NetbookShow

Amazon is taking pre-orders for the Asus UL20A-A1 laptop for $589.99. The laptop will be available to the public on Thursday, October 22nd. This will be the first 12 inch laptop from Asus featuring an Intel CULV processor. It’s similar to the Asus UL30A in many respects, but it has a smaller screen, less RAM, and a smaller hard drive. It also gets slightly less stellar battery life.

Here’s a rundown of the specs:

* CPU: 1.3GHz dual core Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300
* Display: 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pxiels
* OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
* RAM: 2GB (4GB max)
* Storage: 250G (5400rpm)
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi
* Webcam: 0.3MP
* Battery: 7.5 hours

The price is close to $200 higher than Acer Aspire 1410, another thin and light Intel CULV-powered laptop. But the Asus UL20A has a dual core processor and a longer-lasting battery.

In related news, Amazon is now taking pre-orders for several different versions of the Asus UL30A, which is the company’s 13.3 inch model. All of the new configurations will ship with Window s7. The good news is that while there are still models that will sell for closed to $800 (with Windows 7 Professional or with 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and a 16 hour battery!), Asus is also offering a lower priced option for $680 with Windows 7 Home Premium, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a 12.5 hour battery, and a Core 2 Duo processor.

With Windows 7 launch day coming up fast, it looks like PC makers and retailers are getting ready. Amazon is a choc full of information today about upcoming laptop specifications and prices. I already told you about the Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T/TZ and the Asus UL20A. But here are a few more thin and light laptops that popped up on Amazon today:

* ASUS UL20A – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 dual core CPU, 2GB RAM 250GB HDD, 7.5 hour battery for $590
* Toshiba Satellite T115 – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768  laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel  SU2700 single core CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 8.5 hour battery for $450
* Toshiba Satellite T115 – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel SU2700 single core CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 9.5 hour battery for $480
* Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T- 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz  Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 dual core CPU, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 8 hour battery for $600
* Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core CPU, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 8 hour battery for $550
* Acer Aspire AS1410 – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 dual core CPU, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 6 hour battery for $400
* Gateway EC1440U – 11.6 inch laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel Celeron 743 single core CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 6 hour battery for $400
* Gateway EC1430U – 11.6 inch laptop with 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core CPU, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 7 hour battery for $550
* Dell Inspiron Mini 11z – 11.6 inch laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 4 hour battery for $550
* Sony Vaio P – 8 inch laptop with Win7 Home Premium, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD, 1600 x 768 display, 3.5 hour battery for $850

And a whole slew of netbooks:

* Samsung N130-13P – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, 5.8 hour battery for $351
* Samsung N140-14R – 10.1 inch laptop with Win7 Starter, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 7.5 hour battery for $401
* Toshiba Mini NB205 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 9 hour battery starting at $380
* Gateway LT2022u – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 3 hour battery for $300
* Acer Aspire One AOD250 – 10.1 inch laptop with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 3 hour battery for $320
* Asus Eee PC 1008HA – 10.1 inch netbook withWin7 Starter, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, 6 hour battery for $430
* Asus Eee PC 1008HA – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Home Premium, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 6 hour battery for $480
* Asus Eee PC 1005HA-MU17 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 8.5 hour battery for $350
* Asus Eee PC 1005HA-PU17 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 10.4 hour battery for $400
* HP Mini 110 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 3.75 hour battery starting at $380
* Dell Inspiron Mini 10 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 5 hour battery for $400
* Dell Inspiron Mini 10v – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 3 hour battery for $330
* Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 6 hour battery for $350
* Sony Vaio Mini W – 10.1 inch netbook with Win7 Starter, 1366 x 768 display, 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 7 hour battery for $500

Pretty much all of these laptops are scheduled to be available on Thursday, October 22nd, which by some strange coincidence happens to be Windows 7 launch day.

And Amazon’s not the only place where you can pre-order laptops with Windows 7 today. You can also place pre-orders from HP for the Mini 110 with an optional $30 upgrade to Windows 7 Starter. The HP Mini 311 is available with a $50 upgrade option for Windows 7 Home Premium.

Dell is also offering the Inspiron Mini 10v and Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with a Windows 7 Starter upgrade for a $30 premium when you order from Dell.com, although I know some people are going to question whether a switch from Windows XP Home to Windows 7 Starter really qualifies as an “upgrade.” Dell also lets you upgrade the Inspiron 11z to Windows 7 Home Premium for $30 or Windows 7 Professional for $130.

In other news, Amazon Germany is taking pre-orders for the Asus Eee PC T91MT with Windows 7 Home Premium, an 8.9 inch multitouch display, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, and 16GB SSD and 1GB of RAM for 506 Euros (about $754 US).  This model isn’t showing up at any US retailers that I can find yet.

With Windows 7 set to launch in just a week, we’re about to see a whole lot of netbooks, notebooks, and other computers get a spec bump. And the Asus Eee PC lineup is hardly exempt. At an event in Germany, Asus officials outlined some of the company’s plans for the next generation of the Asus Eee PC Seashell line, including the Eee PC 1005HA, 1008HA, and 1101HA.

For the most part, the info is in keeping with a leaked product roadmap from earlier this year. But here’s the interesting part. Most of the netbooks will ship with Windows 7 Starter Edition, while the Eee PC 1101HA with an 11.6 inch display, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 260GB hard drive will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Asus Eee PC 1005HA will be available in two different versions. Both will have 1GB of RAM, 250G hard drives, and Intel tom N270 processors. The 1005HA-H will have Bluetooth and a 10.5 hour battery, while the 1005HA-M will lack Bluetooth and include an 8.5 hour battery.

The Eee PC 1008HA will have 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, an Atom N280 processor and a 6 hour battery.

So it seems the 11.6” Acer Timeline 1810T series is coming to the US after all, refreshed with new specs and Windows 7, on October 22. There are two models, the 1810T and 1810TZ:

Both have these features in common:

* Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, dual core)
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 11.6” 1366 x 768 Display
* 4GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
* Intel GS45 Express Chipset
* Intel GMA 4500MHD Graphics
* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
* Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
* 3x USB, HDMI, Card Reader
* Multi-touch touchpad
* 6-Cell 5600mAh Lithium-Ion Battery (8 hour battery life)
* 3.08 lbs weight

The low end 1810T has a 320GB 5400rpm HDD and Dolby Sound Room and will cost $599.
The high end 1810TZ has a 500GB, HD Webcam (resolution not mentioned), 2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room and will cost $799.

Available colors (depending on the model): Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue, Brushed Aluminum and the new Espresso.

Okay no surprise here, but Toshiba has announced the Windows 7 models of the Toshiba Mini NB205 10.1” netbook which will include either a 160GB or 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. Other specs remain the same. Windows 7 drivers have been available for the NB205 for a while already. Will be available on 22nd October with pricing from $399.99, which means the Windows 7 models are clearly more expensive than the earlier Windows XP models.

In case you haven’t looked at your calendar in a while, October 22nd is next week. I know, I was kind of shocked too, but there it is. And that means that Windows 7 will be available to the general public a week from Thursday. And along with the latest version of Windows we can expect a whole slew of new computers to hit the shelves, as well as minor updates to existing PCs.

Acer has announced it’s taking the latter route with its current flagship netbook, the Acer Aspire One D250. Starting on the 22nd, it ill be available with Windows 7 and a new high resolution 1280 x 720 pixel display. It will also have a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a choice of a 3.5 hour or 7.5 our battery.

The netbook will ship with Windows 7 Starter Edition and it will be available in Japan for ¥46,800 or about $520 US. Odds are it’ll be significantly cheaper in the US, although it’s not entirely clear whether it will ship in the US on the same day.