Other features include a dedicated low power audio engine, integrated low power GPS, and support for 24-bit WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution displays. Both are sampling to manufacturers right now, which is likely to mean that smartphones and potentially smartbooks using the new chips may arrive before the year is out.

Certainly not cheap. You can opt for a cheaper €39 per month price plan but that will require a higher initial investment of €299 for the Airlife. Engadget confirmed that the Airlife 100 will not be coming to the US, however it’s unknown at this stage whether we’ll see it in other European countries.

The Airlife 100 is powered by a the 1GHz Snapdragon chipset and sports a 16GB SSD, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM and a 28Whr battery that should last for over 12 hours. It also comes with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) resistive touchscreen.

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.

“Without approval by Smartbook AG, Lenovo must refrain from using the character sequence ‘Smartbook’ in all writing systems in association with mobile computers — such as laptops (notebooks) — as part of commercial correspondence in the Federal Republic of Germany,” Smartbook AG said in a statement.

According to the company, “smartbook” is an internationally registered trademark for mobile computer products it manufactures or distributes. It goes on to warn other players from using the name. “We will act against everyone who uses our trademark for mobile computer systems, as propagated by Qualcomm since June 2009. We do not allow that our trademark, developed and actively implemented since 2001, will be damaged by someone else,” Smartbook AG said.

A Lenovo spokesperson confirmed that it used the smartbook term “in a German introduction for a U.S. press release…to announce a series of products launched at CES”. It has since been removed from the Lenovo Germany site. “Since we don’t have a product with the name “Smartbook”–only a product with the name Lenovo Skylight–we will not use this expression in any official communication in Germany,” he added.

Smartbook AG also filed a suit against Qualcomm, although Qualcomm recently hit back in its dispute fighting their claim. The same issue happened with the ‘netbook’ term with Psion claiming the trademark and filing a suit against Intel. That ended happily and I’m surprised this ‘smartbook’ dispute is still ongoing.

Smartbook AG’s notebooks are nothing out of the ordinary, given that the whole blogosphere is now widely using the term to describe to ultraportables powered by ARM chips, it’s surprising the company continues to make a big deal out of this. Obviously by doing so they get free marketing, but outside of Germany who is going to buy anything from them anyway. The quicker this gets resolved the better.

Via PC World.

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.

Also, just before the year end, Qualcomm will launch the 8X72, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon chipset to be used in upcoming smartbooks and maybe some high-end smartphones. The chip will be capable of encoding 1080p HD video content.

Via Hexus.

As with other smartbooks it has 3G and WiFi for always-on connectivity. In terms of exterior, this is no Lenovo Skylight, not a surprise given it’s a prototype. The chassis used looks almost the same as the current HP Mini netbooks. There are no other details for now, but check out some hands-on videos after the break.

Via Engadget, JKKMobile, Laptop Mag, Liliputing and NetbookNews.

However, a number of publications have since gone hands-on with the device and posted their impressions. After the break, you’ll find six videos of the U1 Hybrid. It’s interesting to see that overall impressions were extremely positive, even more impressive given that this was only a pre-production model as the U1 isn’t set to launch until June.

Below you will find videos from Engadget, Liliputing, JKKMobile, NetbookNews, Laptop Mag and Slashgear. Gizmodo’s write-up is also worth a read if you’re fishing for information.

The U1 Hybrid comes with 4GB RAM (512MB in tablet mode) and can support a 128GB SSD (16GB is used for the tablet). Other features include two USB ports, eSATA, VGA, HDMI, 4-in-1 card reader, and a 1.3MP webcam. The operating system is catered for by Windows 7 when using as a laptop and Lenovo’s custom Linux OS in tablet mode (probably the same that will be used in the Lenovo Skylight smartbook).

In terms of battery life, Lenovo estimates that in laptop mode, the U1 should get you around 8 hours of life. When using in tablet mode that number drops to 5 hours but includes 3G web-surfing (6 hours without 3G). The whole thing weighs 1.7kg (3.7lbs), whilst the tablet alone weighs 0.7kg (1.6lbs). This exciting new device does have a hefty price tag of $999 though and will be hitting the streets on 1st June 2010.

Via Engadget.