Nov 04

Latest Mac OS X 10.6.2 beta build brings back Atom support

Posted in: netbook, os x, OsX, Today's Chili

Well, it looks like reports that Apple might be killing Atom support in the next Snow Leopard update may have been slightly overblown, as the latest developer build of OS X 10.6.2 (10C535) has apparently restored support for the processor and simultaneously brightened the spirits of hackintoshers the world over. What’s more, there doesn’t appear to be any explanation for the switch-a-roo from Apple which, as Electronista notes, could indicate that it was simply a bug or a temporary measure — although it does of course also mean that Apple can just as easily flip the switch again if it sees fit (which seems like at least a 50 / 50 shot).

[Via Electronista]

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Latest Mac OS X 10.6.2 beta build brings back Atom support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

New Netbook Twists to Fit in the Living Room

Posted in: netbook, Notebooks, Today's Chili

Webbook

It’s a netbook that can morph into a picture frame. Boston-based startup company Litl has launched a laptop that can be used straight up or flipped around so it can stand upright like an easel.

Called Webbook, the device has a 12-inch screen and a hinge that can pivot to change how the netbook looks. Twist it around and the device takes on the form factor of a picture frame than a traditional laptop.

“With its screen exposed, the Webbook is ideal for passive or lean back web activity like enjoying photos, listening to music, or consuming news, weather and other web content,” says Litl in a statement.

Under the hood, the Webbook doesn’t have much to brag about. The device has a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB flash memory, a camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, a USB port, two infrared ports and a HDMI port. Clearly it is intended as a clould computing device, one where you don’t store much locally on your hard disk but use it to access files or photos already on the internet.

The Webbook will also have proprietary “channels” or feeds from sites such as Flickr, Shutterfly, The Weather Channel and Facebook, says the company.

It’s a cute idea but rather expensive one. The device is available online for $700, with an optional remote control for $19. Without the hardware muscle to back it up, the Litl Webbook will be a hard sell for most users. The device doesn’t have enough storage to be a primary laptop and at its current price point, an all-in-desktop for the living room might be an attractive alternative.

More pictures of the Webbook

webbook screenshot

webbook thin

webbook hinge

See Also:

Photos: Litl Webbook/Litl


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Nov 04

Verizon getting a little VAIO P to join its netbook offerings

Posted in: netbook, sony, Today's Chili, vaio, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

Verizon getting a little VAIO P to join its netbook offeringsMotorola’s DROID is just a few days away from dropping on Verizon, but why pay $299 (minus $100 rebate) for that when you could instead pay $299 (possibly also minus $100) for a fully-featured definitely non-netbook VAIO P? Yes, Sony’s littlest ultraportable looks to be coming to VZW, popping up on a test page in a configuration with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Seemingly (and curiously) no SSD versions will be on offer, possibly to keep down on costs, as the subsidized $299 price is quite a bit lower than the $800 or more you’d be looking to buy one new — not to mention a good bit more appealing than the other netbooks Verizon currently has on offer for the same price. Mind you, that two year wireless broadband contract won’t pay for itself…

[Via GadgetMix.com]

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Verizon getting a little VAIO P to join its netbook offerings originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

Litl Easel Webbook now official, unbelievably overpriced

Posted in: expensive, netbook, Today's Chili

How much would you pay for a netbook? $200 on contract? Maybe as much as $599 for a so-called premium model? How about $699 — a price that doesn’t even include the $19 remote control? Well, what if we told you that the Litl Webbook, a 1.6GHz Atom-based machine running a proprietary web-optimized OS that pumps accelerated H.264 content at 720p over HDMI-out, has a unique hinge that allows it to bend backwards and stand upright like an easel? Sorry, no touchscreen… but that display is 12.1-inches and you get Flickr and Facebook content as well as custom “channels” like The Weather Channel displayed in a “fun” and “engaging” way. You can even scroll between content via that baby-blue scrollwheel on the hinge. Not enough? What about the 2GB of storage, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g WiFi, headphone and USB 2.0 jacks? Still not sold? Us neither.

Gallery: Litl Easel now official, overpriced

[Via Netbook News]

Litl Easel Webbook now official, unbelievably overpriced originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 03

Lenovo’s rumored ThinkPad X200e gets two more spy spots, another shot of believability

Posted in: leak, lenovo, netbook, rumor, thinkpad, Today's Chili, ultraportable

Aw, snap. We’ll be frank — we didn’t have too much hope that the supposedly leaked ThinkPad we spotted over the weekend was a legitimate product, but now that the evidence is mounting, we’re finding it difficult to contain our excitement. Two new spy shots of the purported ThinkPad x200e (or ThinkPad x100e) have emerged over in China, and we’re being told that Lenovo’s not going out of its way to deny their genuineness. Are we really looking at a ThinkPad netbook? And will the Earth really continue to spin if Lenovo deviates from the tried-and-true ThinkPad design that has held things in balance for so long? Color us disquieted.

[Via Cloned In China]

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Lenovo’s rumored ThinkPad X200e gets two more spy spots, another shot of believability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 02

Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10

Posted in: 4G, mobile broadband, mobile internet, MobileBroadband, MobileInternet, netbook, Today's Chili, WiMAX, Wireless

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? Or better yet, when a leaked roadmap doesn’t get delayed in the slightest? After months upon months of waiting, broadband-lovin’ citizens in the North Carolina Triangle and Triad will be celebrating alongside DFW residents and Chicago natives as Sprint’s 4G WiMAX service rolls into town. As of right now (that’s today, junior), consumers in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Charlotte, NC; Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas and Chicago, Illinois can roll into a Sprint store and snag a U300 3G / 4G WWAN modem on a $69.99 monthly data plan. We’re told that San Antonio and Austin will get lit up later this month, while Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Salem, Oregon and Seattle, Washington will join the fray before 2010. Oh, and did we mention that Palm’s favorite carrier finally snagged itself a WWAN-equipped netbook? ‘Cause the Dell Mini 10 is available starting today for $199.99 at select Sprint stores in the metropolitan Baltimore area.

Update: Looks like Sprint changed “Baltimore” to “Bay Area.” Odd.

Read – Sprint WiMAX in the Triangle
Read – Sprint WiMAX in the Triad
Read – Sprint WiMAX in Charlotte, NC
Read – Sprint WiMAX in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
Read – Sprint WiMAX in Chicago, IL
Read – Sprint’s first netbook is Dell Mini 10

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Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 02

Apple Snow Leopard Update Kills Atom Processor Support

Posted in: Apple, intel, netbook, os x, Today's Chili

Bad news for those running Snow Leopard on their netbooks–Apple is pulling another Palm Pre, cutting off the operating system’s support for the Intel Atom processor.

OS X Daily has this to say about the 10.6.2 update,

StellaRolla recommends staying with 10.6.1 (or 10.5.8 if you’re running Leopard on your Hackintosh, sine 10.5.9 will likely have the same Atom problems) for the time being, otherwise you can try upgrading to 10.6.2 but run an older or modified kernel. I think I’ll just stick to 10.6.1 when the update rolls around, I have a lot of confidence in the Hackintosh community so I imagine there will be a workaround rather quickly.

So, why would Apple cut off support for a processor? Well, the company doesn’t currently manufacturer any systems that use the Intel Atom. Like the Palm Pre/iTunes syncing issue and the suits against Psystar, this just seem to another way of ensuring that the company’s software stays tied exclusively to its hardware.

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Nov 02

Slinky Lenovo laptop prototype outed by FCC

Posted in: lenovo, netbook, Today's Chili
Slinky Lenovo laptop netbook prototype outed by FCC

Ooh, what’s this? A new netbook from Lenovo, or some other flavor of tiny laptop? Little is known about the subject of this FCC filing from hardware assembler (and resurrector) Wistron, other than it will have a 10.1-inch screen, a 3-in-1 media reader, and plenty of wireless options including Bluetooth, WiFi, and HSDPA data. Dimensionally the device, referred to as the 0251, would fit into the IdeaPad category, but with no mention of processor or storage there’s still some room to hope for something equally small but with a bit more chutzpah. Yeah, we’re optimists.

[Via wireless goodness; Warning: PDF read link]

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Slinky Lenovo laptop prototype outed by FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 02

Apple killing Atom support, dreams of netbook hackintoshers in next Snow Leopard release?

Posted in: Apple, intel atom, IntelAtom, Mac, netbook, os x, OsX, Today's Chili

Apple killing Atom support, dreams of netbook hackintoshers in next Snow Leopard release?Nobody said running a netbook hackintosh would be easy — but nobody said they’d make it this hard. Apple is currently engaged in a war of compatibility with Palm and, if the developer build of Snow Leopard version 10.6.2 is any indication, the Atom processor is next on the smack down list. Word on coder street is that the upcoming revision of OS X will kill support for Intel’s little powerhouse. That could certainly change before it hits the world at large, but we wouldn’t bet on it. So, if you’re viewing this on an netbook install of your own devising, you may be stuck at version 10.6.1 (or earlier) for awhile — or you may need to do a little custom kernel building. Either way, we’re thinking that if Apple ever gets around to making a netbook it probably won’t be an Atom-powered one.

[Via OS X Daily]

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Apple killing Atom support, dreams of netbook hackintoshers in next Snow Leopard release? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 30

ASUS’ Android-based ‘secret weapon’ smartbook launching in Q1

Posted in: arm, ASUS, netbook, snapdragon, Today's Chili
We got our first glimpse at a computing future filled with low-cost, ARM-based ASUS smartbooks running Android on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor all the way back on June 1st. Since then, however, the pencil-spinning boys in Taiwan have been poo-pooing plans to launch such a device due to what ASUS called an uncertain market opportunity — or was it pressure from Wintel, we never can tell? Then yesterday, ASUS’ Jerry Shen pulled an about-face at an investor meeting in Taipei with talk of launching a $180 smartbook in Q1 of 2010. Bristling with confidence, Shen goes so far as to call it a “secret weapon” in a category offering potential for huge, Eee PC-like growth. Well, with the first big-name smartbooks just starting to ship, even a dozen or so sales could be considered statistically significant.

[Via Shanzai]

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ASUS’ Android-based ‘secret weapon’ smartbook launching in Q1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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