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.
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.
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.
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.
The Acer Aspire Timeline 1820P is a thin and light laptop that looks a lot like the Acer Aspire 1410/Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T series. But there’s one major difference: The 1820P has a touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.
We first heard about the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820P a few weeks ago. But now the folks at Notebook Italia have had a chance to spend some hands-on time with an Aspire 1820PT. They report that Acer has included some touch-friendly software including a TouchPortal which features a photo viewer, music and video player, and several other widgets. You can also print photos by dragging them to a printer icon.
There’s also a TouchMemo utility for writing notes with your fingers or a stylus.
The AcerAspire 1820PT has an Intel core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, GMA 4500 graphics, 4GB of RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and a 1366 x 768 pixel display. It reportedly gets up to 8 hours of battery life and should be available in blue, black, and red.
While Intel and AMD grab all the headlines in the US netbook and ultraportable market, chip maker VIA is making headway in Asia. The Chupin C855 is a Chinese 12.2 inch laptop sporting a VIA Nano processor and VX855 chipset which is capable of 1080p HD video playback.
The C855 isn’t unique. VIA is pushing the platform throughout the developing world with its Global Mobility Bazaar program. But the Chupin C855 is one of the first of these laptops to be reviewed.
According to the review, the laptop performs as promised, with hardware acceleration for H.264 and VC1 HD video playback.
When it comes to CPU performance, it looks like the 1.3GHz Via Nano U1700 offers similar performance to a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, although the Nano chip seems to be a bit slower at some tasks.
Oh, and as an added bonus, the reviewer decided to dissect the laptop so you could see the motherboard, wireless module, and other components. You can see more pictures at digi.sohu.com.
Microsoft has been offering low cost Windows XP Home Edition licenses to PC makers selling netbooks for nearly two years. In order to qualify, a netbook needed to have a small screen, slow processor, and no more than 1GB of RAM or 160GB of hard drive space. As a result, nearly every netbook released over the past two years met those specifications. But here’s the thing: If you’re not interested in keeping the price down, the sky is the limit, because those restrictions don’t apply to laptops with Windows Vista, or even Windows XP Professional.
Now that Windows 7 is just around the corner, Asus Japan has apparently decided to give the Eee PC 1005HA a business-class upgrade: by sticking with Windows XP, but loading the computer up with Windows XP Professional.
The Eee PC 1005HA Business edition is virtually identical to the versions currently on the market. But the new model has a silver and black chassis instead of a solid black one, and 2GB of RAM. The rest of the specs are prety much what you’d expect, including a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. 160GB hard drive, and 10 hour battery. The Eee PC 1005HA Business edition is due out today in Japan for about $715.
Keep in mind, Asus is launching updated versions of its Eee PC 1005HA, 1008HA, and 1101HA laptops with Windows 7 in the US, Europe, and other parts of the globe later this week.
PC maker ii-View has announced it will be bringing its A2 laptop to the US. The ii-View A2 is a 12.1 inch notebook with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, a 1280 x 800 pixel display. 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. it features 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and a 6 cell battery and runs Windows 7.
We’ve been hearing about the ii-View A2 for the last few months, but honestly I didn’t expect to see it released in the US. But according to a press release, the Hong Kong-based company plans to start shipping the laptop in the US on October 22nd for $399.
