Acer’s AMD-powered Aspire One 521 netbook in HD video test

Acer officially revealed a new line-up of AMD-powered 10-inch and 11.6-inch netbooks earlier this week. The AAO 521 has a 10-inch display and comes with a 1.2GHz single-core AMD V105 processor along with ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics with HDMI out. The latter highlights the confidence in its ability to handle HD video, even though the screen only has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

A couple of videos have appeared from Notebook Journal.de and nDevil that give an idea of how well it plays HD video content. As you’ll see HD content seemed to play ok, although the same can’t be said for YouTube HD that seemed to stutter. This could be a driver issue so I wouldn’t get too disheartened if you were eyeing the AAO 521. Check out the videos after the jump. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1015P and 1015PE netbook product pages up

The upcoming Asus Eee PC 1015P and 1015PE netbooks have just got their own product pages up on the global Asus site. The 10-inch models are powered by the 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, up to 2GB RAM and 160-320GB HDD. They also feature Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1, a 0.3MP webcam and 3-cell or 6-cell battery options.

I’m not entirely sure on the differences between the 1015P and 1015PE. The latter appears to have a chrome effect surrounding the left/right sides of the touchpad. It also appears to have a rubber moulded lid rather than a textured/ribbed surface on the 1015P. Hopefully the difference will become clearer closer to launch.

Via Netbook Italia.

Asus netbook with slot-in mobile phone on the horizon?

Asus is apparently planning to launch an Eee PC netbook that will come with a built-in mobile phone. The phone will double as 3G connectivity for the device so that you have access to it whilst in the netbook and when you’re out and about you can just take the phone out and use that instead (this means you can use the same SIM card for both devices).

The phone module is already on sale from an Israeli company called Modu, who also provide a number of feature-phone shells that it can slot into. You can have a number of different shells depending on what you need i.e. one shell is in the form of a photo frame displaying pictures stored in the phone. Read more

Intel N550 Atom: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU lands in Q3

Intel will launch the dual-core N500 Atom processor series during the third quarter of this year. The first CPU out of the block will be the 1.5GHz dual-core N550 Atom. It will support hyper-threading and come with 1MB total L2 cache (2 x 512KB per core).

The TPD (thermal power dissipation) for the N550 is 8.5W, which is around 2W higher than the single-core 1.83GHz N475 Atom. More detail on these new chips should be expected at Computex in a few weeks time.

Via Fudzilla.

Acer prepping Chrome OS netbooks for Computex?

Acer really wants to be first out of the door with a Chrome OS device. According to a report from VentureBeat, Acer will be launching new Chrome OS devices (most likely netbooks, smartbooks or tablets) sporting the new OS at Computex Taipei in early June.

Acer may not have the Chrome OS limelight to itself though. Samsung has also talked of developing ARM-based smartbooks powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset. Google is expected to release Chrome OS during the second half of the year. Techcrunch says that Chrome OS is coming along quickly but isn’t ready as things stand, they’ve also got some images of what the OS is likely to look like.

Update: Acer has confirmed that it will not be showcasing Chrome OS netbooks at Computex.

Details on AMD’s ultrathin Nile platform revealed

AMD has released some more details on its ultrathin ‘Nile’ platform range of processors. We have attached the relevant slides after the break, but basically the new platform will see a 22 percent performance increase and 36 percent increase in 3DMark06 scores compared to the older Congo platform.

Battery life is expected to be around the 4-8 hours mark. Quite a wide range, but 4 hours is active and 8 hours is “resting”. Other features includes DDR3 support, 5.1 surround sound, HDMI out and DX11 support (DirectX 10.1 for HD 4200). Click through for the slides. Read more

Dell Latitude 2110 Pine Trail Atom refresh for education/business

Dell has announced the Latitude 2110 netbook as expected. The refresh over the 2100 comes in the form of the newer Pine Trail Atom processors with Dell targeting the device to not only the education market, but also business customers too.

Given that different segments have different needs, the netbook has not been designed with a one-size-fits-all mentality. The 10-inch model comes with either 1024 x 600 or 1366 x768 resolution options. As before the 2110 has a -resistant keyboard and anti-microbial rubber coating. Read more

Acer reveals Aspire 521, 721 1551 AMD-powered netbooks [Video]

Acer has revealed a new line-up of AMD-powered netbooks at an event in Cannes. This includes a 10-inch model (AAO 521) and two 11.6-inch models (Acer Aspire 721 and 1551). Subsidiary Packard Bell also announced the dot.a, a rebranded version of the 11.6-inch models above.

The Acer Aspire One 521 has a single-core 1.2GHz AMD V105 processor, DDR3 support, ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics and a HDMI output. You’ll still only get a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) display though. It comes with 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD and a 7-hour battery life. Read more

Asus Eee PC R101 gets snapped

The first picture of the Asus Eee PC R101 has emerged on a German retailer NotebooksBilliger.de. It doesn’t reveal too much new information, but we now know that it comes with a chiclet keyboard and patterned palm rest.

In terms of specs, the Eee PC R101 is typical netbook fare with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) display, 1.66GHz N450 Atom, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. The 4400mAh battery should be good for 9.5 hours. The model listed is available for pre-order at €299. Read more

Ubuntu Light: Instant-on OS with 7-second boot

Canonical has announced its own instant-on operating system called Ubuntu Light. This lightweight OS has a tailored netbook interface called Unity and will boot into a browser in 7 seconds. It also features chat, IM, browser and media player applications.

Unity will be the desktop environment for Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition that is expected to be released in October 2010. Unity is designed for netbooks and touch devices and will include a new panel and app launcher.

Via Mark Shuttleworth.

Sony Vaio P (P11S1E) dissected and reviewed

The new Sony Vaio P brings some new improvements to the clamshell ultraportable including touchpad, accelerometer, built-in GPS and PS3 remote play. However, the guts powering the Vaio P is essentially no different to the older models (Z series Silverthorne processor).

Engadget has reviewed the new Vaio P but felt some of the sticking points from previous models remain. This includes its high price tag ($800) , low battery life (4 hours) and sluggish performance. The accelerometer was praised and the keyboard was comfortable enough to actually type out the whole review! Read more

MSI Slatebook tablet to be unveiled at Computex

MSI will showcase a tablet PC dubbed Slatebook that will be announced at Computex in early June. The tablet will be powered by Intel’s latest Menlow processor and the company is currently considering Nvidia Tegra 2 options, depending on market demand.

The 10-inch tablet will come with Windows 7 and sport built-in 3G and Wi-Fi. The tablet will also feature e-reader capabilities (could this mean it has a Pixel Qi hybrid display?) MSI is expected to price the Slatebook at below $500.

Lenovo Ideapad U160 announced with new CULV processors

Lenovo has announced the 11.6-inch Ideapad U160 that will sport new Intel CULV processors and is expected to launch in June with prices starting at $699. New features include a chiclet keyboard as well as an active protection system for the hard drive and an ambient light sensor.

The U160 will available in a number of configuration options that includes processors from Core i3 to i7. There will also be options for Pentium and Celeron processors. At its thinnest point the U160 will measure 0.9-inches and weigh 1.3kg (2.9lbs). Read more

Apple iPad International pre-orders go live; UK contract tariffs revealed

Apple iPad pre-orders are now live across a number of countries around the world including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Prices in the UK have already been revealed but we also now have an idea on pricing for those wishing to purchase the iPad on contract.

Three mobile operators will release the iPad including Orange, O2 and Vodafone. The latter seems quite steep, offering at £10 per month for 250MB of data or £25 per month for 5GB of data. Read more

Sony Vaio P refresh gets touchpad, accelerometer & PS3 Remote Play

Sony has officially announced its new Vaio P (P11S1E) ultraportable. The new model comes with several differentiating features that include a touchpad and mouse buttons (in addition to the central trackpoint). The small touchpad sits to the right of the display, whilst the buttons are on the left side that is said to make it easy to use when holding it with two hands.

In terms of specs, the Vaio P will still be powered by a Silverthorne processor. Specifically the 1.86GHz Intel Z540 Atom is mentioned for Europe along with 2GB RAM, 54GB SSD and Windows 7 Premium. You’ll also get Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and two USB ports. Read more

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