Samsung drops 1.8” HDDs? Shortage may affect Q3 netbook shipments

Samsung along with Toshiba were the two main suppliers of 1.8-inch hard-disk drives used in netbooks. However, Samsung has now reportedly discontinued the development of 1.8-inch HDDs to focus on the faster-growing Solid State Drive (SSD) segment instead. Hitachi, Fujitsu, Seagate and Western Digital no longer list 1.8-inch HDDs on their websites.

If true, this is likely to lead to a shortage of 1.8” drives, as only Toshiba is left supplying these drives. The shortage is likely to lead to price increases, which may affect Q3 2009 shipments of netbooks and ultrathin notebooks. The smaller 1.8-inch drives are often used in some netbooks over the 2.5-inch drives commonly found in laptops. The height of a 1.8” drive is just 5mm, compared to 7.0 – 9.5mm in 2.5” drives. Earlier this week, Samsung said that it was looking to develop new SATA Mini PCI-E SSDs for netbooks in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage.

Via Digitimes.

Samsung’s new SATA Mini PCI-E SSDs for netbooks

Samsung is working with a number of manufacturers to implement a newly designed SATA mini-card SSD in netbooks and other devices. The SSD comes in a mini PCI Express form factor with a SATA 3.0GB/s interface. This drive has a sequential read rate of 200MB/s (megabytes per second) and writes data sequentially at 100MB/s, which is extremely fast.

The drive should run cool as it is manufactured with 40nm technology, this also makes it power frugal, consuming just 0.3W of power. It is nearly 80 percent smaller than normal 2.5-inch drives, measuring 30 millimetres (mm) wide, 51mm high and just 3.75mm thick. It also only weighs up to 8.5g and comes in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB densities.

Samples are current with manufacturers at the moment and standardisation could be expected as early as the third quarter this year. The press release talks of using these devices as part of a Hybrid storage solution (SSD as main memory and HDD as supporting storage space), however I’m not sure how this will work in netbooks since Microsoft seems to be banning hybrid storage netbooks that run Windows XP.

Via OC3D.

Samsung and Dell planning 11.6-inch netbook models?

Some of the leading netbook manufacturers are jumping onto the 11.6” netbook bandwagon, with Acer having released the Aspire One 751 and Asus planning the Eee PC 1101HA to be released shortly. Well it looks like both Samsung and Dell may also be planning 11.6-inch netbook models.

According to a report from Digitimes, the Taiwanese based LCD panel manufacturer, Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), has landed orders from both Dell and Samsung for 11.6-inch netbook display panels. There’s scant information apart from that, but we would hardly be surprised if the news were true. Read more

Samsung N120’s Hong Kong SKU gets upgraded specs

We quite liked the Samsung N120 when had a chance to review it recently. However, it still fell short against the Asus Eee PC 1000HE in a few areas, including a lower-specced CPU and no wireless draft-N. Good news for those living in Hong Kong though, it looks like Samsung has made some significant changes to the SKU sold (N120-KA06) which makes it a more compelling proposition.

First of all, the processor has been bumped from a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU to a 1.66GHz N280 Atom. The model now has support for Wi-Fi draft-N along with Bluetooth 2.1 (instead of v2.0 found on our review model). The 6-cell battery is the same as our review model, rated at 5900mAh.

It appears that there is no plan to bring this model to other regions. Although, if these specs existed from the start, the N120 premium over the 1000HE would have been even higher. The Samsung N120-KA06 sells for HK$3,990 (£316, €367, $515).

Via Liliputing.

Samsung’s 10.2-inch colour e-paper display, Pixel Qi need not worry

Samsung has been demonstrating a number of new types of display at the SID Display Week 2009 show. As well as 10-inch low-power and touchscreen panels, it was also showing off a 10.2-inch colour e-paper display. Pixel Qi doesn’t have the limelight all to itself, as this screen is also capable of playing video too.

In what seems very similar to Pixel Qi’s hybrid display, the screen combines both e-paper and video technologies, allowing the user to switch between the two. This involves switching between “memory mode” and “dynamic mode” pixels. However, from what I can tell it doesn’t seem as accomplished as the 3Qi display from Pixel Qi and neither does it seem as far down the road. Read more

WiMAX netbooks from Clevo, Onkyo, Samsung & Sony on the way

If you were wondering whether WiMAX would ever really kick-off, a number of WiMAX-enabled netbooks from different manufacturers have been announced this morning. First off, is the Samsung NC10 WiMAX (NC10-12PWBK). It doesn’t come cheap, however, at $519.99 and is available to purchase now in the US. Other than the WiMAX module, the specs are exactly the same. The vanilla NC10, which costs $380, comes with a 10.2-inch (1024 x 600) display, 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi (b/g), Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3MP webcam and a 6-cell battery.

Intel along with UQ Communications is promoting the widespread deployment of WiMAX Services in Japan. UQ is committed to cover 90 percent of Japan with its WiMAX service by 2012 and sees the official UQ WiMAX launch on 1st July. As a result of this, several WiMAX-enabled netbooks and notebooks have been announced in Japan. Read more

Samsung N310 & MSI Wind U115 Hybrid netbooks now available in US

Not too far behind the European launch, both the funky Samsung N310 and long-lasting MSI Wind U115 Hybrid netbooks are now available to order in the US. The Samsung N310, complete with bold embossed logo and an array of snazzy colours, is now on order from Best Buy where it will set you back $479.99.

Whilst the exterior of the 10-inch Samsung N310 is certainly unique, it also comes with a flush glossy display and chiclet keyboard. The innards aren’t anything to get too excited about though, powered by a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD. It seems as if our US cousins will get a 6-cell battery with a promised 11 hour battery life, compared to the 4-cell battery seen in the European SKUs. The Samsung N310 is already available in the UK, where it costs £376.17.

There is a rumour that Microsoft is looking to ban hybrid storage netbooks that run XP Home, but that doesn’t look like it’s stopping MSI. It has placed its Wind U115 Hybrid netbook on sale on its official website for $499. The high cost is mainly due to dual internal storage of both a SSD and HDD. This combined with a power efficient Z series Atom CPU means some of the best battery times seen in a netbook. The Wind U115 is now available in the UK for £450.

Via Liliputing and Portable Monkey.

Samsung demos 3 netbook displays: low-power, colour e-paper & touch

Samsung is unveiling some of its latest developments on the display side at the SID (Society of Information Display) 2009. From the netbook perspective, the most interesting is a new 10.1-inch LCD which is touted to use around 50 percent less power than normal LCDs. This display is manufactured using Samsung’s proprietary Pentile technology.

This display has a HD resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels along with “perfect reading capabilities both indoor and outdoor” according to Akhibara News. I’m not sure what that means, but Samsung is also highlighting some next-gen displays which include a 10.2-inch colour e-paper display (something that is maybe similar to Pixel Qi’s 3Qi display) along with a 10.1-inch diagonal integrated-touch netbook panel (anticipating the launch of Windows 7).

Video: Samsung N310 user review

We have not seen too much of the Samsung N310 despite it being widely available in shops. We also realised that we have not seen too many clear videos of the N310 netbook in action since its launch. So we thought we’d share a very good user review of the N310 by Brian Clark, which shows the netbook across all angles and really shows off its design features.

He reviewed a blue version and the whole design does look very chic, with its curved edges, chiclet keyboard and flush display. The specifications are pretty average with the ubiquitous 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU under the hood powering a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) LED backlit display. Overall he was very impressed with its compact and portable design (the N310 weighs just 1.2kg). Click through for the video. Read more

Fun promo videos for Samsung N310 and Asus Eee PC Seashell

More and more companies are using viral ad campaigns to help market a product. We’ve found two such examples on YouTube. The first is for the Samsung N310 netbook which has two playful characters who emerge from the skin of the rubberised lids. I’m not really sure what message they are trying to deliver for this one, it has a distinct air of Looney Tunes about it. It’s very well put together though and will probably get people talking.

The second video, for the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, has a clearer message. It’s entitled ‘picklock’ and I’m sure you get the idea i.e. that the Seashell is thin enough to pick open a door. Both of these netbooks focus on design and as they stand out from the netbook crowd, it’s hard not to see both models being a huge success. Check out the videos after the jump.

Update: It turns out that Asus has launched a whole host of viral videos for the 1008HA Seashell, following a similar theme as above i.e. how razor thin it is. It looks like that as well as picking locks, the 1008HA Seashell is also capable of cutting carrots, cut through some ropes that have you tied up, shaving and even be used as a frisbee. I’ve included them all below.
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

NbC: Samsung N120 Review

In our view, two of the most important considerations when buying a netbook are the keyboard and battery life. Samsung has ticked both of these boxes with the N120; it provides one of the least compromised experiences yet found in a 10-inch netbook. The wonderful full-sized keyboard offers good tactile feedback and keys that are located in the right places. Accommodating this keyboard leads to a big (ugly) bezel around the screen, but Samsung has made the most of this by placing speakers on either side of the screen. The sound quality is some of the best seen, although that does not mean it is the loudest.

Many netbook manufacturers are now looking at battery life to provide the ‘all day computing’ experience that many consumers crave. The Samsung N120 delivers on this front and should easily last 7 -8 hours whilst web browsing or using Office. On our tests, it didn’t last quite as long as the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, but there wasn’t much in it. However, how does the Samsung N120 fare as an overall package? Read on for our detailed review where we run some comprehensive performance and battery tests as well as address some issues that are worth pointing out to potential buyers. Read more

Samsung N120 innards exposed

For those potential Samsung N120 modders out there, Netbook Italia has come up trumps. It has ripped open the N120 netbook highlighting exactly where the HDD, memory, subwoofer etc sits. The photos are very clearly labelled, pointing out where all of the screws are and which direction certain latches need to be pulled. They also show you how to access the display just in case you want to opt for a touchscreen in the future. It’s an extensive gallery and well worth checking out.

For those wondering where our Samsung N120 review has disappeared to, we hope to have it up early next week. It won’t dissect the N120, like shown here, but it will cover the netbook in detail and give our thoughts after extensively using it over the last fortnight. Until then, click through for some more pictures of the N120 dissected. Read more

Samsung N110 netbook now shipping in UK

Apologies for the overdose of Samsung N110 related news this morning, but a tipster has just informed us that the N110 is now in stock and shipping in the UK. This follows the N110 product page appearing on the Samsung UK site just this morning.

Dixons has the Samsung N110 netbook in stock and is selling it for £349.99. There is no surprise on the price as we were made aware of this earlier today. Even better news is that if you use the code ‘15OFF’ then the N110 can be yours for just £334.99.

I’m not sure whether Dixons has an exclusive on the Samsung N110 netbook, but I have not seen it appear anywhere else, even on pre-order. It’s no wonder I couldn’t find it listed at Dixons, as they named it the NC110 instead of the N110. We’ve included a screen grab after the jump. We’ll hopefully be getting a review unit at some point soon. Read more

Samsung N110 gets UK price, official product page up

Whilst the Samsung N110 is still not available to pre-order in any of the main UK retailers, we may be one step closer, after the product page has now appeared on the official Samsung UK website. It’s strange that whilst both Samsung’s N120 and N310 netbooks have already hit UK retail, both of those product pages are still not up, yet the N110 netbook is, which isn’t available.

We have also now learned that the Samsung N110’s suggested retail price in the UK will be £349. Obviously, retailers will price this down slightly on release, but consumers need to consider whether the refresh is worth spending nearly £50 extra over the NC10, which retails for just over £300 on Amazon. We’ll keep you informed as soon as we have any details on the N110 release date.

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