Asus Eee PC 1005PR US pre-orders open

The Asus Eee PC 1005PR netbook that comes with a high-resolution (1366 x 768) display and Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator card is now available to pre-order in the US. Amazon.com has a black model listed for $399.99, although no release date is mentioned.

The 1005PR comes with a Broadcom BCM 70015 HD Decoder card that should mean 1080p playback on the netbook. Whilst one will be able to take advantage of this on the HD display, it would have been nice to see a HDMI output too. However, it will also benefit from YouTube HD playback thanks to Adobe Flash 10.1. Read more

Samsung NB30 Touch netbook a reality

Rumours surfaced a while back over a touchscreen enabled version of the rugged Samsung NB30 netbook. Well it looks like this model has seen its official launch in Italy. The Samsung NB30 Touch (NB30-JT01IT) is the same in all other respects compared to the original NB30 and costs €399.

The NB30 Touch only comes with Windows 7 Starter, so you won’t benefit from the full touch experience you get with W7HP. The type of touchscreen (resistive/capacitive) is also not mentioned, although I expect it’s the former. Other features remain including its rubberised chassis, hard-disk protection and an anti-spill keyboard. Click through for the specs. Read more

Dual-core Atom for netbooks to land in Q2 2010

Intel reported its strongest ever first quarter results yesterday, with net profit up by 288 percent to $2.4 billion. Much of this growth was attributed to high-end notebook processors, with Atom processors sliding the other way, declining by 19 percent to $335 million.

The numbers highlight that there has either been stockpiling of Atom processors in previous quarters or that netbook sales are on a downward trend. As Intel has raised its margin guidance for the year to 62-66 cents (from 58-64 cents), it clearly expects the lower-margin Atom CPU to not sell as strongly. Read more

Netbook stalwarts Acer and Asus give MeeGo support

MeeGo, the lovechild between Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo operating systems, is getting a lot of support from the industry. The Linux Foundation has released a list of all those showing public support for the new OS including a mix of hardware and software developers.

Included in the list are netbook heavyweights Acer and Asus and highlights that we may see dedicated MeeGo netbooks at some point in the future. Acer’s Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president and president of IT Products Global Operations said: “Acer was an enthusiastic adopter of Moblin and we’re excited about Moblin’s evolution into the MeeGo software platform. We’re looking forward to ecosystem innovation that will be enabled by the open nature of MeeGo.” Read more

Lenovo’s Ideapad U1 Hybrid “coming soon”

Lenovo’s much anticipated Ideapad U1 Hybrid device looks like it may be hitting retail shortly. The official Lenovo shop website is listing the U1 Hybrid as “coming soon” and is letting people register their interest. As a quick reminder, the U1 Hybrid is a mashup between 11.6-inch CULV notebook and Snapdragon tablet.

The U1 Hybrid comes with 4GB RAM (512MB in tablet mode) and can support a 128GB SSD (16GB is used for the tablet). Other features include two USB ports, eSATA, VGA, HDMI, 4-in-1 card reader, and a 1.3MP webcam. The operating system is catered for by Windows 7 when using as a laptop and Lenovo’s custom Linux OS in tablet mode. Read more

WePad 11.6-inch Android tablet hits Germany in July

Neofonie and 4titoo has officially announced the WePad tablet this afternoon. The WePad is an 11.6-inch tablet sporting a high-resolution (1366 x 768) display, 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, the Android operating system, HDMI out and is set to hit the streets in Germany in July.

The WePad will be available in two configurations. The first will come with 16GB flash storage for €449, whilst a more expensive (€569) version will come with 3G and 32GB of storage. Read more

Meizu Mbook: 1080p capable 8.4” tablet with 12-hour battery

Meizu has announced the first details of its Apple iPad clone called the Mbook. The 8.4-inch capacitive slate has a 1024 x 768 resolution display and is armed with a 1.5GHz processor. It is capable of 1080p video output and fittingly comes with a HDMI port.

The Mbook is thought to use Android as the OS and will have a battery runtime of 12 hours. Other features include Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS. Pricing remains a mystery for now, although we are not expecting to see the device hit shelves until 2011.

Via Electronista.

Sharp preps 3D 10-inch displays for netbooks and tablets

Whether you think it’s a fad or not, manufacturers are betting huge on 3D being the next big thing. After showing the world a glasses-less 3.4-inch 3D display at the beginning of the month, Sharp has announced a new 10-inch 3D display that can be used for netbooks, tablets and e-readers.

This new display also does not require the need for 3D glasses and will be available in both normal and touchscreen variants. No details on when these will hit the market or at what price point, but we’ll keep you posted with any further developments.

Via Akihabara News.

Fujitsu MH330 netbook hands-on impressions

The Fujitsu LifeBook MH330 netbook was announced at the beginning of the month. It is the company’s entry level netbook that sports basic specs (10”display, N450 Atom, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter) but comes in a 1-inch thick chassis weighing 1.1kg.

NetbookNews managed some hands-on time with the netbook that has a nice matte finish on the lid. It only comes with a 3-cell 2200mAh battery which is a downer, but it does have a large access panel to change your HDD, RAM and Wi-Fi. Check out the video after the break. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1201T AMD-powered netbook unboxed

The Asus Eee PC 1201T netbook comes with the 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics. It recently went on sale in the US (minus the OS) and Peter from Netbooked has one to unbox.

As you would expect the chassis is almost identical to all of the other Eee PC 1201 series and very similar to the UL20A. It comes with a single slot access panel to change the RAM, but you won’t find a HDMI port on this particular model. Check out his unboxing after the break. Read more

RIM prepping 8.9-inch Blackberry tablet?

Everyone else is jumping on the tablet bandwagon, why not RIM? That is what an industry research firm is claiming after sources in the component supply chain have said that Research in Motion has placed an order for an 8.9-inch tablet from Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) that will ship in late Q3 2010 or early Q4 2010.

The report doesn’t reveal anything else, but I’d be a bit surprised if it were true. RIM aren’t known for jumping into any old device category unless they felt it would enhance their portfolio. Also, RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis recently told Walt Mossberg that, “I don’t see the benefits of a tablet over a notebook… A lot of technology falls in the middle.” Read more

Alienware M11x refresh to see Nvidia Optimus tech this summer?

The Alienware M11x had an unfortunate launch timetable. Just as it was coming to the market we started to hear about Nvidia Optimus power-saving technology. Well it looks like Alienware won’t be sitting back for too long, judging by some discussion over at the NotebookReview forums.

Member Darkhan, who is believed to have inside links with the company, has said that Nvidia Optimus and an Intel CPU refresh will hit the M11x in June/July. Good news if true, however I’d be a bit annoyed if I had just bought one, especially given the short timeframe before new models will appear.

Via Engadget.

ExpressGate instant-on OS videoed against Windows 7

For those wondering just how quick Asus’ ExpressGate instant-on operating system is compared to traditional Windows, you’re in the right place. Sammy Production did a video benchmark comparing boot times side-by-side on two Asus Eee PC T101MT netbooks.

Asus ExpressGate is basically a rebranded version of Splashtop that took around 20 seconds to boot. For those wondering why it wasn’t faster, it is because there are two versions of Splashtop. The one normally found on notebooks and desktops uses 512MB of Flash memory and takes around 5 seconds to boot. The other uses the hard disk partition (as in the netbook) that means it’s slower. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Lenovo Skylight smartbook slips to July launch

One of the most exciting smartbooks announced thus far, the Lenovo Skylight, is seeing its launch pushed back by three months to July 2010. It is a shame as it’s one the most attractive models to be announced this year in our opinion.

The delay has been caused by the need for further tweaking. Here’s what Lenovo sources told LaptopMag: “With any new product that we introduce, we owe it to our customers to get it right and we would rather take the little extra time that sometimes takes to finalize a product.”

Lenovo confirmed that its interesting tablet/ultrathin, the U1 Hybrid, is still on track. Despite the delay, the Skylight is still set to launch in China in May and will show up in other markets in June.

Update: Digitimes reports that the Skylight’s UI and browsing is not as smooth as the Apple iPad, hence why Lenovo has pushed back the release.

Smaller, budget iPad due in 2011?

Digitimes is reporting that Apple is planning to launch a new iPad in Q1 2011 that will sport a 5-7-inch display. It’s sources appear to be “upstream component” suppliers who suggest the price will be lower than $400. This is $100 cheaper than the current entry-level iPad.

It will differentiate itself from the larger model by concentrating its use as an e-reader rather that those that have “a high demand for text input”. Sounds interesting, although I’m not sure where this device fits into its portfolio, given that it doesn’t sound much bigger than an iPod Touch.

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