ODM Compal developing Android netbooks

Taiwanese Original Design Manufacturer (ODM), Compal Communications, is developing netbooks based on the Android operating system reports Digitimes. The report highlights that Compal is currently in negotiations to cooperate with several netbook vendors on the Android netbook. Compal were tipped to take over manufacturing of the Acer Aspire One and are believed to be the ODM for the Dell range of Inspiron Mini netbooks.

Google recently set up an Android team in Taiwan to tailor its smartphone based operating system to netbooks. Details on the netbook are thin, however the use of an ARM-based CPU is a strong possibility. This could be via a basic ARM CPU or a HD-capable Qualcomm Snapdragon device complete with 1080p support and high-speed WWAN connectivity.

T-Mobile planning 7-inch Android Tablet

T-Mobile is planning to release a number of communication devices running on the Android operating system according to documents obtained by the New York Times. This includes a home phone early next year and a tablet computer thereafter. Details at this stage are sketchy, however we know that this tablet (without keyboard) will have a 7-inch touch screen and handle basic computing jobs such as mail, managing data across a variety of devices in the home or checking the weather.

“A T-Mobile spokesman, Peter Dobrow, declined to discuss the specifics of any future products but confirmed that T-Mobile had plans for several devices based on Android.”

It’s not specified which companies would make either device, though the home phone would have a dock and a second charge-plus-sync peripheral. T-Mobile isn’t the first operator to offer such a device. In the UK O2 recently launched the Joggler with similar aims, while in France Orange offers the “Tabby” tablet PC.

Rumour: Nokia seals plans to enter netbook race

Nokia has firmed plans to enter the netbook segment according to close sources within the company. These sources claim that production of its new netbook line-up will be handled by one of Nokia’s existing ODM partners, Foxconn. It is looking to tie-up with Foxconn to enter the netbook race more quickly and cheaply than if it had gone it alone according to The Street.

Back in February it was already hinting that a move into the netbook arena was already high on the agenda. Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was asked if the company was planning to extend its consumer scope beyond mobile phones to netbooks and replied: “Of course, we are looking very actively at this opportunity. We don’t have to look even for five years from now to see that what we know as a mobile phone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging. Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first Internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication”. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1004DN Manual reveals new info

Asus is set to launch its first netbook with optical drive, the Eee PC 1004DN, over the next month. Initial comments from Asus’ PR people in the UK and US suggest that the unit is unlikely to make it to western shores unfortunately. Despite this, the 1004DN remains an interesting netbook even if only to serve a sign of things to come. The manual for the 1004DN recently appeared online and browsing through it revealed some new information about the optical-drive netbook. Read more

Video: Acer Aspire One D250 unboxing

GeekyLives managed to get hands on with an Acer Aspire One D250 netbook, despite the model only being quietly announced by Acer last week. The unboxing shows how easy it is to upgrade the internals (HDD, RAM) as well as adding a mini-pci card. Overall first impressions were that it is a sleek and attractive netbook. Acer also announced the Aspire One 531 last week which has very similar specs to the D250 albeit in an even slimmer form-factor.

The Aspire One D250 netbook comes with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) LED backlit display in a slimline form-factor that is just 1-inch thick and weighing 1.27kg (2.79lbs) with the 6-cell battery. The unit that GeekyLives played with came with a 1.66GHz N280 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard-disk drive.

As can be seen from the video, the 6-cell 4400 mAh battery does stick out a little from the back although doesn’t make the unit significantly thicker as seen with other batteries. Given that the 3-cell 2200 mAh battery is only rated for 3.15 hours, compared to the 6 hours of life from the 6-cell, it is a compromise worth making in our view. The Aspire One D250 can currently be ordered from CCL Online for £335. Check out the video (in Norwegian) after the break. Read more

Official: High-res HP Mini 2140 Netbook now available

We can now confirm that there is an option on the HP site for the high resolution (1366 x 768) display for the HP Mini 2140. Two dates were bandied around for when we might expect the high resolution option for the HP Mini 2140. The original date of April 6 has turned out to be correct after a no-show on April Fools. As the rumour suggested the upgrade fee is only $25 which is great value and cheaper than the $35 that Dell is charging for upgrading its Dell Mini 10 to a similar resolution display.

The estimated ship date is 22 April so you may be waiting a few weeks, but for such little outlay, is definitely worth it. I have reservations about the text maybe being too small to read on a 10-inch display, but in saying that, I have been able to read the screen on a Vaio P without too many problems. We would love to know what people’s thoughts are when they start to receive these.

Windows netbook market share continues to grow

Nearly exactly a month ago, we reported how the Windows operating system dominated netbooks sold in the US. Approximately 90 percent of netbooks sold during November to January ran Windows XP and the remainder Linux. It appears that Windows extended this dominance in February, with 96 percent of netbooks running Windows during February 2009 according to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data. Read more

Dell Mini 10 upgrades dated, Dell Mini 11 on the horizon?

Dell’s netbook roadmap appears to have been leaked by a tipster to NetbookNews.de. A full range of presentation slides have been leaked for Dell’s 2009-2010 mini-notebook/netbook roadmap. The roadmap highlights when we can expect to see some of potential upgrades for the Mini 10 as well as hints for a new model dubbed the Dell Mini 11 with an 11.6-inch display.

When the Dell Mini 10 was first announced a number of options were promised for the 10-inch netbook. We have already seen a higher-resolution (1366 x 766) display appear for it and judging from the roadmap a number of other options will appear on April 17th. This includes a 250GB hard-drive, a TV Tuner, a 6-cell battery, Ubuntu Linux and, potentially, even a 1.86GHz Atom CPU. On May 20th a model with 2GB RAM is also planned. It is difficult to know how set in stone this is as one of the slides says: “Do we need the 1.86GHz processor option? Performance increase is minimal but cost increase is high – approx $75”. This clearly highlights that maybe this is still work in progress.

The slides also point to a new Mini 10 with 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, Ubuntu and XP options and 120/160GB HDD or 8/16GB SSD options. The Dell Mini 11 with an 11.6-inch high resolution display is muted for a Q2/Q3 release. An updated Mini 10 with Intel’s new Pine Trail processor is also expected in Q3/Q4. The slides are not the easiest to follow and we also do not know when they are from and if anything has changed in the meantime. Check out the slides after the jump. Read more

Video: Wistron Pursebook netbook

Yesterday, we reported that the Wistron Pbook had made an appearance at CTIA. Today, Engadget was given a demo of the Pursebook (I’m assuming it is the same device as the PBook) from which we have learnt some new details.

The Pursebook is powered by a 1GHz-equivalent Snapdragon CPU and comes with integrated graphics. The chipset includes integrated 3G and GPS which means an always-on environment and longer-lasting battery. They are looking to create a Smartphone-like experience with the Pursebook, it is very light coming in at 800g. Despite the size, battery life is rated at around 8 hours.

The unit was being tested with a Linux framework from Thundersoft, another prototype unit is also using Xandros (which is found on some Asus Eee PC models). Windows CE is also an option but it sounded like this hasn’t been tested with the prototype so far. The keyboard was full size and they opted for a larger screen mainly due to the multimedia functionality. The price point is estimated to be somewhere between $299 and $499 on release in Q3 2009. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Archos 10 Netbook Unboxing Photos

The Archos 10 is, unsurprisingly, a 10-inch (1024 x 600) netbook. It is the first netbook from Archos who traditionally make PMP products. The Archos 10 is actually a rebranded a Hasee MJ125 netbook. NetbookNews.de got hands on and posted a very thorough unboxing of the netbook (spanning three pages!) As well as going through every perceivable angle of the Archos 10 they also compare it to the Asus Eee PC 1000HE and Dell Mini 10.

In our view the styling is slightly uninspired and the specs are similarly ’standard’. The unit is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU and 1GB RAM. It also supports a 160GB hard disk, a 1.3MP webcam and integrated Wi-Fi.

The Archos 10 suggested retail price in the UK is £349, which is not good value for money in our opinion. It comes with a rather weak 2200 mAh 3-cell battery and given the Asus 1000HE can be had for a similar price, it is hard to understand who would choose the Archos over the Asus.

Asus Eee PC T91 net tablet passes FCC

Asus upcoming 8.9-inch convertible tablet netbook, the Eee PC T91, has passed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). From the official e-filing page there doesn’t seem to be too much information there with just two photos from the documents that I could see. There also seems to be no manual attached either. There is no confirmation as to when this will appear in the US or for what price. According to UK Asus PR, the T91 is expected to appear in the UK in late May/early June for approximately £500.

The Asus T91 features an 8.9-inch (1024 x 600) LED backlit display, 1.33GHz Z520 CPU and 1GB RAM. As well as Windows XP, it will also come with Asus’ Easy Mode software to be used in tablet mode.

Via Netbook 3G.

LG planning convertible tablet netbook?

Whilst the netbook form-factor has been a phenomenal success since its launch in 2007, we have not seen too many netbook convertible tablets (or net tablets if you prefer). From Asus, we are looking forward to the T91 and T101 and Gigabyte will soon be launching its TouchNote T1028. However, apart from that there doesn’t seem to be any forthcoming net tablets. However, with the advent of multi-touch panels in the second half of the year as well as the launch of Windows 7, the net tablet is really set to take off in 2010 in our opinion. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1000HA refresh sees new chiclet keyboard

A refresh of the 10-inch Asus Eee PC 1000HA is now shipping that comes with a chiclet keyboard as seen in the recently launched Eee PCs such as the 1000HE. Portable Monkey scoured US-tailers to find out that this new 1000HA is only available in black so far. It already appears to be listed in a number of e-tailers including Amazon and ZipZoomFly.

We have heard that Asus only plans to feature chiclet keyboards in future Eee PCs and also looks to be phasing the older style keyboards across their 10-inch Eee range. No word, so far, on whether we will see this 1000HA refresh outside of the US.

Photo comparison: Dell Mini 9 vs. Dell Mini 10

For those of you trying to decide between the 8.9-inch Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook against the 10.1-inch Dell Mini 10, NetbookNews.de have an extensive photo gallery comparison comparing the two netbooks.

Judging by the photos it appears that the lids of both netbooks are prone to fingerprints. Both also use identical power supplies. For those of you siding with the Mini 10, it is worth noting that a high resolution (1366 x 768) display option is now available for an extra $35.

Samsung NC20 netbook hits US retail

We knew that the Samsung NC20 US launch had been delayed to early April, lo and behold it has now arrived. Remember the Samsung NC20 is launching exclusively through Newegg in the US for $549.99.

The US version comes with a 5900 mAh capacity battery compared to overseas models which have a 5200 mAh rated battery. The Samsung NC20 is the first netbook to support the VIA Nano CPU and comes with 1GB RAM. The black Samsung NC20 (NC20-21GBK) on Newegg’s listing features a VIA Nano (1.3Ghz) CPU, Via Chrome9 Graphics, a 12.1-inch (1280 x 800) screen, 160GB hard-disk and 6-cell battery.

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