Lenovo has just twittered that it will be announcing the 11.6” Lenovo IdeaPad U150 on the 26th (Mon) October, next week during some global podcast. It is already selling here in Japan.
While we’re all still waiting for the ASUS Eee PC 1201HA to go official outside of Europe, Blogeee.net has gotten word that the yet to be officially announced ION powered ASUS Eee PC 1201N will be arriving in France in December intended just in time for landing under the Christmas tree. They’ve somehow gotten a hold of some promo material showing the specs for the 1201N, though it hasn’t been announced yet.
One nice feature in Windows 7 is that it gives users a bit more control over their power settings. But in some cases, even without tweaking your PC to adjust the CPU clock speed, shut down the hard drive, display, or other tweak other features Windows 7 may still help you squeeze more life out of some batteries — either that, or Asus decided to throw a higher capacity in the Windows 7 version of the Eee PC 1008HA. Either way, Chris Guthrie at Netbook Reviews decided to compare battery performance on a Windows XP version of the Eee PC 1008HA and a new model running Windows 7.
The result? The Windows 7 model ran for more than an hour longer. With the brightness set to full, WiFi and Bluetooth on, and the processor set to run at 1.75GHz, the computer ran for 6:07:30. The Windows XP version ran for just 5:03:18 under the same conditions.
Chris used Battery Eater Pro for his test. I’ve stopped using that particular test, since it taxes the CPU non-stop until the battery dies which doesn’t really provide a good picture of real world usage. In other words, it’s quite likely that you may be able to get another hour or two of battery life out of the new Eee PC 1008HA. I haven’t had time to test the battery on my review unit, but you can be sure I’ll be paying close attention to battery performance in light of Chris’s findings.
US retailer Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for the Nokia Booklet 3G. You can reserve an unlocked version of the netbook with a black lid from BestBuy.com for $599.99. Interestingly, Best Buy promises that white and blue options will be available soon. There doesn’t seem to be any option to pre-order the netbook with an AT&T data plan. Once that option is available, the price is expected to drop to $299.
Meanwhile a tipster sent Engadget a few unboxing photos of one of the first demo units to appear at a Best Buy. There’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s another indication that the laptop should be available in the US soon.
In case you’ve forgotten, the Nokia Booklet 3G is the cellphone maker’s first entry into the netbook market. It features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z50 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display. It supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G wireless, aGPS, and has an HDMI output. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition, and the battery is also reportedly good for up to 12 hours.
When I reviewed the Acer Aspire 1410 with a Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor and Windows Vista a last month, I found that it was much faster than your average netbook when it came CPU-intensive tasks like transcoding audio and video files. But there was one thing it still couldn’t do: play HD and high quality Flash videos on its high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display.
But this week Acer released an updated version of the Aspire 1410. The new model has a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 dual core processor and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. And according to Peter at Netbooked, it can handle HD YouTube videos reasonably well. But you don’t have to take his word for it. You can check it out for yourself by watching the… HD YouTube video below.
Playback isn’t 100% flawless, but the videos look very watchable. When you try watching similar videos with the older version of the Aspire 1410, it feels like you’re looking at a picture slideshow instead of a video. That’s no longer the case.
And that makes the new Acer Aspire 1410 the cheapest laptop I’m aware of with an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 4+ hour battery life, and HD Flash video capabilities. You can order one today from Amazon for just under $400. Of course, the $400 HP Mini 311 will give the Aspire 1410 a run for its money once Flash Player 10.1 is released. That’s the upcoming version of Adobe’s Flash Player that will support NVIDIA ION GPU acceleration for Flash video, allowing you to watch 1080p Flash video on a netbook with a low power Intel Atom processor (provided it has NVIDIA graphics).
If the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PT is a touchscreen tablet version of the Acer Aspire 1810T, then what do you think the Acer Aspire 1420P is? That’s right, it’s a convertible touchscreen version of the company’s cheapest laptop with an Intel CULV processor: the Acer Aspire 1410.
While the Aspire 1410 goes for as little as $400, there’s no official word on the price for the 1420P yet. But Acer has posted a product page for the new laptop. Here’s a rundown of the specs:
* CPU: 1.2GHz Intel Cuelro SU2300 dual core
* Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD
* Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel or 1024 x 60 pixel multitouch
* RAM: Ships with up to 4GB (upgradeable to 8GB)
* Storage: 250GB/320GB HDD
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, optional Bluetooth, optional UMTS/HSPA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE modules
* I/O: 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, headphone, mic jacks
* Webcam: 640 x 480
* Battery: 6 cell, 5600mAh, 62.16WHr
* Dimensions: 11.2″ x 8.2″ x 1.4″
* Weight: 3.79 pounds
* Colors: Black, blue, red
In related news, Acer has posted a new Touch page to describe multitouch gestures that can be used with Acer computers with touchscreens and touchpads. There’s also a section on Acer’s software applications designed for touch. And it looks like Acer will add a section with information about touch enabled PC models soon.
Lenovo has finally gone and made the IdeaPad U150 thin and light computer with a CULV processor official… in Japan anyway. We’re still waiting on a US announcement, but here’s what Lenovo Japan is telling us about the machine:
* CPU: 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU2300
* Display: 11.6″ 1366 x 768 pixel
* Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD
* OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit)
* RAM: 2GB
* Storage: 250GB HDD
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, Ethernet
* I/O: 2 USB ports, 1 USB/eSATA port, HDMI, VGA, card reader
* Touchpad: Supports multitouch gestures
* Webcam: 1.3MP
* BatterY. 6 cell, 7 hour
* Weight: 3.3 pounds
* Dimensions: 0.5″ to 1.35″ thick
There’s also a hard drive protection system which shuts down the hard disk if your computer is in freefall to help prevent damage and data loss.
Asus has officially announced its Windows 7 lineup, and that includes an updated version of practically every Eee Family product launched during the second half of 2009 as well as the company’s new thin and light UL-series notebooks.
Here’s a brief rundown of computers that are available with Windows 7 starting today:
Eee PC netbooks, notebooks:
* Eee PC 1005HA – 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD
* Eee PC 1005HR – 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD
* Eee PC 1008HA – 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1-2GB RAM, 250-320GB HDD
* Eee PC T91MT – 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel multitouch display, convertible tablet, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD
* Eee PC 1101HA – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB RAM
* Eee PC 1201HA – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD
* Eee PC 1201N – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 dual core CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, up to 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Eee Box nettops:
* Eee Box EB1501 – Atom 330 dual core CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, DVD burner
* Eee Box EB1502 – ?
Eee Top all-in-one PCs:
* Eee Top ET2002 – 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel display, 1.6GHz dual core Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD
* Eee Top ET2002T – same as above, but with a touchscreen display
* Eee Top ET2203 – 21.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 1.6GHz dual core Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
* Eee top ET2203T – same as above, but with a touchscreen display
UL-series thin and light laptops:
* Asus UL20 – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 7.5 hour battery
* Asus UL30A – 13.3 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 10 hour battery
The Asus UL50A/UL50Ag/UL50Vg/UL50Vt/UL80V models and other larger laptops have also been updated.
In related news, Asus has posted the user manual for the Eee PC 1201 online, and as netbooked points out, it mentions a third, previously announced model called the Eee PC 1201T. The Eee PC 1201T doesn’t have an HDMI port, which would seem to indicate that it might not have ION graphics. There’s no word on what else might set it apart from the 1201HA and 1201N.
It’s Windows 7 launch day… and that means many of those pretty little netbooks and notebooks I told you about the other day that come preloaded with Windows 7 are now shipping. I placed an order for an Acer Aspire Timeline AS181T to review and it should ship in a few days. But I’ve already seen evidence that 10 inch netbooks from Asus, HP, Sony, and other PC makers have already shipped.
In related news, Lenovo has updated the IdeaPad S12 order page to reflect the fact that the $429 laptop is now available with a choice of Windows XP or Windows 7 Home Premium. What’s interesting is that there doesn’t appear to be a Windows 7 option for the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 at Lenovo.com. But you can order the company’s 10.1 inch laptop with Windows 7 Starter Edition from Amazon for $349.99. The same laptop is available from Lenovo.com for $299 and up.
Chinese PC maker Rui Iridium Star Digital’s latest netbook bears a superficial resemblance to a Sony Vaio P. But it looks like it’s a bit wider, with room for a larger keyboard. Still, instead of a typical touchpad, the netbook has a pointing nub in the middle of the keyboard which helps save some space.
While the Sony Vaio P has an Intel Atom Z5xx series processor and a high resolution 8 inch, 1600 x 768 display, this Chinese knockoff has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, GMA 950 graphics, and a 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. In other words, aside from the lack of a touchpad, it’s prety much a typical netbook.
The machine has a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a 3 cell battery. It weighs 2.6 pounds, measures 11.3″ a 6″ x 1.2″ and probably won’t be available in the US anytime soon.