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Windows 7 Starter comes with hidden wireless connection sharing
Ah, the blessings of market fragmentation. If you thought that, in its efforts to differentiate the Starter Edition from its beefier Windows 7 offerings, Microsoft chopped off the ability to share wireless connections between compatible devices, we've got good news: it didn't. Turns out that ad-hoc networking is very much a part of Windows 7 Cheap Edition, and the only thing missing from it is the dialog you see above. Thrifty Edition owners will have to find the application themselves -- through the shockingly difficult process of a Start Menu search -- but once they do it'll behave exactly as if they'd bought the Extra Awesome variety. Great job, Microsoft -- you keep hiding features and we'll keep installing Chrome OS on our netbooks, deal?
Nokia Booklet 3G review
You might think MikroMikko is the name of some Asian fusion restaurant, but it was actually Nokia's first computer line -- and in 1987, the MikroMikko 3 was a state-of-the-art MS-DOS machine with 1MB of RAM and 20MB drive. It's been about 25 years since Nokia's made a computer bigger than an N900, but it's back in the game with its first netbook, the Booklet 3G. Nokia's pitching the Booklet as a top-of-the-line machine with an all-aluminum chassis, integrated connectivity and GPS apps, and at $599 it's certainly priced that way -- although inside it's got a low-power Atom processor and 4,200rpm hard drive. The Booklet 3G is one of the best-looking netbooks out there, but is Nokia's entry back into the market a winner? Click on to find out what we think of the entire system in our full review.%Gallery-79539%
Atom N450 netbook torrent undammed on January 11 next year?
Well, well, here's something to spice up that upcoming post-CES malaise. The second Monday of the first January of the 2010th year of the Gregorian calendar seems set to be the day Atom-powered netbook lovers have been waiting for. DigiTimes today reports that the long (much too long) awaited move to the Pine Trail platform is set to go off with a pretty major bang of vendor support come next month. Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, and MSI are all said to have lined up their N450 wares -- we know that for a fact with Lenovo -- and are now awaiting Lord Intel's predetermined date to start shipping. We're also hearing the even faster N470 chip will start making the rounds in March 2010, meaning that the first quarter of next year will see more netbook innovation than the last year and a half combined.
Intel brings out Atom SDK wanting more apps, acts oblivious to Windows
Intel wants people to develop apps for the x86 instruction set. Think about that a little, let it sink in. Now that you're appropriately unimpressed, let's discuss this new developer kit that's just been brought out. Designed to assist coders in that overwhelmingly challenging and new environment known as Atom-powered netbooks, the SDK has now hit Beta and is being distributed to developers of apps for Windows and Moblin. Yes Moblin, the light and snappy Linux flavor intended to spur on the sinking ship known as the MID category, still hasn't been abandoned by Intel, even if its original goal now seems out of reach. Intriguingly, apps approved by Intel will "sell at stores opening next year," which perhaps hints at grander plans than the mere optimization of software to undernourished hardware.
Dell, HP, and Lenovo bringing SDXC to laptops alongside 32nm Intel chipsets?
Those incredibly sexy (as far as portable storage capacities are concerned) 64GB SDXC cards coming on the horizon? You're gonna want some hardware to work with it, and according to DailyTech, three of the largest computer manufacturers are looking to bring the upgrade with Intel's forthcoming Arrandale CPUs. Lenovo, HP, and Dell are reportedly working on new designs that'll contain both the new 32nm chipsets and SDXC readers. Not that we're surprised to see new SDHC's time running out, but it does give you something to look forward to.
Chrome OS like lightning from a USB key: we could get used to this
We finally got around to prepping a USB key so we could boot to Chrome OS natively, and let us tell you: it's a world of difference. Of course, running something natively instead of virtualized is always going to be a treat, but what we're seeing with Chrome OS is actually on par performance-wise with our crazy expectations for a stripped-down OS. It boots in mere seconds and loads websites with the best of them. The build we're using, courtesy of @hexxeh on Twitter, who made all this possible with some great instructions and a masterfully-built chromiumos.img, was also able to log into the apps pane -- something we didn't pull off on our virtualized rig. We wouldn't call this our main Linux jam just yet, but even as we strut cockily back to our "big people computer," it's hard not to feel the love for something this simple and swift. If you want to do this with your own netbook, hit up Hexxeh's instructions at the read link below (we found the Windows how-to easiest to follow, for what it's worth), and if you want to be a mere voyeur you can hit up a video demonstration after the break. Update: if you're having trouble with the source link you can try mirrored links to the torrent here and here.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Netbooks
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. The term "netbook" is such a moving target that it's hard to tell if it'll even be relevant at all in a year or two. But for the moment at least it's a handy bit of shorthand for a laptop that sacrifices performance in exchange for a small form factor and cost savings. Usually. Of course, you've got to weigh the sacrifices when gifting one of these: if your target is a power user who can't get anything done on that smaller screen, slightly-cramped keyboard and low-end processor, then you might want to look elsewhere, but if they've got an unhealthy passion for portability and things in miniature, you might just make their year.%Gallery-79788%
Buyer's Guide: 33 things you don't need if you have an iPhone
Every time I walk through Warehouse Stationery (New Zealand's equivalent to Office Depot) or Dick Smith's Electronics (pretty much Best Buy), I'm struck by how probably half the products in each store are pretty much useless to me since I've got an iPhone. Thanks to the apps that come pre-packaged with the iPhone and the more than 100,000 third-party offerings now available in the iTunes Store, the iPhone has gained functionality that might have seemed hard to fathom under three years ago when Steve Jobs first announced the device. "A widescreen iPod with touch controls... a revolutionary mobile phone... a breakthrough internet communications device... these are not three separate devices. This is one device." So Steve Jobs told us all back at Macworld Expo 2007. But since then, the iPhone has grown to be much more than just those three concepts. What follows is a sort of anti-buyer's guide, a list of products and devices that you may never need or even want to buy again (or receive as a gift) if you have an iPhone. Some of these are certainly open for debate, but more than a few of them are products that, for all intents and purposes, are completely unnecessary if you have an iPhone. (Items in bold also apply to the iPod touch).
ZiiLABS ZMS-08 offers Cortex A8-powered Full HD and Flash acceleration for netbooks
We haven't even seen the Zii EGG make its long-anticipated consumer debut yet, but Creative is already building up steam for its next Zii venture. ZiiLABS' ZMS-08 is a third generation mobile media accelerator / system-on-a-chip that boasts its predecessor's 1080p playback and 24fps encoding, and HD video conferencing via simultaneous 720p encoding and decoding, while adding all-new OpenGL ES 2.0 support, an integrated HDMI controller, X-Fi audio and Flash acceleration. Paired to a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8, and running a custom flavor of Android alongside Plaszma OS, the new Zii chip will look for homes in "web tablets, netbooks, connected TVs" and the like, but seemingly not smartphones. ZiiLABS has already signed up a number of clients, who'll start receiving shipments in Q1 of 2010. Full PR and an architectural diagram after the break.
Windows 7 Starter leads the way on netbooks, demands premium
We've already seen plenty of Windows 7 laptops and desktops up for order, but it looks like we're now finally starting to see how things will shake out on netbooks as well. After much confusion in the early days of Windows 7, it appears that Windows 7 Starter edition will indeed be the standard issue offering on the majority of netbooks, and it looks like it'll also demand a slight premium over otherwise comparable XP-based systems. In most cases, Windows 7 Starter seems to add $30 to the cost of a netbook (as with the Dell Mini 10v pictured above), or $50 in Canada if the first few listings on Future Shop are any indication -- which, as Digital Home Thoughts points out, would appear to be quite a bit more than the license fee manufacturers are paying. Of course, there are also a few netbooks that break the mold with Windows 7 Home Premium, and it unsurprisingly appears to be the standard offering on low-cost thin and lights that eschew the netbook moniker altogether. Hit up the link below for a rundown of some of the options already available to order, which is sure to grow considerably in the next few days.[Via Digital Home Thoughts]
Fujitsu P Series notebooks announced, said to be 'snazzy'
Fujitsu has just announced two "stylish" P Series LifeBooks, and we have our hands on the PR drivel to prove it. This affable pair of machines come in "charming" colors that "endow both notebooks with a premium yet snazzy feel, for standing out effortlessly in a corporate jungle or a social playground setting." To be honest, we're more interested in things like the 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, battery life (6.7 hours under normal use, 7.2 hours in power saving mode -- which can be selected by hitting the ECO button), multitouch, the DVD Sharing application for glomming onto optical drives over your LAN, and the fact that they're both a mere 3.5 pounds light and just over an inch thin. The Fujitsu P LifeBook P3110 features a Pentium SU4100 (1.30GHz / 800MHz / 2MB L2 Cache) and is available in Glossy Black, Glossy Silver, and Glossy Ruby Red. The Fujitsu P LifeBook P3010, however, sports an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 (1.6GHz / 512KB / L2 cache) and is available in Glossy Black and Glossy Ruby Red. No word on a release date, or on a price -- but, to paraphrase Godard, whenever someone mentions "style," we reach for our checkbooks. PR after the break.
Cheap netbook sales bringing down laptop revenues, no brainers require no brains
Hey, this is probably surprising to no one, but here we go. A new market research report from DisplaySearch says that the overall mobile PC market is down about 5 percent over last year. The main reason cited for this decline? The increasing popularity of netbooks, which average around $300, and are much, much cheaper than traditional laptops. Netbook revenue is up 264 percent from last year, and have contributed to an overall lowering of the average PC cost by 19 percent. While this is certainly bad news for the PC industry itself, hooray for all of us, right?!
Sony outs pink Vaio W, Pocket Reader bundles for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Sony's announced it will support Breast Cancer Awareness month by outing two new bundles -- and both of them are super pink. The first bundle will include a Berry Pink 10.5-inch Vaio W with an Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive, plus a matching sleeve and mouse. The second bundle will include the special edition Rose Pocket Edition reader with a gold clutch case, plus download codes for four e-books. Sony has said it will donate $110,000 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in conjunction with October sales for these bundles. The Vaio W bundle will run you $499, while the reader bundle is $199. Both can be ordered now at Sony Style.[Via Slashgear]
Samsung's ION-enriched N510 reviewed approvingly, still needs price trim
We dare say NVIDIA's ION platform hasn't been the quickest to go from announcement to market availability, but at long last we're seeing a number of pretty decent options cropping up. The Samsung N510 is a great test case for the prowess of the chipset, as it boasts the otherwise entirely unremarkable Atom N280, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD spec, meaning that whatever performance gains it exhibits will be down to the ION infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, the 11.6-inch machine showed marked improvements over standard netbooks in the graphics department, with hardware-accelerated 1080p video decoding and mildly graphically-intensive games made possible. With six and a half hours of battery life and a matte 1366 x 768 screen, the N510 was well received by the PC Pro team, who could only bemoan the uncompetitive pricing of £382 (about $613). Hit the read link for their full impressions.
Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad forms
It would seem that the humble netbook owner's Windows 7 options just keep improving as the grand new OS comes closer to release. After plans to limit netbooks to running three apps at a time were thankfully scrapped, Microsoft has now confirmed with us that it is going to allow OEMs to splash any version of Windows 7 they desire onto their Atom-powered miniature laptops. That's right, you can totally rock Windows 7 Ultimate and Aero visualizations on a machine that can handle neither. Joking aside, it's pleasing to see the Redmond brain trust steer clear of arbitrary limitations on customer choice.[Via GadgetMix]
New iMacs, MacBooks in the fall Apple fashion lineup?
It looks like the new Mac rumor mill is starting to grind again, as several web sites are reporting that Apple is close to releasing updates to several parts of the product line. Joachim noted the rumors on the 24th, and here's an update. The first rumor is something I've personally been waiting for -- an update to the iMac line. French Mac site Mac4Ever [translation] is citing tips indicating that a new iMac, possibly quad-core powered, is in the works for a possible release before the holiday season. Like the MacBook Pro line, the new iMac would feature an SD card reader. There's also the thought that a high-end iMac could even pack in a Xeon processor. AppleInsider also thinks an iMac boost is in the works, although they're not speculating on quad-core or Xeon processors, and even reports that a new, slimmer design has been churning off Taiwanese assembly lines for the past two weeks. While a bump to the iMac line would be nice, I personally think that Apple would concentrate on reducing the cost of manufacturing to maintain their margins while making it possible to reduce prices to consumers. This could help Apple's share of the personal computer market continue to climb while keeping Wall Street analysts happy. The second rumor, also from AppleInsider, points to a less expensive and slimmer white polycarbonate MacBook. If Apple is able to reduce the price of the low-end laptop below its current US$999 level, it could stem the tide of sales of low-cost Windows and Linux netbooks. Regardless of what actually happens, design updates to these two lines are long overdue. The iMac has essentially been the same since August of 2007, while the MacBook has remained unchanged since May of 2006. It should be fun to see what Jonathan Ive, Steve Jobs, and the tireless Apple engineers who design this equipment have in store for us. [Original photo credit: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com, through Wikimedia Commons]
ASUS' Eee PC roadmap leaks: Ion-boasting netbooks, multitouch T91 coming soon?
If two slides leaked to the Eeeuser.com forum are to be believed, ASUS has some pretty interesting -- though not terrifically surprising -- netbooks on the horizon. The slides, which are apparently the company's roadmap for US products for the next two quarters, are chock full of refreshed product information. It looks like we're going to be seeing a brand new Eee PC, the 12-inch 1201N, which will bring NVIDIA's Ion platform to the line for the first time, with an Atom N270 CPU, 2GB RAM, a 250GB HDD, Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi, running $499 for release in mid-October. Other than that, we can expect to see the 1005HA-P with the N280 processor and a 250GB HDD option running Windows 7 also arriving in October for $399, and the 1005HA-M with the N270 processor, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Edition for $349. Finally, Netbook News is also reporting some new 1008HA models not listed on the slides, as well as a multitouch, Windows 7-running T91 convertible tablet with a 32GB SSD priced at $549. There's no timeline mentioned for this one, but we'll keep our ears to the ground expectantly. The other slide is after the break; hit the read link if you want the full details on each model. [Via Netbook News]
Coby's netbooks seemingly real, taking pre-orders
Sure -- we haven't seen or heard anything about Coby's netbook line since way back in January at CES, but that didn't stop them from showing up for pre-order, did it? Color us a little surprised, but here they are. Two models have appeared on Amazon for pre-order. The 12.1-inch Coby NMPC1220XPBLK apparently boasts a 1024 x 800 resolution, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive, while the NBPC1022XPBLK is a 10.1-incher with identical specs. The first runs $423, while the 10.1-inch model is $318. So tell us: will you be ordering one? [Via Liliputing]
Nokia Booklet 3G to run $799?
Barely more than 24 hours after the Nokia stunner of the century -- the company's announcement of the Booklet 3G "mini laptop" -- we're starting to get some more details about the 10.1-incher. Netbook News is reporting an unnamed source that claims the netbook will run $799 -- certainly not a netbook price. The Booklet will boast a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530, and will reportedly boast a 120GB HDD, plus integrated 3G, a swappable SIM card, A-GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi. There is no official word on pricing or release date, but we're expecting to hear tell of all that at Nokia World (which is on September 2nd). There are a few previously unseen shots after the break -- and hit the read link for even more. Read - Nokia 3G Booklet costs $799! Read - Nokia Booklet specification update
Dell Mini 12 quietly discontinued
There was no official announcement of this one, but a look over Dell's website will reveal the truth -- it looks like the Mini 12 has been shuttered. It's not hugely surprising news considering its companion, the Mini 9, was recently given the axe as well. We'll miss them both. Sniffle.[Thanks, Drew]
