Swift I-touch Tablet/Netbook Hybrid Now Available In The UAE

One of the advantages of a wide market is sometimes we get some very eclectic products. Take, for example, the convertible netbook/tablet – there are a few netbooks that can also be used as tablets after a quick flip. There aren't very many available. However, we can add the Swift i-Touch to that list. Released in the United Arab Emirates, it's looking to be an impressive little device.

Powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, it runs Windows 7 as its OS. It has 1GB of RAM and a 10.1 inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports multitouch. It has all the standard features: a 320GB hard drive, 1.3MP webcam, WiFi, and optional 3G connectivity. All of this at just the equivalent of $450. It probably won't be coming to America any time soon, but you can probably order one from several online retailers.

Source: Liliputing

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Android-Powered Toshiba AC 100 Netbook Reviewed

So aside from the hands-on video provided by Slashgear, PC Watch of Japan has managed to get their hands on the new Toshiba AC 100 netbook and are now publishing their review of the said netbooks. Before that, in case you forgot the Toshiba AC 100 netbook runs the Android 2.1 OS.

Aside from that the Toshiba AC100 also features a 10.1 inch display, with a 1024×600 resolution, along with an Nvidia Tegra 2 (250) 1GHz chipset, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of NAND flash, 1.3MP camera, SD memory card reader, one USB port and mini-USB port plus HDMI port. It also features Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi.

Of course, the killer features of the Toshiba AC 100 are – the HDMI port which allows you to playback 720p and 1020p video content, the Android 2.1 OS which allows you to customize the netbook's desktop and enjoy other Android perks. The netbook also gives you 7 hours of battery life.

If you want to read the full review, check out PC Watch.

Via Gadgetmix

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Link to post: Android-Powered Toshiba AC 100 Netbook Reviewed - from: Eee PC - Blog | No comments | © Admarket, 2010.

Who needs padding when you can get an air-cushioned netbook case?

There are plenty of companies offering protective sleeves for netbooks with foam padding to protect your little laptop from bumps and bruises. And then there's the Sumdex Aircube Netbook Sleeve for 10 inch netbooks. Instead of foam padding, this case uses pockets of air to cushion your netbook.

The sleeve is also water resistant (but not waterproof),  TSA checkpoint friendly, and comes with a lifetime warranty.

You can pick up the netbook sleeve for just over $16 from Amazon. I haven't had a chance to test the netbook sleeve myself, but nDevil has posted a hands-on video, which you can check out after the page break.

What do you think? Would you rather pad your netbook with foam… or air?

Who needs padding when you can get an air-cushioned netbook case? is a post from: Liliputing

New Netbooks Will Have No Windows XP Option Oct 22nd

Microsoft officially announced the end of the Windows XP operating system on new netbook sales two years ago but recently reminded the public about the deadline. Windows 7 will be installed on all new netbooks after October 22, 2010.

Cheap netbooks will see price increases because the system requirements for Windows 7 are much more demanding than windows xp and the cost to the manufacturer for the operating system itself will go up $15 – $25. Because of this consumers seeking the cheapest possible option will likely order netbooks available from manufacturers outside of the U.S.

Microsoft currently has a windows 7 upgrade for netbook users currently using Windows XP. The upgrade can be downloaded directly so netbook users without CD-ROM drives can still use windows 7. The windows 7 netbook upgrade comes in both 32 and 64-bit versions.

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Canonical prepping a tablet-friendly version of Ubuntu Linux

While there are very few tablet PCs in mass production today, the successful launch of the Apple iPad has dozens of companies planning to enter the tablet space. And that has software makers eying the space pretty closely as well. We've seen plenty of tablets running Google Android over the past few months, and it looks like the folks behind MeeGo Linux are making a tablet version of their software. Now it looks like Canonical is getting in on the action, with plans to develop a tablet version of Ubuntu.

The idea is to retool the Ubuntu interface so that you can use the operating system without a mouse and keyboard, using a touchscreen display to perform most actions. That also means adding an on-screen keyboard for text entry.

Canonical is also working with Freescale, Marvell, and Texas Instruments to optimize its software to run quickly on ARM-based chips from those companies.

We probably won't see a tablet-specific version of Ubuntu until this fall at the earliest, since the company is talking about basing it on Ubuntu 10.10 which is slated for release in October.

I've always felt like the program launcher for Ubuntu Netbook Edition looked like it was designed for touchscreen devices rather than netbooks with touchpads, so I wouldn't be shocked if the tablet-friendly version of Ubuntu winds up looking a lot like the Ubuntu Netbook Edition software available today.

Post from: Liliputing

Canonical prepping a tablet-friendly version of Ubuntu Linux

CPT transflective display could give Pixel Qi a run for its money

Pixel Qi has gotten a lot of attention lately for its display which combines some of the best elements of a E Ink and full color displays. Indoors, you can use the screen in full color mode and you'd have a hard time telling it apart from any other display. Outdoors, you can shut off the backlight, reduce the screen's power consumption by about 500 percent, and easily see the screen in direct sunlight.

But Pixel Qi isn't the only company working on this sort of technology. Netbook News spotted a transflective display from CPT that promises similar functionality. The company is demonstrating a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display with wide viewing angles that works with the backlight off.

The CPT screen doesn't seem to be quite as energy efficient as Pixel Qi's solution. Instead of drawing 5 times less power with the backlight off, it cuts energy consumption by 50 percent. That ain't bad, but it could certainly be better.

Nicole Scott from Netbook News suggests that text doesn't look quite as sharp with the backlight off.

Transflective displays aren't entirely new. If I remember correctly, a number of early Windows Mobile and Palm PDAs used similar technology nearly 10 years ago. But it should be interesting to see how CPT's solution scales to netbooks or tablets.

You can check out Nicole's hands-on video after the break.

Post from: Liliputing

CPT transflective display could give Pixel Qi a run for its money

Fujitsu Introduces PH520 Lifebook Netbook

Fujitsu Japan has just introduced one of their newest netbooks, a netbook powered by one of AMD's new 2010 netbook processors — a 1.7Ghz single-core AMD Athlon Neo K125 processor.

Some other tech specs of the Fujitsu PH520 Lifebook netbook include:

• 11.6″ screen display with 1366 x 768 resolution
• AMD M880G chipset
• ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics
• 2 GB of RAM
• 320 GB hard drive
• Ethernet
• b/g/n/ Wi-Fi
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI, VGA, card reader, audio jacks
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
• 1.3MP Webcam

This Lifebook netbook also comes with a six-cell battery, which is expected to last for about 6.2 hours.  The netbook weighs in at 1.4 kg — pretty standard for a netbook.

There's another similar Fujitsu netbook that is powered by an Intel Celeron SU2300 processor.  It features a similar shape, but the chassis has a larger keyboard and trackpad.

Via PCWatch.

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AMD isn't rushing into the tablet PC space

When netbooks hit the big time in 2008, chip maker AMD too a sort of wait-and-see approach. It wasn't until this year that the company started to get serious about the budget ultraportable space, with the introduction of its new Nile platform that covers chips for low power 10 inch netbooks and for more powerful 11 and 12 inch models with higher performance graphics and dual core processors.

So it's not that surprising to learn that AMD isn't in a hurry to launch chips destined for tablets. While tablets with x86 and ARM-based chips are all the rage at the Computex trade show in Taiwan this week, let's be honest. Right now there's only one blockbuster tablet on the market: The Apple iPad. That could all change in the next few months as other companies start to bring devices to market. But it's still a little early to tell whether the iPad shows there's a huge demand for tablet-style devices… or just a demand for Apple branded devices.

DigiTimes reports that AMD is staying out of the tablet game for now, and instead plans to continue targeting its next-generation low power Bobcat chips at netbooks. The Bobcat platform should hit the market in 2011. Despite the oft-repeated mantra that the netbook is dead, AMD appears to have decided that the low cost ultraportable computer is here to stay… for at least long enough to warrant spending some R&D money on the platform. If tablets really do take off, I suspect we'll see AMD make a move into the tablet space in another few years.

Post from: Liliputing

AMD isn't rushing into the tablet PC space

Roundup of Linux distributions that play (mostly) well with the HP 2133

The HP Mini 2133 Mini-Note was my second netbook. I picked one up in early 2008, after being drawn in by the attractive case, keyboard, and high resolution 1280 x 768 pixel display. But I quickly found that the VIA C7-M processor and Chrome graphics in the netbook caused a little bit of a speedbump. That's because the model I purchased came with SUSE Linux 10 instead of Windows, but I wasn't a big fan of that particular Linux distro and it took me a while to find an alternate operating system that would run properly on the netbook's hardware.

I eventually settled on MinBuntu, a custom version of Ubuntu 8.04 that had been tweaked to support the HP Mini 2133. But a funny thing happened over the past few years — a number of other Linux distributions have been updated to add support for most netbooks, including those with VIA processors.

I don't have that netbook anymore, but ZDNet's JA Watson recently spent some time testing different Linux distributions on his HP Mini 2133. While none worked flawlessly out of the box, he found that Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition, Linux Mini 9, and Fedora 13 all supported everything but the WiFi hardware out of the box — and enabling WiFi simply required installing some proprietary Broadcom drivers.

Other Linux distributions struggled with the graphics drivers, but if you're not afraid of doing a little digging, odds are you can get most popular Linux-based operating systems to run on this 2 year old netbook.

It's worth noting that Watson didn't try Jolicloud, an Ubuntu-based operating system customized for netbooks. I know that the folks at Jolicloud have made an effort to support as many netbooks as possible, including the HP 2133 Mini-Note and other netbooks with VIA C7-M processors.

Post from: Liliputing

Roundup of Linux distributions that play (mostly) well with the HP 2133

Deals of the Day

Netbooks and Notebooks

• Gateway LT2023u 10.1″ netbook w/Atom N2790, Win 7 Starter, 3 cell battery for $240 + free shipping – Amazon
• Refurb ASUS Eee PC 900 Celeron 900MHz 8.9″ Netbook for $155 + free shipping – Mwave (M Club members)
• MSI Wind U130 10.1″ netbook w/Atom N450, Win XP, 3 cell battery for $266 + free shipping – Buy.com (via Amazon)
• Acer Aspire One AOD250 10.1″ netbook w/Atom N270, Win XP, 3 cell battery for $250 + $7 s&h – Amazon

Accessories

• ASUS USB 2.0 External Slim DVD±R/RW Drive for $39.99 + free shipping after rebate – Newegg
• iomega eGo Portable 500GB 2.5″ Ruby Red External Hard Drive for $69.99 after rebate – Newegg (coupon: EMCYTYW32)
• Fantom 2TB eSATA / USB External HDD for $100 after rebates + $9 s&h - MacMall
• Western Digital 640GB Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive for $65 + free shipping - Dell (coupon: 2V6XGMVX29L59H)
• OCZ Solid 2 Series 60GB 2.5″ MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $119 after rebate – Newegg

You can find more deals on netbooks, gadgets, and accessories in the Liliputing Deals section.

Post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day

Hi-Grade Notino mL815E netbook catches World Cup fever

Most netbooks on the market today have the same specs: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, Windows 7 Starter, and you probably know the rest. So how do you make a netbook stand out from the crowd? Sure, you could buck the trend and go with a faster processor or higher resolution display. But those features will inevitably drive up the price. A much more popular approach seems to be to throw a custom design on the lid. And theme du jour seems to be World Cup soccer.

Yesterday we spotted LG and Samsung netbook models adorned with sports-themed covers. Now it looks like UK PC vendor Hi-Grade is getting on the action, with the Notino mL815E netbook.

As you'd expect, this model has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor, 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, Windows 7 Starter Edition, 1GB of RAM, and 250GB hard drive. It also has an "England Red" lid designed to let the world know that you're a fan of England's soccer team.

The Hi-Grade Notino mL815E goes for about £311 ($447 US), although Hi-Grade also sells a few cheaper models such as the mL100E, which comes with a VIA C7-M processor.

via PC Advisor

Post from: Liliputing

Hi-Grade Notino mL815E netbook catches World Cup fever

Compaq Presario CQ62Z looks and feels like a notebook but at a netbook price

The Compaq Presario CQ62Z looks and feels like a notebook. It sports an attractive 15.6 inch screen, runs at 2.2GHZ on an AMD V-Series V120 CPU, comes with the choice of 2GB or 4GB of RAM, and storage options of 250GB or 500GB. It also brings with it ATI's HD 4250 graphics card, LED backlighting, a 1466 x 768 resolution and is powered by a 6-cell battery.

The price however is a different story. While most, including myself, would assume this notebook costs $800 or $900, you can actually acquire this unit for only $379.99, a price reserved for netbooks not notebooks. So is this a notebook? a netbook? neither? both? I'll let you decide. All I know is, it's a great deal.

Via Slashgear

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Deals of the Day

Netbooks and Notebooks

• Refurbished Acer Aspire One or Asus Eee PC netbook w/Atom N270, Win XP or Win 7 for $200 – Woot (today only)
• HP Mini 210 10.1″ netbook w/Atom N450, Win 7 Starter, 3 cell battery for $266 + free shipping – Amazon
• Refurbished Asus Eee PC 105HAB netbook w/Atom N270, Win XP, 6 cell battery for $230 + free shipping – Buy.com

Accessories

• Super Talent 32GB USB Flash Drive for $51 + free shipping – SuperBiiz (coupon: GRAD15)
• OCZ Vertex LE 100G 2.5″ Solid State Drive (SSD) for $269 + free shipping after rebate – Newegg
• Kingston 4GB SD card twin pack for $16.95 + free shipping – Buy.com

You can find more deals on netbooks, gadgets, and accessories in the Liliputing Deals section.

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Deals of the Day

Special edition netbooks: LG X140 World Cup edition, Samsung N150 Adidas netbook

Looking for a few extra pieces of flare with your next netbook? LG and Samsung have got you covered with two new models for sports enthusiasts.

The LG X140 World Cup Edition netbook is a 10 inch mini-laptop which is available with an Intel Atom N450 or N470 processor and either a 1024 x 600 pixel or 1366 x 768 pixel display. It will come in white, pink, and black, with a World Cup inspired logo on the lid.

Meanwhile Samsung has struck a deal with Adidas to launch a custom version of the company's Samsung N150 laptop with Adidas branding. The netbook features an Intel Atom N450 processor, Bluetooth 3.0 and a 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. This model features an Adidas logo and a colorful design which actually stands a chance of not looking dated once the World Cup is over.

via Netbook News.it and Netbooked

Post from: Liliputing

Special edition netbooks: LG X140 World Cup edition, Samsung N150 Adidas netbook

AT&T discontinuing unlimited data for $30 plan

AT&T announced last week that they will be discontinuing their $30 unlimited data plans for users of netbooks and smartphones. While current subscribers will not be affected, future interested users will have the option to purchase either a 200MB data plan for $15/month plan or 2GB data plan for $25/month. Since the only users who really require more than 2GB of data are iPhone users, netbook users need not be concerned and might actually save $5/month or more.

Via Afterdawn

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Intel's Canoe Lake ultrathin netbook performance put to the test

Intel introduced a new Canoe Lake reference design for ultrathin netbooks earlier this week. And when I say ultrathin, I'm not kidding. Intel says that Canoe Lake systems can be as thin as 14mm, or about 0.55 inches. That's because the low power chipset doesn't generate a ton of heat and PC makers can use passive cooling instead of a noisy (and bulky) fan.

I've seen a lot of photos of the Canoe Lake reference design. But up until this morning I hadn't seen anyone actually using the system to see how it performs. Fortunately Sascha from Netbook News stepped up to the plate with a short video which you can check out below.

Here's the nutshell version: The computer seems pretty zippy and responsive even with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720. It has a 1.5GHz Intel Atom N500 dual core processor. The demo system is running Windows 7 Ultimate with 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive, and Sascha says it's the fastest netbook he's ever used. And if there's anyone out there who has used more netbooks than me, it just might be Sascha.

Devices based on the Canoe Lake reference design are expected to sell for under $600.

Post from: Liliputing

Intel's Canoe Lake ultrathin netbook performance put to the test

Asus Eee PC 1015PE unboxed - Video

On paper the Asus Eee PC 1015PE doesn't look all that different from other recent netbooks from Asus. It has the same 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 250GB hard drive, 802.1b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth. It runs Windows 7 Starter and has a 4400mAh battery.

But the Eee CP 1015PE features a new design with a matte display and a larger touchpad than other models like the Eee PC 1005PE. It also comes with different color options, including a red model.

Riccardo at Eee PC.it managed to snag one of the new netbooks in Italy, and he's posted an unboxing video and some first impressions. You can check out the video after the break. It'll probably make more sense if you speak Italian, but for the most parts I've found taking-things-out-of-boxes has a universal language all its own.

Post from: Liliputing

Asus Eee PC 1015PE unboxed – Video

MeeGo Netbook Platform

Maybe netbook manufacturers are showing MeeGo a lot of love at Computex this year. Novell is developing an OpenSuse version of MeeGo that should be available on netbooks within the next year. Linpus as well will be delivering their own flavor of MeeGo borrowing some elements from their already available Linpus Lite for netbooks.

Success would be impossible without the hardware side but luckily MeeGo has allies in that camp as well.  Quanta and Intel are collaborating on a 10-inch MeeGo tablet hopefully coming out next year. Other companies that have pledged support include:  Acer, Asus, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, and Orange. MeeGo will be a powerful force come 2011.

via ars

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Onkyo DX netbook with dual screens

At Computex 2010, Onkyo revealed a new netbook with not one, but two 10.1 inch LCD screens. Along with two screens, $956 will land you a netbook with AMD's 1.6GHz Neo MV-40 processor, 320GB of hard-drive, 2GB of ram, and ATI's Radeon HD 3200 graphics card.  Additionally, it comes with a webcam, wifi, bluetooth capabilities, Windows 7, and a battery lasting close to 4 hours.

This is definitely not a cheap netbook and we believe there are numerous other more inexpensive and better alternatives out there. However, should you want to acquire this model, it will go on sale for $956 in December.

Via Netbooked

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Asus Eee PC 1015T at Computex

It appears that there is a new Eee PC coming out soon and will be sporting the AMD v105 processor and ATI Radeon HD 4200. Before any gets too excited though, it should be noted that this machine was not even running a full OS. Based on the original report, it seems like that this machine was rushed to Computex just to have something to show. Stay tuned and as more information comes out on this new Asus netbook it will be posted here. Get a sneak peek at the video below:

Via Netbook News

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MSI Introduces MSI La Mode and MSI Serene Netbook Concepts

We haven't heard from MSI in a while, but rumor on the street is that they've come up with two new netbook concepts.  There aren't much details on these, but here's what we've heard.

The MSI La Mode netbook features a 10″ screen and looks similar to the MSI Wind U160 with a slightly different exterior design.  The "ebony cloth case with wave-pattern and luminescent MSI logo" is designed to help the netbook dissipate heat.

The (also) 10″ MSI Serene netbook will feature MSI's thermal technology for heat dissipation.  It will not have a fan, so it will be as silent as a ninja when it's turned on.

These two MSI netbooks might never even come to fruition, but we got excited when heard about them, so thought we'd just share the juicy rumors.

Via NetbookSpain.

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