Gateway firms up MC series 16:9 media notebooks

After an early introduction, Gateway today finalized details of the MC series, its first 16:9 aspect ratio notebook. The system is movie-friendly with a 16-inch, 1366x768 LCD that displays 720p video with much less wasted space than on a 16:10 display. It also takes Gateway's look somewhat upscale with either burgundy or black colors as well as the use of artificial leather and brushed metal surfaces. All models also have a backlit keyboard.

Two shipping specs will be available on launch and target the system chiefly at the mid-range. A base model at $950 carries a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive and Intel's GMA 4500MHD for graphics. Adding just $50 more brings a Mobility Radeon HD 3650 that supplies both much faster 3D as well as full hardware video decoding.

All models ship with a 1.3-megapixel webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a DVD burner; they should be available at retail before the end of October.