AMD's focus remains on Netbooks

According to Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD's products group, AMD is in no rush to develop a smart phone or tablet but remains focused on netbooks. Their current projects include the release of graphic cards ATI Radeon HD 5450, 5570 and 5670 and the 2011 release of the Bobcat processor for netbooks.

This is positive news for netbook enthusiasts (such as ourselves), since while other companies seem to be switching gears, AMD's priorities have not changed.

Via ZDNet, image via ZDNet.

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The VIA netbooks of Computex 2010 - Video

If you live in the US, you might think that chip-maker VIA lost the netbook wars. In 2008 HP launched a 9 inch netbook with a VIA C7-M processor, and in 2009 Lenovo released a 12 inch mini-laptop with a VIA Nano processor. And that's about it. Intel has pretty much dominated the ultraportable space with Atom and CULV chips showing up in dozens of netbooks and ultralight computers. We're starting to see AMD make a dent in the budget mobile computer space, but VIA is nowhere to be seen… in the US.

In Asia, on the other hand, companies are continuing to pump out a number of netbooks, tablets, and other devices with VIA processors. The chip maker was showing off a number of netbooks, notebooks, and tablets sporting VIA chips at Computex this week and Sascha from Netbook News shot a video showing a few of those products, including the latest OLPC XO Laptop with a VIA chip.

You can check out the video after the break, and remind yourself that if you live in the US, you'll probably never be able to actually purchase one of these computers. Hopefully we will start to see some of the $100 to $200 tablets VIA has been promising, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Post from: Liliputing

The VIA netbooks of Computex 2010 – Video

Microsoft shows off Windows Embedded Compact 7 tablet prototype

Microsoft is showing off a prototype tablet running Windows Embedded Compact 7 at Computex this week… and it's looks a bit like what you would get if you took a Zune HD or Windows Phone 7 device and expanded it to fit a 10 inch screen. The good news is, it looks awesome, the web browser and video player seem pretty slick, and the user interface is features Windows Phone 7-like icons and social networking integration.

The bad news is this thing will never make it to market. Microsoft mocked up a user interface built on Silverlight that rests on top of Windows Embedded Compact 7. It will be up to OEMs to develop their own custom user interfaces for tablets, netbooks, or other devices.

That said, the demo does show how the new version of Windows CE supports multitouch and hardware video acceleration.

You can find more photos at Engadget, and check out a hands-on video below.

Post from: Liliputing

Microsoft shows off Windows Embedded Compact 7 tablet prototype

Deals of the Day

Netbooks, Notebooks and Tablets

• Archos 9 60GB Windows 7 tablet w/8.9″ display, 1.2GHz Atom Z515 CPU for $$499 – TigerDirect (coupon: BRD2536 )
• Compaq Mini 102 10.1″ netbook w/Atom N270, Win XP, 3 cell battery for $286 – TigerDirect
• Refurbished ASUS Celeron 900MHz 9″ Netbook for $170 + free shipping – Mwave (M Club members)

Accessories

• Sabrent USB TV ATSC/Analog Tuner w/Remote Control for $29.99 + free shipping – Buy.com
• Targus USB Wireless Optical Bluetooth Laptop Mouse for $10 + free shipping - Mwave (M club members)
• Microsoft Windows Home Server for $70 + $5 s&h – TigerDirect

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

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Deals of the Day

MSI shows off two netbook concepts

At Computex 2010, MSI have introduced two new concept netbook designs. Unfortunately not much information is known about the two netbooks but, we do have some information regarding the netbooks.

First up is the MSI Serene. The Serene uses MSI's thermal technology, meaning the netbook will be fanless, making it almost silent while in use. The thermal technology uses heat dissipation, which the company wants to integrate into future products.

The MSI La Mode is also designed with heat dissipation in mind. Other than that, it's pretty much like the MSI Wind U160 but, tweaked slightly on the exterior design. The case will be ebony cloth with wave pattern as well as a luminescent MSI logo.

via

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HP shows off a Classmate PC for students

HP has been targeting its Mini 5101 and 5102 netbooks at education markets since the get go. But it looks like HP may have a new education oriented mini-laptop up its sleeve. Engadget's Joanna Stern spotted an HP Classmate PC netbook running SUSE Linux 11 at Novell's Computex booth this week.

The netbook features a 10 inch display and an Intel Atom processor. It's a chunky looking netbook with a thick plastic case and a chiclet-style keyboard. There's a handle built into the back, to make it easier to carry from class to class.

The computer has mic and headphone jacks, a flash card reader, Ethernet jack, VGA port, and 2 USB ports. There may also be an old fashioned modem, since it looks like the demo unit also has a telephone jack.

Overall, it looks like the HP Mini Classmate is loosely based on Intel's Classmate PC reference designs, but it looks a little different from every other Clasmate PC I've seen to date. No word on pricing or if this little guy will ever actually come to market. It could just be a concept device.

Post from: Liliputing

HP shows off a Classmate PC for students

ARM, Freescale, IBM, Samsung and others launch Linaro to push Linux for ARM-based devices

A number of technology companies working with ARM-based processors have joined together to create a new non-profit organization called Linaro. What does Linaro do? Basically, the goal of the group is to develop and distribute technology that will make it easier for device makers to put Linux on ARM-based products including phones, netbooks, tablets and other devices.

Don't expect to see a Linaro Linux distribution competing with MeeGo or Ubuntu Netbook Edition anytime soon. Instead, Linaro is working on kernel optimizations and other software tools that will make it easier for others to load Linux-based environments on ARM-based systems. In fact, Canonical is working with Linaro as an engineering partner, although the organization points out that the goal is to make as many Linux distributions as possible work on ARM-powered devices, not just Ubuntu.

Theoretically, that could mean we'll start to see new devices with innovative software using some of Linaro's technology some time after the group launches its first set of tools this November.

The groups that are involved with Linaro so far include ARM, Frescale, IBM, Samsung, ST-Ericsson, and Texas Instruments.

via Laptop Magazine

Post from: Liliputing

ARM, Freescale, IBM, Samsung and others launch Linaro to push Linux for ARM-based devices

Linpus Linux: Now with netbook, slate, MeeGo editions

The first Acer netbooks to hit the market in 2008 were running Linpus Linux Lite, a custom Linux distribution optimized for small screens. While you don't see many Linux netbooks anymore, the folks at Linpus haven't given up on the mobile space, and they're showing off the latest versions of Linpus for netbooks and tablets.

That includes a new version of Linpus Linux Lite for netbooks with a completely retooled user interface, and a version that uses MeeGo technology.

Linpus is also introducsing Linpus Lite Slate Edition, which is optimized for touchscreen devices with Intel Moorestown and Oak Trail chips. Linpus Lite Slate Edition should be available sometime in 2011.

Chippy at Carrypad caught up with Linpus at computex, and he shot a video overview of the three operating systems (Linpus Lite, MeeGo, and Slate editions), which you can check out after the break.

One area where Linpus has really changed things up is user customization. The new version of Linpus Lite makes it much easier to create home screen tabs for any category you like. If you want a whole tab filled with icons for games, you can do that. Linpus Linux Lite is available as a free download if you want to try it on your netbook, but the company is hoping to get it preloaded on new netbooks as well.

The MeeGo version of Linpus looks a lot like the standard version of MeeGo Linux I checked out a last week. Basically, Linpus software is running in the background, with the MeeGo user interface and processor optimizations running on top.

Linpus Lite Slate Edition wasn't ready to show off when Chippy stopped by the Linpus booth, but a Linpus rep implied it could look a lot like the MeeGo tablet edition user interface we've already seen demonstrated at computex.

Post from: Liliputing

Linpus Linux: Now with netbook, slate, MeeGo editions

Google Chrome OS to launch this fall

If you were expecting computer makers to start showing off netbooks and tablets running Google's Chrome at Computex this week, it looks like you'll have to wait a little longer. When Google first announced it was working on an operating system last year the company said it would be ready in the second half of 2010. Now, speaking at Computex, a top Googler says the oeprating system should be ready this fall.

Google Chrome OS is an operating system designed around a browser. Google is initially targeting the OS at netbooks, but has plans for tablets, desktops, and other computers in the future.

At its core, Chrome OS is a very light weight Linux distributions that's designed to run one app — the Chrome web browser. Google wants all apps to be web apps, which means that while you might store data on your computer's hard drive or SSD, most of your activities will take place online.

Google has also dropped hints that there will be some advanced caching functionality allowing you to perform some activities offline. It also has a built in media player for handling music and movie playback without an internet connection.

Chrome is being developed as an open source project, which means the project isn't exactly veiled in secrecy. And while Google still needs a few months to finalize the project and start working with PC makers to get the OS preloaded on netbooks, there are folks who have been compiling pre-release builds and installing them for months. If you want to take one for a spin, you can try the Flow build by Hexxeh.

Post from: Liliputing

Google Chrome OS to launch this fall

Asus introduces Eee PC 1015T AMD-powered netbook

Asus may not have mentioned the Eee PC 1015T during its press conference a few days ago, but the company is showing off the 10 inch netbook at its Computex both this week. And while at first glance, it looks a lot like all of the other 10 inch netbooks Asus has introduced this year, there's one key difference: The Eee PC 1015T swaps out Intel components for AMD chips.

The Eee PC 1015T is powered by a 1.2GHz AMD V105 single core processor and ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics.Unlike most current netbooks, this model also supports up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.

The rest of the specs are pretty standard fare, including a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of DDR3 memory, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and a 6 cell, 56Whr battery. The laptop runs Windows 7 Starter Edition and also includes the Asus Express Gate quick boot environment. The netbook comes with 802.11b/g/n WiFi and optional Bluetooth 3.0.

No word on the price or launch date.

Post from: Liliputing

Asus introduces Eee PC 1015T AMD-powered netbook