The 5.28-pound laptops include a 6-cell battery which provides up to 3 hours of work time and run Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

Both models are priced at $799.99.

The Dell Streak 5-inch Android OS-based tablet device will be “available for purchase in late July” in the US, according to the product page on the computer maker’s website.

Besides the 800×480-pixel multi-touch LCD covered with damage-resistant Gorilla glass, the half-pound Dell Streak includes GSM/EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA / HSUPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (QSD) 8250 processor, a microSD memory card slot for storing users’ data, 512 MB ROM + 512 MB SDRAM + 2 GB non-user accessible MicroSD for system and applications files, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing camera, and a user-removable battery.

The 6″ wide, 3.1″ high, and 0.4″ thin tablet provides 3G phone functionality with support for SMS and MMS, as well as web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, A-GPS navigation and e-compass, H.263 / H.264, .3GP, MPEG4, and WMV video support, and other features enabled by Google Android multitasking-capable OS.

The US pricing has not been published yet. In the UK, the Streak starts at £449 ($684) and is expected to have a base price of $500 in the US.

MSI’s GT660 (GT660R) 16-inch gaming laptop is now available in the US.

The offered MSI GT660R-004US features the Intel Core i7-740QM quad-core 1.73GHz processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX285M 1GB graphic card, 6GB of DDR3 memory, 1TB of hard disk space using dual HDDs, and a Blu-ray combo drive.

Its 16″ display has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels.

The MSI GT660R also includes a chiclet-style keyboard with numeric pad, a 720p web camera, stereo speakers and a subwoofer, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth, two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA/USB combo port, ExpressCard slot, 4-in-1 card reader, VGA and HDMI outputs, and LED lights around the notebook’s edges.

It also has TDE+ (Turbo Drive Engine+) technology, which allows users to increase processor, memory, and GPU performance instantly with one touch of the luminescent Turbo hotkey above the keyboard.

The 7.7-pound laptop includes a 9-battery which provides up to 3 hours of run time and runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

MSI’s GT660R-004US is priced $1,699.99 and is available via Newegg and Amazon.

Best Buy now offers the HP Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX 15.6″ laptop, priced at only $299.99.

One of the cheapest 15.6-inchers in the US market features an Intel Celeron 2.2GHz processor, GMA 4500M integrated graphics, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB HDD, a DVD burner, a 6-cell battery with life of “up to 3 hours and 45 minutes”, and Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

The display of the Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

The affordable 6.6-pound laptop also sports 802.11n wireless, Ethernet LAN, a 56k modem, Altec Lansing speakers, and three USB ports.

Another sub-$300 15.6″ laptop offering this back-to-school season is the AMD-based Acer Aspire AS5251-1513, sold by Walmart for $298.

Dell UK has released the 11.6-inch Inspiron M101z ultraportable laptop, based on AMD’s technology.

The 3.44-pound Dell Inspiron M101z features the AMD Athlon Neo K125 single core or K325 dual core processor, ATI Radeon RS880M integrated graphics, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, up to 320GB hard disk capacity, and a 6-cell battery which provides up to 6 hours and 36 minutes of work time. There is no optical drive.

Its 11.6″ LED-backlit display has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels.

Dell’s M101z also includes a full-width keyboard, 1.3M web camera, stereo speakers, microphone, 802.11n wireless, Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth 3.0, a SIM card slot, three USB ports, a 3-in-1 media card reader, and VGA and HDMI outputs.

The laptop comes in four colors: pink, blue, red, and black.

The Dell Inspiron M101z runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS and is available via Dell UK site for the starting price of £379 ($586). We have no info on its availability in the US.

UPDATE: The laptop is available now in the US for $449.99 at Dell.com.

Consumer electronics company Augen has relased the Gentouch78, an affordable 7-inch Android OS-based tablet computer priced at only $150.

Besides the Android 2.1, access to Android Market, and a 800×480 touch display, the Gentouch78 includes an 800MHz processor, 256MB DDR2 RAM, 2GB of internal storage expandable via an SD/MMC card slot, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Augen Gentouch78 will be available through Kmart stores.

Nvidia has released the Quadro 5000M, a new video card for mobile workstations.

Based on “Fermi” architecture, the Quadro 5000M has 2GB of GDDR5 memory, a 256-bit memory interface, and 320 CUDA cores. It’s “the world’s first professional graphics solution with Error Correction Codes (ECC) memory” for the highest computing accuracy.

The GPU uses CUDA, OpenGL 4.1, DirectX 11, DirectCompute and OpenCL technologies and supports the new Nvidia 3D Vision Pro active shutter-glasses solution.

Mobile workstation laptops with the Nvidia Quadro 5000M are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2010 from HP and Dell.

Plextor has released the PX-B120U external USB Blu-ray drive, which plays BD discs at speeds up to 4x.

The travel-friendly PX-B120U is powered via the USB cable so it doesn’t require a separate power source.

Plextor’s drive also supports “multiple media formats including DVD+ /- R, DVD +/-RW, DVD +/- R DL, DVD-RAM and CD-R”.

The BD reader is priced at $99.99.