Jolicloud comes to the Dell Inspiron Duo convertible netbook

Jolicloud comes to the Dell Inspiron Duo convertible netbook is a post from: Liliputing

The Dell Inspiron Duo is a convertible tablet style netbook with a 1.5 GHz Intel Atom Dual core processor, 10 inch, 1366 x  768 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, and an unusual design that lets you rotate the screen for use in tablet mode without relying on a swiveling mechanism that feels like it's going to break off at any moment. But reviewers haven't been all that impressed with the custom touchscreen software Dell bundles with the netbook.

Enter Jolicloud.

Jolicloud is a Linux-based operating system originally designed specifically for netbooks, so it's optimized to play well with Intel Atom chips. It's also a relatively light weight operating system that places heavy emphasis on the web browser and web-based apps. The operating support includes some basic touchscreen support, but YouTube member BeYourOwnDroid has made some tweaks to enable support for touch in the Google chromium web browser and to add the Florence Virtual keyboard for typing on the screen when in tablet mode.

You can find more information and instructions at YouTube and at the Ubuntu Forums.

via Netbook News

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News From Asus: Expect Quad-Core And 3D

Asus already has plans for four new Android tablets – but this doesn't mean they've stopped with their planning. A recent interview with Jerry Shen, the company's CEO reveals that the company has several fun things in store for customers. Namely, an Android tablet with a 3D display, tablets with quad-core CPUs, MeeGo Linux and even more Android netbooks, and Windows Phone 7- based devices.

Shen hinted that the current dual-core chips aren't able to handle smooth HD processing and hopes that a stronger CPU means a smoother 1080p video playback. He also reassures customers that the company will still be producing notebooks and netbooks, even while pushing into the tablet market.

Source: Liliputing

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

News From Asus: Expect Quad-Core And 3D

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Link to post: News From Asus: Expect Quad-Core And 3D - from: Eee PC | One comment | © Admarket, 2011.

HTC Flyer 7 inch Android tablet features palm rejection and stylus input

HTC Flyer 7 inch Android tablet features palm rejection and stylus input is a post from: Liliputing

With virtually every PC and phone maker on earth jumping into the tablet arena, it's hard to make your device stand out from the crowd. HTC is actually taking a rather old-school approach with its upcoming HTC Flyer tablet. While it features a finger-friendly capacitive multitouch display like most other high end tablets, HTC has also included an active digitizer and stylus for more precise input and handwriting recognition — something that most high end Windows tablets have offered for the past decade.

Some folks immediately scoff at stylus input for one reason or another. A stylus is easy to use, while your fingers are always with you. You can't really do multitouch with a stylus. But long-time tablet fans love being able to input text as easily as writing with pen and paper. The only problem is that many newer devices that do accept stylus input don't offer any sort of palm rejection, which means the moment you place your hand on the screen to start writing, things go haywire.

But Chippy and Sascha from CarryPad and Netbook News got a chance to check out a new HTC Flyer tablet and they found that it does offer palm rejection technology, which means you won't have to hold your hand at an awkard angle eveyr time you want to star writing on the screen.

You can check out the video after the break. You can also see some of the custom software on the Android 2.3 tablet, as well as a comparison with the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Asus: Tablets with 3D displays, quad-core CPUs in the works

Asus: Tablets with 3D displays, quad-core CPUs in the works is a post from: Liliputing

Asus may be working to bring four new Android tablets to market over the next few months, but the company is always thinking ahead. Russian site Hi-Tech interviewed Asus CEO Jerry Shen recently and learned that the company plans a number of interesting new devices for the future including:

• An Android tablet with a 3D display
• Tablets with quad-core processors
• Netbooks running MeeGo Linux and Google Android
• Windows Phone 7 devices

Shen suggests that dual core chips aren't good enough to smoothly process HD video, which hasn't really been my experience — especially since the GPU is more important than the CPU when it comes to 1080p video playback. But it's possible some of Shen's remarks have been garbled a bit in translation.

The Asus CEO does reaffirm the company's commitment to notebooks and netbooks even while it joins the rest of the consumer electronics world in pushing tablets. Shen says notebooks and tablets are different categories that fit different needs.

via Unwired View

Deals of the Day

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Netbooks and Tablets

• Refurb Asus Eee PC 1001PX 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, Win XP 3 cell battery for $235 – Buy.com
• Foxconn SZ-901 netbook w/Atom N270, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, no OS for $190 – Newegg
• Coby Kyros 7″ 4GB Android Tablet for $137 + $1 s&h - Walmart
• Velocity Micro Cruz Reader Android eBook Reader for $170 + $7 s&h - Sears

Accessories

• Refurb Corsair 8GB USB Flash drive for $10 – TigerDirect
• Patriot XT Rage 16GB USB flash drive for $26 after rebate – Newegg
• Targus 10″ netbook sleeve for $8.49 + free shipping – Lenovo
• HP S2231 22″ 1080p Widescreen LCD Display for $120 + free shipping – HP (coupon: SAVE30HP)

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

Motorola says the WebTop laptop dock isn't just for the Atrix 4G, more on the way

Motorola says the WebTop laptop dock isn't just for the Atrix 4G, more on the way is a post from: Liliputing

The Motorola Atrix 4G is one of the most intriguing smartphones to hit the street this year. That's partially because of its super-speedy 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 4G connectivity. But it's also because Motorola offers several docking stations which effectively transform the phone into a laptop computer or a home theater system. Now Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha says the Webtop laptop docking station isn't just for the Atrix 4G. Later this year the company will offer the Webtop for other high-end smartphones.

Jha made the comments during a Morgan Stanley technology conference, and promised that the Webtop would be available for additional phones during the second half of the year. Engadget reports that Jha said the only reason the Motorola Droid Bionic will ship at launch without a Webtop option is that there wasn't time to get one ready. That seems to suggest that the Bionic could have a Webtop option soon, making it possibly the second Motorola smartphone to offer a Webtop docking station.

Hopefully the more phones Motorola offers with a Webtop option, the cheaper the laptop dock will get due to economies of scale. Right now the Motorola Atrix 4G is available for $200 when you sign up for a 2-year service plan. But you have to pay $500 to get the phone and the Webtop. Want to purchase the Webtop outright without signing up for a contract? It'll run you $499.99 — or almost twice as much as the price of a typical netbook, which is pretty expensive for a laptop dock that's pretty much all keyboard and screen. The Webtop doesn't have its own processor or storage. Instead it relies on the phone's.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer get a Honeycomb update

Asus Eee Pad Transformer get a Honeycomb update is a post from: Liliputing

When Asus began showing off the Eee Pad Transformer at CES in January, the tablet was running a version of Android 2.x with a custom user interface, but promising that the tablet with the detachable keyboard would run Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb by the time it launches in April. Now the company is following through on that promise, showing off a version of the tablet running Android 3.0 at CeBIT in Germany.

The folks at Netbook News spotted a demo unit on the show floor with what looks like a basic version of Honeycomb with a custom Asus background.

The tablet features the Honeycomb web browser with support for tabs, a new taskbar at the bottom of the screen, a finger-friendly on-screen keyboard which plays nicely with 10 inch displays, and new home screen widgets.

You can check out a video from the folks at Netbook News showing the latest version of the Eee Pad Transformer after the break. You can also check out my video from CES to see how the detachable keyboard works.

The Eee Pad Transformer has a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display with a capacitive touch panel, a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor, 1G of RAM, up to 64GB of storage, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and optional 3G. The tablet has a 24.4 Whr battery and weighs about 1.5 pounds.

BlackBerry PlayBook up for pre-order for $600

BlackBerry PlayBook up for pre-order for $600 is a post from: Liliputing

Research in Motion hasn't announced the official release date or price for the company's upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. But the folks at Boy Genius Report have received a tip suggesting that the tablet could go on sale April 10th. And now we may have an idea of the price as well, since retailer Mobile City is taking pre-orders for $599.99.

Mobile City is the same site that started taking pre-orders for the LG G-Slate this week for $699.99. Either the folks at Mobile City know some things the rest of us don't… or they're just putting up product pages based on internet rumors.

The $600 version of the tablet appears to be WiFi-only, with no mention of 3G or 4G connectivity on the product page.

Meanwhile a company I've never heard of called Negri Electronics is taking pre-orders for an unlocked, 4G capable version of the PlayBook for $798.50. Some of the data from the Negri Electronics page comes from the less-than-reputable Alibaba.com web site, so I'm going to take this one with a grain of salt for now.

via Netbook News

Deals of the Day

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Netbooks, Notebooks and Tablets

• Acer Aspire TimelineX AS1830T 11.6″ notebook w/Intel Core i3 for $540(Black) – B&H
• Refurbished HP Mini 311 Atom 1.6GHz 12″ Netbook for $260 + free shipping - Compuvest (via eBay)
• Acer Aspire One AOD255 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, 3 cell battery for $260 - Buy.com
• Refurbished Apple iPads for $349 and up – Apple (via Dealnews)
• Augen 7″ netbook w/Android 1.6, 800 x 480 px display for $80 – 1SaleADay

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

Asus Eee PC 1015PW gets an Atom N570 update

Asus Eee PC 1015PW gets an Atom N570 update is a post from: Liliputing

Asus has announced that the Eee PC 1015PW netbook will soon be available with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor.

The Eee PC 1015PW is the company's latest 10 inch netbook with a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and a 250GB hard drive. Up until recently, the mini-laptop's most distinctive features were the textured pattern on the lid and the purple, gold, and pink color options.

Now the netbook will be one of the first to feature a shiny new Atom N570 processor. Several netbooks from  Lenovo and Samsung will also hit the streets with Atom N570 chips soon, and the Acer Aspire One AOD255E is already available with the new processor.

via Netbook News.de

Asus Eee Box nettops now feature AMD Fusion chips

Asus Eee Box nettops now feature AMD Fusion chips is a post from: Liliputing

Asus has added two new mini-desktop computers to its Eee Box line. What sets the new EB1020 and EB1021 apart from earlier models though are the AMD Fusion chips.

The Eee Box EB1020 features a 1 GHz AMD C-50 dual core processor with AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics — the same combination powering the Acer Aspire One 522 netbook that's sitting on my desk at the moment.

The Eee Box EB1021, on the other hand, packs a more powerful 1.6 GHz AMD E-350 dual core chip and Radeon HD 6310 graphics. It also has USB 3.0 support, which the EB1020 lacks.

The folks at Notebook Italia spotted the nettops at CeBIT in Germany. You can check out their hands-on video after the break. The booth rep keeps saying the AMD C-50 is a single core chip, but that's not true. He might be mixing it up with the C-30 chip.

Acer Iconia Tab W500 goes up for pre-order in Germany for €499

Acer Iconia Tab W500 goes up for pre-order in Germany for €499 is a post from: Liliputing

The Acer Iconia Tab W500 is a 10 inch Windows tablet featuring a dual core AMD C-50 processor and AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics. It's not yet available for purchase in the US, but it's already up for pre-order for €499 from Amazon Germany.  That's about $692 US.

According to Amazon, the tablet has 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 1 GHz dual core processor, and runs Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. It supports Bluetooth 3.0 and 3G mobile broadband, and has USB and HDMI ports, a flash card reader, and a mini SIM card slot.

The web site also says the tablet has a 1280 x 1024 pixel screen, but I think that's a typo. Last I'd heard, the Acer Iconia Tab W500 was supposed to have a 1280 x 800 pixel screen, and since it appears to have a widescreen display, that seems a lot more likely than 1280 x 1024.

via Netbook News.de

Windows Embedded Compact 7 now available for phones, tablets etc

Windows Embedded Compact 7 now available for phones, tablets etc is a post from: Liliputing

While Microsoft is pushing Windows 7 and its upcoming Windows 8 software as a solution for tablet PCs as well as desktop and notebook computers, the company also has another operating system that seems like a better fit today for tablets, phones, and other low power devices such as set-top-boxes or cash registers. It's called Windows Embedded Compact 7 and it's officially available today.

The operating system is designed to function as a core for devices including smartphones, tablets, and even routers. Future versions of Windows Phone will likely be built on top of Windows Embedded Compact 7, for instance.

The latest version of Windows Embedded Compact supports ARM chips as well as x86 and MIPS processors. It features a web browser based on Internet Explorer 7 with some IE7 features. And the OS supports Adobe Flash 10.1 and Microsoft Silverlight.

While Microsoft isn't really pushing Windows Embedded Compact 7 for consumer tablets, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see it pop up on a few while we're waiting for Windows 8 to hit the streets with support for ARM processors.

On the other hand, Android has come a long way in the past few years, so while I used to see low cost tablets and netbooks running older versions of Windows CE (Compact Edition) on a regular basis, it's been a while since I've seen any products based on that platform. It's not clear if that's simply because Windows CE feels so dated, or because manufacturers would rather go with the free and open source Android operating system — which could be an indication that Windows Compact Edition 7 may not gain much traction in the consumer tablet space.

via ZDNet

Deals of the Day

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Netbooks, Notebooks, and Tablets

• HP Pavilion dm1z 11.6″ notebook w/AMD E-350, 6 cell battery for $420 – HP (coupon: SAVE30HP)
• Lenovo ThinkPad X120e 11.6″ laptop w/AMD Zacate CPU for $359 and up – Lenovo (coupon: USPAMAZON)
• Acer Aspire One AOD255 10″ netbook w/Atom N455, 3 cell battery for $270 – Buy.com
• Samsung N145 10″ netbook w/Atom processor, 6 cell battery for $250 – Best Buy
• Viewsonic gTablet 10″ Android tablet w/NVIDIA Tegra 2 for $380 – Buy.com

Accessories

• Seagate 2TB USB 2.0 external desktop hard drive for $90 – TigerDirect
• SMC EZ Connect 802.11n Wireless USB Adapter for $7 + $5 s&h - Woot
• Kingston 2GB 204-pin DDR3 laptop memory for $23 – Newegg

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

Intel officially launches the Atom N570 dual core chip

Intel officially launches the Atom N570 dual core chip is a post from: Liliputing

Computer makers have been showing off netbooks with Intel Atom N570 chips for the past few months, but Intel has finally gotten around to officially introducing the new chip. As expected, it's a slight variation on the Atom N550 dual core chip offering slightly higher clock speeds without any major change in power consumption.

Th Atom N570 is a 1.66 GHz dual core chip with 1MB of L2 cache and a TDB of 8.5W. It supports DDR3 667 memory. The Atom N550, by comparison, has a TDP of 8.5W, 1MB of L2 cache and a clock speed of 1.5 GHz.

Intel says Asus, Lenovo, and Samsung will all begin shipping computers using the new chip this month.

You can find more information on the chip at Intel's product site.

Update: There was a typo on Intel's site suggesting that the N570 chip wouldn't support hyperthreading, but it turns out that it does… just like the Atom N550.

via Netbook News

Acer Aspire One AOD255E now available (with an Atom N570 dual core chip)

Acer Aspire One AOD255E now available (with an Atom N570 dual core chip) is a post from: Liliputing

Sure, Intel highlighted upcoming computers from Asus, Lenovo, and Samsung in its press release announcing the launch of the Atom N570 processor today… but Acer has beat those companies to the punch. The Acer Aspire One AOD255E is a 10 inch netbook with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 processor, and it's available today from Amazon for $330.

The Acer aspire One AOD255E has a 250GB hard drive, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition and weighs about 2.76 pounds. The new processor is the most remarkable thing about the laptop… and the reasonably low price, but that's pretty much par for the course from Acer netbooks these days.

via Netbook News

Acer Aspire One 522 netbook: Unboxing and first look

Acer Aspire One 522 netbook: Unboxing and first look is a post from: Liliputing

The Acer Aspire One 522 is the first mini-laptop to ship in the US with an AMD C-50 dual core chip based on AMD's new Fusion platform. At first glance, the computer looks like most other netbooks released in the last few years. But there are some subtle design changes including a new power button and  a textured button under the touchpad. But it's the new chipset that's the show stopper here.

The AMD C-50 is a 1 GHz dual core chip with integrated AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics. In terms of overall CPU performance, I expect the netbook to feel much like an Intel Atom-based system. The C-50 isn't really designed to be a speed demon. It's a low power chip aimed at offering decent battery life.

But the Radeon HD 6250 graphics should offer far better performance than the GMA 3150 graphics you get with most Intel Atom netbooks. The netbook can handle 1080p HD video decoding and has an HDMI output. The Acer Aspire One 522 also has a 1280 x 720 pixel HD display for viewing 720p videos. Most netbooks ship with lower resolution 1024 x 600 pixel screens… although a few have higher resolution 1366 x 768 pixel screens.

I'll be testing the netbook over the next few days to see how it compares with other netbooks and mini-laptops with Intel and AMD chips. I'm particularly interested in seeing how it compares with netbooks with Atom N550 dual core chips and NVIDIA ION graphics like the Asus Eee PC 1015PN and the Acer Aspire One 521, an AMD-powered mini-laptop released last year, before the new AMD Fusion chips were available.

The Acer Aspire One 522 is available for $330 from Amazon.

You can check out my unboxing and hands-on video after the break.

Asus Eee PC 1015PN netbook bumped up to an Atom N570 chip

Asus Eee PC 1015PN netbook bumped up to an Atom N570 chip is a post from: Liliputing

The Asus Eee PC 1015PN netbook has been shipping since last year with a dual core 1.5 GHz Intel Atom N550 processor and NVIDIA ION graphics, making it one of the most powerful Atom powered netbooks available. But jkkmobile spotted an updated version on the show floor at CeBIT in Germany with an even faster processor.

The new version of the Eee PC 1015PN replaces the Atom N550 chip with a new Intel Atom N570 dual core processor running at 1.66 GHz.

The rest of the specs remain unchanged, including 1GB of RAM (with support for up to 2GB), a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0.

Asus has only offered this netbook with Windows 7 Starter in the US, but in other countries the Eee PC 1015PN i's available with Home Premium. It looks like 48Whr and 56Whr battery options will also be available.

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

Deals of the Day

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Netbooks, Notebooks, and Tablets

• Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor for $199 w/coupon code CBARNESDD - eBay (expires soon!)
• ViewSonic gTablet 10″ Android tablet w/NVIDIA Tegra 2 for $360 – Buy.com
• Lenovo Ideapad U160 11.6″ laptop w/Intel Core i7 for $699 - Lenovo (coupon: USPU1550221)
• Asus Eee PC 1001PX-EU17 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, 3 cell battery for $244 – B&H

Accessories

• Crucial 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory Module for $30 – J&R
• Western Digital 500GB USB 2.0 portable hard drive for $50 – Buy.com
• Kensington SlimBlade wireless presenter mouse for $19 – Buy.com
• Kingston 4GB microSDHC Class 4 Card for $7 + free shipping - Buy.com

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