NetbookShow

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.

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.

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.

Sony VAIO X, which leaked a month ago, has been officialy announced by sony as “the most compact and lightweight notebook in the world”

The device has a 11.1-dm screen, an Intel processor with a clock frequency of 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 128 GB solid state drive SSD, video card Intel GMA500. The device is equipped with two batteries, for 3 and 14 hours.

Other specifications include the VAIO X 2-port USB 2.0, AC adapter Ethernet, VGA and audio connectors, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth. The dimensions of the new item are 27.8×1.4×18.5 mm, weight 680-725 g.

Sony VAIO X is already available in the U.S. for pre-order for $ 1,299.99 with basic configuration

It’s not a surprise that netbooks are becoming more and more popular, is it?  They are cheaper than regular laptops and ultra portable. Manufacturers are announcing more and more models but at the same time they are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to overall revenues. Customers tend to ignore laptops and choose the cheaper versions instead. In the second quarter the portable PC market was at $26.4 billion which is 5% less than last year’s similar period. Netbook sales brought in 264% more revenue than last year but, which means that netbooks represent 11.7% share of the mobile PC market. Next year it’s expected that netbooks will account for 21.5% of portable shipments and bring in 10.9%.

More info leaked about HP netbook Mini 311, accompanied by its pictures. The model, which has not yet formally presented, will debut on the European market under the name Compaq Mini 311. Novelty is based on the platform Ion LE, makes use of nVidia graphics adapter and the lack of support DirectX 10.

The heart of a Netbook Intel Atom N270 processor with a clock speed of 1.6 GHz, and the graphics subsystem represented adapter GeForce 9400M. The device is equipped with 11.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366 × 768 pixels, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB hard drives, wireless modules Wi-Fi b / g and Bluetooth, connector HDMI, three ports USB, webcam and card reader with support the three formats of memory cards.

Device weighs about 1.4 kg and is powered by a 6-cell battery. Sales netbook will appear in October and costs about 350 euros.

10 inch netbook EasyPC E102 from MenQ company presented at the IFA. Unusual model in that the heart netbook is x86-compatible processor on RISC architecture, with a frequency of 1.2 GHz or 1.6 GHz. Touch 10.2-inch computer screen has a resolution of 1024 × 600 pixels. At the user’s choice the company offers a solid state drive capacity of 4 GB or hard disk drive 160 GB, has up to 1 GB of RAM, a wireless module and Wi-Fi (802.11 b / g), 3 ports USB 2.0, Ethernet, headphone and microphone, S / PDIF, and 1.3-megapixel webcam. There is a multiformat memory card reader, 3-in-1 (supports MMC, SD and MS).

The processor supports operating system Windows XP, but not all applications written for XP, can run on it. According to the manufacturer’s 3-cell battery provides up to 4 hours on one charge. Variants of colors – black, white, yellow, pink and red. The company plans MenQ that netbook EasyPC E102 will sell for about $ 160 per batch of 1000 pieces, which means the initial retail price ranging from $ 200 to $ 300.

HP presents us its new 5310m ProBook. The slim laptop is powered by an Intel Celeron3 SU2300 (1.20 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache) processor but it can be upgrated into an Intel Core 2 Duo3 SP9300 (2.26 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache).

5310m features 1GB of DDR3 RAM upgratable up to 4GB, a 160GB SATA or 80/128 GB SSD hard drive, Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics.

HP 5310m comes equipped with a 2 megapixel webcam, 4-cell Lithium-Ion battery, wireless, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi connection, Bluetooth 2.1, stereo headphone/mic jack, High Definition Audio stereo speakers, 3x USB 2,0, RJ-45/Ethernet, DisplayPort, Blu-Ray, External optical drives and power connector. HP ProBook 5310m runs on Windows Vista and can be pre-installed with Windows 7.

Intel is king in the netbook CPU world, but ARM has always tried to get an edge in on what seems to be an unbreakable market. However, the new 40nm Cortex-A9 MPCore processors by ARM may just change that.

The Cortex-A9 ARM chip has two cores and runs at 2 GHz – faster than the 1.6 GHz and 1.66 GHz Atom models. While it will be available for a number of form factors, netbooks are clearly in ARM’s headlights.

The A9 has some perks the Atom doesn’t. It’s 60% smaller, uses two cores, and may offer “up to 5x the performance of Atom for a lower cost and comparable power consumption.” It sounds like an attractive package, and with no limits on the components it can be combined with, ARM may just have found the formula we’ve all been waiting for.