Chinese laptop packs dual core Atom, next-gen ION for about $340

The folks at Shanzhaiben have spotted a new Chinese laptop with a 1.8GHz dual core Intel Atom D525 processor and NVIDIA ION 2 graphics. It has 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 320GB hard drive, HDMI output and something else you wont' find on most Atom-powered notebooks: a DVD burner.

That's because the laptop has a 14 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and a case that's more than big enough for an optical disc drive.

While Atom chips were originally designed for low power, low cost mini laptops, there's really nothing keeping PC builders from putting them in larger computers like this. You should get the same benefits, although the disc drive and larger display will likely drain the battery a bit faster than a 10 inch screen. The low capacity 2400mAh battery probably won't help matters much either.

But the price is right. The computer will reportedly sell for around $340 in China.

Chinese laptop packs dual core Atom, next-gen ION for about $340 is a post from: Liliputing

MSI WindPad tablets coming to CES

MSI Android tablet at CES 2010

PC maker MSI is promising to show off a "new generation" of MSI WindPad tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas in January. The reason I put "new generation" in quotes is because while MSI did indeed show off a few tablets at CES 2010 as well as other trade shows throughout the year, the company's Android and Windows tablets never actually made it to market, which suggests to me they weren't so much first generation devices as prototypes.

Anyway, MSI isn't giving a lot of details about the new models, aside from the fact that there will be at least two tablets, one running Android and another running Windows. They'll both have gravity sensors, ambient light sensors, and WiFi.

Hopefully these devices will actually make it to market some day.

Update: Engadget reports that the Windows model will have a 10.1 inch display, an Intel Atom Oak Trail processor, and Windows 7 Home Premium. It will have a 1024 x 600 pixel display and HDMI output. The Android tablet will reportedly have an NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip, a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, and a thinner design. It will run Google Android 2.3 or 3.0 depending on which version of the OS is available by the time the tablet launches in February or March.

via Netbook News

MSI WindPad tablets coming to CES is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day

Netbooks, Notebooks and Tablets

• Velocity Micro Cruz Reader 7″ Android tablet/eBook reader for $120 – TigerDirect
• Refurb 16GB WiFi Apple iPad for $460 - Buy.com
• Samsung Galaxy Tab for $350 (with 2-year contract) – T-Mobile
• NOOKcolor eBook Reader, 20% off Books-A-Million coupon for $249 + free shipping – Books-A-Million
• Acer Aspire One AOD255 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, Win 7 Starter, 3 cell battery for $279 - Buy.com
• 15% off refurbished laptops, desktops and printers – Dell (via Dealnews)

Accessories

• Linksys WRT610N 802.11n dual band router for $110 – Newegg (coupon: EMCYTZT250)
• Samsung 64GB SATA II 2.5″ Solid State Drive for $110 – TigerDirect
• Kingston 64GB SATA II 2.5″ SSD for $85 - Buy.com
• Samsung ML-1665 monochrome laster printer for $39.49 – Buy.com
• A-DATA 8GB Class 6 microSDHC Card w/ Adapter for $13 + free shipping – Meritline (via Dealnews)

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

Linksys WRT610N 802.11n dual band router for $109.99

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Asus Eee Note unboxed - Video

The Asus Eee Note is an unusual device which blurs the lines between an eBook reader and a tablet. It has a grayscale screen that makes it look like an eBook reader like the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook. But it has a high quality digitizer that lets you take notes, draw, and perform precise input with the included stylus and pressure-sensitive touchscreen. The Eee Note also has a 2MP rear-facing camera (which takes color photos that you can't see on the device itself).

The Eee Note isn't available in the US yet, but the folks at Netbook News managed to pick one up in Taiwan and replaced the Chinese firmware with an English language ROM. They've posted an unboxing and hands-on video which you can check out after the break.

The device has a 768 x 1024 pixel display and comes with a handful of apps including an eReader, music player, calculator, web browser, and dictionary. Because the screen doesn't actually have an E Ink screen, it has a faster refresh rate than most typical eReaders.

But due to the low power Marvell processor and the grayscale screen, you're probably not going to want to use the Eee Note for video or other more resource-intensive applications. It does come with a few casual games, though.

Asus says the tablet should be able to get between 10 and 13 hours of battery life. Netbook News says the Eee Note will likely run about $250 when it becomes available in the US.

Asus Eee Note unboxed – Video is a post from: Liliputing

Sharp Galapagos tablets now available in Japan

As expected, Sharp has begun selling its Galapagos line of tablets in Japan. Peter from Netbook News reports that not only are Sharp's new 5.5 inch and 10.8 inch tablets available for purchase at computer and electronics stores — but you can find them at convenience stores as well (although they don't actually appear to be in stock at those locations, just available for order.

Both tablets run Google's Android operating system, but Sharp is pushing the Galapagos line of tablets as multimedia devices rather than full featured Android tablets. The company will be offering digital books, magazine, videos, and other materials through a content store.

The 5.5 inch tablet is selling for 39,800 yen while the 10.8 inch model runs 54,800 yen. While that would be $475 to $650 US, it's unlikely that the devices will cost that much if and when they're made available outside of Japan.

Sharp Galapagos tablets now available in Japan is a post from: Liliputing

MeeGo handset UI loaded on a tablet, just for kicks

MeeGo is a cross-platform Linux environment designed to run on low power netbooks, tablets, smartphones, and in-vehicle computer systems. But just because MeeGo runs on all of those devices doesn't mean it runs the same way on all of those platforms. For instance, while you might expect the user interface for tablets and smartphones to be similar, it's not.

Now here's the interesting bit: The smartphone user interface is available for download, while the tablet UI isn't currently ready for public consumption. But it turns out that if you know what you're doing, you can convince the smartphone version of MeeGo to run on a tablet, and you know what? It looks great.

MeeGo's smartphone UI includes a decent software keyboard, a full screen web browser based on Fennec (an early build of Firefox Mobile), and a very finger-friendly application launcher as well as apps including a contact manager, calendar, and Linux terminal.

You can check out a video of MeeGo handset on a tablet after the break.

via My Nokia Blog and GottaBeMobile

MeeGo handset UI loaded on a tablet, just for kicks is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day

Netbooks and tablets

• Entourage Pocket Edge 7″ dual screen Android tablet/eBook reader for $345 – Amazon
• Samsung N150 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, 6 cell battery for $250 - Best Buy (in stores)
• Refurb HP Mini 210 w/Atom N450, 6 cell battery, Win 7 Starter for $270 – J&R
• Gateway LT2318u 10″ netbook w/Atom N450, Win 7 Starter, 6 cell battery for $270 – B&H

Accessories

• LITE-ON External Ultra Slim DVD/CD Writer for $24.99 after rebate – Newegg
• Patriot LX 16GB SDHC card for $22.99 after rebate – Newegg
• OCZ Vertex 2 90GB SATA II SSD for $145 after rebate – i
• Asus USB mini Bluetooth dongle for $7.99 – Newegg (coupon: EMCZNZR79)

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

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day

Netbooks and Notebooks

• Dell Mini Atom 1.66GHz 10″ Netbook w/Microsoft Office for $280 + free shipping – Microsoft Store
• ASUS Eee PC 1001PX netbook w/Atom N450, 3 cell battery for $250 + free shipping – J&R
• Asus Eee PC 1015PED w/Atom N475, 6 cell battery for $330 + free shipping – Amazon
• Lenovo Outlet coupon: 20% off all items + free shipping - Lenovo Outlet

Accessories

• Buy any4th gen iPod touch and get a $40 gift card ($230 and up) – Best Buy
• Centon 8GB Class 4 SDHC card for $9.99 - TigerDirect
• Bluetooth Keyboard Keycase Folio for iPad for $40 + free shipping - Mwave (M Club)
• A-DATA 16GB microSDHC Class 6 Card for $30 + free shipping – Meritline (via Dealnews)

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

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing

Cydia Mac app store to launch alongside official Mac app store

App Stores are all the rage these days, making it easy to find all the best apps for a particular platform in one place. On the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, there's the iTunes App Store. Google Android has the Android Market. MeeGo (and Windows) netbooks have the Intel AppUp Center. And so on. Now Apple is preparing to launch an App Store for OS X as well.

While these app stores make a lot of sense for mobile devices and developing platforms where it's really not that easy to find good software, I'm not entirely convinced that we need app stores for Windows and Mac PCs. After all, people have been finding software for these platforms just fine for decades, and the rise of the web over the past decade has made installing apps as easy as clicking download from the developers' page after a quick Google search.

On the other hand, I suppose a good app store makes it easy to discover new apps, thanks to categories, search tools, and so forth. User comments and ratings also help you discover which apps are worth your time and money. So I'll resist the urge to dismiss the idea out of hand until we see how Apple's new Mac Store works.

But some folks are convinced that like the iOS App Store, Apple will likely put some restrictions on the apps that are allowed in its Mac App Store. For instance, it's a safe bet you won't find anything pornographic. But it's also likely that Apple will impose other restrictions. For instance, apps for sale through the Mac App Store reportedly won't support in-app purchases, which could make it hard for developers to promote freemium apps (which you can download for free, and pay to unlock additional features).

So it should come as no surprise that the folks who brought us the Cydia app store for jailbroken iOS devices is working on a version for the Mac. While you don't need to jailbreak a Mac to install software that's not available in the Mac App Store (users will continue to be able to install anything they like), the Cydia store which is due out within the next few weeks will be a repository for apps that don't necessarily play by Apple's rules.

Cydia Mac app store to launch alongside official Mac app store is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day

Netbooks and Notebooks

• Lenovo ThinkPad X100e 11.6″ notebook for $359 and up – Lenovo (coupon: USPLASTCHANCE)
• Asus Eee PC 1015PEM 10″ netbook w/Atm N550 dual core CPU for $350 – Amazon
• Asus Eee PC 1001PXD w/Atom N455, Win 7 Starter, 6 cell battery for $296 – TigerDirect

Accessories

• SanDisk 4GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive for $7.99 – J&R
• SanDisk 4 GB SDHC Card for $7.99 – J&R
• Kingston 4GB SDHC card twin pack for $12.95 - Buy.com
• 11-in-1 Stainless Steel Credit Card Survival Tool 2-Pack for $1 + free shipping – Meritline (via Dealnews)

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

Deals of the Day is a post from: Liliputing