Setting up an analog audio system can be a real pain, not to mention a mess given one cable for every two channels. Digital systems aren’t necessarily easy either because most speaker systems aren’t equipped to make the analog conversion without the intervention of a stereo receiver. But don’t think that leaves you upselling headphones and easy-to-set-up 2.1-channel units.

Altec Lansing’s FX5051 5.1-channel sound system combines the value of an analog multimedia kit and the simplicity of a digital setup by leaning on the ubiquitous USB 2.0 interface. Making the necessary connection is simple. A USB cable runs from the subwoofer to the PC, and each satellite attaches to the sub through an RCA-type cable. A control pod, used to fine-tune the system’s tone, hooks up to the sub as well.

The front and rear speakers each push 12 watts per channel, while the center channel cranks out 13 watts. All five speakers include a 40mm mid-range driver and an 18mm tweeter. The sub is a bit beefier at 28 watts, and it powers dual 6.5” woofers, totaling 89W RMS across all six channels. Altec Lansing claims system response between 30 Hz and 20 kHz, with a somewhat noisy SNR of 75dB. Nevertheless, customers can expect great sound quality at normal listening volumes.

Bundle the FX5051 with a good software decoding engine, and the surround system tackles DVD playback with aplomb. Attach an iPod to the Control Pod’s input jack and you suddenly have a docking station. Or, if your customer wants real positional audio for gaming, connect the outputs from a sound card to the FX5051’s three analog inputs.

Are you looking for a way to really set your whitebooks apart? How about a new storage technology that’s mature enough to rival the performance of conventional magnetic drives, several times more resistant to heavy impact, and rated for a longer useful life?

Meet OCZ’s 64GB SATA II SSD. The 2.5” SATA drive looks like any other disk you’d drop into a notebook, except that it centers on solid state memory. And because there are no moving parts, the drive is resistant to 1500G of shock. That’s five times the non-operational shock tolerance of the most popular magnetic models. OCZ also rates the SATA II at 2 million hours mean time before failure—more than twice the MTBF rating of those spinning disks.

Two more benefits of going solid state: pure silence and cool running. In many notebook builds, cooling is so efficient that the hard drive ends up making the most noise. As a general rule, solid state drives don’t make any noise at all. They also use a lot less power (the benefits of no mechanical parts), so operating temperatures go way down. The newest generation of SSDs addresses performance as well, a weakness in prior iterations of the technology. OCZ claims reads of up to 100 MB/s and writes of 80 MB/s.

The 64GB model is pricey at over $1,000. But when it comes to differentiating a notebook, it doesn’t get much more unique than this.

Intel made waves a few months ago by announcing the Atom family, a fresh take on mobile computing that’d replace the A100- and A110-series chips. Don’t worry—Atom wasn’t designed to go up against Centrino, so it shouldn’t be a threat to your whitebook business. Instead, the platform gives resellers an avenue into the ultra-portable market, which is currently dominated by proprietary designs of the HPs, Samsungs, and Sonys.

The Eee PC 901 is ASUS’ first Atom-based project. A 1.6 GHz Atom replaces the ultra low-voltage 900 MHz Celeron M powering the Eee PC 900, not only giving the new 901 purpose-built performance, but also doing wonders for power management. With the 900’s top battery option, customers could expect a little less than three hours of use. Now ASUS is bragging that the 901, together with its Super Hybrid Engine software, can serve up just shy of eight hours.

One gigabyte of DDR2 memory helps drive data to the Atom CPU, and a 12GB solid-state hard drive loaded with Windows XP Home is just large enough for important documents and a bit of media. You’ll also get built-in 802.11n networking, Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

Again, given the Eee PC 901’s list of specs, this is no whitebook-killer. It won’t replace your customer’s primary business notebook, which probably has a larger LCD, a full-sized keyboard, and much more in the way of storage. What it does do is provide a small, simple platform for browsing around online, knocking out quick emails, and maximizing battery life. It’s a second mobile machine, inexpensive enough for your small business customers who need to tap into an SBS server from the road.