Laptops - Page 52

An interesting story is floating around the internet today. The line goes something like this; Intel and Microsoft are working together to limit the licensing of Windows 7 on netbooks.

Now if we believe what is being bandied about we find that special OEM pricing for the starter version of Windows 7 will only be available to 10.2-inch netbooks and smaller.

Many claim this is going to hurt Via as they have a better grip on the 11-inch and up netbook market. However, there is an alternate possibility; what if someone is finally trying to put netbooks into a proper category? After all in an 11-inch netbook you can have better hardware and cooling. So it stands to reason that keeping the software cost on netbooks 10.2-inches and smaller would keep them in a lower price range where their lower performance naturally puts them.

read more here.

Dell has pushed a new 10.1-inch netbook out on the market under the Latitude name no less.

The new netbook will be called the Dell Latitude 2100 (to avoid confusion) and will be aimed at education, not gaming or entertainment.

The book will have some decent specifications if you are looking for something light-duty. There are options for an, antimicrobial keyboard ( to prevent the spread of disease I guess), A 10.1-inch LCD screen with a touch screen option, an Intel Atom N270 CPU and a choice of three operating systems - Microsoft Windows XP Home, Vista Home Basic or Linux Ubuntu. Pricing should start at around $369.

Read more here.

Also at the MSI notebook press conference held earlier today in Taipei we saw MSI's U200 based Intel Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) platform running Windows 7 Ultimate RC build 7100, alongside a bunch of other MSI mobile products.

Jointly with Intel and Microsoft, MSI held a pre-Computex press conference earlier today in Taipei to unveil its range of X-Slim notebooks including the X340 (13"), X400 (14") and X600 (15.6"). They aren't a slim as American maker Apple has got their products, but they are still pretty impressive.

With everyone fighting for a piece of the netbook market it is not surprising to see ARM and Android finally enter the fray.

The Alpha 680, as it will be called is going to have some minimal specs including an ARM11 CPU running at 533MHz this is the same CPU that is used in the iPhone and many other smart phones. The display will be 7-inches and have a resolution of 800x480. RAM ahd HDD space will be in short supply with a maximum of 256MB of DDR2 and only a 1GB SSD for storage.

The Alpha 680 should retail at around $250 and is expected to hit the channel in roughly three months.

Computerworld seems to think this setup has a change to wrest the netbook market away from Intel's Atom but with its extremely low processor power and limited RAM/Storage I personally have my doubts.

Read more here

Well the first Core i7 Laptops might be available in the EU in May. The new mobile behemoth will have a Core i7 920, a GTX 280M with 1GB of DDR3 memory all its own, 2GB of DDR3 1066 memory for the CPU (why they did not go for triple channel I do not know) and a 12 cell battery.

It is going to be a rather thick book as well measuring 397 x 298 x 51-60 mm (15.6 x 11.7 x 2 - 2.3 Inches). Still if you are looking for the most power you can carry around with you, or bragging rights this is the book to look for.

Read more here the page is in German but the details are all in English.

After many statements to the opposite it seems that Steve Jobs may have wised up to the netbook craze.

According to a story over at Fudzilla the Patron Saint of Mac is hard at work on designs for an over $500 netbook (possibly with $100 worth of parts) to offer to the Mac fans out there.

Jobs is scheduled to return to work in June which could indicated a launch date for the new product if these rumors of a 10" NetMac are true.

Read more at Fudzilla.

I think I will file this one in the very funny drawer. Internetnews.com is saying that Microsoft might be losing ground in the netbook market as the OS of choice.

When I first read that I thought it would be an interesting read; then I got to the part where it is all about the manufacturers looking at Android and Linux to replace Windows. This had me laughing as it was the very same manufacturers (Dell, HP, Asus) that asked Microsoft for XP due to large customer returns of the Linux based models.

Ok, yes Linux and Android are free, this will enable netbooks to sell for the same price and have more margin of profit. But the issue is that the majority of people buying netbooks right now are not Linux Savvy. They are going to get it home (after the Best Buy Clerk tells them what a great deal it is) and be completely lost with the OS.

This will result in even more returns and cost even more money to the manufactures. I am not sure why the sudden Linux resurgence but it is still not quite ready for the masses, and this is from someone that runs several different distros.

Read more here

OCZ announced they they now have another offering in their Do-It-Yourself lineup. Their latest entry into the DIY category is the Neutrino 10.1" Netbook.

The Neutrino features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor paired with the Intel 945GSE core logic. The 10.1" display has a resolution of 1024x600 and will output to an external display up to 1600x1200. Also built into the Neutrino is a 1.3MP webcam with microphone, 802.11 b/g, and a 4 cell 2200 mAh battery.

We told you yesterday that Digitimes was flogging a rumor about a new Mac Netbook. Well it seems that Dow Jones has gotten a hold of the story and gotten more confirmation on it.

This does not make it a certainty but it would make it more likely. As Digitimes claimed Apple will be using touch screens from Wintek and Quanta will build them.

While none of the companies would comment on this news it does seem rather odd after Steve Jobs made his statement "we don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk." That Apple would build a netbook.

This could mean that it will still be a cheap product with the usual Apple price tag or it could simply mean that all the fuss is over a different product altogether.

Read more here.

This is something that while not new is a new twist on an old idea. The folks over at Front Door Software have developed an application that can help in the recovery of stolen laptops.

The way it works is pretty simple; you install the software and setup an online account. After this if someone steals the laptop, you simply logon to your account and report is stolen. From there the laptop will display owner contact information and can also play a loud recorded message indicating it is stolen. There is also an IP tracer function that can allow you to track the stolen laptop as well as a lock down feature.

The application is available as a 90-Day trial while purchasing a full 3-year license is only $29.95.

Read more here.

ASUS has announced a special edition Eee PC by parnering with the Austrailian National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

Is it me or has the netbook become its own monster? When the concept was first pushed out it was all about small, light, portable internet and basic office/school tasks. Now everything has changed.

If rumors are to be believed Lenovo will be dropping the new HD capable nVidia ION under the hood of its new netbooks. The new Lenovos won't be your typical netbooks, they will run in 11.6 and 21.1 inch flavors.

This could be good for Lenovo if they can get it to market before everyone else and very good for nVidia. If the Lenovo netbooks are a success it means further adoption in the market and more revenue for nVidia.

Read more here at Electronista

Samsung's new NC20 Netbook has shown up for pre-order on shop.bt.com.
The new thigh-top has a 12.1" display and a Via Nano under the hood.

The NC20 as it will be called sells for 390.98 (GBP) and is available in both white (ala Apple) and a sleek glossy black. The availability dates are listed as Feb 09 for the white model and March 09 for the black.

There is no news on when these might show up elsewhere in the world.

Pre-Order yours here.

According to Microsoft's Brad Brooks, who is corporate vice president for Windows Consumer Product Marketing, all Windows 7 versions will work on mini notebook and netbook computers.

Putting it down to the intelligent development work by Microsoft software engineers, Windows 7 is not only looking to have a smaller OS footprint than Vista, but also come with improvement power management for enhanced battery life, enhanced media capabilities and increased reliability, stability and security.

nVidia seems to be changing its focus. While they will never get away from making GPUs the company certainly has shifted its focus from the desktop to the portable PC world.

In a recent conversation with nVidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, Laptop Magazine finds Huang talking up Ion.

The Ion platform throws the Intel Atom together with the GeForce 9400M GPU (oddly enough the same GPU that powers the new MacBook). Ion is intended to bring greater functionality to the netbook world.

According to Huang the current Netbook is nothing more than a PC that does not work that well. But with Ion the netbook can be a "Premium PC Experience" Huang also says that the current Atom with Intel chipset/GPU will be crushed by AMD's Neo.

Read more here.

Sony has taken the wraps off its latest VAIO P series notebook today, or I should perhaps say netbook. Weighing in at a mere 636 grams, this is said to be the world's lightest 8-inch notebook released to date.

ASUS had today announced the first notebooks to make use of AMD's ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 series GPUs, also released today.

The two models include ASUS' N81Vp and N51Tp and along with leveraging the latest in GPU technology, they also include other advanced features in the way of efficiency with the use of the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) being said to preserve battery life by up to 35% more than standard notebooks running identical specs. The built-in Express Gate operating system is also implemented along with ASUS' SmartLogon facial recognition system.

Freescale has had an Epiphany. They have come to the sudden realization that a netbook is just that, a netbook. It is not meant to play HD content nor is it meant to run Crysis it is meant to perform the relatively simple and routine tasks of getting on the internet, checking e-mail and office productivity work.

Now we all know that netbooks are not meant to be powerhouses; that is not the revelation that Freescale has had. What they have found is that your average smart phone could double as a netbook in term of processing and GPU power.

This has lead them to consider making an ARM based netbook to challenge Intel dominance in this new market.

Read more here.