Asus Eee PC 1005HA manual uncovered

News on Asus’ next netbook in its Seashell line, the Eee PC 1005HA, is coming through thick and fast. Only yesterday, we had the full official product page up and now the manual is available for public consumption. You can have a look at the schematics along with exactly what ports you’ll find on the netbook.

The manual is headlined Eee PC 1005HA / 1005HAB. We first heard of the 1005HAB when rumours of this device first circulated. However, up until now we don’t have any confirmation as to how the 1005HAB will differ from the 1005HA. We already know of the 1005HA-H and 1005HA-M models that were detailed by Asus France last week. Read more

Analyst: Apple tablet to cost $500 – $700, launch in H1 2010

There have been many rumours regarding what a rumoured Apple netbook / tablet / Media Pad will look like. Now an analyst at Piper Jaffray’s has thrown his views into the mix. According to Gene Munster, Apple’s tablet device will fill the gap between the iPod touch and the MacBook. It will cost between $500 and $700, run App Store apps and arrive in the first half of 2010.

“We are anticipating a new category of Apple products, with an operating system more robust than the iPhone’s but optimized for multi-touch. We expect the end result to be launched later but with more dramatic differentiation than the Street is expecting,” Munster said. Read more

Big blow to ION, Intel certifies HD Broadcom chip for Pine Trail platform

Intel’s Pine Trail platform only has two chips compared to the three found in current Atom-based netbooks. The move means that the platform should be cheaper, have better performance and lead to great battery lives. However, by moving the GPU and memory controller onto the Pineview processor means that the graphics side may suffer.

Intel has realised this and has therefore certified a HD decoding chip from third-party Broadcom. This is likely to be a big blow to Nvidia, whose ION platform is compatible with Pineview. Intel will offer the Broadcom BCM70015 GPU as an option to its partners when the Pine Trail platform launches in Q4 2010. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell unboxing video

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell has already received a number of reviews from publications around the web, however up until now we’ve not had the ritual unboxing video. Notebook Italia comes to the rescue with a well made video. Don’t worry about knowing Italian as the video is set to the backdrop of some funky music.

The 10-inch (1024 x 600) Seashell is set to become a best-seller for Asus with its 1-inch thickness and 1.1kg weight. The specs aren’t too shabby either, with a 1.66GHz N280 CPU, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD and wireless draft-N. Asus claims that its in-built battery should last for around 6 hours.

They unbox a black 1008HA Seashell as well as highlighting the accessories in the box. The Seashell itself looks very slimline indeed although you can tell the glossy surface will be a fingerprint magnet. They also have a number of high-res photos on their site if you need a closer look. When watching the video, which is attached after the break, do press the ‘HD’ button for even more clarity. Read more

Video: Windows 7 demonstrated on Samsung N120 netbook

Now that the Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for public consumption, there is no excuse not to give it a try to see how it stacks against your current netbook OS. The guys over at NetbookScoop did exactly that by installing Windows 7 RC onto the Samsung N120 netbook. They do a good job of going through a number of Windows 7 features and it all seems to run smoothly on the N120.

They also compared the start-up times of the Samsung N120 against an Asus Eee PC 1000HE running Windows XP. You’ll be pleased to hear that the N120 boots up just marginally behind the 1000HE, taking around 30 seconds. Apart from that, he gives a tour of the new OS including IE8, Windows Media Player and iTunes, there’s also an example of speaker quality (although the compressed video hardly does it justice).

He said that overall installation was very smooth and that he didn’t need any additional drivers. Looking at the video, it does seem that the Windows 7 performance is reasonable snappy, although I’m not sure whether he was using 1GB or 2GB of RAM. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1000H & 1000HE will NOT be phased out in UK

Last week, Asus UK said that it will re-focus on just three Eee PC netbooks by July. At the time, it was said that the best-selling Eee PC 1000HE would be making way for the new netbooks (1008HA, 1005HA and an unknown model). I found this a little surprising given how popular it is, not withstanding the fact that it is one of the best value money netbooks around. Then yesterday we heard confirmation that Asus France will be discontinuing the 1000HE.

However, potential UK buyers fear not, Asus marketing chief, John Swatton, has confirmed it will not be phased out after all. “The 1000H and 1000HE are currently our most popular Eee PC models and therefore the focus. There are no plans to discontinue these products at the moment because they are so popular. At present, the 1000H and 1000HE offer the best combination of functionality and performance for the price,” he told Reg Hardware. Read more

Nokia’s next-gen tablet OS pictured; coming to netbooks?

Nokia has made a number of noises about entering the netbook segment at some point in the future. There have not been many rumours surrounding what this netbook may look like; all we’ve had are a few rumours on possible ODM partners used to manufacture the product. One of the key questions though, is which OS will Nokia decide to use?

Symbian may be a strong possibility, given Nokia’s association with the platform. However, another possibility could be a version of its upcoming tablet OS, especially since touchscreen netbooks are expected to become more prevalent as the year progresses. Read more

NbC: CoverBee Netbook Sleeve Impressions

CoverBee, who specialise in creating luxurious laptop/netbooks sleeves, kindly sent us a sample recently to see what we thought. The company is based in Holland and ship their sleeves worldwide. Impressively, it only took four days to reach the UK. Currently they only offer sleeves in two sizes, 15.4” for laptops and as well as 9-inch sleeves for netbooks. Given the popularity of 10-inch netbooks though, I asked the company about plans to cater for this segment and they said it will depend on the demand.

If you have a gander on their website at their collection, you can tell that these aren’t your typical sleeves. They have some trendy designs made from high–quality materials, but they don’t cost the Earth either, at €19.99 with free worldwide shipping. Read more

Extended impressions of LG X120 netbook

A couple of weeks back, Engadget went hands-on with the LG X120 netbook and provided some initial impressions. They now have their ‘review’ up, but I’ve labelled the post ‘extended impressions’ as there are a number of crucial points missing from their write-up including battery life, audio performance etc.

Whilst they felt that it didn’t really distinguish itself in any way, they didn’t have anything significantly negative to say about it either. They were fond of its looks, given its matte white finish and green accents. This finish doesn’t extend under the lid, with a glossy finish gracing the palm rest and screen bezel. They also found it to be quite sturdy, although its proportions were slightly out of shape given the 6-cell battery. Read more

Video: Dell Mini 10v shown running Android Cupcake OS

Dell has demonstrated a number of different operating systems that can run on the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook. Three were shown: the first was standard Ubuntu, the second being Ubuntu Netbook Remix and the last (and most interesting) running Android v1.5 (Cupcake).

Doug Anzon, who is one of Dell’s software gurus, was quick to point out that there are no current announcement plans for Android. However, the speculation that Dell may be producing an Android netbook will only increase following this demonstration. Especially since his role is to investigate “future technology options” in Dells products. Check out the video after the break. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell product page live, full specs revealed

The Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell netbook was officially announced last week by Acer France. The netbook now has its official product page listed on the Asus Global site including full technical specifications and official press shots.

Whilst the product page doesn’t explicitly mention two different 1005HA SKUs, as mentioned by last week’s announcement (1005HA-H and 1005HA-M), the specs do suggest that this will be the case. There is an option for N270/N280 Atom CPUs, a 1.3MP or 0.3MP webcam and two different 6-cell battery options. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell Promo Video

Asus has released a promotional video for the newly released Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook. Set to a funky music back drop, you won’t learn too much more than you probably already knew. However, it sets out the 1008HA Seashell in various angles and clearly tells you some if its key features. We are very much looking forward to getting hands-on ourselves at some point soon. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Dell Latitude 2100 netbook options get priced up

Dell yesterday announced the 10-inch Latitude 2100 netbook targeted for schools. It seems that Dell has thought of everything to make it is kid-proof as possible. This includes a network activity light on the lid, rubberised case, a fanless bottom to avoid spills as well as some optional extras such as an anti-microbial keyboard, carrying handle and shoulder strap.

Dell now has the Latitude 2100 up on its site along with a multitude of options all price up. The netbook in its $369 base configuration is already not cheap, but a premium can be justified due to the design considerations undertaken. However, this amount can quickly start to add up once you improve the specs. Read more

Windows 7 netbook installation guide

Now that Windows 7 RC is out in the wild, there is no reason not to give it a test drive, especially if you are just curious to see how it compares to XP. The RC is actually a version of Windows 7 Ultimate and the license will last uninterrupted until March 2010, at which point you’ll start to get bi-hourly shutdowns.

For those that are contemplating a Windows 7 installation but aren’t too confident on the steps involved, then Gizmodo have come up with a handy guide, particularly tailored for netbooks. This will be particularly useful for those who don’t have USB DVD drives or enough storage space to warrant the installation. It goes through a step-by-step process starting from actually downloading the Release Candidate as well as preparing the flash drive. Head over to Gizmodo for the full guide.

MSI Wind U200 netbook video hands-on

Yesterday, we showed you some pictures of the 12-inch MSI Wind U200 from NewGadgets.de who had recently managed to get hold of a pre-production sample. Now, Johannes from NewGadgets.de has put up a hands-on video of the Wind U200 where he gives us a tour of MSI’s new netbook.

It is one of the first netbooks to use an Intel CULV processor, in particular the 1.2GHz Intel Celeron M Processor ULV 723. This will be paired with the Intel GS45 chipset and Intel GMA 4500M graphics. It will be very interesting to see how this new chipset will compare to the Atom platform.

There is a large keyboard on the U200 and thankfully there is no flex, even when pressing hard. The touchpad also looks nice and big with two mouse buttons directly below. MSI could be planning a 3G option for the U200 as when removing the battery, a sim card slot can be found. It wasn’t a dummy either as a sim card could actually be placed inside. Apart from that, he walks through the ports, which includes a HDMI-out and a mysterious rubber plug. Check out the video after the break.

Update: We have also included a HD test video below. It’s good to see that YouTube HD video plays smoothly (something you don’t get with Intel Atom netbooks). A 1080p H.264 also appeared to be fine, just dropping a few frames, but perfectly watchable. Read more

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