Intel’s new ultra-low voltage (CULV) platform for UMPC’s

In the second quarter of 2009 Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) are planning to launch a new consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) platform for portable computers (UMPC’s / netbooks). The new ultra-portable notebooks are said to have a price point of between $699 and $899.

The new Intel CULV platform will be in direct competition with AMD’s (NYSE:AMD) new Yukon platform and three of the top notebook vendors are rumored to be preparing new notebooks Read more

Packard Bell Dot Netbook Now Available in UK

Oh little Packard Bell Dot Netbook why do you love our grubby fingerprints? Just so everyone knows according to Pocket-lint the all new PB Dot netbook is now available to buy, there are good points and a few bad ones with this little cutey. Read more

Asus Eee PC turns one: celebrates by selling for $300

We would assume that the Eee PC from Asus has been around for years, but it has only just turned one. Normally when it is your birthday you receive the presents, but Asus are to hand out a birthday present to us. Read more

MSI Wind U100 Netbbok Official News

Below is the Official press release from MSI for the MSI Wind U100 Netbbok.

MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is excited to announce the MSI Wind U100 Netbbok is now on sale at Bestbuy locations across the country. The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” was the first 10” netbook to feature the speedy new Intel Atom™ 1.6GHz processor Read more

MSI Wind U100 netbook at Major Retailer: U120 coming soon

None of the big named notebook makers would have ever thought how popular the MSI Wind U100 would have been, but they were shown a thing or two from the small computer maker. The release of the MSI Wind U100 netbook was way back in June, but now the manufacturer is about to show the rest of the competition how serious they are. Read more

Asus Eee PC 901 HSUPA option on netbook in October

For those of you who wanted to purchase an Asus Eee PC 901 but thought about waiting a little longer, then the time has come for you to consider this purchase. The new netbook comes with yet another upgrade option, and that is a HSUPA.

So just think using your 8.9-inch Asus Eee PC 901 that has a battery time of around 7.5 hours with its Read more

MiTAC launches MiSTATION netbook: Windows or Linux support

Owners of Mio and Navman, MiTAC are just the latest company to launch their own netbook computer. The MiSTATION netbook comes with an 8.9-inch screen and is powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor.

The netbook has a choice of either a 20GB SSD or a 60GB Hard Drive. You will have the choice of either Windows XP or Linux, depending on which you prefer.

The MiTAC MiSTATION has a host of great features, the best being the GPS receiver. Users will be able to use the Mio GPS software already installed to help them find their way around Europe. The 20GB SSD model will cost £400, while the 60GB model will cost £282.

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Other Netbook news

Commodore enters Asus Eee PC territory with tiny laptop

We all know how well Asus are doing with their range of UMPC’s, well it seems that a number of computer companies want to get in on the action. I would never have thought that Commodore would be one of those brands.

Commodore have now hit the tiny laptop market, not much is known about this tiny laptop. It will have to be something special to kick Asus of their thrown though as the Ultra Mobile PC kings.

Every time I hear the word Commodore, it reminds be of my youth. I spent many of hours late at night on my Commodore 64, and that was just to load one game.

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Other Commodore news

Sony Mylo 2 wants to be your Internet Device

With ultra mobile pcs and netbooks becoming the must have gadget for staying connected on the move, you can understand why a brand would revamp a product for this market.

This is Sony’s Mylo 2, which has been known as the personal communicator until now. Its been rumored that the company has begun branding the gadget an “Internet Device”.

You may remember Sony’s Mylo 2 (aka Personal Communicator) circa 2006, the little gadget may have not had the success that is deserved. In today’s UMPC market an internet device is what the consumer wants, not a Communicator…smart move Sony.

Time will tell what effect this rebranding will have on the sales of Mylo 2, but thinking of my brother who bought the same razor just because they changed the color…anything is possible.

You can read more about this news on Pocketables or read other ultra mobile pc news here.

Lenovo versus Asus Eee PC with IdeaPad S10

Looks like Lenovo would love a piece of the action and this is exactly what they are going to get, this is the Lenovo versus Asus Eee PC with the stunning IdeaPad S10; and the winner will be?

Lenovo has always been a popular brand and they are becoming one of the major laptop players to enter the very fast-growing netbook market, welcome to the launch of the IdeaPad S10 with a starting price of $399.

Asus are the ones that gave us the Eee PC with a 7-inch screen which launched in the UK for around £200 and it proved to be so popular Asus gave us ones with bigger screens like the 10-inch Eee PC 1000.

When it comes to ultra-mobile-PCs the market is getting crowded, well looks like Lenovo wants to be a part of that crowded market. The Lenovo Ideapad S10 will be available in two configurations.

Priced at $399 (£200) or $499 (£250) that is obviously dependant on hard drive capacity and RAM allocation, one has 512MB of memory and an 80GB hard drive and the other has 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive, it comes in either black, white or red.

Both models however are based on Intel’s Atom processor, features LED backlit 10.2in screens, runs on Windows XP and includes 4-in-1 multi-card reader and two USB ports.

Liu Jun, senior vice president, Consumer Business Group, Lenovo said:

“As rapidly as the technology changes, today’s consumers are looking for mobile products that feature the best of basic computing functions in an extremely compact and affordable form,”.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 will be available from October, not too sure on the UK launch dates as of yet, we will keep you posted.

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Jointech JL7100: $99 for Eee PC rip-off

There has been an Eee PC rip-off in the past the Kira 100, but that was around $475. It just seemed pointless at spending that kind of money on a knockoff.

However; there is now a new Asus Eee PC rip-off on the market and it will only cost you $99 USD.

The Jointech JL7100 comes with 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution display.

There are still a few downsides to this UMPC though; firstly it only uses the WinCE 5.0 instead of the standard operating system. There is just 64MB of internal storage, so you will need to connect an external hard drive to this ultra mobile PC.

There is more disappointing news from the Jointech JL7100, the UMPC has just 64MB of RAM.

Looks like Asus has nothing to worry about with this cheap rip-off then

Source

Asus Eee PC 1000: UMPC gets reviewed

When it comes to UMPC’s the Asus Eee PC is king, but when rivals announces a new Ultra Mobile PC that threatens their crown. That is when Asus digs their heals in and announces a new model.

So now Asus have announced the Eee PC 1000, this UMPC is much the same as the 901. It has the same styling as the 8.9-inch model, it comes with the same six-cell battery along with the same styling around the screen, the Asus Eee PC 1000 also has the same glossy finish.

The most noticeable difference is that the 1000 comes with a 10- screen, which now supports 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. The quality of the 10-inch screen is sharp, perfect for surfing the net.

It seems as if Asus might have shot themselves in the foot with the Eee PC 1000, the design is now bigger, which means that it is also heavier, it looks as though the idea of portability is slipping through their fingers.

Do not let that put you of though the Eee PC does perform well, the battery last for at least 5 hours, perfect for using it everyday while out and about.

For a full review head over to Pocket Lint

Asus Eee PC 901 rapidly redefining the 900 UMPC

When the Asus Eee PC 701 was first introduced it was a revolutionary new product, then Asus launched the Eee PC 900, this UMPC rapidly refined the 701. Well now Asus have launched the Eee PC 901 and this is rapidly redefining the 900 UMPC as well. Many have wondered how Asus could reinvent the UMPC again, but they have and here is why.

Ok the first bit of advice that Stuff give is, if you already have an Asus Eee PC, then do not bother upgrading to the 901. However; if you own another brand Ultra Mobile PC, then you should consider upgrading to the Eee PC 901 as it is so much better than its peers. The body shape of the 901 is much the same as the 900; this new UMPC also uses the same 1024×600 screen.

Both of these small notebooks use the same Linux Xandros operating system as well as the 20GB solid-state hard drive, just remember that the XP model will have 12GB SSD, which seems strange as we all know that Windows takes up more storage space. The Intel Atom processor used in the new 901 is superior to the one used in the older 900, but you will not notice much of a difference.

When the first 900’s were shipped they came with the 4400mAh batteries, these lasted just two hours. However many Asus are now offering an upgrade on the battery for just £10. Well there will be no such problem with the Asus Eee PC 901, as these ship with the more powerful 6600mAh battery, this will last over five hours and that is with your Blu-tooth and Wi-Fi on. The only downside to the larger battery is the extra weight, but the sacrifice is worth it. Many people believe that the keyboard on the 901 is still on the small side and should have been stretched, but come on all you will be doing is browsing the net anyway.

For those of you, who feel that 20GB of storage is not enough, do not worry as the Asus Eee PC 901 also comes with 20GB of secure online storage, what other UMPC offers that.

Asus Eee PC now with Touch Screen: is it any good?

Ok so before you get too exited, I have to let you know that there is not any official Asus Eee PC on the market at the moment however; there is an aftermarket company that has produced a great mod. You will be able to convert your standard keyboard on the Eee PC and give it a touch screen; the mod is available from those clever guys over in China. Once you unpack the little touch screen, it should only take about 30 minutes to install and the great news is, there is no soldering involved.

As yet we do not know how great the touch screen mod for the Asus Eee PC as the guys over at Blorge have not had a chance to test it out yet. It seems as if they are not so brave when it comes to testing this mod out, would be great if a reader has already tried this one out and let us know how it all went. We are not sure if there is anyone shipping this mod within the U.S. so you will have to order it from China, and wait a while for you new gadget to arrive. Once you work out the conversion, the Asus Eee PC Touchscreen mod will cost about $338, you will have to add the shipping on top of that price.

When you order it from the store they will direct you on to a page, this will give you full directions of the install process, as well as easy to understand images, well you need the pictures as the site is in Chinese.

If you have installed the Eee PC Touch Screen mod, please let us know how it all went.

UMPC Choice: ASUS Eee PC vs. MSI Wind notebook

The UMPC seems to becoming a more popular choice for people who are on the move as they are much easier to transport around with you while traveling. There are a few Ultra Mobile PC’s on the market however; there is only one that has had all the attention, and that is the ASUS Eee PC. Asus has not really had much competition in this area, but this could be about to change with the release of the MSI Wind notebook.

So what has the Asus Eee PC got to offer? Well firstly Asus have two models of their popular UMPC Eee 700 series and the Eee 900 Series. The 700 series was the first out and did prove popular however; at only 7-inches It seemed to be a little on the small side. The standard Eee PC 700 only had a 2GB solid-state drive and just 256 MB, but a later model see this increased to 512 MB of RAM.

Asus learned a lot from their first attempt which was great news for when they released the larger Eee 900 Series, as you would expect the new model had a more popular larger screen and a full size keyboard with a multi-touch trackpad. This new machine now had the choice of either Linux or Windows XP OS.

The new Asus Eee 900 comes with a 20 GB SSD on the Linux version and a 12 GB solid-state drive on the Windows XP version, It seems strange that the more resource hungry windows gets a smaller hard drive. The new Eee 900 has had a few problems from the start, like a battery that does not last as long as it should do. Do not despair though as Asus are now rectifying this with a more powerful battery.

So will the new MSI Wind notebook be able to compete with the Asus Eee PC, and the first to try and take the fight to the Eee PC is the U100. As with the Eee PC the U100 comes with the choice of either Windows XP or Linux OS. The processor used to keep things running will be the Intel Atom 1.6GHz and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. One area that the U100 will lose out on is the standard 80GB 2.5” SATA hard drive; this will use a lot more power than a SSD. The screen is a 10-inch so a little larger than the biggest Eee PC, so getting towards a normal size laptop.

The MSI U100 Wind notebook will come with a choice of either a 3 cell or 6 cell batteries, not sure what the difference between the two is not known.

The future of computers is changing fast so many people seem to be dumping their bulky desktops for laptops, but then again laptops sales have been affected with the increased in sales of the much more portable and lighter UMPC’s. And sales will increase even further once larger SSD’s are developed and processors get more efficient.

Thanks to TweekTown for MSI Wind Notebook Images

3K Unveils Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC: Another Eee PC knockoff

3K has decided to unveil their new Longitude 400 Notebook and weighs in at just under 2Lbs. This ultra lightweight ultra mobile PC has a 7-inch LCD screen, it seems as we are looking at yet another Eee PC knockoff.

The Longitude 400 Notebook is perfect if you are on the move or if you are a student who needs a cheap and small alternative to a standard laptop. Do not think for one moment that the new Longitude 400 UMPC will be slow and useless as you would be wrong, you are able to do all your everyday tasks like you would normally do on your standard size notebook from browsing the net, sending messages, playing movies and music and much more.

The 3K Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC uses an energy saving 400Mhz CPU, there is also a full size keyboard as well as 1 Ethernet 10/100 LAN port and 3 USB ports. The UMPC comes with the Linux Operating System and will be combatible with programs such as AbiWord, Excel, GNUMeric as well as Word.

The 3K Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC will cost $399 and will be available by late May, so if you want one you should reserve your order now as there will be a high demand.

Source - Business Wire

Asus to replace Eee PC 900 UMPC batteries

It has not even been a day since reports came in about Asus Eee PC 900 UMPC, owners started to complain about how long their batteries were lasting. Well now it seems that Asus are all ready to get something done about the poor battery performance.

When you go to the Asus website and then do a rough translation, the company posted a statement stating that they are thankful for the support of their customers business and that they are now chalking some ideas to resolve the whole battery issue. Asus has said that every single owner of an Asus Eee PC 900 in Honk Kong will be receiving a free 5800mAh replacement battery, not sure on the rest of us yet.

The original batteries were a four-cell 4400mAh which Asus now realize was a mistake as the battery life was from 1.5 to 2.5 hours; both are not fantastic for such a small UMPC.

It is a shame that the Asus Eee PC 900 has got of to a poor start, as the original did not have any of these problems. However; it is satisfying to know that a company like Asus is big enough to own up and admit that they made a mistake and will fix the problem quick.

Source – Engadget

Asus Eee PC 900 UMPC: launch dates and details

The original Asus Eee PC was a great little UMPC, however many of us knew that this was just a teaser until the launch of the Asus Eee PC 900. We thought that this slighter larger model would be a huge improvement on the previous model however, I was a little shocked to learn that they would still be using the 900MHz Celeron M processor.

Although Asus have tried to make up for this by giving us two different flash storage units, the first is 4GB of flash storage that is soldered on the motherboard while the other is the 8GB SSD which will be in the PCIe slot however, this is only on the XP version of the Ultra Mobile PC, and on the Linux version that will come with a 16GB SSD.

One thing that I do not understand, why would Asus give the more simpler Linux operating system more storage, very strange. The price for the Asus Eee PC 900 UMPC will be $500 - $650, the reason for this high price tag has something to do with the Windows license fee.

So now comes the all important launch dates of this Ultra Mobile PC, well both the UK and Honk Kong should see ship dates from today with France following tomorrow. Germany, Italy and Australia will have to wait until May. As yet there is no news as to when the Asus Eee PC 900 UMPC will be released in the U.S.

Source - Asus News

Sharp and Willcom D4 WSO16H UMPC: more than just a smartphone

The Willcom D4 WSO16H is a small UMPC and is a joint effort from both Willcom and Sharp. The WSO16H is more than just a normal handset; it is in a sense a small computer that fits in the palm of your hand.

The Willcom D4 WSO16H is powered by the Intel Atom processor which has a speed of 1.33GHz. Also included are a 40GB HDD and a 5 Inch 1024×600 LCD touchscreen with LED Backlighting. The Ultra Mobile PC has a full keyboard which slides out from underneath the handset.

Also inside is 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0 as well as a 2megapixel camera. The Willcom D4 WSO16H UMPC comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium as well as Microsoft Office Personal 2007.

Source – Akihabara News via Slash Gear

Video Update: Asus EeePC 900 uses 900MHz Celeron M processor not Atom

Are the rumors for real? Well it seems they are, the 8.9-inch Asus EeePC 900 is still using the same old 900MHz Celeron M processor as the original Eee PC 701, but it does run on the full 900MHz without the 630MHz cap of its predecessor.

Apparently as promised at CeBIT it was going to be the Intel Atom processor, but sorry people this is not to be. Atom will apparently be launching in June. Asus Eee PC 900 is divided into Windows XP Home and Linux versions.

Watch the video below for more information.

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