Apart from that the specs shouldn’t differ from other Eee PC 1005P netbooks including a 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Windows 7 Starter, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), 0.3MP webcam and three USB ports.

Via Netbooked.

Apart from that the specs shouldn’t differ from other Eee PC 1005P netbooks including a 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Windows 7 Starter, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), 0.3MP webcam and three USB ports. Pricing is still unknown, but further details should be expected close to its April launch. The full specs are included after the break.

Asus Eee PC 1005PR Technical Specifications:

• Genuine Windows 7 Starter
  Express Gate / Dual OS
• 10.1″ LED Backlight WXGA Screen (1366×768)
• Intel Atom Pineview-M N450
• 1GB DDR2 SO-DIMM Memory (Maximum 2GB)
• Wireless Data Network WLAN 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz
  Bluetooth2.1 + EDR
• Broadcom BCM 70015 HD Decoder
• Hybrid Storage: 250G HDD / 500GB ASUS WebStorage
• 0.3M Pixel Webcam
• Audio: Hi-Definition Audio
  CODEC Stereo Speaker
  Digital Mic
• Input / Output: 1 x VGA Connector
  3 x USB 2.0
  1 x LAN RJ-45
  2 x Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in)
  Card Reader: MMC/ SD(SDHC)
  Battery : 6 cells Li-ion Battery Pack, 11 hrs(6cells, 63W/h) / 9 hrs(6cells, 48W/h) battery life
• Dimensions: 262 x 178 x 25.9~36.5mm
  Weight: 1.27Kg (w/ 6cell battery)
• Colour: In Mold Roller: Black, White, Blue, Pink
  Texture with painting: Black, White, Blue

Via EeePC.it.

What is strange is that there is no mention of this inclusion anywhere on the Samsung site or retailer listings. Given that this is quite a marketable bullet point, it’s difficult to understand why Samsung didn’t want to sing 1080p compatibility from the rooftops, unless it is a very late addition. This only appears to be on the UK version, although we’d love to hear if any other Samsung N220’s have the Broadcom Crystal HD card elsewhere in the world. Check out some photos of the “HD Playback” sticker after the break.

Via NetbookReviews.net.

Thanks Matt!

The guys over at Laptop Mag did some tests comparing a Dell Mini 10 netbook with Broadcom Crystal HD card against the HP Mini 311 armed with the Nvidia ION chipset.

Video and game content was compared between both devices and the frame rate was measured. The Broadcom-enabled Mini 10 had significantly better performance over its vanilla version, but both still lost out to ION when it came to HD video. As you would expect, this was also the case with games.

It is interesting that the maximum frame rate on the videos tested was 48fps, even at various resolutions. Could this be a mini PCI-E bandwidth limit? The bandwidth for gaming is even greater and highlights that Nvidia have got their work cut out in trying to make ION 2 a viable solution on Pine Trail netbooks.

Flash performance wasn’t compared as Adobe Flash 10.1 does not currently support the Broadcom BCM70015 chip. This is strange as Broadcom confirms compatibility in its press release. Hopefully the third beta of Flash Player 10.1 should work with the BCM70015 chip, due in mid-February.

The rest of the specs are the same as the HP Mini 210. It is powered by a 1.66GHz N450 Pineview Atom, GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB RAM, up to a 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g), a 5-in-1 card reader, webcam and 6-cell battery.

The HP Mini 210 has already been spotted at retail in Costco, Oregon for $350. This is ahead of the $280 listed price on Logic Buy. Pricing is likely to be cleared up in the next few days when it is officially announced. It will be available in red, black, silver and blue.

Lastly, we have the Compaq Mini CQ10. This 10.1-inch netbook seems to be identical in specifications to the HP Mini 210 but will cost $260. I’m sure the differences will be outlined when it is formally announced next week.

Via Engadget.

As an XBMC user for many years, I was very excited to hear that the development team has announced support for the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator across all three major platforms (Windows, Linux and OSX). This means hardware decoding of MPEG-2, H.264 and VC1 1080p video content will be coming to those netbooks with the Broadcom Crystal HD mini PCI-E (BCM970012) installed.

Whilst many have bought these mini PCI-E cards already, the software support is somewhat limited and includes WMP 12, Flash Player 10.1, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre and CyberLink PowerDVD. The arrival of XBMC support is a major milestone as it’s one of the best media players around and should be able to play anything you throw at it.

The new code will be available in the next release of the project. The drivers can be downloaded from the Broadcom site. The Mini PCI-E Broadcom Crystal HD card can be bought from Logic Supply for $69, or you can always try your luck on eBay where you can find it for as cheap as $25.

The single-chip HD video decoder can provide video playback of a number of different codecs including H.264/AVC, MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV9, MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid and AVS. It also provides support for Adobe Flash Player (v10.1) and Windows Media Player (v12).

Whilst a genuine alternative to Nvidia’s ION chipset, it is worth noting that Broadcom’s solution is only applicable for video and not games (unlike ION). The BCM70015 will be available in mini PCI-E format, as well as having the motherboard option.

This PCI-E card enables “flawless playback of all internet steaming video” according to the company, along with support of 720p and 1080p (H.264) video content. It is currently included as an option with the HP Mini 110, although it hasn’t appeared on other netbooks thus far. Not wanting to wait, Terracode decided to mod their Acer Aspire One with the HD accelerator (BCM70012).

The difference that the card makes to HD video content is demonstrated in two videos below. Both have been outputted to an external monitor, after all, what use is HD video on a 1024 x 600 netbook display. The first video is made prior to the mod and you can see a slideshow of a video, full of stuttering and dropped frames. The second includes the Broadcom mod and highlights the difference made, with smooth video playback. Check out both videos below.

Without HD Media Accelerator

With HD Media Accelerator

Via Slashgear.

Broadcom has given a video demonstration of this technology in action. Naren Sankar from Broadcom’s Consumer Electronics Group, placed two 10-inch netbooks side-by-side. One HP Mini 110 XP (with Crystal HD) and a Lenovo S10 to the right of it. He played a 1080p h.264 video file on both and noted the differences.

The Lenovo struggled to play the content, with skipped frame rates and dropped audio. CPU utilisation was also around the 90 percent mark. They were using Windows Media Player for this demonstration and I wonder whether using VLC would have made any difference to CPU usage.

This contrasted with the HP that was able to playback the video smoothly and no problems with audio. Naren claimed that CPU utilisation using the Crystal HD chip maxed out at 25 percent but we could see it hovering between 30 to 40 percent during the demo. I’m not sure what media player they were using, but it was not Windows Media Player. It’s probably ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Theatre software that is bundled with the Broadcom Crystal HD option with the HP Mini 110. Check out the video below.

Via Portable Monkey.

This device enables “flawless playback of all internet steaming video” according to the company, along with support of 720p and 1080p (H.264) video content. It claims that using this accelerator (in PCI-E or Expresscard/34 format) means that HD content will not stutter, even with a 100 percent CPU load.

This accelerator will be used as an option in the newly announced HP Mini 110 XP Edition along with the rumoured Acer Aspire One 571. However, if you have a spare PCI-E or Expresscard slot, there’s no reason you couldn’t use this in your current netbook to give a boost to your video performance. These add-ons are in full production now. Check out some close-up pictures of this card after the jump courtesy of ASCII.jp.

Via Portable Monkey.