Gateway’s 11.6-inch LT3103u gets reviewed
June 28, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Gateway’s AMD Athlon-powered LT3103u netbook was officially launched earlier this week and it appears it has already hit retail. Scott Carmichael from Gadling spotted the 11.6-inch netbook in a BestBuy store and promptly took it home to give it a run through. The version sold included 2GB RAM and a 250GB HDD and cost a reasonable $399.
The Gateway LT3103u is powered by an AMD Athlon 1.2GHz L110 processor along with discrete graphics in the form of an ATI Radeon X1270 GPU. Carmichael found that the LT3103u had no problems in playing a 720p mkv file, although the 1080p didn’t fare too well, as expected. The 11.6-inch high-resolution (1366 x 768) LED backlit display is said to be crisp and bright. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g), 0.3MP webcam, 3-in-1 card reader and three USB ports. Read more
Packard Bell intros dot m/a netbook: rebranded Gateway LT3100
June 25, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Packard Bell has announced a new netbook for Europe called the dot m/a. This follows their 11.6-inch dot m and 10.1-inch dot s netbooks. I don’t find this model naming particularly intuitive and it’s not particularly grabbing or memorable. Anyway, the dot m/a is essentially the same as the Gateway LT3100 (LT3103u) that was announced for the US this week. Not a surprise since both companies are owned by Acer.
The 11.6-inch netbook has a high-definition resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It comes with 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD, although this can be upgraded to 2GB and 320GB respectively. It is powered by an AMD Athlon 64 L110 processor and comes with the ATI Radeon X1270 graphics chipset. Other specs include Wi-Fi, 5-in-1 card reader, multi-touch touchpad, webcam and optional Bluetooth and 3G.
The dot m/a comes with a 3-cell battery that should last for around 4 hours. The whole thing weighs a reasonable 1.25kg. You won’t find XP on this model, instead there will be options for Vista Basic or Home Premium. The dot m/a will be available in two colours (black and red) from July with pricing starting at £350.
Via Pocket Lint.
Gateway unveils AMD-powered 11.6-inch LT3103u netbook
June 23, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Acer owned, Gateway, has launched an 11.6-inch netbook of its own that may rival Acer’s Aspire One 751. However, the Gateway LT3103u is a very different beast compared to the Aspire One 751. For one, rather than packing in an Intel Atom processor, the LT3103u goes for an AMD CPU (somewhat rare in the netbook space). You’ll also find discrete graphics in the form of the ATI Radeon X1270.
The LED-backlit 11.6-inch screen comes with a high resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It’s a very slimline model measuring just 1.03-inches in thickness and weighing 1.4kg (3.04lbs). It has a full-sized keyboard and multi-touch touchpad. It is powered by a 1.2GHz Athlon 64 L110 processor and the X1270 graphics comes with 256MB of dedicated memory.
Other features include up to 2GB RAM and 250GB HDD, card reader, 0.3MP webcam three USB ports and a 6-cell battery. You won’t find Windows XP on this device, only Vista Basic. It will be available in two colours (NightSky Black and Cherry Red) when it launches shortly for $399.99.
Via Engadget.
Acer, HP and Lenovo planning 12-inch multi-touch mini-notebooks?
June 19, 2009 at 10:53 am
There is no doubt that a number of manufacturers are planning to release touchscreen netbooks/notebooks in the fourth quarter, coinciding with the Windows 7 launch. From previous reports, we have heard that a number of panel manufacturers will ramp up production in the second-half of the year.
We are now hearing that Cando, which is a subsidiary of AU Optronics, has landed an order to supply 12.1-inch capacitive multi-touch panels to Acer, HP and Lenovo. According to Digitimes, these panels will start to ship in August, which could mean a year-end launch date for some of these models, although a H1 2010 release is more likely. Cando is the first touch panel manufacturer to receive certification or Windows 7 compatibility.
In related news, EETI (Egalax_empia Technology) is pushing for Windows 7 certification for 10.1-inch and 11.6-inch touch-panels. It is currently sampling touch panels based on analogue matrix resistive (AMR) and projective capacitive technology. The focus for Windows 7 netbooks and mini-notebooks will be on display sizes between 10 to 12-inch screens. It sees Windows 7 certification as a big driver to gain orders.
Acer Aspire One 531 with 3G-module hits US
June 16, 2009 at 9:15 pm
The Acer Aspire One 531 was recently released in the UK and now it looks like Acer’s 10-inch slimline netbook has launched in the US. This follows the recent launch of the 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 netbook that is now available online as well as the Aspire One D250.
The Aspire One 531 (AO531h-1766) is in fact a carbon copy of the D250 albeit with a slimmer chassis. The Aspire One 531 Pro (AOP531h-1791) is the business version that comes with a range of operating systems and storage options (including SSD). A 3G enabled SKU (AO531h-1440) is also being sold at Costco stores in the US. If buying it on a subsidised contract, it will set you back $60 a month on a two-year AT&T contract.
Via Portable Monkey.
Acer Aspire One 751 pre-orders open at Amazon.com
June 15, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Acer’s 11.6-inch netbook, the Aspire One 751 has now seen pre-orders open at Amazon
The Aspire One 751 has an 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display powered by a 1.33GHz Z520 Atom CPU and GMA500 graphics. You’ll also find 2GB RAM, a 250GB HDD, Wi-Fi (b/g/) and Bluetooth 2.0.
Amazon seems to only have the Windows Vista Home Basic available, but has a wide number of colours including Blue, Black, White and Red. The 3-cell model will set you back $399.99
Via Portable Monkey.
Video: Acer Aspire One Pro 531 hands-on
June 11, 2009 at 5:43 pm
The Acer Aspire One Pro 531 recently officially hit the UK market. The ‘Pro’ in the name denotes that this is targeted to business users. In terms of specifications this is almost exactly the same as the Aspire One 531. The only thing that differs with the Pro versions is that there is a wider choice of operating systems and storage options (including SSDs).
JKKMobile managed to get hands-on with the Pro 531 at Computex last week. It seems like a very attractive netbook, slimline with an understated design. It has a matte textured lid and good build quality. What I can’t understand, is that if this is targeted to business users, why does it have a glossy display? That certainly wouldn’t be welcome be me if I was on the road all the time. Apart from that, it has good upgradability with access to the 2.5-inch hard drive, RAM and optional 3G module. Check out the video after the break. Read more
Acer’s 11.6” Aspire One A0751h hitting US by end of June
June 10, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Despite reports to the contrary, Acer has confirmed that its 11.6-inch Aspire One AO751h netbook will be hitting US shores. We reported yesterday that Acer may be phasing out this model following poor sales and the introduction of a new 11.6-inch CULV-based Timeline model next month.
However, according to Laptop Mag, the A0751h will be hitting US retail by the end of this month. The model is available now at WalMart (though it is not listed on Walmart.com). It will also be sold at Amazon, Target.com, Shopko and Office Max starting on June 14, RadioShack on June 15, J&R and PC Richard on June 21 and Staples on June 28. Read more
Video: Jolicloud demoed on touchscreen netbook
June 10, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Jolicloud is already looking like an accomplished netbook OS, even in this early Alpha stage. The OS has been built with the netbook in mind from the ground up, taking note of the smaller screen sizes and also utilising cloud computing. Netbook Italia has also shown how well the OS works via a touchscreen, just in time for a wave of touchscreen netbooks expected to arrive in the second half of the year.
They do this on an 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One A150 netbook that has been modded with a touchscreen display. The video below shows this in action on the alpha ‘Robby’ release and you can see them using both finger and pen stylus input. TechCrunch also has a hands-on review of Jolicloud that is worth checking out. Read more
Acer plans 11.6” CULV model to replace Aspire One 751 netbook
June 9, 2009 at 11:58 am
Acer is planning to launch an 11.6-inch ultra-thin model, which is based on Intel’s CULV platform, in July according to Digitimes. The new model will fit in Acer’s Timeline series of ultra-thin notebooks and will be manufactured by Quanta.
We recently heard that Acer is looking to rein back shipments of its 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 (AO751h) netbook, following disappointing sales. The report goes on to say that Acer will either look to phase out the 751 or drop its price when the new 11.6-inch ultra-thin launches to clearly define the difference between both 11.6-inch offerings.
Specifications for this new 11.6-inch ultra-thin are unknown right now, although it looks like Acer has realised that one of the shortcomings of the Aspire One 751 was its 1.33GHz Z520 Atom CPU. The Timeline series of notebooks is based on Intel’s Celeron CULV platform and there is no reason why this new model wouldn’t support the same processor. At least with this platform, Acer would make the most out of its 1366 x 768 display by enabling smooth HD 720p content.
Acer to launch its third-generation netbook by Q3 2010
June 8, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Acer is currently working on its third-generation of netbooks, which will be released by the third quarter 2010 according to Digitimes. The interesting part of the report is that Campbell Kan, VP of Acer’s mobile computing business unit, says that these netbooks will feature “strong network connectivity and convenience” citing MIDs and smartbooks as an influence.
Smartbooks may start to steal the upper hand from netbooks given their ‘always connected’ status and long battery lives. Acer recognises this and it is possible that we may see this third-gen using an ARM-based processor.
The product roadmap and time line has me slightly confused. Our last related story, talked of a third-generation of Acer netbooks (featuring a touchscreen panel) would launch by the end of the year, with a fourth generation due in 2010. Hopefully, there will be a bit more clarity on this in due course.
Moblin gets Linux distro backing & Android app support
June 5, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Moblin, the Intel-backed Linux operating system tailored for netbooks, has been growing in momentum over this past week at Computex Taipei. It has been pushing Moblin V2.0 along with the Linux Foundation, who took control of the project in April.
A number of operating system vendors (OSVs) have already committed to Moblin. This includes Linpus, who will offer its Moblin V2 Linpus Linux Lite in two versions, one with a Linpus UI and one with Intel’s UI. Canonical will release an “Ubuntu Moblin Remix”, whilst Novell demoed its SUSE edition of Moblin Version 2 on Acer and MSI hardware at Computex. Xandros also demonstrated its “Xandros Moblin 2 solution” on an Asus Eee PC in at Computex. Read more
Acer Android netbook to dual-boot with Windows
June 5, 2009 at 11:21 am
Acer is looking to play it safe with its planned Android netbook, due for release in the third quarter this year. The netbook will ship as a dual-boot system with both Android and Windows according to Acer Chairman, JT Wang.
Acer is looking to go down this route given that there are still questions marks about the Android platform on a netbook type device. From our point of view, it’s a bit worrying that we haven’t seen a proper netbook customised version of Android. The only demos shown up until now are ports of the smartphone version (typically v1.5). Read more
Video: Acer demos Android on Aspire One D250 netbook
June 4, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Acer has already confirmed that we will be seeing the Android operating system appear on an Aspire One netbook next quarter. To show how serious it is, the company showed off an Aspire One D250 netbook running Google Android at Computex.
The version of Android shown off appears to be the Cupcake version (v1.5), with no modifications for the 10-inch screen. Interestingly, a full version of Firefox running on Android was also shown. It is unlikely that previous versions of the Aspire One netbook will get Android OS options, I imagine that we’ll see a completely new model sporting Android.
The two videos below demonstrate that the start-up and boot down times are very quick. Overall it takes just eighteen seconds to start up and just one second to boot down. Read more
Acer cutting orders on 11.6” Aspire One 751 due to poor sales
June 3, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Acer is reportedly reducing volumes of its 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 netbook due to disappointing sales. Industry sources say that sales of the 11.6-inch netbook have not met expectations, with consumers picking 10-inch models instead, that offer better mobility.
Quanta Computer who manufactures the netbook is said to be winding down volumes. This seems like a strange move, especially since the 751 (or AO751h as it is known in the US) has not yet made it to US shores. Pre-orders only recently went up from our quick look around. Demand may start to pick up as the price inevitably declines.
The Aspire One 751 has mainly been criticised for poor hardware performance (mainly down to the Z520 Atom processor), despite offering an attractive and slim chassis with high-resolution display.
Recent Comments