Lenovo has announced their ThinkPad USB Portable Secure hard drive. It features a passcode system that uses a physical keypad. This should be useful for those who store sensitive information. The unit is just 3 x 5-inches, and is designed to pair up with ThinkPad laptops. It can have up to 10 unique user IDs and an admin account. The unit should be available by the end of the month. The 160GB model will cost $180 and the 320GB model will run $219.

Dell is finally set to release the Inspiron Mini 12 in North America. The company has begun taking orders for the 12-inch netbook. The base price of $549 will net you a unit featuring a 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 40GB hard drive and a standard 3 cell battery. If you cough up $758, you’ll get the top end machine. This model comes equipped with a 1.66GHz Atom processor, 80GB hard drive and a 6 cell battery. All versions ship with Windows Vista Home. The units will ship out to American consumers in December.

Dell’s Industrial Design Director, Ed Boyd, recently told BusinessWeek that the company plans on launching customizable computers with "scores of colors, patterns, and textures" in 2009. He claims the options will "go far beyond the handful of choices available" from most competitors. The Art House models will range from about $649 to $800. Boyd offered no word if the choice of design would be limited to the exterior of the laptop. Colored keyboards would be nice too.

Dell has finally released their Vostro A860 laptop in the United States. It had previously been available in other parts of the world since August. The unit starts at just $379 when you factor in Dell’s instant savings. The Vostro A860 features a 15.6-inch screen and weighs 5.4 pounds. It comes with either a Celeron or Pentium Dual Core processor. The Vostro also features a GMA X3100+ integrated graphics card, 2GB of memory, up to 160GB of storage, WiFi and optional Bluetooth. Vista is the pre-loaded OS of choice for the unit..

The OLPC, One Laptop Per Child, laptop will be heading to the hands of consumers in both America and Europe on November 17th. Americans and residents of 27 EU nations will be able to pick up the XO laptop at a cost of about £268 / €313 at Amazon. For each purchase, the manufacturer will donate another laptop to a child in a developing nation. Think of it as a two for one for a worthy cause.

This version of the OLPC runs on the Sugar OS, and not XP.