“We thought [smartbooks] would be launched by now, but they’re not. We’ve seen things like Adobe slip — we’d originally scheduled for something like 2009,” said Drew. “Our target is mostly internet machines — it becomes sort of a requirement that they run the internet. [The delay in optimising] Flash has stalled it”.

It seems that manufacturers are also cautious on smartbooks given the low-take-up of Linux-based netbooks and the current fever-pitch around tablet devices. Some manufacturers who were planning smartbook devices are now looking at tablets instead.

Arm chips cannot support x86 applications (like Windows), therefore some are concerned on how well smartbooks would be received. “Some of it is also related to there not being many Linux [netbooks] out there either. We’ve only got Linux. If you look at forecasts for Linux netbook sales last year, not as many were sold,” said Drew.

Drew remains optimistic on the smartbook category and believes that they are now in a stronger position than they were two years ago. “I am disappointed that you can’t go down to PC World and buy a smartbook at the moment, but I’m convinced something will happen,” Drew said.

Via ZDNet.

The Dell Athens netbook is more typical in its form-factor and will sport a similar sized display and ARM processor. It will have a thin chassis and weigh less than 900g (1.98lbs). These models are expected to launch during the Autumn. Check out a large screencap of this Dell roadmap after the break.

This is set to continue at the Computex show in Taipei in June, with ARM renting more space than last year to show off various mobile devices including tablets, smartbooks and e-readers. “The first tablet devices will launch in the second quarter by [mobile network] carriers,” said Roy Chen, ARM’s worldwide mobile computing ODM manager. “You’ll see a lot more in the third quarter.”

Two such tablet devices were shown off at a press briefing in Taipei running Google’s Android operating system. The first from Compal Electronics comes with either a 7-inch or 10.1-inch display along with the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset and HDMI port. The second device was called the Armadillo and had a smaller display and an instant-on OS called QuickBoot. Look for further information on both devices in early June.

Via ComputerWorld.

Both are interconnected as ARM provides a SoC with embedded 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality. The result is similar to that of many smartphones, long battery life, a near enough instant resume function and the ability to check the internet from wherever you are.

Once smartbooks start to hit the market and data contracts aren’t prohibitively expensive as they are now, we believe the segment will really take off. As people experience the always-on environment, it’s hard to imagine people going back. Many companies recognize this, including Google, who is preparing its cloud-only Chrome operating system for the second half of the year.

ABI Research has put some hard numbers on expected smartbook take-up, bullishly predicting 163 million shipments in 2015. To put this into perspective, 170 million portable PCs shipped in 2009 according to DisplaySearch. ABI’s numbers means that we will see almost the same number of smartbooks shipping in five years time as the combined number of notebooks and netbooks that shipped last year.

If these aggressive numbers are to be hit, price will be a key factor. Since the smartbook term was first coined by Qualcomm, talk has been of cheap sub-$200 entry-level devices. However, most of the smartbooks seen so far (such as the Lenovo Skylight) have been of more premium models. The lower prices will be needed to drive consumer adoption.

Via X-bit Labs.

The touchpad has a few shortcut buttons adjacent to it with key controls for the Android interface, such as the Menu, Home and Back keys. Other features include a 16GB SSD, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity and a 12-hour battery life. The Airlife 100 smartbook will initially be offered by Telefonica through subsidized contracts.

A few sites have gone hands-on with the device and posted their video impressions. Among the highlights include the ability to instantly resume once the lid is closed along with a solid design and slimline form-factor (it weighs less than 1kg). We’ve attached these videos after the break.

Via MobileBurn, Slashgear & UMPC Portal.

The Airlife 100 looks like a very attractive slim line device, sporting a flat-key keyboard and some additional shortkey buttons sitting besides the touchpad. I didn’t notice the mouse buttons, which could point to an integrated solution. It’s also difficult to tell whether it comes with a matte or glossy display and at what resolution.

The Compaq Airlife 100 will hit Europe in Spring via a subsidized contract through Spanish carrier Telefonica. Pricing wasn’t announced and neither are plans for the rest of Europe or US. Further details may come through at next weeks MWC show in Barcelona.

Via Engadget.

“Although netbooks are small today – maybe 10% of the PC market at most – we believe over the next several years that could completely change around and that could be 90% of the PC market. We see those products as an area for a lot of innovation and we want that innovation to be happening around the ARM architecture,” said East.

Even without Windows support, the company is still bullish on its prospects, saying that it will succeed “with our without” Windows support. “There’s not really a huge amount of point in us knocking on Microsoft’s door, Microsoft knows us very well, it’s worked with us for the past 12 years, all its mobile products are based on ARM,” he said.

“It’s really an operational decision for Microsoft to make. I don’t think there’s any major technical barriers. Microsoft’s well aware of the technical support we can provide to them, but it is an operational challenge for them, and one that only they can work out. We can’t really help them with it.”

Via PC Pro.

Qualcomm goes on to say that it is complying with a restraining order in Germany that requires it to issue a disclaimer if it wants to use the smartbook term. It goes on to say that ’smartbook’ is a generic term used to describe a subset of devices sitting between netbooks and smartphones.

Qualcomm is looking to cancel the trademark in Germany. Smartbook AG has been trying to register the term in other countries, however European countries have thrown out their request. Hopefully, we’ll see an end to this ridiculous dispute very quickly. Check out the full statement below.

Qualcomm statement regarding the smartbook name:

“German laptop manufacturer, Smartbook AG, is engaged in an aggressive campaign to prevent the continued use of the term “smartbooks” by journalists, manufacturers and consumers. Qualcomm does not claim and has never claimed to own the term “smartbook” which it believes is a descriptive and generic term. The term is used by a number of companies, consumers and industry commentators to describe a class of devices that combine attributes of smartphones and netbooks enabled by various technology companies, including but not limited to Qualcomm.

Smartbook AG has obtained a Temporary Restraining Order in Germany against Qualcomm. We are complying with the decision, which requires Qualcomm not to use the word “smartbook” on any internet site in Germany without a disclaimer that the rights in the mark in Germany are owned by Smartbook AG. We are contesting the temporary order and are taking steps to cancel the trademark, which we contend is a generic and descriptive term that should not have been allowed as a mark in the first place. The Temporary Restraining Order applies only to Qualcomm; to our knowledge no other orders were issued.

The German court did not extend its provisional order to other parties; nor does it reach outside Germany; and nor does it prevent news organisations from reporting news. Further, it does not actually prohibit the use of the term; it allows the use of the term with the appropriate disclaimer. [Qualcomm was recently granted a Temporary Restraining Order in Germany against Smartbook AG which now prevents Smartbook AG from misrepresenting the terms of the order against Qualcomm, both on Smartbook AG’s website and in letters to the media.] In fact Smartbook AG has now revised its website to correct these misrepresentations of the scope of the TRO.

Since Smartbook AG’s action against Qualcomm, it has been seeking to register “smart” trademarks in other countries. The European Union and other countries have rejected these efforts on the grounds that the term “smartbook” is generic. Smartbook AG has also publicly stated it would sell the rights to the registered German trademark. Presumably, the campaign to expand the trademark registrations and the attempts to force journalists and others not to use the term are attempts to increase the sales value of the trademark.”

Notion Ink Tablet

This tablet is using a hybrid Pixel Qi display. Therefore not only do you get the power-saving effects of Tegra, you also get the energy efficient Pixel Qi display on top. It also offers 1080p video playback and HDMI-out. No word on pricing or availability.

Via Engadget (1 & 2), Gizmodo, ArmDevices, Laptop Mag & Slashgear.

MSI 10-inch Android Tablet

Pretty much the most that we know of this device is found in the title. It runs a 10-inch capacitive display and Android as an operating system.

Via ARMDevices.

Mobinnova Beam

We’ve come across the Beam before. It looks like the latest iteration includes Tegra 2 but much else about it is still the same. It has an 8.9-inch display and is powered by a 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor. It includes 256MB RAM, 512MB of flash storage and runs Windows CE. It is expected to launch in the US partnered with AT&T.

Via Engadget , Laptop Mag, Liliputing and Slashgear.

Compal Android Tablet

ODM Compal showed off a 7-inch tablet prototype running Android 2.0. It included Wi-Fi but strangely GPS and Bluetooth was missing. It has a resistive touchscreen instead of capacitive and the hands-on experience was pretty poor.

Via Engadget.

ICD Ultra Tablet

The ICD Ultra is a 7-inch (1024 x 600) tablet was able to handle 1080p video with ease. The Ultra runs Android 2.0 but firmware was found to be a bit rough. Verizon will be launching a WiMAX version of this tablet later in 2010.

Via Liliputing.

Asus Eee Tablet

Not much is known about this tablet, JKKMobile spotted it and said it could be the much-rumoured Eee PC. He also has another video with other Tegra 2 tablets.

Quanta Prototype Tablet

ODM Quanta was showing off a tablet with Tegra 2 internals. It has a HDMI out and energy efficient 10 hours of HD video playback. No idea on screen size but it has Wi-Fi, 3G and Android operating system. Check out Engadget for more information.

ASUS / Pegatron Neo Smartbook

Engadget came across this smartbook from Pegatron (still currently part of Asus). It has a 10-inch display and is powered by the Tegra 2 chipset and Android operating system. The device was very lightweight but suffered from keyboard flex. They were told that it will definitely making it to the market this year.

Non-Tegra 2 Tablets

Below we have a couple of interesting tablets that we came across that do not have the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset inside.

Pegatron Atom-powered Slate

This 11.6-inch Slate tablet runs Windows 7 using an Intel Atom processor. It includes 1GB RAM, 32GB SSD, HDMI and a webcam.

Via Neowin.

Qualcomm Snaptop Prototype

Qualcomm’s Android Snaptop prototype has a 9-inch screen but also comes with a detachable keyboard located on the backside. It offers HD video, HDMI out and widget-centric UI.

Via Laptop Mag.

A number of publications went hands-on during CES this week with a mixed reception. The UI tended to be a bit laggy but the resistive touchscreen worked well. The build quality also wasn’t great and neither was the keyboard according to some reports.

Interestingly, there is an optional ($50) docking keyboard that the tablet slides right into turning it into a quasi-netbook. However, the dock keeps the display at one angle and can’t be folded over, so it’s only real use will be on a desk. Check out some videos of the device in action after the break.

Via Engadget, Netbooknews and Slashgear.