NetbookTech

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.

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Could this be a picture of Sony’s first ever netbook entry?

That’s the speculation circulating the Internet after the FCC revealed Sony’s latest VAIO notebook models – the PCG-1P1L and PCG-1P2L. Temporarily known as “notebook PCs”, the new systems measure a mere 9.5 x 4.5 inches – that’s significantly smaller than current 10 inch netbooks out there (as an example, the HP Mini 1000 measures 10.3 x 6.56 inches). In fact, the form factor suggests a system that looks more like an old-school HP Journada than anything else (assuming we’re talking about a clamshell design). 

Known features include Bluetooth, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and even EVDO/HSPA support via Qualcomm’s Gobi chipset. Oh yeah, we also know the units come with Windows thanks to the mention of the “Windows Logo”.

[Check it out via Boy Genius Report]

Those Apple netbook rumors just won’t die will they?

This time, analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, states that Apple will likely introduce a “scaled-down MacBook Air” in the next two years – possibly as early as 2009. The system would probably come with an 11 inch display and cost between $800 dollars and $1000 dollars – still above what most of us are used to paying for Windows-based netbook systems. (mind you, you can always buy a $400 dollar MSI Wind and run a hacked version of OS X on it).

Now of course, I wouldn’t label such a system a netbook but then again- there’s really no formal definition as to what a netbook is, is there?

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What’s this? A dual core mini-notebook/netbook system? Yes.. that’s right but it’s not what you might think. Instead of waiting for Intel to release a mobile dual core Atom processor, the new Raon Digital Everun Note utilizes a dual core AMD Turion 64 X2 processor. Not only do you get a dual core AMD Turion processor, you get ATI graphics via the ATI RS690E chipset, a 7 inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity, Realtek HD audio, and 2-3 hours of battery life – all in a package that weighs around 1.5 pounds!

There are three configurations currently available. Two of them feature the AMD Turion 64X2 processor and the third one utilizes the AMD Sempron 3600/1.2 GHz processor. You can see the complete chart here:

Sounds really appealing right? WELL… the dual core Turions come at a price. According to CNET’s Crave, the Turion X2 model with 1GB of RAM, 60GB HDD, and no OS costs $799. If you want Windows XP Home, tack on another $50 dollars. If you want to replace the HDD with a 24GB SSD and Windows XP Pro, be prepared to pay $999. The entry level system with the Sempron processor and a 16GB SSD will set you back $659. Yes.. power.. even a bit more power comes at a price.

[Check it out via CNET’s Crave]

Mouse Computer Japan enters the netbook market with their new LuvBook U100 netbook series which are essentially rebadged MSI Wind netbook systems. Four models are currently available – the U100, U100H, U100H-XP, and the U100H-VB.

All four systems feature the following common specifications:

• Intel Atom N270 processor
• 10.2 inch display
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• VGA port
• Webcam
• Wi-Fi Networking
• Office 2007

The U100 comes with 1GB of RAM, 80GB HDD, Windows XP Home Edition and sells for ¥54,800 ($553).

The U100H comes with 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Home Edition and sells for ¥59,800 ($603).

The U100H-XP comes with 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Home Edition and sells for ¥69,930 ($706).

The U100H-VB comes with 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows Vista Business and sells for ¥79,800 ($806 U.S. dollars).

[Check it out via Akihabara News]

If you thought ASUS was the leading netbook vendor out there, well think again. Acer announced shipments of their Aspire One netbook could reach 6 million units this year – surpassing ASUS’s estimated 5 million Eee PC netbooks for  2008. In addition, Acer shipped approximately 2.4 million units of the Aspire One during the third quarter alone. Compare that number to ASUS’s 1.6 to 1.8 million Eee PC units and you can see why Acer is edging past ASUS.

Looking ahead, Acer expects fourth quarter shipments to exceed the amount in the third quarter and the company is aiming to capture 50% of the netbook market (compared to ASUS’s planned 30% capture).

Acer’s president, Gianfranco Lanci,estimates that the overall netbook market for 2009 will be 30 to 35 million units.

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ASUS announced that they shipped around 1.7 million Eee PC units during the third quarter and expects to ship roughly 1.8 million units during the fourth quarter thereby hitting their end of year goals for 5 million units for their new product line. The company will attempt to grab 30% of the netbook market in 2009; aiming to ship 6 to 7.5 million units out of the estimated 20 to 25 million unit netbook market.

ASUS CEO, Jerry Shen, also expects to ship a $200 dollar netbook within the U.S. market in 2009. Other interesting tidbits from the ASUS third quarter earnings announcement:

• 70 % of total netbooks shipped come with HDD, while the remainder use SSDs
• Ratio of Windows XP systems to Linux systems are at 7:3 also
• 7 and 8.9 inch Eee PCs are being phased out in favor of 10 inch models
• Eee PC contributes 22 percent of ASUS’s revenues

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