Gateway’s LT1004U netbook lands domestically, at Office Depot of all places

Gateway's netbook lands domestically at Office Depot of all places

We can’t get up for a nice cuppa these days without tripping over some new netbook, but still every now and again one offers styling that catches our eye. Such was the case with Packard Bell’s “dot,” an Aspire One rebadge with a striking red metallic hinge but otherwise familiar internals. It later appeared as a Gateway in Singapore, and reader APowe emailed to say he’d seen one prowling the aisles at a local Office Depot. We were incredulous, but he drove back to get proof and was kind enough to pass the resulting pics along. Gateway is calling this the LT1004U domestically; it has the standard netbook specs you’ve come to love (9-inch screen, Atom 270, 160GB drive, 1GB RAM, Win XP) and is selling for a quite competitive $379. This particular one was spotted in Redmond, WA, but maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find one near you.

[Thanks, APowe]

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Gateway’s LT1004U netbook lands domestically, at Office Depot of all places originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: What’s the best netbook out there (redux)?

It’s been just under half a year since we originally asked about the best netbook out there, and a lot has changed in the meanwhile. Thanks to some incessant begging from reader Chad (we kid, we kid), we’re putting this out once more for an updated look at your best option for a minuscule lappie.

“Hey guys. How about we pose the topic of best netbook once more since so many new models have arrived since the original? Much appreciated!”

So, what netbooks have impressed you over the back end of ’08? Are you still insistent that the first-generation Eee is the one to buy? Are closeout models a better option? Spill it all in comments below, then send us a question of your own at ask at engadget dawt com.

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Ask Engadget: What’s the best netbook out there (redux)? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

As promised, we’ve made a run over to check out Viliv’s forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn’t that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it’s an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we’ve yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It’s reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you’re not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are “when” followed immediately by “how much.” The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: “before this summer” and a rather predictable “less than the VAIO P.” We’re guessing it’ll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don’t worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.

Gallery: Viliv S7

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Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Velocity Micro delivers NoteMagix M10 netbook and M5 UMPC

Answering the call for yet another netbook in the world is Velocity Micro, who has graciously provided us with the NoteMagix M10 (pictured) here at CES. The 10.1-inch machine includes a 4-cell battery for up 5 hours of usage, 802.11b/g WiFi, a 2.6 pound chassis, Windows XP running the show and a custom carrying case to really showcase its awesomeness. Never mind those trivial tidbits like CPU model / speed, RAM quantity and GPU type — Velocity Micro clearly thinks you don’t even need ’em. Moving on, we’ve got the even more portable 4.8-inch NoteMagix M5 UMPC, with packs a touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 3G WWAN and 5 hours of battery life. Both machines should be available later this Spring for prices that are currently unknown.

[Via NotebookReview]

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Velocity Micro delivers NoteMagix M10 netbook and M5 UMPC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES 2009: Coby Intros Netbook

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Coby has never really been known as a manufacturer of high-end electronics. Heck, they sell the company’s products at my local bodega–not behind the counter. Until my trip around the CES showroom floor tonight, I had always associated the company almost exclusively with low-end MP3 players. Turns out Coby is in the notebook business, too.

The NBPC892 is Coby’s entry into the netbook space. The computer features an 8.9-inch screen, an Intel Atom N270 processor, and a surprisingly roomy 160-500GB hard drive. The netbook runs either XP or Linux, features 1GB to 2GB of RAM, and has a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera.

All in all, I’d wait for a review before rushing out and picking one up at your neighborhood 7-11.

Pegatron and Freescale team for low-power, ultra-cheap netbooks and nettops

Pegatron has been pretty quiet ever since it split off from ASUS to do ODM stuff all by its lonesome — which is sort of the idea, since Pegatron’s mainly doing the behind-the-scenes manufacturing. We’re glad, however, that the company peeked out of its shell to show off these new Freescale-based netbooks. The Linux-running laptops boast 8.9-inch screens, 8 hour battery life, 8GB of storage and projected retail prices around $199, while the nettop holds similar power in a pico-style form factor. Under the hood is Freescale’s brand new ARM i.MX515 processor, which is a 1GHz chip that’s described as basically being three times faster than the iPhone. The win here is that the chip draws very little power and generates very little heat, allowing Pegatron to squeeze impressive battery life out of a very thin form factor. Freescale is working with Ubuntu to prep an ARM-Linux distro, which will hit in May, and Adobe will have an ARM happy version of Flash 10 sometime this year. Supplementing the processor are chips for DSP, 2D, 3D and 720p acceleration, which switch on and off as needed — we saw the computer in action playing 720p video smoothly while drawing a mere 0.5 watts and not even feeling warm to the touch. The limitation here is obviously straight-up processing power — it’s not very impressive, and certainly slower than Intel’s Atom — but for running an optimized Linux build and surfing the web or watching a vid, Pegatron and Freescale might’ve just found a new portability sweetspot. They’re hoping to have an OEM pick these up around May or June sometime.

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Pegatron and Freescale team for low-power, ultra-cheap netbooks and nettops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s new X120 netbook with Splashtop-powered instant on

We just bumped into LG’s X120, a barely-differentiated followup to the X110 that’s floating around the show floor. There’s still a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP and a 10-inch WSVGA screen, but what’s new is the Splashtop-powered “LG Smart On” OS, which does the quick boot thing we’ve come to know and love on many ASUS products, the Voodoo Envy 133 and elsewhere. The effect, as always, is pretty stunning, and the OS should be helpful for a quick look at the web or to hop on IM over the laptop’s WiFi connectivity. The netbook itself seems to have been tweaked a tad on aesthetics, but it’s still a bit thicker than we’d like at this point for the netbook market. We’re short on further details, but since the X110 did 3G, there’s a good chance that’ll be in play as well — we’re still waiting on PR from LG. In the meantime, you can check out a video of the startup after the break.

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LG’s new X120 netbook with Splashtop-powered instant on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell launches Inspiron Mini 10

Here in an atypically small press conference in the desert, Dell has just served up its Mini 10 netbook, complete with an “edge-to-edge” 720p 10-inch display, a built-in TV tuner (!), integrated 3G WWAN / GPS, multitouch support and an Atom Z530 CPU. Moreover, you’ll find an “edge-to-edge” keyboard (no wasted space, we guess), a gesture-sensing touchapd and expanded design studio choices. Check another image after the break, but don’t expect any pricing or release information, ’cause Dell ain’t squealing.

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Dell launches Inspiron Mini 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coby’s sub-$200 netbooks handled at CES

Remember those sub-$100 Coby netbooks that we deemed a hoax? Well, it looks like they might not be as hoax-y as we originally thought. Here at CES, Coby has a bunch of base models on the show floor in a myriad of color combos. The rep who showed us around made it clear that this was a “market research project” but that the ‘books would ring in at under $200. There were a bunch of different configurations, but nothing too different from the usual Atom setup. The six color offerings might pique your interest, but after playing with them for a few minutes, we don’t know how eager we’d be to run out and pick one up — they felt pretty low-end. However, the only way to differentiate oneself in the crowded netbook market is with price, and Coby certainly has that working for it. We’ll see if these ever make it to market, and reserve final judgment until then. Check out the non-junky gallery below.

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Coby’s sub-$200 netbooks handled at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic launches Atom-based computing line

ViewSonic has just introduced a new computing line geared towards the netbook / nettop set. All three Atom-based machines sport Windows XP Home, a 1.6GHz processor, 1GB RAM and 160GB storage. VieBook is a 10.2-inch netbook with all the usual connectivity options and an MSRP of $429. The VPC100 ViePC is an all-in-one device, measuring a mere 35mm thin, with an 18.5-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD screen and should be priced at $549. Rounding up the lineup, the LinkPC is a nettop, designed to be strapped to the back of any VESA compatible monitor, and has an MSRP of $399. The latter becomes available sometime in March, while the other two will be doing their thing in February.

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ViewSonic launches Atom-based computing line originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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