NetbookTech

The rumors of an Apple tablet/netbook-like device (the above rendition courtesy of Gizmodo) have intensified recently thanks to an article over at Barrons. According to a “veteran analyst” who claims to have “seen and touched” the Apple “slate-style” device, the upcoming tablet will be announced in September and delivered in November with a price of around $699 to $799.

The device, which many have dubbed a “jumbo iPod touch” apparently impressed the analyst – “The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content. It’s better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands."

What makes the article particularly interesting is the claim that the PC industry is supposedly waiting with abated breath for this new Apple device – so much so that many PC makers have “paused production” of next generation netbooks until they see what Apple’s up to.

That last note seems somewhat dubious to us simply because of the time of the year. We’re already in the back-to-school season and we’re quickly approaching the holiday season which means many manufacturers should already be pumping out units for current and upcoming sales. If anything, whatever Apple does in September will affect product development for 2010 and beyond. 2009 is pretty much set in stone if you ask us – which also means any next generation netbook about to hit the shelf will more than likely continue to do so.

However, the one great thing about this rumor – if it turns out to be true, the pricing is true, and Apple delivers – this is all great news ultimately for netbook vendors because it gives these vendors a new target/goal to achieve. There’s nothing like a product that you can emulate from.

[Check it out]

There are days I love my netbook.

AND then there are days I really love my netbook. Today just happens to be one of those days. I’m sitting in complete darkness thanks to a blackout that seems to have decided to hit a large swath of West LA. No power translates to nothing operational at home which also means I’ve got no Internet connectivity at home..

Ah but wait.. there are two devices that are indeed working for me – my iPhone and my Samsung NC10 netbook. The iPhone has several hours of charge on it assuming I use it sparingly right now and my NC10 has approximately three hours of power left – primarily because I was using it for a few hours the other day and I forgot to charge it back up. Darn ME!

But wait. I digress.. This is where my love affair for my netbook is renewed once again. You see surfing on the net via the iPhone is fun to a certain extent. However after the umpteenth time of resizing a web page to fit nicely into the small display, it gets rather old rather quickly. This is where my netbook with lots of hours of power comes into play. I’m sitting here in pitch blackness with my NC10 connected to the net via AT&T mobile broadband service and I’m loving it! THANK YOU GOD!

Of course being the proprietor of NetbookTech means I have several netbooks on hand to use. Once the NC10 goes down, I’ll switch over to my new Gateway LT3103u which should have about 4 hours of power. After that’s done.. well then I believe it’s time to sleep.

So.. lesson learned: Always have a netbook fully charged. Always have a netbook with loads of battery life. TRY to have mobile broadband handy.. AND MAKE SURE TO HAVE CANDLES WHEN THERE’S A BLACKOUT!

ASUS rolled out their latest ultra-thin wonder at CeBIT – the 1 inch thick Eee PC 1008HA better known as the “Seashell” or “Shell” system. The netbook (pictured above thanks to ZDNet) has the following specs:

• Weight of 2.4 lbs
• 92 percent keyboard
• Optional WiMAX and 3.5G WWAN support
• Multitouch trackpad
• Digital Array Microphone
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• 802.11 b/g/n
• SRS Premium Sound

Yes.. definitely a sexy looking netbook if you ask me.

[Check it out at SlashGear]

[Check it out at ZDNet]

Sotec (Onkyo) has a new netbook model out in Japan called the C102 minimum PC. Available in silver and black, the C102 features an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM (with a max of 2GB in the system), a 160GB SATA HDD, a 10.1 inch LED backlit 1024 x 600 resolution display, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, and Windows XP Home Edition.

There are currently four configurations for C102 series – the C102S4, C102S4B, C102B4, and C102B4B. Basically there are two configurations for each of the colors – with one configuration in each color featuring Microsoft Office Personal 2007 SP1.

The C102S4 and C102B4 is priced at 54,800 Yen ($616 U.S. dollars) while the C102S4B and C102B4B is priced at 74,800 Yen ($ 840 U.S. dollars).

[Check it out via Akihabara News]

Sony finally unveiled their mystery notebook product at CES 2009 this past week. Dubbed the VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC, it’s the lightest 8 inch notebook out on the market weighing in at a mere 1.4 pounds and measuring a mere 0.78 inches thick (full measurements are 9.65 x 0.78 x 4.72 inches).

The Lifestyle PC is definitely filled to the brim with features and specs including:

• Intel Atom processor running at 1.33 GHz
• 8 inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1600 x 768 and XBRITE-ECO technology
• Up to a 60 GB hard drive as well as up to 128GB SSD
• Approximately 4 hours with standard battery or 8 hours with the large capacity battery
• A max of 2GB of RAM
• Built-in GPS
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n via Atheros chipset
• Bluetooth support including Stereo A2DP profile
• WWAN support
• Memory Stick PRO (Standard/Duo) media slot with MagicGate functionality
• MMC slot
• SD memory card slot
• Intel HD Audio Sound System
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
• Built-in MOTION EYE webcam and microphone
• Windows Vista Home Basic for the base model. Windows Vista Home Premium for the higher end configurations
• Available in garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black

The Lifestyle PC also has a one-button quick-boot option allowing you to boot into a small Linux kernel. This mode features Sony’s xross media bar interface and provides access to web (Firefox browser), email, photos etc. A Sony rep told me the boot time for the quick-boot option was timed at around 17 seconds. It’s a great way to access your system without jumping into Windows (especially since Windows Vista is running on this device). Here are shots of the interface

Curious about the keyboard design? Here are shots of the keyboard:

Here’s a welcome change – there is no touchpad on the Lifestyle PC. Sony chose to go with a trackpoint-like device. Smart decision – I’ve always been a fact of trackpoints.

The base model sells for $899.99 and features the Intel Atom 1.33GHz processor, 8 inch display, 2GB RAM, 60GB HDD, GPS, integrated mobile broadband, Bluetooth and Windows Vista Home Basic.

The next model up sells for $1199.99 and replaces the hard drive with a 64GB SSD and replaces Vista Home Basic with Vista Home Premium.

Finally, at $1499, the 64GB SSD gets upgraded to a 128GB SSD.

Not exactly netbook-like pricing is it? Oh wait.. it’s not a “netbook” … it’s a “Lifestyle PC”. Sense a bit of annoyance on my part? You bet.. but more on this later on. For now we’ll stick with the product announcement on the Sony netbook err.. VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC.

MSI also had two other interesting news bursts for their upcoming netbook products – the U115 Hybrid and U120.

With the U115 Hybrid, MSI announced that the netbook in “ECO mode” can achieve up to a 12 hour battery life. This is made possible thanks to the fact that the U115 shuts down the SATA hard drive in favor of the built-in SSD (which also houses the operating system). The U115 is the first netbook to feature simultaneous use of both an SSD as well as a HDD.

Now for the U120, MSI announced that the netbook not only supports 3.5G networks but is also “WiMAX Ready”. Now if only WiMAX was nearby..

[Check it out]

MSI exits 2008 by announcing a new netbook model – the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid. Why the hybrid nomenclature? The system utilizes both a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard disk drive (HDD) simultaneously. Want to maximize battery life? Switch on “ECO on Mode” which shuts down the internal hard disk drive in favor of the solid state drive which offers a reliable and power efficient storage system.

Interestingly enough, the U115 also features the Intel Poulsbo chipset which means you’ll get the Intel Atom Z530 processor as opposed to the more common N270 processor seen in the majority of netbook systems out there.

MSI claims the U115 can achieve “super long battery life” but offers no details as to how long exactly this is.

Another new feature of the U115 – increased distance between the keys – 17.5 mm to be exact.

You still get a 10 inch display with the common 1024 x 600 resolution. You also get an LED power saving backlight display which offers a brighter more power-efficient display.

Specs for the MSI U115 Hybrid include:

• Intel Atom Processor Z530 running at 1.6GHz
• Windows XP Home
• Intel Poulsbo US15W chipset
• 1GB (by module only) DDR2 533MHz. Chipset support to 2GB
• 10 inch 1024 x 600 LCD panel
• 120GB/160GB 2.5 inch SATA HDD
• 8/16GB SSD
• 4 in 1 memory card reader with support for xD/SD/MMC/Memory Stick
• 2 megapixel webcam
• D-Sub, 3 x USB 2.0 ports. microphone in, headphone, RJ45 port
• 3/6 cell battery
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• 2 Speakers
• Measures 260 x 180 x 19~31.5 mm
• Weighs ~1.0 kg

No word on pricing nor availability as of yet.

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Now this is classic. Psion Teklogix has begun sending “cease and desist” letters to several websites that use the term “netbook” in their site. In a letter displayed at jkOnTheRun.com (and shown above), the attorney representing Psion claims the company owns the netbook trademark in the U.S., E.U., Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In addition, the letter goes on to say:

“Psion places significant value on its trade mark registration and your use of the term ‘netbook’ could damage those registrations. We are therefore asking you to cease use of the term ‘netbook’.”

The cease and desist letter than closes by giving up to three months to remove all offending content – basically till the end of March 2009.

Now it’s no small secret that Psion had a “netbook” product back in the late 90’s but the company has since discontinued that product line – although according to jkOnTheRun, they still sell accessories including batteries for the netbook.

Since the “netbook” term was re-popularized by Intel, one wonders whether Psion Teklogix will send a cease and desist letter to the chip giant. After all – all of us bloggers and website owners are merely following Intel’s lead in using the term “netbook” (and the term “nettop”).  Oh yeah – Psion’s going to have to go after all the hardware manufacturers that have begun using the term “netbook” to describe their products. Ah yes.. there’s also the small thing with the “Netbook World Summit” which just took place earlier this month. I guess they have to change their name too now.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m all in favor of trademark protection. Terms need to be protected – especially if they’re being used to misrepresent a product or service, but one has to wonder to what length? Now I’m certainly not a lawyer by any means, but common sense should dictate a little reasoning here. After all, before 2007, if you asked anyone what a “netbook” was, would anyone actually say “oh it’s a product from Psion”? I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT. The Psion netbook died.. and let it stay dead. Come on Psion – do the right thing and let us poor website owners, bloggers, and writers use the term to describe a class of products. After all – even if you successful defend your trademark here – will anyone still realize the “netbook” term is for your product? Nope. Consumers will think “oh it’s a small cheap notebook from ASUS, Acer, MSI, Lenovo, Dell, …..”

[Check it out via Guardian UK]

It appears the Lenovo IdeaPad S9 netbook is finally hitting the U.S. shores – thanks to the folks over at CompGeeks (geeks.com). The S9 is essentially the younger brother of the IdeaPad S10 – featuring as you’ve probably guessed by now, a smaller display at 8.9 inches. However, there are other significant changes in the S9 when compared to the larger S10 netbook.

The netbook uses the same Intel Atom processor running at 1.6GHz. It comes with the same base of 512MB of RAM but instead of a large capacity notebook hard drive, the S9 favors a smaller 4GB SSD (SLC kind). The system also forgoes Windows XP for Linpus Linux Lite. Other features on the system include:

• Intel GMA 950 graphics
• 4 in 1 media card reader
• 10/100 Ethernet
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• 0.3 megapixel webcam
• 8.9 inch WSVGA display
• 80 key keyboard with two button touchpad
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Measures 0.9~1.1 x 9.8 x 7.2 inches and weighs 2.43 lbs

Thanks to Liliputing for catching the other interesting observation. The S9 is essentially the same form factor as the S10 except with a smaller display. Make sense – when you look at many 8.9 inch netbooks, they are essentially using a form factor that could easily house a 10 inch display – they just choose not to. Makes sense from an economic standpoint to have one common housing.

So now, the real question is – is the S9 worth it? Geeks.com has it for $344.99 – which is just a few dollars below the base price for the S10 which has a larger display and larger storage. If the form factors are the same, is it really worth it for you to opt for a smaller display? 

Oh yeah – Buy.com is also selling the S9 – except at $359.46. The funny thing is – it’s actually acting as a proxy to guess who? Geeks.com. You’re better off buying it directly from Geeks.com while you still can.

[Via jkOnTheRun, Liliputing]

Expect to see several new netbook models come out at the upcoming CES 2009 conference in Las Vegas (which we’ll be at to cover of course). Several companies are expected to introduce touch-enabled netbook systems – one of which is Intel Corporation with a tablet-styled Classmate PC system. The folks at LaptopMag managed to get some one on one time with the system (lucky them!) and yes – there are a lot of awesome pictures also. Here are some tidbits from the article:

• The system is being manufactured by CTL
• Top of the system is now a cool sky blue color
• Specs include 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 60GB HDD, 8.9 inch screen, and Windows XP
• Preloaded with touch-screen enabled software including “Vision Objects Pen Input” which performs handwriting recognition
• Touch-screen is responsive to both fingers and a stylus
• Built-in accelerometer

This certainly can be a great addition to kids around the world – but more importantly, this shows hardware manufacturers that touch-enabled netbooks can also be made generally available to all consumers.

[Check it out]