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Neofonie's WePad tablet shown to German journalists, seems legit (update: now with English!)
Though "Neofonie" is the most apt name for a vaporware company we've heard since "Phantom," it's looking like that very firm's 11.6-inch WePad tablet is actually the real deal. Fed up with all the skepticism it has received of late, the German firm just held a press conference in Berlin to show off a pair of working devices and allay our fears. Netbooknews.de was on the scene, and they took a pair of high-res videos that prove the tablets do, in fact, have a working (though somewhat laggy) touchscreen, and that fancy-pants vertical UI is quite functional. Full screen YouTube videos were choppy, but they played, and the Atom N450 CPU loaded OpenOffice and flipped through browser windows without a hitch. But don't take our word for it -- watch the whole 25-minute demonstration after the break, plus a bonus video from AndroidPIT. Then, if you'd be so kind, tell us what the nice company reps are saying. Update: AndroidPIT was kind enough to dub over their entire demo in English -- hear everything after the break.
PeeWee PC loses the stylus, gains average netbook status (update)
Previously on Computers Designed For Children, protagonist PeeWee PC introduced us to its creation, the Pivot Tablet Laptop, a cute little netvertible with childish specs -- but a $600 price that set it well out of reach of the average piggy bank. One year later, PeeWee has matured, but not necessarily for the better. For $100 less, the new PeeWee Power Laptop, which is actually just a rebranded Classmate PC, sports the same carry handle and kid-friendly construction as its the aforesaid Tablet (though with a faster 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor, 15 game titles and a security suite, mind you), but completely ditches the tablet PC functionality. Without a stylus or touchscreen for kids on which to express their creativity (read: color outside of the lines), we're not quite sure of the point. In truth, the Power Laptop is neither laptop nor powerful -- merely a rugged, kid-friendly netbook at an adult price point. But hey, it's got a carry handle! Update: PeeWee representatives tell us that the Power Laptop will not actually replace the Pivot Tablet -- a new version of that machine (perhaps a rebranded convertible Classmate?) is slated to appear around May. %Gallery-89438%
ASUS Eee PC 1001PX has a thing for carbon-fiber, starts at $279
We won't detail our murderous wrath for glossy netbooks, but we will tell you that ASUS is on our good side today by striking the shiny lid on its newest 10-inch Eee PC 1001PX in exchange for a carbon fiber-like replacement. The little guy boasts the same specs as the budget Eee PC 1001P -- an Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive -- and will be available in the US in May. And if you had any doubt that ASUS is after Acer's throat in pricing, we're told that the Windows 7 Starter model will be priced at an aggressive $299, while the XP version will only set you back a cool $279. In typical ASUS form, we're hearing word of an Eee PC 1001PG that will fall into this same line, but will be equipped with 4G in most markets and possibly 3G and 4G stateside. Now, if only we had as much information about those brewing Eee Pads... %Gallery-89409%
Samsung's N150 netbook picks up some Corby branding, Starburst color
Spotted first crawling its way through the FCC, then on the floors of CES and most recently at WMC with some LTE inside we're going to go ahead and say the Samsung N150 has earned its new stripes, err rainbow colors. Trying to add some brightness to its well stocked Pine Trail netbook line up, Sammy has gone and painted the $379 10.1-inch N150 in Flamingo Pink, Bermuda Blue and Caribbean Yellow, though kept its internal 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive and 1GB RAM unprimed. Interestingly, in some countries the netbook has acquired Samsung's affordable mobile phone Corby brand, though here in the U.S. that doesn't seem to be the case. We'd probably just stick with the black hue, but that doesn't mean we couldn't go for some sort of tropical-flavor candy right about now.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 shipping April 1st with integrated Clear WiMAX
Dell's vanilla Atom N450-based Mini 10 just started shipping a couple of months ago, and if you'll recall, we spotted one slip through the FCC's oh-so-vulnerable database with WiMAX built-in. Today at CTIA, Clearwire spilled the news that it'll be providing the service for a 4G-infused version of the netbook come April 1st. What's interesting is that Clearwire only mentions it being for sale "through select Clear retail locations, telesales and Clear.com," so it's still unknown if it'll be offered up through the Round Rock powerhouse itself (as the Studio 17, Studio XPS 1640 and Latitude E4300, etc. are). The machine will be sold for $249.99 after an instant rebate, though no specifics were mentioned concerning a per-month data plan price. If we were the betting type, we'd say it'll probably run you 40 bones for every 30 days based on existing rates.
Neofonie announces WePad 11.6-inch Android slate
Another day, another Android tablet render. This one, the imaginatively titled WePad, is as ambitious as its name might suggest. (You know, because "we" is plural of "I"? Yeah, it's a stretch.) Dwarfing the iPad with its 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, webcam, two USB ports, flash card reader, UMTS modem, and a mooted six hours of battery life, we could see ourselves picking one up -- provided the price point is decent. But that's just the beginning! The manufacturer, Neofonie, also has designs on a WePad app store and, if all goes according to plan, this thing'll sport genuine Google Android and the Android Market. The company also mentions something called the "WeMagazine publishing ecosystem," the basis of a turn-key operation for getting your own branded device out on the e-reader market, so if you're looking to get into the biz just hit the source link to begin your adventure. As for us, we'll wait to see a final product before we jump to any conclusions. [Thanks, Dan Z]
Sony VAIO M netbook officially unveiled, attempts to befriend your wallet
It's still mildly hard to believe that the Sony VAIO M is for real, given its lack of VAIO's iconic chiclet keys plus the pretty convincing VAIO W fake that we've stumbled upon. Nevertheless, kudos to Sony for reaching out to a more affordable market with its new 3.1-pound netbook. The specs are the identical with the ones we saw yesterday and earlier this month, but hey, there's no harm in having another party to welcome this fella, right? You can grab one now -- in black or white -- for £300 ($456) in the UK.%Gallery-88348%
ASUS T101MT gets the quick and dirty video review treatment
We've already witnessed ASUS' netvertible undergo some hands-on testing, but the units inspected up until now have all been pre-production devices. Well, finally a retail T101MT has made its way out to online scribes and we've got the first video review for your delectation. We're told that the machine is still pretty thick and a tiny bit too heavy to comfortably hold in one hand for long periods of time, but also that the previous touchscreen issues have been rectified -- it is now "responsive and precise." The general theme is that you shouldn't expect too much out of it, particularly since a 480p YouTube clip gobbled up 95% of the T101MT's CPU cycles and still provided only a choppy picture, but if your ambitions are sufficiently moderate, ASUS' latest could prove a versatile little machine. Video awaits after the break and a summary review can be found at the source. Update: The YouTube video played was a stop-motion animation running at 5fps and therefore shouldn't be considered representative of the T101MT's video performance. What should be taken as representative is the fact that it maxed out the CPU.
Sony VAIO M and its Atom N450 heart get unboxed
Sony's successor to the VAIO W netbook made its debut a little prematurely earlier this month, which has now been followed by its first unboxing and preview. Encased in an appealing matte black plastic, the VAIO M is set for an April launch in the UK at the very reasonable £300 ($456) price point. Unfortunately, the drop in price also means a lower-res 1024 x 600 display, while the W's chiclet keyboard has also been replaced with a more conventional typing surface. With 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 250GB storage drive, Sony seems to be giving us the bare minimum here, but that's alright with us -- let's just make sure this thing actually has a battery that lasts, shall we Sony?
Averatec outs light as air 10-inch netbook, can move move move any mountain
Averatec's just outed its super thin, super light, 10-inch netbook, the N1200. Available in silver or black, it's a good looking little package which weighs in at just 2.2 pounds. It boasts an Atom N450 CPU, a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM which is expandable up to 2GB, plus a webcam and 802.11n Wi-Fi. You can get this bad little dude with either XP or Windows 7 Starter. The battery life is apparently about 3 hours, though you can upgrade to a better, 6 hour battery. The N1200 starts at $330. The full press release is after the break.
10.1-inch ThinkPad X100e surfaces with Atom N450 processor
Well, here's a bit of an interesting development. While we've been seeing Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e out and about for a while now, it's always been with an AMD Neo processor and an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display. According to a spec list that recently turned up on Lenovo's own site, however, it looks like the company may also have another version of the laptop in store that's even more netbook-like. That one not only includes a lower-res, 10.1-inch screen, but an Atom N450 processor as well -- something that had been rumored to be headed to Lenovo netbooks as far back as December. Unfortunately, there's no indication of pricing or availability, although it does seem a bit late in the game for this to simply be a slip-up of some sort.
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%
MSI Wind U135 should be available for as low as $310
You better watch it, Acer -- it looks like MSI is getting real close to undercutting your $299 Aspire One 532h netbook with its $309.99 Pine Trail-powered Wind U135. Taiwanese manufacturer disputes aside, not much has changed with the Wind U135 since we brought you our impressions, but we remind you that $305 buys you a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450, 1GB of RAM, an 160GB hard drive and Windows 7 Starter. If you need a bit more storage, you can shell out an extra 20 bucks for the 250GB version. And the cheap netbook race continues... Check the full PR after the break.
Intel Classmate PC is not forgotten, gets Pine Trail and WiMAX overhaul
We probably pour far too much time into dissecting the latest ThinkPad model or superphone, so to balance things out here's some positive news coming out of Intel regarding its laptop distribution programme for the developing world. Still a for-profit venture, the Classmate PC project seems to have been developing rather well, which has led the chipmaker to announce it'll be overhauling the case designs and internals of the machines it has on offer. Coming later this year, the new netbook models will offer Atom N450 and N470 Pineview CPUs as well as integrated 3G and WiMAX connectivity. Yeah, that's pretty decent gear by anyone's standards, so it's no surprise that Argentina, Brazil and Turkey have signed up for a total of 426,000 units between them, adding to the two million devices already shipped globally. Maybe someone should tell the UK government about this netbook craze before it's too late.
HP Mini 5102 has optional handle and touchscreen; the drive to succeed
HP's netbooks can have a tendency to really creep up in price as you pile on the specs, but you can't fault them for options. Particularly this new Atom N450-based Mini 5102, which is aimed at business and education use. You can tweak the 10-inch laptop with a WSVGA or WXGA screen, Broadcom HD video acceleration, and just about any OS you could think of: FreeDOS, SUSE Linux, Windows XP and Windows 7 (Starter and Home Premium). You can also squeeze a capacitive multitouch screen into the 0.9-inch form factor and take your pick from a 4-cell or 6-cell battery. Like we said, lots of options. As far as fit and finish, the laptop isn't that far divergent from the Mini 5101, which certainly isn't a bad thing. We love the quality, no-frills feel and look, and the optional handle (which has to be picked at the time of order, since it's integrated) is surprisingly nice and handy. If we had one gripe it would be the oppressive screen bezel, but at least it leaves room for a 95%-sized keyboard, and the brushed aluminum screen back is a nice touch. %Gallery-81629% %Gallery-81614%
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.
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)
