NetbookShow

The Asus Eee PC X101 hasn’t gone on sale in the US yet, but it’s expected to hit the streets in September. Meanwhile, the folks at Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn have already managed to get their hands on the mini-laptop. The Eee PC X101 is one of the first netbooks from a major computer company to ship with MeeGo Linux instead of Windows. But that’s only one of the things that makes it special — it’s also expected to sell for under $200 in the US (or about 169 Euros in Europe).

In the unboxing video, you can see that the Vietnamese version will come with several different power adapters. I suspect US customers will get just one. The reviewer also shows off the tablet’s thin sides (it measures about 0.7 inches thick), 2 USB ports, Ethernet jack, and VGA port.

The Eee PC X101 has an 8GB solid state disk instead of a hard drive and runs MeeGo Linux. It also uses a 1.33 GHz Intel Atom N435 processor, which is one of the least expensive (and least powerful) Intel Atom chips available. Those decisions were made to keep the laptop’s price low. Asus will also offer an X101H model for a higher price. That version will be available with a 250GB hard drive and Windows 7.

MeeGo is an operating system optimized for netbooks, tablets, and in-vehicle entertainment systems. The user interface feels like a cross between a desktop OS such as Windows and a mobile OS such as Android. Most apps, for instance, run in full screen mode instead of in smaller windows.

There’s no start menu or taskbar, per se, but there are a series of tabs at the top of the screen that you can use to switch between different parts of the operating system. One window shows a list of installed apps, while another shows system settings. A third area shows networking settings, and a fourth shows updates from your social networking sites.

While the unboxing video is in Vietnamese, it’s worth watching with the sound off if you want an overview of how the first MeeGo Linux netbook from Asus will work.

There was a time when it looked like the rise of low cost netbooks would finally lead to the rise of Linux as a consumer operating system. Then Microsoft slashed Windows prices for PC makers building netbooks and the rest is history. But there’s still a niche market for netbooks that ship with Linux, or with no operating system at all.

French retailer LDLC is getting in on the action with a netbook that ships without an operating system for about 260 Euros and up. It’s actually even cheaper if you forego the memory and hard drive.

The LDLC Mercure NB1 netbook has a 1.5 GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core processor and a 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display. On the company blog, LDLC recommends installing Joli OS, a Linux-based operating system initially designed to run on netbooks.

We’ve following Joli OS and Jolicloud for the past few years, but this is one of the first times I can remember a PC distributor recommending the OS — unless you count the Jolibook from VYE computers, the only netbook I’m aware of to actually ship with Jolicloud preloaded.

Fujitsu has introduced a new 10 inch netbook running MeeGo Linux in Malaysia. The Fujitsu Esprimo MH300 will run about $322 and feature a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 3 cell battery. The only thing that really makes this little guy stand out from the netbook crowd is the open source operating system.

The MH300 has 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and weighs about 2.4 pounds.

Lowyat has a run-down of several other Fujitsu notebooks that are heading to Malaysia, including the Fujitsu LifeBook PH521, an 11.6 inch notebook with a 1.6 GHz AMD E-350 Fusion processor with Radeon HD 6310 graphics. There’s no word on how much this model will cost, but it’s a much more powerful machine with a faster processor, HD capable graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 6cell battery. It also runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

The LifeBook PH521 weighs about 3.1 pounds.

While you won’t find a lot of netbooks with MeeGo Linux preloaded in the US right now, Russian PC maker DNS is showing off a 10 inch mini-laptop powered by the open source operating system. The folks at Netbook News got a chance to check it out recently.

The specs aren’t anything to write home about. The DNS netbook has a 1.5 GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core processor, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. It supports WiFi and Bluetooth and weighs about 2.4 pounds with a 3 cell, 24Whr battery.

MeeGo is a Linux-based operating system for phones, tablets, netbooks and other devices. It’s backed by Intel and Nokia, although Nokia has scaled back its MeeGo ambitions a bit since shifting its smartphone focus to Windows Phone 7.

Want to get your hands on a smartbook with an ARM-based chipset but don’t feel like waiting for Toshiba or HP to bring their models to the US? Genesi USA has you covered.

The company has launched a mini-laptop with a 10.1 inch display and an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU. The smartbook is called the Efika MX, and while it may not have the fastest ARM-based chip around, it’s powerful enough to handle 720p HD video playback.

The device has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of storage space, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an optional 3G modem, as well as a 1.3MP camera, SD card reader, and mic and headphone inputs.

The Genesi Efika MX weighs about 2 pounds and measures about 0.8 inches thick. The computer runs Linux and uses less than 12 watts of power. It runs just $349, which sounds pretty good… until you realize that you can get  Windows 7 netbook for about $50 less. On the other hand, I have yet to find a Windows netbook at this price that weighs just 2 pounds.