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Smartbook AG launches absolutely gaudy $3,000 Swarovski-laden netbook
Taking a break from making headlines over infringement rights, Smartbook AG has found an entirely new way to get our attention. Introducing the Zenid GC Crystal, a "smartbook" that's, as Netbooknews.de points out, one of the most common Chinese ODM netbooks, the S40 -- 10.2-inch WXGA LED screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280, 2GB DDR2 RAM, WiFi, and so on. You can get a non-crystal version for 299 euros, but really, we know you're wanting to go ridiculously lavish here, and that's precisely where the Crystal variant doesn't disappoint. Completely encrusted in Swarovski crystals, the asking price jumps to 2,001 euros, or approximately $3,000 in currency from across the pond. We'd like to point and laugh more, but deep down, we know there's enough comically wealthy people out there to probably justify this.
ASUS ships Windows Home Server-packin' TS mini NAS drive
The Windows Home Server train has all but stopped this year, but with CES just around the bend (and Microsoft's software engineers free from the burden of readying Windows 7 for launch), it looks as if the steam is picking up once more. Hot on the heels of its first 3D laptop, ASUS has introduced its TS mini NAS drive for home media junkies. Outfitted with a 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor, 1GB or 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a gigabit Ethernet socket, six USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA connector and a smattering of LED indicators, the drive can be purchased as we speak in 500GB and 2TB editions. Aside from streaming multimedia throughout your home network, the device can also back up ten total PCs automatically and subtly make you dependent on its reliability. Which, as you know so well, is just a precursor for bowing down when the Robot Apocalypse gets underway.
Intel purportedly fast-tracking Pine Trail platform, forgetting all about N270 / N280 at CES
Say it with us now: "freaking finally!" The world at large seems perfectly fine with using Atom N270 and N280 CPUs for the rest of eternity (judging by the latest netbook sales figures, anyway), but techies like us are sick and tired of dabbling with the same underpowered chips and the same lackluster capabilities. At long last, we're hearing that Intel will supposedly officially announce the Pine Trail platform in late December, with a raft of netbooks based around the new Pineview chips hitting the CES show floor in January. The 1.66GHz Atom N450, dual-core 1.66GHz Atom D510 and Atom D410 are expected to be all the rage at the show, with the existing N270 and N280 making an expedited trip to the grave. Good riddance, we say.
How would you change the netbook as we know it?
Netbooks, by definition, have been around for years now, and while the vast majority have left the 7- to 9-inch realm, hardly any have bothered to show up with a respectable 720p panel. Furthermore, hardly any have deviated from the strictly held hardware line, which generally consists of an Intel Atom N270 / N280 processor, GMA950 graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP and far too few USB sockets. Oh sure, we've seen an Ion-based machine trickle in every now and then, and AMD definitely has our interest piqued with Congo, but we're honestly exhausted by the torrent of netbooks that just seem to look exactly like one another internally. This week's question is dead simple: if you had the power to flip the netbook arena upside-down, how would you go about it?
Epson's Endeavor Na02mini-V netbook won't excite many
Epson's Endeavor Na01 shipped with an astoundingly predictable set of specifications last November, and lo and behold, the unit's successor has a BOM that's equally guessable. If you're not in the mood for playing games (and be honest, you aren't), we'll inform that this bugger touts a 10.1-inch display, 1,024 x 600 resolution, 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor, 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive, WiFi, a trio of USB 2.0 sockets and a multi-card reader. It's also sporting one of the classier cases out there, and the built-in VGA / Ethernet ports are also handy. The included Li-ion isn't anything special, but we're told an extended cell that offers up ten hours of life should be coming soon; for those who can hardly wait, it should be ready to purchase this November for ¥39,800, or just north of $427 at current exchange rates.[Via Engadget Korea]
Video: Gigabyte T1028X unboxed, handled, available in good ol' USA
Looks like we've got not one, but two nuggets of good news for you today: firstly, the latest Gigabyte swivel-screen tablet has been unboxed, undressed and appropriately groped up, and secondly, Amazon have now got stock of the device at $679 plus shipping. That might still seem a bit rich for a netbook, albeit with expanded functionality, but it's significantly more affordable than what our European comrades have to pay. As to the unboxing -- and there's a lot of it since Gigabyte decided to pack the unit in like a matryoshka -- the Liliputing crew do a thorough inspection as well as a size comparison against devices from ASUS and Lenovo. Slide past the break to see the pair of videos and judge for yourself.
Samsung's Ion-infused N510 netbook steeply priced across the pond
€499. $717. Or three easy payments of €171 ($246). That's the price folks in Europe are being asked to pony up for Samsung's admittedly svelte 11.6-inch N510 netbook. As one of the largest netbooks in its class, this machine -- which can purportedly last for around 6.5 hours under ideal circumstances -- also packs NVIDIA's Ion technology, but a sluggish Atom N280 is still manning the ship. If you'll recall, we actually heard that this here rig would surface sometime this summer, but it looks as if those orders may end up pushed to September. Anyone care to place a pre-order? Or are you more interested in those "real laptops" for just north of seven Benjamins?[Via Blogeee]
Video: ASUS Eee Keyboard gutted, soldering secrets revealed
Oh the carnage! A prototype ASUS Eee Keyboard made a wrong turn at Albuquerque only to end up gutted in a French orgy of gadget terrorism. Nine screw removals later and we see the stand-alone PC with its 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen splayed, 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor and all. Unfortunately, easy access does not mean easy upgrades as the RAM is soldered to the motherboard. Other notables are the Silicon Image HDMI transmitter that allows 1080p playback over HDMI and 1880mAh battery that should provide an estimated 1 hour and 40 minutes of use before hitting the mains. Blogeenet also has a pretty thorough video overview of ASUS' customized UI running on XP; after the break, son.
Atom N270 / N280-based netbooks may be stuck at Windows XP
You see, there's not much wiggle room when it comes to netbook pricing. By and large, vendors have priced their machines about as low as they can in order to receive but a sliver of a profit, and there's certainly no way they could eat another $20 to $30 on each unit and still feel good about themselves. To that end, we're hearing that many companies may make their Atom N270 and Atom N280-based netbooks ineligible for the Windows 7 upgrade (from the factory, anyway), with those always-mysterious "industry sources" pointing to "increasing costs and low consumer demand." In essence, these guys feel as if consumers will view Windows XP as sufficient for those underpowered machines, while it'll be the Atom N450, Atom D410 and Atom D510 machines that'll be most suited for Win7. 'Course, we suspect you'll be able to pony up for whatever upgrade you'd like once it's in your hands, but we wouldn't anticipate any handouts to suddenly be attached to existing machines.[Via GadgetMix]
ASUS delivers full specs on Eee PC 1005HA Seashell
ASUS' Eee PC 1008HA hasn't even had a moment to enjoy its spot in the limelight, and already the company is pushing out even more machines in the rapidly expanding Seashell range. The Eee PC 1005HA is slated to launch with Windows XP Home, a battery good for 10.5 hours (we'll believe it when we see it) and a 160GB hard drive. There's also 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display (1,024 x 600 resolution) and your choice of Intel's played-out Atom N270 or N280. The rest of the innards could be guessed in your sleep: 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 0.3 or 1.3 megapixel webcam, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets, Ethernet, a multicard reader and audio in / out. Fans of colorful machines will appreciate the white, black, pink and blue motifs, but you'll need to muster up a little more patience before finding out a price and release date. One more look after the break.[Via Slashgear]
Acer Aspire One 571 emerges: Atom N280, 720p panel and Vmedia drive
Wait a second -- can this be real? Are we seriously seeing a drastic diversion from the cookie-cutter nature that has long since bored us of netbooks? The typically trustworthy macles* has shots and details of an all new Acer Aspire One, one that dyslexic folk will likely confuse with the already shipping Aspire One 751. Indeed, the Aspire One 571 looks an awful lot like other Acer netbooks, but it's the internals that set it apart. For starters, it's rockin' a 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor and a 1,280 x 720 resolution panel; sure it's still just 10.1-inches, but hey, we'll take 720p. Furthermore, there's a Quartics Q1721 Multimedia Processor shoved in there -- you know, so it can handle decoding and encoding of H.264 content while adding hardware scaling and filtering. Eager for more? That Vmedia comeback we heard about is on, as the left palm rest boasts one of the miniature optical drives. Mum's the word on price and availability, but you can peek a few more shots in the read link.
Intel reveals notebook and netbook plans for the rest of the year
The netbook formula hasn't evolved much since its inception, still offering largely the same configuration and performance as it ever has. That likely won't change until the end of the summer, with Intel announcing that it's even thinking about retiring the newer Atom N280 processor and GN40 chipset entirely, leaving the older and more common N270 with its 945GSE as the main choice until September, when the new Pineview Atom chips might finally hit production. The company is also creating a whitebox N270-based 8.9-inch netbook that it's shopping around to resellers, again not doing any favors to fans of variety. Moving up to skinny 12- to 13-inch notebooks, Intel is still pushing its CULV architecture, and has its dual-core Calpella platform poised for inclusion in anything with a targeted MSRP of $1,200 and above -- and a release date sometime after the third quarter. That's a few months too late to catch the needy college freshman crowd, Intel.
ASUS' Eee PC 1002HAE: a faster 1002HA dressed in Eluminum
When you think Eee PC, or netbooks in general, the usual image that comes to mind is thick slab of white plastic. That's certainly true of the Eee PC 1002HA. However, drop the letter "E" into the model number and you've got ASUS' new Eee PC 1002HAE dressed in a swank aluminum skin and 1.6GHz N280 processor within. While the rest of the specs remain unchanged -- 802.11b/g/n, 1GB of memory and 160GB disk, 1.3 megapixel webcam, memory card slot, 3.8-hour Li-Polymer battery, and 10-inch 1,024 x 600 pixel LED backlit display -- the new shell drops the weight from 1.45kg to 1.2kg for a savings of about half a pound. At the moment, this model is either Japanese-only or at least a Japanese-first (unusual for ASUS) with a May 16th launch for the tax inclusive price of ¥49,800 (about $506).[Via Engadget Japanese]
MSI Wind U123 netbook now being stocked by US retailers
If you've been waiting the edge of your seat for MSI's Wind U123, sit back and relax for now. The 10.2-inch WSVGA netbook's now officially either stocked up or available for pre-order from online US retailers, with all the usual accoutrements: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, integrated graphics, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, card reader, 802.11g/n, 6 cell battery, and Windows XP Home. All are priced between $350 and $380, with Frosty Computers so far being the only option so far for customization. Color options are red and blue, and if that doesn't suit you well, may we suggest any of the other dozens of netbooks with the exact same spec sheets? [Via Portable Monkey] Read - Newegg Read - Amazon Read - J&R Read - Frosty Computers
Demand for Intel's Atom CPUs finally beginning to cool?
It was inevitable, really -- but the incessant demand for Intel's woefully underpowered Atom processors sure did last a lot longer than we anticipated. Originally made famous by those so-called "netbooks," the Atom is currently facing two hurdles in remaining wildly popular: 1) slumping demand for new PCs and 2) bona fide competition. For months on end, the Atom really was the only game in town when it came to powering netbooks and nettops, but with the unveiling on NVIDIA's Ion, the promise of a GPGPU (or cGPU) and Intel's own CULV platform, Atom's necessity in the market is becoming less intense. The interesting part here is that Intel is purportedly hawking its inventory to "second-tier and China-based vendors" as it looks to minimize warehouse clutter, which certainly makes us hope for lower-cost low-cost lappies to show up in the near future.Read - Atom demand slowingRead - Intel: PC sales hit rock bottom
Toshiba's 10-inch Dynabook UX netbook gets hands-on treatment
Toshiba's Dynabook UX (or NB200, if you prefer) just popped on our radar last week, and already we're seeing netbook craving individuals in Japan get their paws on 'em. The 10-inch machine ain't too different than the other alternatives out there -- save for the N280 processor, which will never show its true potential without a GN40 chipset riding shotgun. At any rate, early impressions of the machine have been rather positive, with onlookers digging the design and the chiclet-style keyboard. Personally, we're a bit bored from afar, but hit the read link to have a look and make a judgment of your own.
MSI debuts Atom N280-equipped Wind U100 PLUS netbook
Frankly, we're beginning to wonder just how many iterations of the Wind U100 MSI can dish out before it's forced by riots and a bombardment of Molotov cocktails to come forward with a completely revamped Wind netbook. At any rate, today the company has just unveiled its U100 PLUS, a familiar looking fellow with a 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor, a hamstrung 945GMS chipset, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics, up to 2GB of DDR2-533 RAM, a 10-inch LCD (1,024 x 600), 160GB hard drive, 4-in-1 multicard reader, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets, an optional 6-cell battery (3-cell is standard), WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Crazily enough, MSI asserts that users can see upwards of 7 hours of use with the standard battery, which is easily one of the most unbelievable statements we've heard in the past 4.32 hours. Per usual, pricing and availability will come in due time.[Via iTech News]
Toshiba 10-inch Dynabook UX's got talent
How much would you pay for an Intel Atom N280-based netbook? $300? $400? How about $600. That's the tax-inclusive starting price for Toshiba's 10.1-inch Dynabook UX followup to its dowdy NB100. While ditching the wooly-eyebrowed chub infecting most 1.6GHz N280 netbooks, the UX remains saddled with 945GSE graphics (not GN40), a 10.1-inch, LED backlit 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and 160GB disk. A bit steep considering CULV thin-and-lights are about to flood the market. Get up tight with the Tosh chicklets after the break.
When netbook processors compete, everyone wins
You know the drill: the Atom is the king of all netbooks, with a domain stretching as far as the eye can see. But, upstarts like the Via Nano and AMD's Athlon Neo are encroaching on Intel's domain, and Crave took the time to pit examples of the three against each other in a series of benchmarks to see which should rule the land. Rather sadly for us, each of the three tests had a different winner, with the Atom N280 excelling in multi-tasking, the Nano U2250 best for iTunes encoding, and the Neo MV-40 quickest under a Jalbum-based benchmark. So you know what that means: everyone gets a prize, nobody has to go home crying, and you should just go ahead and buy whichever netbook you like best already.Update: It's actually unclear which proc won which test, as the table at the source shows one thing, but the text swaps the Neo and Nano around. But, again, there's not much between these three.
MSI's Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed
We already caught MSI's upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn't stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we've been cordially invited to feast our eyes upon the unboxing process. Right out of the gate, we have to share the disappointment in the lack of a rear panel for easily accessing the internal RAM and HDD, but at least the Atom N280 is a (minor) step above what we've grown accustomed to. Check the read link for all the pictorial delight.[Thanks, Peter]
