NetbookTech

Adding more credence to the notion of an Apple “tablet” device, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, is very much focused on the device ever since returning to work in June. According to the article, “the 54-year-old has been pouring almost all of his attention into a new touch-screen gadget that Apple is developing, said people familiar with the situation.”

Jobs is supposedly overseeing every aspect of the new tablet device – particularly the advertising and marketing strategy. When and if the new tablet will be announced is anyone’s guess. Some have placed the tablet in the latter half of this year while others have argued that the new tablet will be introduced in 2010.

[Check it out via News.com]

Nokia continues to diversify their product portfolio with the announcement of their first netbook product – the Booklet 3G netbook. Not surprisingly, the Booklet 3G is powered by an Intel Atom processor and features a 12 hour battery life, an aluminum chassis, and a weight of 1.25kg. Other features of the Nokia Booklet 3G include:

• Intel Atom Z530 processor
• Measures a bit more than 2 cm thin
• 3G/HSPA connectivity
• Wi-Fi networking
• Microsoft Windows
• Nokia Ovi services integration
• HDMI port for HD video output
• Front-facing webcam
• Built-in Bluetooth
• SD card reader
• 10 inch glass HD ready display
• Built-in A-GPS

Expect to see Nokia partner up with mobile carriers to possibly offer the Booklet 3G as part of mobile broadband bundle plans.

Additional information (including pricing and availability) about the Nokia Booklet 3G will be made available at Nokia World on Sept. 2nd.

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While you’re waiting for the release of the Samsung N510, why don’t you check out the product manual for the netbook which is now available on their website?

There’s a couple of interesting tidbits – notably the fact that the N510 utilizes the ION LE and not the regular ION platform.

What’s the difference? While the ION LE GPU is identical to the ION, the ION LE only supports DirectX 9 while the more expensive ION platform supports DirectX 10. The LE SKU was created to help make it possible to integrate the ION platform into inexpensive platforms such as netbooks and nettops etc.

In any event, here’s a list of the interesting tidbits from the N510’s product manual. (You can read more by downloading the flash-based manual here).

• Intel Atom processor
• Camera, Bluetooth, and multi-card slot appear as optional (how optional remains to be seen)
• Comes with a recovery image on disk (press F4)
• HDMI output on the left hand side of the netbook
• Optional chargeable USB port – even when the computer is off
• Single cover on the bottom for both the hard drive and main memory
• Single large button for the touchpad (no multi-touch support?)
• You can configure audio to be played through HDMI (via control panel) – great for HTPC purposes
• SRS Premium Sound

AND.. here are the official product specs:

• Intel Atom processor
• DDR2 SODIMM memory
• NVIDIA MCP79-D9 chipset
• SATA HDD or SSD
• NVIDIA ION LE graphics
• 40 watts output power

Now some snapshots from the manual for your viewing pleasure.

Here’s a picture (with descriptions) of the front of the N510:

Here are the keyboard status indicators

Here’s the right side:

Followed by the left side:

Bottom of the N510:

and replacing the memory

Configuring the audio to be played over HDMI

[Check it out via Netbook Choice, Lilputing]

Could these really be early screenshots of the upcoming Google Chrome OS slated for late 2010? An “unfamiliar source” sent these screen grabs to the folks over at Mashable and man.. they certainly look real enough. Of course with no real confirmation from Google, there’s really no way to tell.

A couple of interesting observations:

• There’s a nice application dock at the top of the screen with large visible icons
• On the lower right hand side is a very sparse looking task tray which currently has a battery indicator, the current time, and maybe icons of the current running apps?
• The version watermark on the lower left hand side says “Developers beta 0.1.15”

Certainly interesting screen captures – real or otherwise. Plus, it’s making us think about what Google has in store for us with the Chrome OS. Can you realistically live entirely off of the browser full-time (assuming you have no need to play video games etc)? It’s an interesting proposition eh? What do you think?

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PC Magazine is already out with their initial hands-on treatment of the newly announced Dell Inspiron 11z netbook err.. notebook. It appears there’s certainly some things to like with the 11z. You  get a larger 11.6 inch display (although Dell did have a 12 inch netbook mindyou) with a nice 1366 x 768 resolution. You get a thin notebook – one that’s roughly on par with the Mini 10v apparently. There’s even HDMI out for those of you interested in putting the display on a larger display. Is the Celeron 723 an advantage? It’s hard to say exactly. It is an ultra low voltage processor so it has that much going for it. However, the TDP is 10W while the TDP of the Atom N270 is a mere 2.5W so expect battery life to suffer a bit more (more on that in a bit). However, on the positive, the Celeron 723 is a 64 bit processor so you at least have the option of installing a 64 bit OS.

However, one thing strikes me as rather odd – the decision by Dell to stick to a 92 percent keyboard. Granted, Dell might be reusing an existing design from previous systems but come on.. with companies such as Toshiba figuring out ways to jam a full sized keyboard into a 10 inch form factor, the least Dell could have done was increase the keyboard form factor on the 11z.

Another beef – the 3 cell battery. PC Mag states that Dell will be releasing a 6 cell battery later on but geez – couldn’t Dell with all its might get someone to manufacture a 6 cell battery now? With a 3 cell battery, the 11z probably won’t get much more than 2-3 hours of power.

If anything, the Inspiron 11z seems designed to combat the recent Gateway LT3103u netbook which runs a single core Athlon 64 processor. Both systems have similar makeups although the LT3103u has a better keyboard and is arguably the better bang for the buck right now given the larger capacity battery and the lower price of $379.

Check out PC Magazine’s hands-on here.

Dell might have cancelled the 12 inch Inspiron Mini 12 netbook but that hasn’t stopped the company from releasing something similar to it in size called the Inspiron 11z. Unlike it’s netbook brethren, the 11z features:

• 1.2 GHz Intel Celeron 723 processor
• 11.6 inch TLF WLED display with a resolution of 1366 x 768
• 2GB of RAM
• 250GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
• Intel GS45 + ISH9M SFF-enhanced
• 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• stereo speakers ( 2 x 1.0W)
• Integrated single digital microphone bundled with camera
• Ethernet
• Three Two USB 2.0 ports
• 3 in 1 memory card reader
• HDMI output
• 3 cell battery
• Measures 11.5 x 0.92 x 8.43 inches with a starting weight of 3.05 pounds
• Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32 bit

Come on Dell.. a 3 cell battery?? You can do better than that can’t you? Plus, we have no idea how the Celeron 723 performs but if you have to have a Dell – at least there’s something similar to the Inspiron 12.

[Check it out via Engadget]

If you’re feeling a wee bit adventurous with that brand new netbook of yours, why not go ahead and try out a different (and free) operating system other than the bundled Windows XP OS that’s probably on your system? Why even do this you ask? Well ask yourself this question. Do you do anything on your netbook that specifically depends on Windows XP? Do you spend the majority of your time on the web, checking email, socializing with others on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, playing with Google Docs, or just working with one web service after another? If so, then you have plenty of OS choices to consider OTHER than Windows XP.

With that said, here’s a quick rundown of available choices for you to play with.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix:

If we’re going to go Linux – why not opt for the Netbook Remix version of Ubuntu. You get a nice customized user interface designed specifically for netbook screen sizes and you have access to all that is Linux. 

gOS

If you’re all about cloud computing and widgets galore, then you’ll want to check out the gOS. gOS is a desktop OS built on top of Linux with a very Google centric feel to it. If you live in a Google dominated world, then why not give this OS a whirl.

Moblin

Moblin is another take on a cloud-centric OS. This OS, sponsored primarily by Intel, features a user interface that’s social networking heavy. There’s a primary dashboard that presents the latest status updates from friends etc on networks such as Twitter. Moblin is promising – especially with boot up times of around 20 seconds or so on a netbook. Fast.. very fast but still buggy.

Jolicloud

But wait.. there’s more. That’s right – there’s Jolicloud – yet another spin on a cloud-oriented netbook OS. News.com actually has a quick preview of Jolicloud here on their site. I don’t have much experience with Jolicloud but it certainly “looks” impressive from the user interface perspective.

And I’m sure there’s plenty more out there that I can’t think of (oh yes.. there is the looming Google Chrome OS for netbook systems next year.. but that’s not here today as of yet).

BUT – the big takeaways is – we the consumer have many more choices than ever before when it comes to alternative operating systems for our computers – especially for netbook systems.  Of course there are challenges in moving to a new OS – particularly in the hardware support front. Whether you try out a new OS ultimately depends on whether the new platform makes you more productive than your current platform. If you’re into trying new things, then by all means try it out. If you’re more along the lines of the straight and narrow, then you’ll want to see if you can do everything you need to do within a Linux-based OS.

Enjoy!

Yes, it’s back-to-school season time so you can expect some excellent netbook deals to hit retailers right about now.

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Amazon.com

Let’s start things off by looking at the top 10 bestsellers in the netbook category over at Amazon.com. There’s nothing like looking at what other folks are buying right?

• ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 10.5 Hour Battery Life for $378.00
• ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook – 10.5 Hour Battery Life for $378.00
• Acer Aspire One AOD150-1165 10.1-Inch Sapphire Blue Netbook – 6.5 Hour Battery Life for $328.00
• Acer Aspire One AOD150-1920 10.1-Inch Ruby Red Netbook – 6.5 Hour Battery Life for $299.99
• Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-Inch Blue Netbook – 6 Cell Battery for $349.00
• ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-VU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 8.5 Hour Battery Life for $329.99
• ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-VU1X-WT 10.1-Inch White Netbook – 8.5 Hour Battery Life for $325.36
• Samsung N110-12PBK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 6 Cell Battery (9.5 Hours) $349.95
• Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 9 Hour Battery Life for $349.00
• ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 9.5 Hour Battery Life for $385.53

Not quite a netbook, but still a fairly light notebook nevertheless is the new MSI X600 series – available in both black and silver. Priced at $799.99, the MSI X600 features a 1.4 GHz Intel Penryn SFF C2S ULV SU3500 Processor, an Intel GS45+ICH9M chipset, 4GB RAM, 320GB SATA HDD, Windows Vista Home Premium, a 6 cell battery, a 15.6 inch WXGA display, ATI HD 4330 graphics. It measures 10 x 15.4 x 0.9 inches and weighs 4.6 pounds.

LaptopMag has a review of the unit here and says the following:

“The MSI X600 impresses with its thin profile and very light weight, strong graphics performance, and solid battery life. Its sub-five-pound frame, coupled with a unique combination of an Ultra-Low Voltage processor and discrete graphics, are innovations you won’t find elsewhere.”

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PC Mall

PC Mall is currently offering refurbished Lenovo IdeaPad S10E netbooks for a mere $249.99. The S10e features an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB SATA HDD, 10.1 inch display, Webcam, Wi-Fi, 3 cell battery, and Windows XP Home.

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Geeks.com

The previously very expensive ASUS S101 netbook is now available at CompGeeks for a mere $269.99. Granted this is a refurb version of the S101 but it’s still a great deal given the svelte nature of the S101. Specs to the S101 include:

• Brown color
• Intel Atom N270 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB SSD
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0
• 0.3 megapixel camera
• 4 in 1 memory card reader
• 10.2 inch LED backlight LCD display

Hurry – they’re almost gone!

CompGeeks is also offering the ASUS Eee PC S101B for $289.99. It’s also a factory refurb which specs such as Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, 0.3 megapixel camera, 4 in 1 memory card reader, 10.2 inch display, and Windows XP Home. That link above is for graphite – here’s the link to brown.

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Newegg.com

If you’re into building things, then you’ll want to check out the OCZ 10.1 inch Neutrino Netbook Barebones system available at Newegg for $289.99.

Looking for an Acer Aspire One AOD250 10.1 inch netbook? Newegg has them for $299.99 – white , sapphire , and black .

Newegg is also offering the ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005HA netbook for a mere $329.99. Check them out in Pearl , Royal Blue , and Black .

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Best Buy

Best Buy is selling the 11.6inch AMD-based Gateway netbook in both NightSky Black and Cherry Red for $379.99. It was $399.99 just a month or so ago!

Looks like the HP Mini Vivienne Tam Edition netbook has finally come down in price a bit. Best Buy is selling the Vivienne Tam/a> version for $529.99. Specs include the Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 10.1 inch display, 60GB HDD, Built-in Webcam, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3+ hour battery life.

And that’s it for now folks! Happy Shopping!

Just a quick heads-up, woot! is offering today the ASUS Eee PC 900 Netbook for $169.99. This is a brand new netbook featuring a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, an 8.9 inch display, 1GB of RAM, a 4GB Solid State Drive, and a Linux OS. Head on over to woot.com now to pick one up if you’re interested.

Did you know that the latest Lenovo netbooks, the IdeaPad S10-2 and IdeaPad S12, feature Dolby Headphone technology? If not – join the club (actually I think I read about it before but I must admit, I ignored it originally). In a press release by Dolby Laboratories today, the company announced that the two Lenovo netbooks are the first to feature Dolby Headphone technology.

According to Dolby:

“Dolby Headphone creates a personal surround sound experience through any set of headphones, allowing listeners to feel immersed in the entertainment. It creates up to five virtual speakers in a virtual room. This results in a more natural listening sensation, which improves listening comfort and prevents the listener fatigue that often accompanies typical headphone use. Dolby Headphone works with any PC audio source.”

Alright – good audio support.. now just waiting for that darn NVIDIA ION platform on the S12…

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