Hasta La Gadget!

We admit, we were pretty stoked when we first saw the Acer Aspire One AOD250 running Android in dual-boot mode. What could possibly be bad about it? Fast start-up, Google apps… other good things that aren’t coming to mind at the moment… what could go wrong? Turns out, just about everything. See, the Aspire One AOD250 has an unfortunate lack of Google blessing, so that means no Gmail, which is really Android’s killer app, and no Marketplace either — so no opportunity to track down a different killer app. You can use your Google account for hooking up with Gcal, Gtalk and Google Contacts, but your Gmail account gets set up as a webmail shortcut to the included Firefox app — which does an alright, slightly hacked-on job of augmenting the standard Android browser, including support for Flash. Unfortunately, with connection woes over WiFi and Ethernet (as seen on the video), there wasn’t much redeemable even there, and perhaps the best news about the device is that it can be fully booted to XP at any time by clicking on the corner of Android’s home screen. We still think there’s promise for Android on a netbook, but it’s going to need some serious TLC (also, Gmail) before it’s ready for prime time. Check out our video impressions after the break.

Continue reading Acer Aspire One AOD250 impressions: Android gone bad

Filed under: Laptops

Acer Aspire One AOD250 impressions: Android gone bad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sorry Litl, but the FCC just spoiled your surprise party. Described as “a web computer” running Litl OS (sorry Microsoft), the 3.38-pound Litl Easel (built by FIC) packs a 1.86GHz Atom Z540 processor beneath that 12.1-inch 1280×800 pixel display, a meager 2GB of storage, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 802.11b/g WiFi, and webcam all powered by a 2600MAh battery. There’s also HDMI, a single USB jack, and an IR receiver for a Litl remote. A dedicated baby-blue “Litl” key on the keyboard would appear to act like a home key that takes you back to the “Card View” home page. Based on the description from the manual, the Litl OS will present information in stacks of cards: blue cards are “permanent” cards for the card catalog, family and friends, and settings; white cards are web cards displayed in a Mozilla browser; and black “channel” cards (known as widgets everywhere else) feature a Litl alarm clock, New York Times headline ticker, and weather channel. And if the cutsie-wutsie factor of the Litl Easel is lost on you then perhaps the “best results if plugged in” label on the power brick will help drive the message home. Litl already has a teaser page up so we expect this to launch Stateside sometime before the holidays.

Read — FCC document
Read — Litl teaser

Filed under: Laptops

Litl Easel ‘web computer’ is cute as a baby-blue button originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Netbook specs have been held in check by Microsoft and Intel’s dizzying array of rules and restrictions for low-cost machines, but now that Windows 7 is out and Intel’s getting ready to release the next generation of Atom chips it sounds like things are about to get slightly better. Microsoft has already started allowing netbook manufacturers to load Windows 7 Home Premium on machines without restrictions, and now Fudzilla says Intel will lift the 1GB RAM limit from Atom machines when the 1.83GHz N470 Pine Trail chip hits in March. That means we’ll start to see more of a range of netbook specs going forward, but the low-end will probably still be dominated by Windows 7 Starter and the Atom N450, which will still be limited to 1GB of RAM, so don’t expect to be happy with the cheap stuff anytime soon.

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Laptops

Next-gen Atom N470 to relax netbook spec restrictions slightly further originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kohjinsha had a slew of portables on display at CEATEC earlier this month, including the classification-bending PA. Its design fits in somewhere between a MID and a tablet netbook, with its 4.8-inch, 1024 x 600 touchscreen and 1.33GHz Atom processor, but now we’re learning that it’s price roughly equates to a netbook and a MID. The device hits Japan early next month for ¥69,800, about $770. That’s certainly not cheap, but if you need one elsewhere you’re probably going to need to go through an importer, and their prices are ¥79,800 and up. That’s about $870. Yikes.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Kohjinsha PA series tablet ships in November, value not guaranteed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The cat may have gotten out of the bag ahead of the Windows 7 launch, but Verizon has just now gotten official with its latest subsidized netbook offerings, which include some unfortunately pricey 3G-equipped versions of HP’s Mini 311 and Mini 110. As expected, the 311 is the first one out of the gate (available right now), and packs an 11.6-inch screen, an Atom N270 backed up by NVIDIA’s ION chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium and, last but not least, a price tag of $249.99 on contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The Mini 110, on the other hand, kicks things back a whole generation to Windows XP and straight-up Intel internals, and will be available for $199.99 (on contract and after rebate again) sometime in mid-November — in the meantime, you can still pick up the carrier’s HP Mini 1151NR netbook while supplies last.

Filed under: Laptops

Verizon rolls out HP Mini 311, Mini 110 netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments