IntelAtomN450
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Evigroup drops SmartPaddle Pro price to €699, optional head-tracking feature watches you intently
Are you and all of your friends flocking to buy that thing shown above at full retail price? Exactly. Evigroup's SmartPaddle Pro tablet is now available from €699 (under $900) for the base 10-inch configuration with no GPS, no 3G and a 32GB solid-state hard drive. Additional configurations are available with 1 or 2GB of RAM, and the high-end configuration, which includes 3G and GPS goes for under $1,500. The SmartPaddle Pro, with all the trimmings (including head-tracking), retails for around $1,530. Other specs include a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, five hour run time, mini-HDMI port and capacitive touchscreen, none of which seem to justify the (still bloated) new price tag. Click past the break for the full video, which is apparently set to an Enya album.
Editorial: The rise of the notbook, the fall of the netbook
Notbook (n.) -- An affordable ultraportable laptop, typically with a 11.6-inch or 12-inch display that is not a netbook. It packs more power than a netbook (i.e. can handle 1080p video and Flash at fullscreen) and provides a more comfortable computing experience than the typical, 10-inch underpowered, shrunken Atom-based laptop. Most do not have optical drives, but do last for over five hours on a charge. Unlike pricey ultraportable laptops, notbooks are more affordable and start at around $400. About six months ago, the 11.6-inch Dell Inspiron M101z arrived on my doorstep for review. The AMD Neo-powered system looked like a slightly enlarged netbook, but in a briefing with Dell, the product manager reinforced quite a few times that the system was absolutely "not a netbook." I can't remember his exact wording, but he made it crystal clear -- the $449 Inspiron M101z was so much more powerful than an Intel Atom netbook that it could be one's primary machine. Obviously, I started calling these sorts of laptops "notbooks," and over the next few months, more and more of them started popping up. Some of them paired Atom with an NVIDIA Ion GPU (e.g. Eee PC 1215N), while others used AMD's Neo chip and more recently AMD's new Fusion Zacate APU. (Intel's Core ULV-powered systems are frankly too expensive to be considered in this category, though some Pentium / Core 2 Duo systems, like the Acer Timeline X1810T, could qualify.) Uh, so what? There's a new crop of more powerful, affordable, and highly mobile laptops -- what's the big deal? Well, while many think tablets are what will ultimately cut the netbook market down to size, it's the notbooks that will also seriously hit the Atom-based lilliputian laptops of today where it really hurts. Don't get me wrong, ARM-powered tablets like the iPad and Motorola Xoom are going to impact netbook sales in a big way, too (heck, they already have!), but mark my words, notbooks or affordable ultraportables will take a noticeable chunk of both the netbook and the mainstream laptop market. There's finally a class of laptops that provide a terrific balance between primary and mobile computing without breaking the bank. Think I'm crazy? Hit the break to understand what I'm talking about.
ExoPC now up for pre-order at Microsoft Store, shipping next week
Been waiting to order an ExoPC here in the US of A? Well, today is your day -- ExoPC has just announced that it's teamed up with Microsoft's very own store to bring you the 11.6-inch Windows 7 tablet. There's only one configuration at the moment, but $699 buys you a rather thin 0.5-inch slate with 64GB of flash storage, an Intel Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium with ExoPC's unique UI layer, and a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera. As for that UI, ExoPC just told us that a major update should be coming next week and that it'll amend a number of issues we had with our early review unit. The slate is currently up for pre-order on the Microsoft Store website, but we're told it will start shipping out early next week. And if you're waiting to check it out in person before pulling out the plastic, we hear they should be arriving in all those Microsoft retail locations soon -- apparently, San Diego and Scottsdale already have 'em in stock. Hey, looks like Mr. Ballmer was right, we will have Win 7 tablets this "crucial holiday season."
CTL 2goPad SL10 review
Last time we left off in the tale of Windows 7 tablets, we'd taken a look at Netbook Navigator's Nav 9 slate, which by review's end had us not only wanting to send it back as soon as humanly possible, but concluding that something better just had to be on the horizon. Well, as luck would have it, just a few days later CTL's 10-inch 2goPad SL10 showed up on our doorstep with some very promising ingredients -- a capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, front facing camera, and a Win 7 software layer. As we said in our early hands-on, we've been more impressed with the $499 (it will go up to $599 in late October) 2goPad than we ever thought we would be, but ultimately its Atom N450 processor and its software stand in its way of being the Win 7 tablet to kill 'em all. You'll want to hit the break to read all about it in our full review. %Gallery-105170%
ASUS Eee PC 1018P and 1015PE review
You'd think after running into ASUS's next generation Eee PC 1018P and 1015PE over five months ago at CeBIT, our excitement may have waned for the stylish netbooks. Oh, but it's actually the opposite, and when the brand new netbooks arrived last week, we grabbed the X-Acto knife (safely, of course) and eagerly unboxed them to see if the aluminum clad little laptops were as svelte as we'd remembered them. Sure, the $350 1018P and 1015PE have standard netbook internals (an Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of RAM and Windows 7 Starter), but without a doubt they're some of the best quality netbooks ASUS has made in quite a while. Hit that read more link for an in-depth look at these two, and to see if they're all we had hoped for and more. %Gallery-97985% %Gallery-97986%
Dell Latitude 2110 updated with Pine Trail Atom, already thinking about fall semester
We're not going to lie, it's a little late in the game for Dell to update its Latitude netbook with Intel's Pine Trail processors -- you know, since the chips were released back in January -- but it's better late than never, we suppose. The 10-inch Latitude 2110, like the previous 2100, is still very much aimed at students, and keeps its chassis in tact with the same rubber cover (available in red, blue and black) as well as that anti-microbial keyboard to protect against insect secretions, misplaced mayonnaise and far-flung mucus particles. The studious laptop will be available with an Atom N470 N450 processor, 1GB of RAM and Ubuntu for $389, and clicking the Windows Starter option should boost the price to $419. That's a bit more expensive than the average Pine Trail netbook these days, but who wouldn't pay a bit extra for some added durability for the kids? In case you haven't seen the little guy before, we've got a few beauty shots below (and a press release after the break). %Gallery-92746%
ASUS Eee PC T101MT review
A really good netvertible -- that's all we want. No, not just a netbook with a touchscreen, but a device with a combination of solid ergonomics and performance in clamshell mode that can swivel into a really responsive tablet. It doesn't seem like too much to ask for, right? And after being disappointed by the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, we really thought the $499 ASUS Eee PC T101MT -- with its multitouch screen, chiclet keyboard, and standard netbook organs -- could have been it. Keyword being could. But, as you may have guessed by now from our wistful tone, there are a few reasons this particular convertible netbook didn't turn out to be all peaches and cream. If you know what's good for you, you'll be hitting that read more link to find out what was this Eee lacking in our full review. %Gallery-91835%
First wave of Ion 2 ASUS Eee PC 1201PNs lack NVIDIA Optimus
Well, this is sad. While we told you earlier this week that the Ion 2-powered ASUS Eee PC 1201PN wouldn't be arriving until late May, a number of European sites have gotten early review samples of the 12-inch "netbook" -- if you choose to call it that -- and have discovered that it doesn't use NVIDIA's Optimus automatic graphics switching technology. That's right, instead we're told by NVIDIA that the discrete GeForce 201M GPU runs continuously and Intel's integrated chip is never used -- a configuration which sounds like it'll absolutely kill the battery life on this machine. According to Hardware Zone, ASUS made this choice aiming to be the first to market with the next generation of Ion, but an Optimus version of the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN will be ready later this quarter. It also appears that an Eee PC 1215N with both Ion 2 and Optimus is floating around, but we haven't confirmed what's going on with that. We're sorry if we confused you even more, but we'll be keeping our eyes out for the early reviews of the 1201PN to see if our predicted two hours of battery life is on the mark. Update: The 1201PN cannot be updated with firmware to enable Optimus -- the hardware isn't there for the automatic switching.
Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 lives, but only for Aussie students
If you've been dying to get your hands on a ThinkPad netbook -- and we mean a real Atom-based, 10-inch ThinkPad -- we've got some good news and bad. The good is that Lenovo has indeed been making them, the bad is that you'll have to enroll in a school in New South Wales to get one. Yep, the official word from Lenovo is that the product was a one off deal for the Australian school district. Luckily one unit escaped from the land down under and ended up in our hands yesterday, though we must admit the little laptop is pretty underwhelming since it's just a X100e with a 1024x600 10-inch screen, rather than the original 11.6-inch one. But if an overflowing bezel is your thing, you'll want to enroll in Summer Heights High ASAP (video after the break for those that are unfamiliar with the amazing, yet expired HBO show). We also confirmed that it has an 1.6GHz Atom N450 processor, which has less power than the AMD Neo being used in the X100e, but we'd venture to guess pumps out at least two more hours of juice with the same six-cell battery. The hands-on pictures below are probably the closest you'll come to seeing one of these, so click on through. %Gallery-91447%
WePad comes out of tablet hiding, reveals its €450 price and August availability
There's no I in pad. Only we, of course. Yeah, we've been wanting to make that joke for awhile -- but in all seriousness, Neofonie, makers of the 11.6-inch WePad, held a press conference in Berlin today to reveal a bit more about its Linux-based slate. According to our German counterparts there will be two versions of the Intel Atom N450-powered tablet, which has two USB ports and an onboard webcam -- the 16GB / WiFi version will go for €450 and the 64GB / HD capable model for €569. We're a bit intrigued by the promised "full HD" support of the larger version, but Neofonie was quick to say that there is no NVIDIA inside. Hmm... Broadcom's Crystal HD, perhaps? The company wasn't willing to let reporters play with the early build of the multitouch device, but they did show off some videos of the Linux interface. You can watch a few after the break, but the live widget-based GUI looks extremely attractive and amongst other things, the browser supports Flash. It sort of hurts that we won't be able to get our hands on one until August, but we're happy to hear that the company, unlike some others, is taking the time to get things right. Updated: We can't help but laugh at the fact that many sites are reporting that the WePad on display at yesterday's press conference was actually running Windows 7 underneath the Linux-looking UI. Apparently the company has more work to do than we originally thought.
ASUS Eee PC T101MT now shipping to the form factor indecisive
Still thinking long and hard about some of those iPad alternatives? Well, ASUS' 10-inch Eee PC T101MT is undoubtedly for those that can't make the call on netbook vs. tablet, and like clockwork the Atom N450-powered netvertible is creeping up on stateside order pages in search of $500 of your hard earned cash. Unfortunately, for that price you'll only be getting single touch input since its Windows 7 Starter OS lacks multitouch support, but our guess is that slightly more expensive SKUs with Win 7 Premium will start popping up soon. We'd certainly urge you to wait on our full review, but if you're too eager to put your fingers all over that capacitive resistive screen and chiclet keyboard, reach for your wallet and hit one of those source links.
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 T101MT headed to US in April for $499
Well beginning of April, you sure do like tablets for $499, don't ya? While the Eee PC T101MT has been available to suave Europeans since February, ASUS has let out word that the 10-inch, multitouch tablet will start shipping in the US sometime in April for $499. Not a bad deal considering the Pine Trail-powered netvertible has been priced around 499 Euros overseas -- though we're unsure at this point of the final specs of the American T101MT and what version of Windows 7 it will boot. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for it at the usual etailers, but before you head out and buy one you may want to wait on our upcoming full review to see how this thing measures up to the other netvertibles out there.
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.
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.
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.
ASUS Eee PC 1018P and 1016P quick hands-on
Come on, you had to know that one of our first stops at CeBIT was going to be the ASUS booth to see if we could get a glimpse at the leaked 10-inch Eee PC 1018P and 1016P. Though they will be officially announced at ASUS's press conference tomorrow we got some time to play around with the new aluminum netbooks, and they sure beat any of the plastic Eee PCs we've been groping for the past few years. The overall build quality feels great, and with the flush battery they are both seriously slim and light. We wish ASUS had equipped the systems with metal keyboards to match the expanded aluminum touchpads, but the plastic keys felt plenty sturdy under our fingers. As for specs, the placards claim that they will have the new Intel N470 processors (and some peculiar N455 and N475 CPU choices), 2GB of RAM and 10 hours of battery life. We're still trying to figure out the difference between the two models, but our guess is that the 1016P will have 3G, while the 1018P sticks just to WiFi. Also, no confirmation yet on that rumored USB 3.0, but until we find out more details at tomorrow's press conference we've got you covered with the hands-on pics and video below. %Gallery-86744%
Intel officially adds Pine Trail Atom N470 processor, early performance results don't impress
Intel introduced the new Atom N470 netbook CPU back in September and then Lenovo showed off its S10-3t with the new processor at CES, but chipzilla's taking the time today to give its newest Pine Trail CPU a proper unveil. The 1.83GHz N470 joins the 1.66GHz N450 as an option for netbooks, and like the rest of the Pineview integrates the GMA 3150 graphics controller on the same chip and supports hyperthreading. According to Intel, the major OEMs are expected to introduce new netbooks based on this processor soon, but if our experience with the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t is any glimpse into the "performance boost" of this processor we're not sure there's anything to wait for. Our full review of the S10-3t netvertible is almost done cooking, but we can tell you right now the system didn't feel faster in use even with its 2GB of RAM, and on PCMark05 it scored in the same range as other N450 netbooks. While the slightly faster clock speed may be a nice bragging right, at the end of the day Atom N470-based netbooks are still, well, netbooks.
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.
