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.

HTC dual-screen concept surfaces

HTC may be working on a device that looks similar to Microsoft’s rumoured Courier. The dual-touchscreen clamshell device will open and close like a book, according to a report from Chinese site Zol. When the screens are fully opened, the UI merges to form one screen much like current tablet PCs.

When using a single screen, the other acts as a virtual QWERTY keyboard. Whilst this is clearly a concept, I’m sure it won’t be too long before we see this kind of gadget make an appearance. We had already seen similar dual-screen devices at CES earlier in the year. However, it’s Microsoft’s Courier device that everyone really seems to be waiting for.

Via Gadgetmix.

Samsung launches Corby branded mice and netbook pouches

Samsung is following up its Corby-branded N150 netbooks by providing a number of matching accessories. It has announced Pink, Black, White and Yellow coloured netbook pouches and a Corby mouse that is manufactured by Belkin.

The polyurethane laptop pouch is available in two sizes (10.1 and 11.6-inches) so I imagine even if you haven’t got a Corby coloured netbook / ultra-thin you could always use the pouch with your existing netbook as some kind of fashion statement. It looks like it will be exclusive to Korea for now though.

Via Akihabara News.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3s brings slimmer chassis and HD screen

Lenovo has announced a new model to its netbook range. The Ideapad S10-3s sports a thinner chassis (0.6 inches instead of 1.4), optional high-resolution display (1280 x 720) along with the InstantON browser.

The rest of the specs remain the same and includes either the 1.66GHz N450 or 1.83GHz N470 Atom processor, 2GB RAM and a hard drive ranging from 160GB to 320GB. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth and a 1.3MP webcam. The S10-3s will be available in a matter of weeks for $379. It will come in black, white, and a “spring flowers” design.

Via Engadget.

Netbooks and tablets to see strongest growth in 2010

Netbooks and tablet devices will see the fastest growth in the total portable PC market according to DisplaySearch. The total portable PC market will grow by 26 percent to 215 million units ($117 billion in revenue). They expect over 5m tablets will be sold by the end of the year, driven by sales of the Apple iPad. It also believes tablets will take market share away from netbooks and e–readers.

Revenue growth in the tablet category is expected from higher ASPs (average selling prices). The netbook category has seen ASPs lower from $400 to around $300, however with the Apple iPad expected to be the main player in the tablet segment ASPs are expected to benefit. The price of the iPad starts at $499 to +$800, which should lead to healthier margins to those products that can mimic “Apple’s content library, model of content delivery, and their very successful App Store.” Click through for unit and revenue tables. Read more

MSI Wind L1300, L1350 and L2300 netbooks introduced

Colour me confused. MSI only just launched the U130 and U135 netbooks, yet they have some new models up on the MSI US site that appear be largely the same. The MSI Wind L1300, L1350 netbooks are 10-inch models, whilst the L2300 is the 12-inch version, perhaps an update of the U230?

The L1300 has Windows XP and the L1350 has Windows 7. Apart from that, both models come with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) display and are powered by 1.66GHz N450 Atom processors. The Wind L2300 has a 12.1-inch (1366 x 768) display and a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor. If anybody can figure what new things these models bring to the table, we’d love to know!

Via Liliputing.

Onkyo MX1007A4 skinny netbook offers 14h runtime

Onkyo has announced a new Sotec netbook today with the model name MX1007A4 (catchy!) The netbooks headline talking points are a 14.4 hour battery and a slim chassis that measures 22mm at its thickest point and weighs 1.16kg.

The 10.1-inch netbook comes with a 1024 x 600 display and is powered by a 1.2GHz Z515 Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g), Bluetooth, a 1.3MP webcam, card reader and two USB ports. Despite the basis specs it will cost a pricey 59,800 Yen ($636, €475, £418) when it’s released in Japan on April 10.

Via Akihabara News.

Nokia prepping Booklet Touch Windows 7 Tablet?

Park this firmly in rumour territory for now, but another major manufacturer is looking to jump onto the tablet bandwagon. TheStreet.com is reporting that Ashok Kumar, analyst at Rodman Renshaw, has sources indicating that Nokia is working suppliers and design manufacturers on a touchscreen tablet.

“Right now the supply chain is being primed up for a fall release. It has to be on the shelf by September-October to meet demand for the holiday window,” says Kumar.

The news wouldn’t be a surprise given the publicity surrounding tablets at the moment. Unwired View suggests that a MeeGo tablet is unlikely this soon and Windows 7 is more probable if Nokia were to release a tablet this year.

ICD Gemini ups the stakes in tablet wars

ICD has revealed their latest tablet dubbed Gemini that is one of the most fully featured yet seen. It will be armed with the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset, Android OS and comes with an 11.2-inch (1366 x 768) mutlitouch panel (both resistive and capacitive supported).

Two cameras are included in the package (2MP on the front and 5MP autofocus on the back). Additionally, it has a 5-axis accelerometer, GPS, FM radio, 4GB of Flash storage and a 32GB-supporting SD card slot.

Other features include HDMI, micro USB, 3.5mm headphone socket, integrated 3G, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1. Pricing and availability remain a mystery for now. Check out some more pictures and a comparison chart after the cut. Read more

Viewsonic ViewBook VNB108 video unboxing

The Viewsonic ViewBook VNB108 is the company’s first 10-inch Pine Trail netbook. It’s a typically specced netbook with a 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. NetbookNews has managed to get hold of the VNB108 and shot an unboxing video.

You’ll probably be glad to hear it has a matte (1024 x 600) display, along with a matte finish on the lid. The version unboxed only comes with a 3-cell battery and unfortunately you can’t upgrade components without voiding the warranty. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

JooJoo tablet reviewed – software lets it down

The JooJoo 12-inch capacitive tablet is finally shipping to customers and Engadget has the first review up. Overall they found it difficult to recommend the $499 tablet, especially considering the coinciding launch of the Apple iPad. They felt the JooJoo ships with “half-baked software” that makes it unintuitive to use.

On the positive side, they did like the hardware design, but says the JooJoo has a worse screen than the iPad and is also less portable. They suggest the price-point needs to be re-evaluated as well it needing software updates aplenty. On this front, Fusion Garage is apparently promising a “near-weekly update schedule” that will hopefully bring with it hardware-accelerated Flash support. You can read the full review here.

HP Slate’s specs leaked early?

Following on from yesterday’s teaser video, Engadget managed to get hold of an internal HP presentation slide that apparently reveals the specifications of its Slate tablet device and compares it to the Apple iPad. According to the leak, the HP Slate will be powered by a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor and use a media accelerator for 1080p video playback (Broadcom Crystal HD?)

The base configuration will start from $549 and include an 8.9-inch (1024 x 600) capacitive display. It will come with 1GB RAM (max), 32GB of flash storage and a 5-hour battery. Other features include two cameras, SDHC slot, HDMI, SIM card slot and a USB port. An extra $50 will buy you 64GB of storage. Question marks remain over software, although Windows 7 is expected to be used. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1201T shipping in the US

The AMD-powered Asus Eee PC 1201T netbook is now shipping in the US. Retailer Newegg has it on their site for a reasonable $389.99, although it’s worth noting this exclusive edition ships without an operating system included.

The 1201T is a 12.1-inch netbook with 1366 x 768 resolution display. It is powered by an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and comes with ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g/n), a 0.3MP webcam, 6-cell battery, card reader and three USB ports.

For more information, check out Laptop Reviews Central.

HP Slate teaser video highlights camera and iTunes support

Not to be overshadowed by the glut of Apple iPad news over the last few days, HP is trying to remind the world that there are other tablets that are due to hit the market. It has released a very short video of the HP Slate that shows off the tablet’s user interface, webcam and (ironically) the ability to play iTunes.

The UI looks broadly similar to HP’s TouchSmart software and does a good job of skinning Windows 7. The Slate is shown running iTunes along with a USB cable that looks like it’s from Apple, perhaps highlighting iPhone/iPod sync functionality. There are still no details on pricing or availability right now, but check out the teaser video for the latest on the Slate. Read more

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