Sep 30

Dual-Processor Netbook Baffles Us Completely

Posted in: netbook, Notebooks, Today's Chili

swordfish_net

When confronted with the prospect of a dual-processor netbook, a tiny 10.2-inch computer featuring not one but two 1.6GHz Atom processors, I can only echo the prosaic and considered words of my editor Dylan Tweney, placed at the top of the e-mail containing the tip-off: “WTF?”

The machine is the “Swordfish Net 102 Dual Netbook Computer”, and we wonder why on earth anybody would make this thing. Is there any advantage to sinking two Atoms side-by-side into a netbook, other than to quicken the drain on the already weak three-cell battery? It gets odder. The netbook has a decent 2GB RAM, but only a 160GB hard drive. It has “Dual Bluetooth” for tethering to a smartphone, but also has a WCDMA 3G cellular radio built in. It also has (and this is a little unfair to point out, but we can’t help it) the rather wonderful sounding “Keyborad: 83 keyborad”.

The Swordfish does at least have one killer feature: price. At $450, you can afford to send it to the computer-shrink to have its dual personalities sorted out.

Product page [Haleron. Thanks, Kyle!]


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Sep 29

Switched On: A keyboard PC seeks to Eee-peat success

Posted in: column, Features, netbook, PC, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

The original Asus Eee PC took on the challenging North American market for a small notebook PC and was so successful that it created a new wave of product that’s turned the PC business upside down. And although Asus has since released over a dozen permutations of its original Eee PC notebook as well as several desktop models both with and without integrated monitors, its next big test will be a keyboard.

A top-slice reincarnation of the pioneering Commodore 64, the Eee Keyboard has a full complement of ports and can run Windows, but its two standout features are a 5″ LCD that replaces the numeric keyboard and wireless high-definition output to a television. Much like the original Eee PC, it is unlikely that the Eee Keyboard would be anyone’s primary PC. In fact, Asus’s keyboard-footprint computer will have to overcome a number the same problems PCs and other information products like WebTV have had in the living room. But Asus may be hitting the market at a critical inflection point — for a few reasons.

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Switched On: A keyboard PC seeks to Eee-peat success originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 29

Toshiba launches new Satellite netbooks in the US and UK

Posted in: laptop, netbook, satellite, Today's Chili, Toshiba, ultraportable

We know you love nothing more than a Toshiba Satellite laptop announcement, so listen up: the company has just announced two new CULV ultraportables of the UK and stateside market: The Satellite T135 (or the T130 as it’s known overseas) is a 13.3-inch beauty with options including either an Intel Pentium, Celeron single core or Celeron dual-core CPU, up to 3GB of DDR3 RAM, and 250GB harddrive. The Satellite T115 (or T110 in the UK) sports an 11.6-inch display, either an Intel Pentium or Celeron single core CPU, and up to 4GB of RAM and 500GB harddrive. What’s more, the kids over at Laptop Mag have given the T135 the old once-over and found it to be a pretty good deal: “for slightly less than the competition,” they said of the $709 review unit, you’re getting “good performance and a stylish design.” Perhaps the single touchpad button and the quiet speakers will be a turn-off to some, but it takes all kinds, right? Look for the T135 and T115 on October 22nd, for $599 and $449 respectively — their UK counterparts should hit the streets on the same date, priced from £429.
Read – Toshiba Satellite T130/T135 and T110/T115 CULV ultraportables debut
Read – Toshiba Satellite T135 review

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Toshiba launches new Satellite netbooks in the US and UK originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

GPU-accelerated 720p Flash video gets demoed on a netbook (smoothly)

Posted in: 720p, adobe, flash, netbook, NVIDIA, nvidia ion, NvidiaIon, Today's Chili

It’s been a long wait since NVIDIA and Adobe announced their plans for GPU-accelerated Flash video back in January of this year, but it looks like the pair now finally have something to show for themselves. While it’s not quite clear how official it is just yet, the folks at NotebookJournal have nonetheless published a video that shows 720p Flash video running smoothly on a netbook (an ION-powered HP Mini 311, to be specific). Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll still have to wait until sometime in the first half of 2010 to see the technology become publicly available (at least if the slides in the video are any indication), but you can now check out the demo for yourself after the break. Just be sure to stick with it for a while or skip ahead to the 1:20 mark — they show a non-accelerated video at the beginning for an all too painful comparison.

[Via Liliputing]

Continue reading GPU-accelerated 720p Flash video gets demoed on a netbook (smoothly)

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GPU-accelerated 720p Flash video gets demoed on a netbook (smoothly) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Airis Praxis Slim Air is one-inch thick, KIRFtastic

Posted in: laptop, netbook, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, ultraportable

Airis is no stranger to the fine art of imitating without getting sued out of existence, and its latest effort — the shamelessly titled Praxis Slim Air — is no exception. It sports a 12-inch display spanning 1366 x 768 pixels, a gig of memory and a 160GB hard drive, and if you think this is the usual prelude to a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, well, you’d be spot on. To be fair, with two USB ports, WiFi, HDMI, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and a choice of Windows XP, Vista, 7 or Linux, this isn’t a terrible proposition in its own right. The big downfall comes with a rated battery runtime of just three hours, but if you’re unfazed by the tethered life, you can grab one in Europe for €399 ($586) this October. Full frontal picture after the break.

Continue reading Airis Praxis Slim Air is one-inch thick, KIRFtastic

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Airis Praxis Slim Air is one-inch thick, KIRFtastic originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad flavors

Posted in: Microsoft, netbook, netbooks, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

It would seem that the humble netbook owner’s Windows 7 options just keep improving as the grand new OS comes closer to release. After plans to limit netbooks to running three apps at a time were thankfully scrapped, Microsoft has now confirmed with us that it is going to allow OEMs to splash any version of Windows 7 they desire onto their Atom-powered miniature laptops. That’s right, you can totally rock Windows 7 Ultimate and Aero visualizations on a machine that can handle neither. Joking aside, it’s pleasing to see the Redmond brain trust steer clear of arbitrary limitations on customer choice.

[Via GadgetMix]

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Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad flavors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad forms

Posted in: Microsoft, netbook, netbooks, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

It would seem that the humble netbook owner’s Windows 7 options just keep improving as the grand new OS comes closer to release. After plans to limit netbooks to running three apps at a time were thankfully scrapped, Microsoft has now confirmed with us that it is going to allow OEMs to splash any version of Windows 7 they desire onto their Atom-powered miniature laptops. That’s right, you can totally rock Windows 7 Ultimate and Aero visualizations on a machine that can handle neither. Joking aside, it’s pleasing to see the Redmond brain trust steer clear of arbitrary limitations on customer choice.

[Via GadgetMix]

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Windows 7 coming to netbooks in all its myriad forms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Gateway’s LT2016u netbook coming to Verizon next weekend

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

Following the introduction of the HP Mini 1151NR earlier this year, Verizon’s push into the brave new world of subsidized netbooks continues this coming Sunday with the Gateway LT2016u, essentially a warmed-over LT2000 with enough legalese attached to it to make sure you’re a loyal Big Red customer for the next 24 months of your life. Like the Mini, the new Gateway features Qualcomm’s Gobi tech to make sure you’ve got 3G data available essentially anywhere in the world, but otherwise, the specs aren’t terribly interesting: 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive spinning at an uncreative 5400rpm, VGA webcam, Windows XP Home, and a package that tips the scales at 2.95 pounds (up a noticeable tick from the Mini’s 2.45). If you sign up for a two-year deal, you’re looking at $149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate; a year ago, we were hoping these things would end up going for free on subsidy, but it looks like that dream might yet be a few years off.

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Gateway’s LT2016u netbook coming to Verizon next weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 25

NVIDIA: Chrome OS on Tegra is money, not that anyone ever doubted it

Posted in: Chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, Google, netbook, NVIDIA, tegra, Today's Chili

Kevin C. Tofel certainly knows his way around ultra-portable devices like MIDs, UMPCs, and netbooks. And during a product briefing with NVIDIA, the managing editor behind jkOnTheRun received confirmation from NVIDIA that it’s working to deliver Google’s Chome OS on the Tegra smartbook platform, eventually. Anyone surprised? Tegra is ARM-based and Google has been perfectly clear that its Chrome OS is targeting ARM and x86 systems ranging in size from netbooks to full-size desktops. But hey, it’s Tegra and Google’s unproven OS together at last… what could go wrong? Until that day it’ll be Windows CE or Android (and maybe a Linux distro or two) when the first Tegra-based Smartbooks begin shipping from carriers, well, right about now.

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NVIDIA: Chrome OS on Tegra is money, not that anyone ever doubted it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 24

Viliv S10 Blade netvertible hands-on at IDF

Posted in: Features, hands-on, HandsOn, intel, netbook, tablet, Today's Chili

Viliv has one of the best-looking convertible tablets we’ve ever seen here at IDF, the new S10 Blade. It’s actually quite striking in person — it’s thin and light, while still offering a convertible touchscreen and a decent keyboard. Sadly the version pictured here has a pretty slow single-touch resistive touchscreen and will be limited to Windows 7 Starter when it launches in November for around $570, but we’re told that a multitouch resistive model will hit early next year with Windows 7 Home Premium for around $700. We’ll see if that one has the functionality to back up these hot looks when it hits — but for now, check the rest of the pics in the gallery.

Gallery: Viliv S10 Blade hands-on

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Viliv S10 Blade netvertible hands-on at IDF originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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