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

Video: Moblin v2.0 Netbook Beta Walkthrough

We already reported on the Moblin v2.0 Beta that launched earlier today, which comes with some quite big improvements from the previous version, including a brand new user interface. For those that have already downloaded the beta or those that are about to, I thought I’d flag an interesting video into some of its features.

The video is created by the development team behind Moblin and walks through some of the most important parts of the Moblin OS. The video was recorded a little bit before the beta so some of the bugs that are visible have already been fixed. It’s one of the most attractive UI’s that we’ve seen from a Linux kernel and we’re looking to test drive it ourselves shortly. In the meantime, check out the video after the jump. Read more

Moblin v2.0 Beta for netbooks released, sports new UI

Intel has just announced that the Moblin v2.0 Beta is now out. The improvements are quite significant and include a completely revamped user interface, faster boot time (<10 seconds), longer battery life and smaller memory footprint.

The new UI has a homepage called M-zone, which stands for “My” zone (screenshot below). It has been designed from the ground up and includes social networking features such as status updates. There is also instant access to calendar, tasks and appointments as well as recently used files. Read more

Pegatron prepping ARM-based netbooks for Asus

Asus’ CEO, Jerry Shen, recently confirmed that it was unlikely to adopt ARM/Android netbooks this year. Part of his reasoning was that most consumers are still used to Windows and that the first quarter of 2010 would provide more of an opportunity for alternative processors.

Well it looks like ODM Pegatron Technology is preparing to manufacture these ARM-based netbooks, but is waiting for the green light from Asustek. Pegatron has not received a schedule to mass produce these ARM netbooks as Asus is still apparently monitoring trends in the market place.

Pegatron also has a 7-inch ARM-based netbook and recently received orders from Chinese white-box vendors to sell the device for under $200. It seems, however, that there is low demand for Linux based products in Asia, therefore Pegatron plans to concentrate on the European and American markets.

Via Digitimes.

Novell collaborates with Intel to push Moblin netbook OS

Intel and Novell have today announced a deal to push Moblin, the open source Linux platform designed for netbooks using the Intel Atom processor. As part of the deal, Novell will help to create a Moblin-based OS targeted for netbooks. It will also create an open lab in Taiwan to push Moblin adoption to the main netbook vendors i.e. Taiwanese based Asustek, Acer and MSI. The Novell distribution will be based on Moblin v2 for Netbooks.

If you remember, Moblin was originally created by Intel, but it recently handed over control to the Linux Foundation. The move was viewed as an attempt to attract more interest from netbook vendors who are currently steadfastly sticking with Windows XP. Judging from the Novell announcement, Intel still appears to be actively promoting the technology. Read more

System76 introduces Starling NetBook with Ubuntu 9.04

System76 may not be a household brand name, but it is one that is synonymous with Linux enthusiasts. The company provides laptops, desktops and servers pre-installed with Linux Ubuntu. System76 has now introduced the Starling netbook which comes preloaded with Ubuntu’s 9.04 Netbook Remix.

You’ll find typical netbook specifications powering the Starling. It features a 10.1-inch (1024 x 576) LED backlit glossy display. It is powered by a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU and comes with Intel 950 graphics. The netbook comes with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-disk drive. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g), a 0.3MP webcam, three USB ports and 6-cell battery.

The Starling netbook weighs a reasonable 1.2kg (2.6lbs) and has dimensions of 10.4″ x 7.1″ x 1.3″ (WxDxH). The Starling is now on sale on System76’s website in the US for $359. This is $10 more expensive than the MSI Wind U123 that is currently up for pre-order in the US and also comes with a 6-cell battery.

Via WorksWithU [via Portable Monkey].

Netbook boot times compared: Android vs. Fedora vs. Ubuntu

GeunSik Lim, a Samsung software developer specialising in embedded Linux system design, has compared the netbook boot times for several Linux-based operating systems to see which was fastest. He compared Google’s Android platform against Linux Fedora 10 and the latest version of Ubuntu (Netbook Remix 9.04).

Whilst the video claims to show different netbooks, Lim said that the tests ran on a netbook with a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, Intel graphics and a 160GB (SATA) hard-disk drive. As can be seen from the video below, Google’s Android came out fastest at just 13 seconds, Ubuntu was next while Fedora came some way behind. I certainly can’t wait to see how well they have adapted the Android platform for netbooks, hopefully we’ll see more detailed news on this at Computex in June. Check out the video after the break. Read more

Microsoft making just $15 per netbook XP license

The two main operating systems that you will find on netbooks at this present time are either Linux or Windows XP. The majority of netbooks tend to have XP preinstalled, but in retail generally, there is a lack of options allowing you to choose exactly which operating system suits you. Some consumers would rather save money by choosing Linux and often it is very difficult to work back how much Microsoft is charging for each XP license. However a Wall Street Journal report indicates that this amount is just $15.

This has been a deliberate strategy by Microsoft to gain market share in a segment where it had just a 10 percent foothold when netbooks first started to emerge back in 2007. Fast forward to present time and this has swung Microsoft’s way, with approximately three out of four netbooks sold with XP last year.

But why would Microsoft be willing to take such a hit, especially compared to the $50-$60 it receives for bundling Vista in laptops? My thoughts are that it sees XP as a stop-gap to Windows 7 Starter Edition. Much has been made of the three application limit in the entry level Windows 7 edition and Microsoft are gambling on whether the consumer will really ‘upgrade’ to more expensive versions at some point down the line. It will be interesting to see how consumers react to this app limit and the launch of Windows 7 could even see a retaliatory Linux comeback.

Symbian S60 operating system ported to Intel’s Atom

There are a number of different operating systems that are vying for attention on netbooks. Apart from the upcoming Windows 7, there are a number of Linux variants such as Google’s Android. Now, Symbian is also showing its efforts in a proof of concept experiment where it has run Symbian S60 5th Edition on an off the shelf Intel Atom based system.

I imagine Symbian has done this to highlight the flexibility of the Symbian platform beyond the use of smartphones into other devices. The Symbian team hopes to generate some interest in such a platform in the form of an investor. Whilst the screen shots show that it is very rough around the edges, the team were pleased with the “responsiveness of the UI and upper application layers”. Read more

Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 Release Candidate unleashed

Following on from the beta release just two weeks ago, Ubuntu has announced the Release Candidate for Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 (codenamed Jaunty Jackalope). If the release candidates prove stable, they sometimes end up being final production versions, although Ubuntu 9.04 still has a small number of bugs to be fixed.

From what I can tell, the new release has no major changes over the previous beta release but stabilises its existing features. “We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable and suitable for testing by any user,” said Ubuntu developer Steve Langasek.

Netbooks that the new release is known to work well on include the Asus EEE PC 900/1000, Acer Aspire One, Samsung NC10 and the Dell Mini 9. Ubuntu 9.04 is scheduled to be released on 23 April and will be supported for 18 months. The RC release can be downloaded from the official site here.

Always Innovating’s Touch Book tablet priced

Back in early March, Always Innovating announced a unique portable device called the Touch Book. It is unique in a number of ways, first of all it is designed as an 8.9-inch tablet with a sliding keyboard dock so that it can be used in a more traditional netbook form-factor. The tablet is also magnetic so that it can be mounted on a fridge and the unit also supports internal USB slots so no more dongle mess.

This unique ‘netbook’ will also be one of the first to come with an ARM processor (using the Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip) whilst the OS is built from OpenEmbedded, a Linux variant. ARM processors promise increased power efficiency over their x86 equivalents and this can be seen in the quoted 10-15 hours of battery life. It offers all of this in a package that weighs less than 2lbs (0.9kg), including both battery and keyboard!

It will only come with 8GB of flash storage but despite this it is certainly one of the most interesting developments due this year in our eyes. According to the official site, pre-orders are now open and will set you back $299 for the tablet or $399 which will include the keyboard dock. Personally, I think it would have made sense to sell this as 1 SKU as the keyboard dock is part of the experience. However, by splitting the price, it means it may make this within the reach of those who are just after a tablet experience. Click through for a full list of specifications. Read more

ARM-based netbooks struggling with video

There has been much talk of how ARM processors are set to change the netbook landscape when they start to appear in netbooks by the end of this year. ARM netbooks would have the advantage of being up to ten times more power efficient than their x86 equivalents as well as being designed for 24/7 wireless connectivity. However, the first wave of netbooks may be underpowered according to engineers who are currently working on ARM netbook prototypes.

One issue that engineers have encountered is that Adobe Flash does not yet run natively on the ARM processor. The ARM platforms support for web video will be critical to its success. ARM and Adobe did announce that it will deliver a version of Flash 10 optimised for ARM devices at some point during 2009, although nothing has materialised so far. Another problem is that a number of web video sites are moving from Flash to the H.264 codec. Whilst ARM does support the codec, significant work will be required on the wrapper to make sure H.264 web videos can be played smoothly. Read more

Linux to outnumber Windows on netbooks by 2012

Whilst Windows may currently dominate market share in the netbook segment, it wasn’t always that way. In the second half of 2007, Windows had a market share of around 10 percent growing significantly in 2008 to 75 percent. However, according to ABI Research, the pendulum will swing back the other way by 2012, with Linux netbooks expected to outnumber those running Windows.

ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis says, “ABI Research believes that 2012 will see the tipping-point at which netbooks running Linux-based and mobile operating systems outnumber those running Windows XP. Device vendors, chip-makers and mobile operators can take some comfort from the fact that this trend should help expand the market even in a down economy.” Read more

Moblin instant-on OS promises 2-second boot time

Moblin, the Intel-founded Linux-based operating system, hopes to achieve an ambitious boot time of just two seconds in future iterations of its instant-on OS. The Moblin Linux kernel was created to be a fast and lightweight platform, specifically designed to run on an Intel Atom CPU.

Whilst some may view these claims as lofty, Intel revealed that the major components of its software stack, including its graphics system, can already boot up in just a few seconds when using the latest Moblin Alpha 2 release.

Whilst getting the total software stack to boot in just a couple of a seconds is a completely different matter, it is encouraging to see Intel upping the ante for its instant-on OS. The Moblin project is competing with other mobile Linux-based operating systems such as Google’s Android, Jolicloud and gOS.

Intel believes that a fast boot time is paramount to the user experience. We would have to agree. Being able to start an operating system that quickly to check mail or use the Internet could change behavioural netbook habits significantly.

Via Ars Technica.

Windows netbook market share continues to grow

Nearly exactly a month ago, we reported how the Windows operating system dominated netbooks sold in the US. Approximately 90 percent of netbooks sold during November to January ran Windows XP and the remainder Linux. It appears that Windows extended this dominance in February, with 96 percent of netbooks running Windows during February 2009 according to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data. Read more

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