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ASUS Eee PC 1005PR packs Broadcom Crystal HD and high-res screen
Today in Tales from ASUS we bring you the story of the 10.1-inch Eee PC 1005PR. While we didn't catch this one hiding out in the overflowing CeBIT booth, it appears big A has gone and swapped out the screen on the 1005PE for one with a 1366 x 768-resolution and tucked a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator inside, which means the little lappie should be able to handle some YouTube HD (at least after you download 10.1 Beta 3). Nothing special apart from that, as it's standard netbook down the line: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450, 1GB of RAM, and 320GB hard drive. No word on pricing or availability, but we're guessing it'll probably come in at under $400, like the Dell Mini 10 and HP Mini 210. It may not be a bad deal in the end, but we're still holding out for the Ion 2-equipped 1201PN and for ASUS to someday slow down the frenetic pace of Eee PC iteration.
Sony Vaio M surfaces... unofficially
Well, what do we have here? It's the Sony Vaio M series netbook, as yet unannounced but sitting here getting detailed all the same. The 10.1-inch netbook, which looks, well, pretty much identical to the Sony Vaio W series, is apparently going to boast a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 250GB hard drive, plus 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, and a built-in webcam. There's no pricing information or dates of availability for these bad boys yet, but there's one more shot after the break to gander at -- if you're so inclined.
Intel Atom N455 and N475 mysteriously pop up on ASUS placards
We don't really know what to make of this, but while battling the onslaught of new netbooks at the ASUS's CeBIT booth we noticed some peculiar new Intel Atom processors on a few signs. As you can see above it looks like the Eee PC 1015PE will not only be available with the current N450 and the newly announced N470 Pine Trail processors, but also the rumored N455 and N475 CPUs. Intel tells us that these are not-yet-announced-products, but we're guessing we'll hear more tomorrow morning at Chipzilla's press conference -- although we're not too optimistic that dropping a zero and adding a five is going to provide all that much more Atom netbook power.
Keepin' it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly
It would seem like we've recalled our editor from Shenzhen a little prematurely. The land of Yao has gone and answered all the iPad's critics in resounding style: TESO's 10-inch clone tablet features a full-blown Windows 7 install (check), 1024x600 capacitive touchscreen display (check), HDMI output (check), a 1.66GHz Atom N450 (vroom vroom!), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, GPS, 3G, and a 3,000mAh battery. Yep, it's a netbook sans the keyboard, and it might weigh 1.2kg while stretching to a portly 2cm thickness, but are you really gonna let a few well-rounded edges get in the way of experiencing a grown-up desktop OS on that tablet you so desperately need? Couple more pics await after the break. Update: 9to5Mac has alerted us to the fact that this clone seems to be sporting the same front plate as the one purported to belong to the iPad in the days before its release. Good to know all the engineering that went into inflating the iPhone's bezel up to 10 inches didn't go to waste.
ASUS gets official with swivel-screen multitouch Eee PC T101MT
Thanks to the oh-so-revealing pages of the FCC, we already knew that ASUS had yet another multitouch-enabled Eee PC in the works, but there's just nothing quite like the satisfaction of seeing an official portal launched to celebrate the reality of being. The Eee PC T101MT is a swivel-screen netvertible that packs a 10.1-inch resistive multitouch display (1,024 x 600), Windows 7, up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 160GB or 320GB hard drive, 0.3 megapixel webcam and a 6.5 hour battery. You'll also get a VGA output, a trio of USB 2.0 sockets, Ethernet audio in / out, an SD / SDHC / SDXC card reader (nice!) 500GB of internet-accessible ASUS WebStorage and your choice of white or black. Per usual, there's nary of a mention of a price or release date just yet, but you can check out what fun awaits you in the demonstration video just past the break. %Gallery-85452%
Gateway brings Atom N450 to LT21 line of 10.1-inch netbooks
Gateway got official with its 15.6- and 11.6-inch EC laptops back in October, and now it's time for the netbooks to get their shine on. Hot on the heels of Intel's Atom N450 release, the aforementioned company is rolling out its LT21 series here in Vegas, complete with 6-cell 5,600mAh battery options (for up to ten hours of usage), 802.11n WiFi, an N450 under the hood and Intel's GMA 3150 handling the pixel duties. You'll also get a chassis that weighs just 2.76 pounds along with an integrated webcam, Ethernet, a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display (1,024 x 600), a 93 percent full-size keyboard and a multi-gesture touchpad to boot. The rest is pretty vanilla: 1GB of RAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA and a multicard reader. The LT21 range will arrive in red, black and white hues, with Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home runnin' the show; check 'em later this month starting at $299.99. Or don't, whatevs. %Gallery-81409%
Dell's Atom N450-based Inspiron Mini 10 now up for order, starts at $299
Fitting, no? Dell (briefly) launched its Inspiron Mini 10 at a press event last year at CES, and this year's show is ushering in the next major iteration. 'Course, it's not like we didn't know it was on the way, but if it's details you crave, you'll leave this post duly satisfied. Starting today, the revised Inspiron Mini 10 is up for order at Dell's US website, and the options list is fairly impressive (particularly for a netbook). The device sports a 92 percent full-size keyboard, the same "hinge-forward" design seen on the company's ultrathin Adamo and a bevy of extras including a 9.5 hour battery, Broadcom's Crystal HD media accelerator, built-in GPS and an integrated HDTV receiver. There's also a good chance a version will be made available with a Mobile DTV tuner within, though that's just speculation based on the fact that this machine is currently being used in a trial program in the nation's capital. Hit the source link to start customizing your own -- the base price is pegged at just $299.
ASUS Eee PC 1001P brings its seashell design, Atom N450 to Amazon's US listings
First Germany, and now the States. ASUS's 10.1-inch, Pine Trail-equipped Eee PC Seashell 1001P has popped up on Amazon's US retail listings. Same Intel Atom N450 processor we saw before. $300 gets you Windows XP and a 160GB HDD, while $350 nets Windows 7 and 250GB of storage. Color options are black, pink, blue, and white, and as for release date? Still M.I.A., but we're hopeful this week offers a few tech news goodies.
BenQ's Joybook Lite U103 packs an SSD for when you're feeling frisky, HDD for when you're not
If money were no issue we'd all be rocking slinky notebooks with terabytes of flash-based storage, but alas this recession means a more budget-conscious approach is warranted. BenQ's solution is to offer a bit of both with its latest Joybook Lite, the U103, offering a large (500GB max) HDD paired with an optional 32GB SSD. Install your OS and critical apps on the SSD, dump everything else to platter, and make the most of what the company advertises will be an eight hour battery. That the laptop packs what is advertised as "Intel's new Atom" processor (surely the N450) is a good sign that battery life will indeed be good, something that should also be helped by a 10-inch, LED-backlit display of indeterminate resolution. Also on the docket is pseudo-3D sound from the two integrated speakers courtesy of SRS TruSound HD, a multitouch trackpad, and a weight of just 2.4lbs. No price yet, but that should change soon enough.
Samsung hops on Atom N450 bandwagon with N210, N220, N150 and NB30 netbooks
Keeping the news flowing fast and furious, Samsung has come out with a quartet of new netbooks, distinguishable primarily by their battery life. The N210 and 220 take the lead with a purported 12 hours of "connected mobility," while the NB30 (11 hours) and N150 (8.5 hours) are none too shabby either. The N150 differentiates itself with an "integrated hinge," while the NB30 focuses on durability with a HDD protection sensor and a water-tight seal that protects the netbook from up to 50cc of water. Still, the machines do share a lot, including an Atom N450 at their heart, and a 10.1-inch anti-reflective screen, plus -- you'd be better sit down for this -- mark- and scratch-resistant casing. Does this mean the end of the fingerprint-loving netbook? We can only hope so. Full PR blurb after the break.
Dell, Toshiba and Gateway Core i3 laptops get revealed early, joined by Pine Trail netbooks
And just like that, the CES 2010 on-switch has been well and truly pressed. After HP, Sony and Lenovo all exposed their hardware to the world prematurely, it was inevitable that other companies would "accidentally" follow suit. Thanks to CNET's snooping, we're now staring at a trio of new Core i3 models from Dell, Toshiba and Gateway -- highlighted by an unannounced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 powering a 1600 x 900 15-inch display on the Gateway, which also squeezes 500GB of storage under a shockingly low $692 price tag. On the Atom front, the Mini 210 is joined by a Toshiba NB305 -- sporting the N450, 250GB HDD, up to 11 hours' claimed battery life, and a $438 sticker -- as well as Gateway's effort with a smaller 160GB HDD but also suitably reduced $285 asking price. Hit the links below to get freshened up on all the juicy details. Read - FutureShop.ca (Gateway NV5905H) Read - FutureShop.ca (Toshiba Satellite L500-00F) Read - Costco (Dell Inspiron 15) Read - FutureShop.ca (Gateway LT2102H) Read - FutureShop.ca (Toshiba NB305-00F)
ASUS Eee PC 1001P with Atom N450 appears on Amazon.de
With Christmas out of the way and CES just around the corner we're starting to see significant momentum in the Pineview department (which is between HR and the Engadget Bouncy Moon Castle). Currently listed on Amazon.de as a pre-order item for €249 (roughly $360), the Asus Eee PC 1001P is a 10.1-inch clamshell PC featuring an Intel Atom N450 at 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM a 160GB HDD and Windows XP. Between this bad boy and that 1005P/PE we first set eyes on earlier this month, it sure looks like the next-gen processor will be available sooner rather than later. Wouldn't that be... magical?
HP 210 netbook forgets announcement in lieu of support pages, retail listings
Uh oh, looks like HP has confused its product release order of operations. Without even a hint of an official announcement, the HP 210 netbook has appeared in two quadrants of the internet: retail and troubleshooting. The former is eCost, which claims the 10.1-inch matte black portable is in stock for $390 and touts a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 (yep, that's Pine Trail), integrated graphics, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, and a 6-cell battery. As for the latter, we need look no further than HP's own support pages -- similar to what happened with the Mini 311 back in September. So will we get an eye-full before CES or will we have to wait for the big show? After?
Lenovo set for January launch of Pine Trail-packing S10-3 netbook and S10-3t multitouch tablet
It's been awhile since Lenovo last updated its IdeaPad line, the S10-2 dropping over the summer, but we're hearing that the third iteration of the platform is set to be unveiled in the very near future. The model we spied at the FCC last month is confirmed to be the S10-3, possessing Atom N450 (Pine Trail) internals, a 10.1-inch screen, WiFi, 3G, and integrated GPS. More interesting is that there is an S10-3t model coming as well, a convertible tablet version which you can see the underside of above, thanks again to the FCC. It will feature a multitouch screen to make the most of its Windows 7 install, and hopefully won't be crippled by Starter Edition like another tablet we know.
Intel's netbook and nettop Pine Trail Atom platforms explored, benchmarked
Just after finally making them official and just ahead of what will surely be a blowout of devices at CES, Intel has let loose the dogs of benchmarking upon its highly anticipated Pine Trail Atom platforms: the N450 for netbooks and the D510 for nettops. On the portable side it's HotHardware and AnandTech doing the testing, pitting the new Asus Eee PC 1005 PE (which we just reviewed ourselves) against some of its earlier Atom brethren, finding it out-paces the single-core N270 in terms of sheer CPU performance but is generally trumped by the dual-core 330, while its integrated GPU loses out handily to any machine with an Ion processor. But, in terms of battery life, it bested them all. The story is similar over at PCMag, which tested the D510 in a prototype nettop and found that its performance was no better than earlier 330-spec'd machines, but that its power consumption of just 19W under full load undercuts the thriftiest nettops -- it's quieter, too, thanks to a complete lack of fans. So, perhaps not the speed boost you might have been looking for, but fine battery life abounds, eh?
Samsung N150 brings 3G and GPS to Pine Trail party, spotted at FCC and retail sites
"The Atom is dead, long live the Atom." The long awaited upgrade of Intel's netbook platform is gathering pace, and latest to join the ranks is Samsung with its 3G and GPS-equipped N150. Powered by Qualcomm's Gobi 2000 chip, the connectivity on this lite laptop will not go lacking, though Sammy disappoints with the rest of its specs. According to a very early listing on Neobits, the 10.1-inch screen sticks with a now barely acceptable 1,024 x 600 resolution, while RAM and storage are limited to the eons old 1GB and 160GB, respectively. Windows 7 Starter Edition, a 4,400mAh battery, and the typical 3 USB ports, 802.11b/g/n wireless and a 3-in-1 card reader fill out the rest of the unremarkable data sheet. Still, the presently listed price is under $374, which is right on par with the N140, meaning complaints are allowed (but should be kept to a low hush of disgruntlement, ya dig?).
Broadcom's Crystal HD tech to liven up HD capabilities of N450-based netbooks
NVIDIA's Ion technology may be hogging the limelight when it comes to netbook graphics, but Broadcom's no stranger to the space. After giving Acer's Aspire One HD playback capabilities that it could only dream of just months prior, the company's newly announced Crystal HD platform could provide Intel's Atom N450 with the multimedia boost it badly needs. The nitty-gritty details are still being withheld, but we're told that "top-tier OEMs including Asus, Dell and Samsung" will be slapping this into their upcoming N450-based netbooks. If you're curious as to why you should care, the BCM70015 promises "near flawless" HD video playback, including support for Flash Player 10.1 and Blu-ray flicks. We're told to expect it to start popping up in forthcoming machines throughout 2010, and if you're looking to soak up anything else in the meanwhile, a promotional video awaits you after the break.
Fujitsu MH380 netbook features Pine Trail, secondary scrolling trackpad
Looks like we're going to see a steady trickle of Pine Trail Atom N450-based netbooks before the dam bursts wide at CES 2010, and next up today is Fujitsu, which just officially announced the MH380 that hit the FCC last month. Basic specs are slightly better than usual, with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB drive, built-in Bluetooth and a standard six-cell battery under a 10.1-inch 1366x768 screen, but we're most intrigued by that little divot next to the trackpad, which functions as a scroll wheel. We'll definitely have to check that out in person when we get to Vegas -- hopefully Fujitsu will have some pricing and availability details for us then as well.
ASUS Eee PC 1005PE review
By our count ASUS has released -- at the very least -- 20 Eee PC netbooks since 2008. Some had 8.9-inch or 10-inch displays, some ran Xandros Linux or Windows XP, and some packed hard drives instead of flash storage. But common to virtually all of them was an Intel Diamondville 1.6GHz Atom N270 or N280 processor. That all changes with the 10-inch Eee PC 1005PE -- one of the first netbooks to feature the next-generation Intel Pine Trail platform, which features a 45-nanometer Pineview Atom N450 processor that integrates both the memory controller and GMA 3150 graphics onto the CPU die. The newly compact package promises improved performance and power efficiency, but will you notice the difference? Does the $380 1005PE blow past the Diamondville Eee PCs of late? Read on to find out in our full review. %Gallery-80648%
Intel's next-gen Pine Trail Atom processors officially announced
Get ready for the next generation of netbooks and nettops: Intel's just officially announced the Pine Trail Atom N450, D410, and D510, along with the NM10 Express chipset, and we should see over 80 machines with the 45-nanometer chips at CES 2010. Nothing too surprising about the 1.66GHz chips themselves, which integrate the memory controller and Intel graphics directly onto the CPU die: the N450 is targeted at netbooks, while the single-core D410 and dual-core D510 are designed for nettops, and each chip should use about 20 percent less power than its predecessor. That was borne out in our review of the N450-based ASUS Eee PC 1005PE, which got 10 hours of battery life in regular use, but unfortunately we didn't experience any performance improvements over the familiar N270 and N280. That jibes with other reports we've heard, but we'll wait to test some more machines before we break out the frowny face permanently -- for now, check out the full press release below.
