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Dell to launch Latitude 2120 netbook at CES?
Among the many new-product announcements that have been released in the time leading up to CES, word on the web is that Dell will launch a new Latitude 2120 netbook at the Vegas convention next week. Apparently, the 2120 has specs identical to the previously available 2110, but gets double the computing power of the single core Intel Atom N470 chipset in its predecessor courtesy of a dual core N550 processor. While the upgraded processor is the big news, sources indicate the newest Latitude gets an optional Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which should be a welcome addition for those students planning to watch March Madness during that 10AM lecture this spring semester. No word on price or availability, so interested parties will have to wait until the official launch for such details.
XBMC 10.0 'Dharma' now available to download with improvements galore, add-on manager and Apple TV support
You may have gifts for every family member under your Yuletide tree, but we're willing to bet you haven't given much thought to your trusty media center PC. Thankfully, the open-source community once again has a ready-made present, ready to be loaded right now -- the 10.0 release of XBMC, filled with goodies and toys. It's available for Windows, Linux, Mac and even the original Apple TV, and brings a brand-new add-on manager that lets you extend functionality and improve appearance right from the UI. There's also hardware acceleration for every platform, including special consideration for nettops sporting NVIDIA ION 2 or Broadcom Crystal HD chips, and even the underpinnings of support for Windows 7 touchscreens, ARM processors and OpenGL ES 2.0. The catalog of improvements is honestly rather staggering, so rather than read them all here, you can follow our source links to the full changelog and download pages, while we try to spread the Christmahanukwanzaakah cheer. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Dell Inspiron Duo review
When Dell first demoed the Inspiron Duo and its vertically rotating screen on stage at IDF in September, our mouths nearly hit the floor. It looked like a plain old netbook until its 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen did a magical backflip and folded down over its keyboard to morph into a tablet. It was like nothing we'd ever seen before. And we actually figured it would be the sort of system that would stay locked up in Dell's labs, but when its specs were revealed -- a dual-core Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, and Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator -- it became evident that the netbook / tablet hybrid was the real deal. Running Windows 7 Home Premium and Dell's new Stage interface, the $550 netvertible has the potential to successfully straddle both the netbook and tablet world. It also has a real shot at being the perfect device for those wavering between buying a netbook and a tablet. Indeed, the Duo is filled to the brim with potential, but what's the thing really like to use? We've spent the last few days with the Duo (and its Duo Audio Station) to find out, so hit the break for the official Engadget review! Editor's note: The review unit Dell sent us was a hardware production unit, but we were told the software was about 95 percent done. We will update this review with our impressions of the final unit when we receive it. This review was updated / edited on 12.8.2010 to include impressions of the final production level Inspiron Duo. %Gallery-108438%
ExoPC Slate review
Of all the Atom-powered, Windows 7 tablets we've seen over the last year and a half (and boy have there been a lot!), the 11.6-inch ExoPC has been the one we've been waiting on. Sure, its specs are similar to the recently reviewed Tega v2 and CTL 2goPad -- it's also got a capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, Atom Pinetrail processor and 2GB of RAM -- but unlike the others the company has put some serious love into its Windows 7 software layer, which we've dubbed the Connect Four UI. ExoPC's also preloaded the tablet with touch apps, built out its own app store and included a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator to handle full 1080p video. You can clearly see why we've had high hopes for the ExoPC ever since we got to check it out at Computex, but does it live up to the promise and provide the more enhanced and finger-friendly Windows experience we've been looking for? And is the software stable and robust enough for the average consumer? We've spent the last week with the $599 tablet so read on to find out in our full review. %Gallery-106093% %Gallery-106092%
ASUS Eee PC 1005PR shipping to some customers with disabled Broadcom Crystal HD chip?
We've definitely had some hit-or-miss experiences with the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator chip in various Atom-powered netbooks, but it sounds like some Eee PC 1005PR buyers are having a different sort of bad day entirely, as ASUS is apparently shipping some systems without the chip disabled or otherwise not installed. That's at least the word according to several reviews on Amazon, and ASUS is apparently directing people to return the machines for a refund or replacement. We'd recommend holding off for a tick if you were in the market, and if you've already thrown down the cash, well, now might be a good time to double-check that Device Manager. Update: ASUS tells us it's looking into the matter, and that company reps are actively contacting users with issues to sort things out. We'll let you know if we hear anything else.
ASUS EeeKeyboard shipping out now
The saga, dear friends, is at an end. After making it to pre-order status last month, the EeeKeyboard is at long last ready for public consumption. Lest you've forgotten, this truly all-in-one pc comes with an Atom N270 inside, a gig of RAM, and old reliable Windows XP Home to keep you company. A 5-inch 800 x 480 multitouch display is supported by a Broadcom Crystal HD chip for decoding of high-def video, UWB connectivity to wirelessly stream to a nearby HDTV, and a battery that promises four hours of autonomous use. Yours for only $599. [Thanks, Joe F.]
ASUS ships $400 Eee PC Seashell 1005PR, complete with Broadcom Crystal HD chip
You've waited long enough, and now it's finally time for you to treat yourself to the HD-savvy netbook you've been craving. You deserve it. You really do. Motivational speeches aside, ASUS would sure love for you to feel that way, as the company's Eee PC Seashell 1005PR has finally departed the "coming soon" stage -- according to ASUS, anyway. Amazon's product page still indicates that stock is incoming, but it seems as if the 10.1-inch machine should be filtering out to various sales channels as we speak. In case you've forgotten, $399.99 nets you an Intel Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a battery good for "11 hours" of life, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel and Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator. Kind of sells itself, no?
ASUS Eee PC 1005PR up for pre-order: $400 for your own HD savvy netbook
We had a hunch that ASUS' Eee PC 1005PR would come in at under $400, and sure enough, that's exactly where it has landed here on US soil. A month and change after its introduction, the 10.1-inch netbook -- along with its Broadcom Crystal HD chip, 1.66GHz Atom N450 CPU and 1,366 x 768 panel -- is now up for pre-order at Amazon. Frankly, it's one of the better specced machines that we've seen at this level, though the claimed 11 hours of battery life does feel a bit too good to be true. At any rate, you can claim your spot in line right now by parting with $399.99, but there's still no clear word on when it'll ship. Shouldn't be too awfully long now, though.
HP Mini 5102 review
There are netbooks and then there's the HP Mini 5102. Or at least that's always been our impression of the 10-inch business and education targeted laptop, since it isn't every day that you see what's supposed to be a secondary system with a 7,200rpm hard drive, durable aluminum chassis, spill resistant keyboard and capacitive touchscreen options. Or you know, a $415 starting price. The Mini 5102 doesn't fall into the same class as those $299 netbooks -- considering our review unit rings up at $668 and all -- but does the extra dough really pay off in a noticeably better shrunken computing experience? We've been on a mission to find out just that over the last few days, so hit the break for our full review. %Gallery-90927%
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.
Dell's Broadcom Crystal HD Mini 10 now shipping to beta Flashers worldwide
Dell's refresh of the Mini 10 didn't exactly knock our socks off when we got a chance to spend some quality time with it last month, but it did prove to be a solid performer and did as advertised, playing back 1080p content with aplomb -- so long as you did it within a player that could make the most of a Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator. Now you have a chance to try it out for yourself, with Dell announcing the machine is shipping and, at $409 with a six-cell battery and a 250GB hard drive, it won't break the bank either. Just steer clear of Quicktime for movie playback and get the most recent Flash beta on there pronto, yeah?
HP Mini 210 HD edition review
Netbooks for all! We're convinced that's the motivational saying plastered to the wall in the HP lab where the company births Minis for everyone but your pet fish. But of all the company's Pine Trail offerings, we're most excited about the $425 Mini 210, which has a 10.1-inch HD screen and a Broadcom Crystal Accelerator chip that promises decent HD video playback, even with Flash. With an attractive new thin design, improved chiclet keyboard and that promise to handle high-def content, the Mini 210 has the potential to kick the others to the curb. Given the issues we had with the Broadcom-powered Dell Mini 10 and HP's newer touchpads, though, we had to put on the glasses and take a closer look. Join us past the break for the full review, will you? %Gallery-86317%
Flash 10.1 beta 3 released, adds support for Intel GMA 500 and Broadcom Crystal HD chips (Update: 1080p Flash on a netbook!)
Rejoice, owners of netbooks with Intel GMA 500 graphics: Flash Player 10.1 Beta 3 is here, complete with hardware video acceleration for your machines. That should make Hulu and YouTube HD usable on machines like the Sony VAIO P and VAIO X, the Nokia Booklet 3G, and the previous-generation Dell Mini 10. The new build also bring support for the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator found in Pine Trail Atom machines like the newest Dell Mini 10 and HP Mini 210 -- support we found sorely lacking when we reviewed the Dell. We just tried it out on our review HP Mini 210 and it managed 720p YouTube just fine, although 1080p was a no-go -- we're waiting on some updated Broadcom drivers though, so don't take that as gospel quite yet. We'll have much more on that in our full Mini 210 review; for now you should all get downloading and let us know how it's going in comments. Update: Success! We updated the Broadcom drivers on our Dell Mini 10 and downloaded the fresh Flash 10.1 Beta 3, and as you can see in the video below 1080p YouTube HD content plays smoothly. It's almost everything we've ever dreamed of for our netbooks. We are still having issues with the HP Mini 210 which uses the older BCM70012 Crystal HD card, but will have an update on that in our full review soon.
Dell Mini 10 with Broadcom Crystal HD Accelerator review
Michael Dell may not be a fan of netbooks, but you wouldn't know that from the newest Mini 10. Joining the current Mini 10v, Dell's completely overhauled the chassis and added Intel's new Pine Trail processor. But that's not all: come February the little laptop will be available with Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator, which promises full HD playback on a high-res 1366 x 768 display. But does the $425 package rid us of our tireless complaints that Atom can't handle HD, and does it rival netbooks based on NVIDIA's Ion platform? And perhaps more importantly, can we count on the Mini 10 to be a valuable member of the growing Pine Trail netbook fraternity when it comes to battery life and ergonomics? Read on to find out! Editor's Note: This review has been updated since Flash 10.1 Beta 3 was released. %Gallery-83721%
1080p support coming to the Apple TV
The crew over at XBMC have made the Apple TV a little more useful in our eyes. Up until now the Apple TV has failed to playback any 1080p content because its internal chips weren't up to the challenge -- a limitation that not even the most efficient codecs could fix. With a little help from the Broadcom Crystal HD BCM970012 PCIe Mini Card, XBMC can now play back 1080p videos with ease. The bad news is the little card sells for $69 and requires the same space as the built in 802.11N WiFi adapter, but as long as you don't mind dropping the cash and Wifi, this seems like a pretty solid solution. We can only assume that thanks to close ties between XBMC and Boxee, that Boxee will be next, but in the meantime give this a try and let us know how it works out.
New Dell Inspiron Mini 10 debuts, features Atom N450
Looks like Dell's trying to jump out ahead of the CES Atom N450 netbook rush by announcing a new version of the Inspiron Mini 10 a couple weeks before we all head to Vegas -- and we can't say we blame them, since there's a lot here to like. The newly streamlined case can accommodate a six-cell battery good for nine and half hours of use without the usual netbook bulge, and inside that next-gen Atom can be paired with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator for HD video playback. Also on the options list: four case colors, Bluetooth, WWAN, GPS, a TV tuner, and a 1366 x 768 display, in case you actually want to see some of those accelerated video pixels. Prices will start at $299 when this guy hits in early January, but we'll see how much all these options add to the final pricetag. Press release after the break. %Gallery-80690%
HP Mini 100 available for online ordering, Vivienne Tam safe and sound
All you crazy kids keepin' an eye on the HP Mini 110 are in for a real treat. The company is now listing the machine as available for ordering on its website, superseding the Mini 1000 (don't worry, fashionistas -- the Vivienne Tam model is still available, at least for the time being). As reported previously, these guys are priced at $279.99 (Mi Edition) or $329.99 (XP Edition), with the 6-cell battery option adding $40 to the price, and an Intel Atom N280 CPU costing an additional $25. And the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator? Look for it next month. [Via Portable Monkey]
Adobe, NVIDIA and Broadcom bringing GPU acceleration to Flash at long last
As part of the Open Screen Project, which should be getting Adobe Flash onto many new platforms, Adobe, NVIDIA and Broadcom are all hard at work getting GPU acceleration to do what it ought for Flash Player, with improvements in store for everything from Tegra MIDs to Broadcom Crystal HD netbooks (like HP's new Mini 110XP, pictured) to tablets and beyond. Of note is H.264 playback acceleration, which should at last make Hulu and YouTube bearable on netbooks and nettops -- a major shortcoming in the otherwise enticing form factors. Unfortunately, the most precise timeline we have on all this is from Broadcom, who says its Flash Player support will be available in the first half of 2010. We're also going to be bugging Adobe and Intel about when this functionality might hit mainstream Intel integrated chipsets as well, though at least Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator can be added to some existing netbooks such as a PCI Express mini-card or ExpressCard 34 add-on. Perhaps we sound ungrateful, but this sort of acceleration for Flash -- the internet's most popular multimedia delivery method -- is long overdue, and we're not overly impressed with the idea of waiting until mid-2010 for it to happen.Read - Adobe and NVIDIARead - Adobe and Broadcom
HP unveils Mini 1101, Mini 110 XP / Mi editions with optional HD video accelerator
HP's got more additions to its Mini netbook lineup coming your way with the 1101 and 110 XP / Mi. All three models sport a 10.1-inch widescreen LED, autosync software for easier connectivity to your primary PC, and the standard 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 / 1.66GHz N280 processor options with GMA 950 graphics, VGA output, 3 or 6 cell batteries, and 802.11b/g. The Mini 110 XP edition takes the trend even further with -- and we're sure you're surprised here -- 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD or 32GB SSD, as well as optional WWAN and a Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator, which HP claims will let you watch 1080p video smoothly -- yeah, we'll believe it when we see it. Those who go with the company's Linux-based pet Mi can bump up to 250GB HDD and 2GB memory. As for the Mini 1101, it looks like it's basically the business-centric 110 with XP and Vista as your OS choices and no apparent video enhancer. As for pricing and availability, the Mini 1101 is coming at ya on June 1st with a base price of $329, while Mini 110 will follow shortly after in black swirl on June 10th, and white swirl / pink chic on July 8th. Those will start at $279 with Mi and $329 if you want Windows XP instead.
