Archos Gbook could be an upcoming Android or Chrome OS netbook

Archos is best known for producing portable media players and tablet computers, but the company has dipped its toes into the netbook market in the past, and the folks at Pocket Now have found evidence suggesting that Archos plans to have another go at the laptop space.

Archos has filed for trademark protection for the term "Gbook" in Europe. The application is reportedly vague, but seems to suggest some sort of computing device — and the name implies both a notebook-style form factor and some sort of Google based operating system, although it's not clear if we're talking about Android or Google's upcoming Chrome OS operating systm.

Archos Gbook could be an upcoming Android or Chrome OS netbook is a post from: Liliputing

Asus announces Eee Pad MeMO, Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Slider and Eee Pad Slider

Asus just made a pre-CES announcement and it looks like the "Eee" branding is going to live on this year. Although no Eee netbook was about, we now have a view of what path Asus is going to take this year, namely – tablets, slate, and eReaders. So, let's all welcome the Asus Eee Pad MeMO, Eee Pad Transformer and Eee Pad Slate!

Individually, let's take a look at what each of these Eee babies have to offer. The Eee Pad MeMO sports a 7-inch capacitive screen, runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processor, HD playback, mobile gaming, stylus pen and of course running on Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

The Eee Pad Transformer and Eee Pad Slider on the other hand are both equipped with 10.1-inch IPS touchscreens, NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor and Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Eee Pad Transformer comes with a docking option that doubles up as QWERTY keyboard and battery extension station that can provide up to 16 hours usage. The Eee Pad Slider features a sliding keyboard and excellent battery life.

Finally, we have the Eee Slate EP121 featuring a 12.1-inch multi-touch screen, Intel Core i5 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, 64GB SSD, and Bluetooth wireless keyboard.

via Asus

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Netbook Navigator unveils 3 new tablets at CES

Netbook Navigator's first foray into the tablet market was a mixed bag at best. With an unresponsive resistive touchscreen display and less than 2.5 hours of battery life, the Netbook Navigator Nav9 wasn't exactly an iPad killer on the hardware front. On the other hand, you can't run Microsoft Office on an iPad.

But the company is giving it another go, with three new slates that it's showing off at CES. There's a new 9 inch model, a 7 inch tablet, and a 10 inch prototype. Engadget has the low-down on each.

Netbook Navigator has been teasing the Nav7 for a while, but now it's finally ready to show off. It has an Intel Atom Z5xx series low power processor, a 7 inch multitouch display, and an integrated touchpad and set of mouse buttons on the back. It has a solid state drive and measures 0.7 inches thick and weighs 1.7 pounds.

The updated Nav9 retains the same Intel Atom N450 processor and 8.9 inch screen size as its predecessor. It also still has a multitouch resistive display, but Engadget says it's a new low pressure resistive touchscreen.

The new Nav10i will have a capacitive multitouch screen, an Atom N455 processor, and measure just 0.6 inches thick.

Netbook Navigator unveils 3 new tablets at CES is a post from: Liliputing

Coby's latest netbook visits CES

While Coby's booth at CES was choc full of tablets this year, netbooks were harder to find. For the past two years, Coby has shown up to CES with roughly a gazillion mini-laptops, but this year I spotted just one: The Coby NBPC1029. And I have to say, it's the most attractive netbook I've seen from this budget electronics company.

Spec-wise, the NBPC1029 is nothing special. It has a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, 0.3MP, and 3 cell, 2200mAh battery. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition.

But it also has a pretty attractive design with a slightly angular case, nice wide keys on the keyboard, and an attractive chrome edge and buttons by the touchpad (although the "buttons" are actually just one button with a rocker in between and they're not as easy to press as I would like).

There's no word on pricing, but Coby does have a product page for the NBPC1029 on its web site.

Coby's latest netbook visits CES is a post from: Liliputing

Zotac introduces nettop with AMD Fusion chip

Small form factor desktop maker Zotac is launching a new nettop with an AMD E-350 (Zacate) chip and integrated Radeon HD graphics. While we've already seen a number of laptops announced featuring AMD's new low power chip, the Zotac AD03 is the first nettop announcement I've seen.

The AMD E-350 chip combines AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics and a 1.6GHz dual core processor onto a single piece of silicon. The chip has a total power draw of 18W, which is high by netbook standards, but pretty low by desktop PC standards. The computer can handle 1080p HD video playback with ease, and in fact, the computer comes with a Blu-ray burner.

It also sports 2 DDR3 memory slots, a SATA hard drive bay, USB 3.0, a mini PCI Express slot, HDMI, DVI, and VGA output, Gigabit LAN, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. The nettop is available either as a barebones system (without RAM, a hard drive, or an OS), or with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive — but still no operating system.

via Netbook News

Zotac introduces nettop with AMD Fusion chip is a post from: Liliputing

The bloggers of CES 2011

Chippy and me (and a not-too-happy bird)

While you're reading this, I'm on a plane back home after spending a week in Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. Aside from coming down with a nasty cold (which is a long-held CES tradition) on my last day, I had a great time, not just because I got to check out cool (and not-so-cool) gadgets every day, but also because I got to meet up with colleagues I only see once a year or so.

I forgot to pull out my camera the half-dozen or so times I ran into Xavier from Notebooks.com, but it was great to catch up with him. I also somehow managed to go a week without taking a photo with Sascha from NetbookNews.de. My bad.

But I did manage to pose awkwardly with Chippy from CarryPad and UMPC Portal, JKKmobile, Nicole from Netbook News, and Mari from Zatz Not Funny. At a show as large and unwieldy as CES, it's amazing how often you run into people who share your tech interests without even bothering to schedule anything.

Mari Silbey of Zatz Not Funny

jkkmobile and k mobile (also known as Kevin Tofel from GigaOm)

Nicole Scott from Netbook News and I sit under bright stage lighting before the NVIDIA event

jkkmobile and k mobile (also known as Kevin Tofel from GigaOm)

The bloggers of CES 2011 is a post from: Liliputing

CES booth tour: The many tablets of Rockchip

Chinese chip maker Rockchip had one of the most crazy spread of Android tablets I've seen at the show this week. Unfortunately none of the tablets were labeled, and most won't be sold globally any time soon. But you do get an idea of just how many low cost devices are running RockChip's low power ARM-based processors.

In fact, the company was even showing off a netbook-style device running a modified version of Google Android with a touchpad and pointer to make up for the lack of a touchscreen.

You can check out my brief booth tour after the break.

CES booth tour: The many tablets of Rockchip is a post from: Liliputing

Shenzhen Firstview keeps the Android netbook flame alive

Last year at CES you couldn't walk more than a few feet without running into a cheap Chinese netbook with an ARM-based processor running Google Android or Linux. This year, they're few and far between as companies have largely replaced them with trendier tablets. But I wandered into the Shenzhen Firstview booth this week and spotted an attractive mini-laptop running Android. It's also capable of handling Windows CE.

The Firstview PC101V isn't going to win any performance awards. It's powered by an ARM9 processor (either a 533MHz or 800MHz chip) and has just 128 MB to 256 MB of RAM and between 2GB and 4GB of flash-based storage.

But the PC101V does have a decent 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 802.11b/g WiFi, support for 3G (with an optional USB dongle), 2 USB ports, a 1.3MP camera, and an SD card slot.

The mini-laptop also has a super-slim design that's clearly inspired by the MacBook Air (if the MacBook Air had a 10 inch screen and a cheap plastic case).

Don't expect to find this one on US store shelves anytime soon, but Shenzhen Firstview is looking for international distributors.

Shenzhen Firstview keeps the Android netbook flame alive is a post from: Liliputing

Hands-on with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer (with detachable keyboard)

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is one of four new tablets Asus introduced this week. Like the Eee Pad Slider, this model features a high resolution 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 pixel IPS capacitive touchscreen display, a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, and a custom user interface designed to run on top of Android and give you quick access to weather, clock, email, and other Asus apps.

Also like the Eee Pad Slider, the Transformer has a keyboard. But while the Slider's keyboard is attached to the tablet and hides out behind the screen until you need it, the Transformer's keyboard is removable. You can dock the tablet with the keyboard and use it like a laptop — even closing the lid like a laptop for easy carrying. Or you can remove the keyboard and simply use the tablet.

Since the keyboard isn't permanently attached, the Transfomer tablet felt lighter in my hands than the Slider… except for when it was docked. Clearly the keyboard adds a little weight.

The tablet will include 802.11b/g/n WiFI, Bluetooth 2.1, a 5MP auto-focus camera on the back and a 1.2MP camera on the front, a G-sensor, gyroscope, light-sensor, and e-compass as well as HDMI output and a microSD card for expansion.

Eventually the tablet will be available with Google Android Honeycomb, but the demo model I saw was running Android 2.x.

Overall I like this design quite a bit. The tablet has a sturdy feel, and because there aren't as many moving parts as in the slider, I have more confidence that the Transformer will stand up to wear and tear.

The Eee Pad Transformer is due out around April for somewhere between $399 and $699 depending on the amount of storage and other configuration options. A 3G-capable model may also be available.

When docked to the keyboard, it's hard to tell the Transformer apart from a netbook (until you look at the operating system). But the hardware is more versatile than most netbooks thanks to the tablet functionality. Whether you feel that Android meets your needs as well as Windows, Linux, or another operating system on a tablet/netbook may be another story.

Hands-on with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer (with detachable keyboard) is a post from: Liliputing

Ocosmos set to launch ultraportable Windows gaming computer

Ocosmos is expected to launch a small gaming machine with an Intel Atom Oak Trail processor and Windows operating system this week. The company has been showing off a demo unit for a little while which looks like a cross between a phone and PlayStation Portable, but the folks at Netbook News got their hands on some new photos which show a radically different design. It's not entirely clear if this is the device we'll see later this week, but it certainly looks like an interesting concept.

While the original device had a slide-out keyboard (or rather, a slide-up screen), the new images show 9 inch tablet-style computer with a wireless keyboard/game controller. The larger screen will definitely make games look better on this device, but a 9 inch, two piece device seems a bit cumbersome for gaming on the go. The Oak Trail processor is also an interesting choice, since it will provide long battery life, but poor graphics and CPU performance, which means you'll probably be best off playing casual games or older titles.

According to Netbook News, the tablet has a 1024 x 768 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, a 1.5GHz Oak Trail processor, 2GB of memory, a 32GB or 64GB solid state disk, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. It has front and rear-facing cameras and USB and microSD ports.

There's no word on the pricing or release date — and since these images look like renderings rather than photos, I'll be interested to see what Ocosmos actually brings to CES this week.

You can find more images at Netbook News.

Ocosmos set to launch ultraportable Windows gaming computer is a post from: Liliputing