NetBooks
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Dell Inspiron Duo hybrid netbook / tablet stars in another film
We'll freely admit how smitten we are with Dell's concept, the Inspiron Duo. While it's supposedly coming to retail by the end of the year, it's so special that every time we spy new photos or video footage of it, we watch joyfully. Of course, Intel doesn't need to watch from afar, as demonstrated in a new video -- they simply asked Dell's Inspiron Product Marketer, Dave Zavelson to show it off on film. The Duo, in case you've been hiding under a rock since before IDF, is a 10-inch netbook with a swivel screen which enables you to use it as a sort of tablet... you know, those things that everybody's cranking out these days. It also boasts a dual-core Atom N550 CPU and Windows 7 Home Premium. Regardless, we still haven't heard any pricing or definite availability info yet, but the video is below.
NEC expands Valuestar 3D lineup with two new desktop PCs; laptops say LaVie
We'll have to assume NEC managed to free Willy and that its first 3D venture was a success, as the company's just revealed a brand new set of stereoscopic screens, one of which is actually not part and parcel of an all-in-one PC. NVIDIA's 3D Vision kit (with active shutter glasses) and a 23-inch, 1920 x 1080 120Hz monitor accompany this Valuestar L, with a 2.93GHz Core i7-870 processor, GeForce GT 330 GPU, 8GB of memory, 1TB of storage and Blu-ray 3D drive in an attractive white case. There's also a similarly-sized Valuestar W 3D all-in-one with a 2.53GHz Core i5-460M and GeForce GT 330M graphics, a digital TV tuner, half the memory, a 1.5TB drive and a passive, polarized display. If you're not interested in wearing glasses while chained to a desk, of course, you could always consider the new LaVie Light netbook, newly refreshed with a dual-core Intel Atom N550. And yes, we know we made a horrible pun. Sometimes we just can't help ourselves.
AMD throws down gauntlet, pits Zacate netbook chip against Intel's Core i5 in City of Heroes duel (video)
We knew AMD planned to upstage Intel in San Francisco this week, but we didn't realize just how far Chipzilla's rival would go -- the company's demonstrating the power of its new Zacate APU by having it trounce an Intel Core i5-520M in a graphical superhero showdown. Though we've never really thought much of Intel's integrated graphics anyhow (though we're giving Sandy Bridge's technique the benefit of the doubt), watching a netbook part beat a 2.4GHz Core i5 at anything is truly something else. While AMD won't speak to the clockspeed or price of its new dual-core chips, it says the 18W Zacate and 9W Ontario should appear in devices with over 8 and 10 hours of battery life respectively when they likely ship to consumers early next year. Video after the break. %Gallery-102207%
ASUS busts out dual-core Eee PC 1015PEM netbook
ASUS has just introduced the Eee PC 1015PEM, its first 10-inch netbook with a 1.5GHz dual-core Intel Atom N550 CPU. Specwise, it boasts an up to 350GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, USB 3.0, Bluetooth 3.0, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It comes pre-loaded with Windows 7 Starter Edition, with prices starting at $349. The ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM is available today, in red, blue, pink, black, or white.
HP Mini 5103 with dual-core Atom N550 performance review
We realize keeping up with HP's model numbers can be as hard as keeping tabs on say, Lindsay Lohan's run-ins with the law, but the 5103 is notable in one major way -- it's one of the first netbooks to ship with Intel's dual-core Atom N550 processor. Like the 5102, the 5103 is still primarily aimed at business professionals. In fact, HP hardly messed with the look and feel of the aluminum dressed laptop -- the chassis and features are pretty much the exact same, although HP did ditch the black lid for an "Espresso" color and preload some new "Day Starter" instant-on OS. Obviously, the big deal here is the new processor and seeing as how we've been waiting on Intel to release a dual-core Atom CPU for netbooks since well, the first netbook we were eager to see how much power that extra core adds and if it impacts battery life. Hit the break to see some of the results. %Gallery-101488%
Samsung launches new NF and SF Series laptops with 'shark'-like designs
It's that time of the year again! Yep, the time when most laptop makers start thinking about the holiday season and unleash a massive amount of systems. Samsung's kicking off its announcements at IFA with the SF and NF Series, both of which have a brand new wave or fin-like designs -- they were apparently codenamed "shark" within the company. Beginning with the netbooks, the NF series will hit in the coming weeks and will be available in two skus -- the ivory, single-core Atom NF210 will be $379 and the silver NF310 will have a dual-core Atom processor for $399. We got a chance to check them out a few days ago and found the overall build quality to be really solid -- we really loved the new chiclet keyboard as well as the swirly pattern on the metal touchpad. Sammy's also claiming over 10 hours of battery life on them, but we'll obviously want to test that for ourselves. On the bigger and badder end is the SF Series. Similar to the netbooks, the mainstream laptops have glossy lids with the new wave like edges. According to Samsung's global press release, they'll be available with Core i3 / i5 processors and in three different sizes -- there's the 13.3-inch SF310, 14-inch SF410 and 15.6-inch SF510. The US team tells us the $749 Core i3-powered, 500GB hard drive-packing SF510 will hit the market soon and will be a Best Buy exclusive. We got a peek at that one as well, and similarly love the new chiclet keyboard, though we're hesitant on this one's single-button touchpad. Until we bring you some full reviews, there's additional details in the press release below and some hands-on shots in the gallery. %Gallery-100919% %Gallery-100920%
HP Mini 210 and Mini 5103 officially announced with dual-core Atom power
Netbook makers like Lenovo, Gigabyte and ASUS have been quietly releasing new systems with Intel's new mobile, dual-core N550 processor, but HP's not keeping its use of the fresh chip in 10-inch netbooks a secret... anymore. Just as we've previously heard, the professional-aimed $399 Mini 5103 will be getting a dual-core 1.5GHz processor option, which HP tells us can improve benchmark performance by up to 20 percent without a significant impact on battery life. It's also been updated with a new "espresso" color and will have HP's Day Starter instant-on OS -- no WebOS buried in there yet. On the consumer end, the HP Mini 210 has also been refreshed -- actually, more like gutted -- with a new design. The 10.1-inch netbook is now available in a bunch of cleverly named colors, including crimson red and ocean drive, and has been revamped with a new back that integrates the battery into the bottom of the chassis. Don't worry: the battery is still swappable and you can open the bottom cover to replace the RAM and hard drive. It still has that chiclet keyboard we like so much, the rather hit-or-miss ClickPad touchpad and a Broadcom Crystal Accelerator option for 1080p playback. The Mini 210 will start at $330 with a single core Atom CPU and six-cell battery, but will be available with the N550 processor for a bit more (we're guessing around $75). The full release is after the break and some snazzy hands-on pics are below. %Gallery-100743% %Gallery-100742%
Dual-core Atom-powered Gigabyte and Lenovo netbooks up for sale in Australia
As promised, we've been keeping an ear to the ground on Intel's new mobile, dual-core Atom processor, and as luck would have it a number of netbooks are popping up with the new CPU baked in...well, at least in the land down under. Australian e-tailer Pena.au has 10.1-inch netbooks from both Gigabyte and Lenovo listed on its site with the fresh 1.5GHz Atom N550 processor. The Gigabyte T1005M convertible -- or netvertible, as we like to call it -- is much like the T1000, and still has a 1,366x768 pixel capacitive touch display, USB 3.0 ports, and an eSATA jack. It sounds like a pretty impressive little system, but it's listed for 905 Australia dollars, which translates to about $800 US. That's a bit steep, but Aussies looking for something more affordable have the N550-powered Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 to choose from as well -- although that too is listed for a pricey $699 Australian (about $617 US). We're assuming the dual-core CPU adds about $50 to $75 to the average single-core netbook selling price, but here's hoping that the prices are a bit lower once they hit this side of the hemisphere.
AMD's Bobcat and Bulldozer, 2011 flagship CPU cores, detailed today
One of these days AMD is gonna have to stop talking about its Atom-killing Bobcat and Xeon-ending Bulldozer cores and finally release them. But, until that happy moment arrives in 2011 (fingers crossed), we'll have to content ourselves with more presentation slides. First up, the Bobcat core is AMD's long overdue play for the netbook/ultrathin market. Pitched as having 90 percent of the performance of current-gen, K8-based mainstream chips, AMD's new mobility core will require "less than half the area and a fraction of the power" of its predecessors. That sounds like just the recipe to make the company relevant in laptop purchasing decisions again, while a touted ability for the core to run on less than one watt of power (by lowering operating frequencies and voltages, and therefore performance) could see it appear in even smaller form factors, such as MIDs. The Bobcat's now all set to become the centerpiece of the Ontario APU -- AMD's first Fusion chip, ahead of Llano -- which will be ramping up production late this year, in time for an early 2011 arrival. The Bulldozer also has a future in the Fusion line, but it's earliest role will be as a standalone CPU product for servers and high-end consumer markets. The crafty thing about its architecture is that every one Bulldozer module will be counted as two cores. This is because AMD has split its internal processing pipelines into two (while sharing as many internal components as possible), resulting in a sort of multicore-within-the-core arrangement. The way the company puts it, it's multithreading done right. Interlagos is the codename of the first Opteron chips to sport this new core, showing up at some point next year in a 16-core arrangement (that's 8 Bulldozers, if you're keeping score at home) and promising 50 percent better performance than the current Magny-Cours flagship. Big words, AMD. Now let's see you stick to a schedule for once.%Gallery-100088%
Intel debuts dual-core Atom N550 processor, 70 million Atom netbook chips shipped so far
Intel first made mention of its upcoming dual-core Atom for netbooks back at Computex, and now it's making good on its promise with the ready-to-ship Atom N550. The chip operates at 1.5GHz, with 1MB of cache and support for DDR3 memory, and "similar" battery life to the Atom N450. Intel is billing it as a more "responsive" experience, which will make sense as a selling point to anyone who has attempted any serious multitasking on a netbook. YouTube and Hulu also get first paragraph billing in Intel's press release, and we'll be happy to test out those claims once we get our hands on a netbook with the N550 under the hood. Unfortunately, while Intel claims that netbooks based on the processor are available "in stores today," we don't know of any shipping just yet -- naturally, we have our eyes peeled. MSI and Lenovo actually denied plans for the chip to us, despite their inclusion in Intel's PR, but we do know the upcoming ASUS 1015N (which is also packing NVIDIA ION graphics) will pack the N550 when it hits. Hardly a landslide so far, but we're sure we'll eventually see enough N550 to be sick of it, in traditional netbook fashion. In semi-related news, Intel is also proud to announce that it's shipped over 70 million Atom netbook chips since it started on this crazy ultraportable journey back in 2008. PR is after the break.
ASUS downgrades Eee PC shipment forecast, blames iPad
Been waiting for evidence that the iPad will dent the netbook market? If you believe ASUS, that's already happened, with the Eee PC vendor reporting fewer sales in the second quarter relative to the first and downgrading expectations for the usual peak season of Q3. Apple's prodigious tablet is specifically named by ASUS CEO Jerry Shen as an invader that is "crowding out" netbook demand, though he remains firmly committed to the small and affordable laptop market. All the same, Shen does also point a finger to the horizon, where a trifecta of Eee Pads marches ever nearer with the intent to do battle with the iPad. So while netbooks aren't going away in a hurry, these latest numbers seem to suggest they're set to at least share the lower-end spotlight with touch-friendly slates, or rather Pads.
Nokia's VP talks N8, MeeGo 'milestone product,' tablets, Android and more!
Nokia's prepping for a fourth quarter launch of its MeeGo smartphone. The N8 will hit before the end of Q3. The company's absolutely not planning to use Android and a tablet isn't happening anytime soon. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the stuff we learned this morning during our captivating chat with Niklas Savander, Espoo's executive vice president and general manager of the Markets unit. With its quarterly profits dropping and losing daily (in mindshare, at least) to the Apples, HTCs and Motorolas of the world, we were certainly not lacking questions when we headed into the meeting, and Savander took on our questions about Nokia's short and long term plans with stride. We've got the key points of the interview bulleted out after the break -- and the full transcript after that.
HP rolls out Mini 5103 business netbook with optional touchscreen, SSD
HP's quietly busted out the successor to the Mini 5102 -- the Mini 5103 -- on its Italian website. This business-oriented 10.1-incher boasts options galore, including a choice of Atom N455 or N475 CPUs, an up to 320GB HDD or an up to 128GB SSDan optional touchscreen display, optional Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, and optional Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. Other than that, it's going to feature up to 2GB of RAM, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, gigabit ethernet, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, and an SD card reader and WiFi b/g/n and a 2 megapixel webcam. This puppy's going to run €429 (that's around $565) in Italy -- and while there's no word yet on pricing or availability elsewhere, we do know that the Mini 5102 is currently nowhere to be found on the US site, either, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this one pop up any day now.
Engadget's back to school guide: Netbooks and laptops
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got laptops and netbooks in our sights -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. You didn't think we'd let back to school season roll around without rounding up the latest gear, did you? Good, because here at Engadget we understand that not only is heading off to college nerve wracking, but picking out the best gadgets can as equally scary. We couldn't think of kicking off our back to school guide with anything but our top netbook / laptop choices since, you know, a good performing and well-rounded machine is absolutely essential for those hours of Facebook stalking, err of homework and studying. No matter what your budget, we've got you covered with recommendations and loads of mobile computing options. Now, on to the laptops...
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%
MSI launches Wind12 U230 'Light,' shaves two inches and 30 clamshells from predecessor's hide
Are MSI's 12.1-inch netbooks a hair too large for you? Wonder of wonders, there's a smaller version that's practically exactly the same inside. Though the new MSI Wind12 U230 Light confusingly weighs just the same as its predecessor (3.3 pounds) and is still 1.22 inches thick, it's got a smaller 11.6-inch matte LCD screen that makes it two inches shorter in either direction on a horizontal plane. You're still getting the same 1,366 x 768 display, 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, 2GB of RAM, Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 250GB hard drive and sub-par four hours of battery life, but MSI did think to trim the fat in one last direction, and knocked $30 off the price. That makes the now-shipping U230 Light a somewhat reasonable deal at $400 from Amazon. PR after the break.
ASUS Eee PC 1215N to ship in the US at the end of August
With the NVIDIA Ion 2-powered Acer Aspire One 532g falling by the wayside and the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN hitting the market sans NVIDIA Optimus, all eyes are on the ASUS Eee PC 1215N to be the true Ion 2 machine. Well, super-charged netbook fans, we've got good news: the 12-inch laptop, which has a 1.8GHz dual-core Atom D525 CPU and NVIDIA's Optimus to intelligently switch between discrete and integrated graphics, will ship in the US around August 23. And while an MSRP hasn't been set in stone, we're told "it should be below $500." Sure, a glance at the calender will reveal that you won't get your mitts on this bad boy for at least 40 days, but we're confident you'll find something to pass the time.
New Acer and ASUS netbooks not coming until the middle of August, says Digitimes report
ASUS's newest netbooks may just be hitting the US market, but Digitimes is reporting that both Acer and ASUS are currently in somewhat of a holding pattern in regards to their new mini-laptops. The report says that both companies are holding off on releasing new netbooks until current inventory is depleted, and demand has built up for new models. Though the reasoning is hazy, it does seem this has something to do with holding off until Intel releases its dual core Atom N550 CPU during the third quarter as the price delta between it and the weaker N455 / N475 processors isn't much. That would actually make a lot of sense considering most -- including us -- would certainly opt for faster netbooks with the dual-core action over the same old single core Atoms we've grown tired of. Either way, this would mark somewhat of a new strategy for the companies, which have, in the past, often added new models so quickly that choosing between them could be difficult. All we can say is, we shall see.
Acer Aspire One 521 and 721 review
On the surface Acer's 10.1-inch Aspire One 521 and 11.6-inch Aspire One 721 appear to be fairly run-of-the-mill netbooks -- or ultraportables for those that are morally opposed to calling a laptop with a 11.6-inch display a netbook. They're rather small machines, measure just about an inch thick, and ring up at under $430. But there's a lot more than meets the eye with this Aspire One duo – instead of Intel Atom or ULV processors, both are powered by a new AMD 1.7GHz Athlon II Neo K125 processor and promise 1080p playback thanks to ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics. We've certainly been pumped about these two systems since their French debut, but fear of AMD's usually poor battery life and scorching temperatures have been holding us back from all-out excitement. Do we have nothing to fear but fear itself? We've spent the last few days with these two systems, and will reveal all in our full review after the break. %Gallery-96636%
Intel Classmate PC becomes Toshiba CM1 in Japan
Toshiba and Intel have announced that they're partnering up to deliver Chipzilla's convertible Classmate PC to Japanese youths -- just in time for the new school year. Sporting a 1.66GHz Atom N450 and an overhauled design, this latest iteration of the educational use netbook will start filtering through Nipponese school corridors this August. It packs 160GB of storage room and 2GB of RAM under a nice 1,366 x 768 10.1-inch touchscreen. The latter flips around to facilitate pen input with an included stylus, while the whole package is protected by a well rubberized and ruggedized case. Now if only it could get some multitouch and one of those crazy 15-hour batteries, we might consider going back to school and using it to finish our floristry studies. Full PR after the break. Update: The Japanese school year starts in April, so technically the CM1 is just in time for the second semester. So long as it's on time, we don't think anyone will mind much.
