May 18

Asus Eee PC T91 reviewed in the UK: “genuinely moves things forwards” for netbook market

Posted in: ASUS, europe, laptop, netbook, review, Today's Chili, touchscreen, uk, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom

Asus’ Eee PC T91 has gotten its first review ahead of the reported late May / early June UK launch, and those cats at TechRadar seem quite smitten with the swivel-proficient touchscreen netbook. Battery life is said to be solid, though points are deducted for not being replaceable. Some issues with the resistive touchscreen also plagued the pre-production model, and while the company assures those kinks are being worked out, we can’t help but worry they’ll invariably still find their way into the finished product, and that glossy display will no doubt keep the memories of fingerprints long after you want it to. Despite these concerns, the review gives much love for the overall performance, video playback, build quality, and keyboard. At £449 ($688), it ain’t the cheapest option on the market, but we do appreciate Asus straying a bit from its tried and true netbook formula. Now how about news on a stateside release, eh?

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Asus Eee PC T91 reviewed in the UK: “genuinely moves things forwards” for netbook market originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 22:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell up for pre-order, early adopters score a $20 discount

Posted in: ASUS, netbook, pre-order, Today's Chili

ASUS is just about ready to push its new thin and light Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook into the delicate hands of consumers, and a nice stack of retailers just got the thing for pre-order. There’s currently a $20 drop in the (fairly steep) $430 pricetag for folks who brave the pre-order, and ASUS expects retailers to deliver the white version by around the 27th, with the black version following on the 28th of this month.

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ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell up for pre-order, early adopters score a $20 discount originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

Tired of Your Netbook? Turn It Into a Pet Cam

Posted in: Apple, Hacks, iPhone, IphoneApp, Mac, netbook, Notebooks, os x, Today's Chili

3541766092_5e4a52eed6After eight months, Gadget Lab’s Charlie Sorrel still adores his Hackintosh netbook (even though at some point a software update broke his keyboard and mouse, requiring him to format his drive and reinstall Mac OS X — a detail he didn’t bother to mention). Now that he and his Crapintosh have traversed their rough patch, Charlie make believes he’s P Diddy by hosting decadent parties, passing the netbook around to guests to use it as a (gasp) wireless music player.

I’m glad he’s finally caught up to the year 2000, but I’ve found a more clever use for my netbook Hackintosh, which I deemed an impractical nuisance after six months of quick wear and tear. I propped it on top of my refrigerator and pointed the webcam at my five-week-old kitten Cuddy, whom I adopted two days ago. I also downloaded a $5 iPhone app called iCam enabling me to view the camera feed. Now, wherever and whenever I wish, I can check on Cuddy by simply opening the iCam app on my iPhone. If she appears to be going bonkers, I can hurry home to her rescue.

One major disadvantage: The audio in the webcam doesn’t work with the hacked version of Mac OS X, for which there is no fix, meaning all I can do is see, not hear, the kitten. So this pet-cam setup doesn’t make me take back my statement about Hackintoshes being all about the chase (that is, the thrills of hacking the netbook) but a failure in delivery.

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Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com


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May 18

Acer’s Aspire One D250, 751h now on sale in North America

Posted in: laptop, Laptops, netbook, netbooks, Today's Chili

Acer’s 11.6-inch, WXGA Aspire 751h-1192 and 10.6-inch, WSVGA D250-1042 are nothing new around these parts, but now the company’s officially priced the units and put up the “on sale” sign. Looks like both models are sporting the corner-placed VGA port as well as the usual netbook specs like a 160GB HDD, up to 2GB RAM, a three or six cell battery, 802.11b/g, GMA 950 integrated graphics, webcam, and Windows XP Service Pack 3. Both have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, but the 751h can swap it out for a 1.22GHz Atom Z520 instead. The larger screen portable’s also got a multi-gesture trackpad and a slightly heavier body — 2.75 pounds vs. 2.44. Starting prices are $298 and $380 for the D250 / 751h, respectively, with your choice of Diamond Black, Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue or Seashell White for colors. Full press release after the break.

Gallery: Acer’s Aspire One D250, 751h now on sale in North America

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Acer’s Aspire One D250, 751h now on sale in North America originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 04:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

Stupid netbook tricks: DIY microwave shield testing

Posted in: diy, netbook, Today's Chili, wifi

So, we’re guessing that at some point in your life you’ve wondered whether or not your microwave oven has sufficient shielding. Well, we certainly haven’t — but maybe we’re the fools for trusting the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Then again, in Russia they don’t even have a “United States Consumer Product Safety Commission” (for obvious reasons). Clearly, someone over there was nagged by the thought that this appliance was scattering radiation where it didn’t belong, so he got this bright idea: as microwave ovens operate at 2.45 MHz, and 802.11d WiFi operates on a 2.4 GHz frequency, any netbook placed in a closed microwave should be woefully un-pingable. And you know what? When he placed his netbook in a closed microwave, it couldn’t be pinged. Clearly relieved that his microwave oven was amply shielded, the author has one final piece of advice for any of you who might be thinking about conducting this test for yourself: “Don’t try to turn your microwave on, while experiment.” Action photos after the break.

Continue reading Stupid netbook tricks: DIY microwave shield testing

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Stupid netbook tricks: DIY microwave shield testing originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 May 2009 07:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 15

Albatron storms back with 10.2-inch ultrathin netbook

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

Nice timing, Albatron. With the whole world feeling that the time is right to enter the quaint and mysterious realm of “thin and light” netbooks, this just proves that you’re totally vibing with money-hungry suits the world over. Truth be told, there’s not much we know about the admittedly striking laptop above. It’s got a 10.2-inch panel, weighs around 2.2 pounds and packs at least an audio input and output. We’re promised that more images and even a video are on the horizon, so hold tight, vaquero.

[Via Slashgear]

Update: Hands-on videos are up! Check it after the break.

Continue reading Albatron storms back with 10.2-inch ultrathin netbook

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Albatron storms back with 10.2-inch ultrathin netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 May 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

Lenovo’s revamped IdeaPad S10-2 gets demoed on video

Posted in: lenovo, netbook, Today's Chili, video

You know the drill by now — first comes the leak, then comes the announcement, then comes the photo shoot. And now, comes the video. Right on cue, the cool cats over at GottaBeMobile have whipped out the Handycam in order to show off Lenovo’s latest entrant into the oversaturated netbook arena. They seemed to appreciate most every tweak applied to the S10-2, though they did lament the fact that the new kid on the block didn’t have a matte display as on the original S10. The vid’s just past the break.

Continue reading Lenovo’s revamped IdeaPad S10-2 gets demoed on video

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Lenovo’s revamped IdeaPad S10-2 gets demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

iUnika Gyy netbook weighs 1.5 pounds, will cost $176

Posted in: netbook, Today's Chili

Hey, remember the $199 Impulse TNX-9500, the “world’s cheapest laptop?” Yeah, it was just the beginning. Say hello to the iUnika Gyy, which manages to shave its price down to €130 ($176) by using a slower 400MHz MIPS processor and ditching that costly XP license for Linux. Yeah, it’ll run like a dog. On the other hand, just like the Impulse there’s something delightfully appealing about a el-cheapo laptop that weigh just 1.5 pounds, and if the company manages to produce its promised €160 ($220) solar-powered version, we could totally find ourselves picking one up on a whim. We’ll see — it’s due in July. One more pic after the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish; images courtesy of hoyTecnología]

Continue reading iUnika Gyy netbook weighs 1.5 pounds, will cost $176

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iUnika Gyy netbook weighs 1.5 pounds, will cost $176 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

Samsung’s N120 and N310 netbooks get reviewed, embraced

Posted in: netbook, review, samsung, Today's Chili

In the mood for a netbook, are we? We’ve recently been hepped to reviews of two of Sammy’s latest, and thought you might wanna take a look. The 10.1-inch, 2.8-pound N120 “isn’t the smallest or lightest,” according to Liliputing, but it is thin, light, and it does have some of the “best sounding speakers” the reviewer has ever heard on such a beast (though your mileage may vary). Battery life is described as “excellent,” and the touchpad? “A step up” from the NC10, apparently. On the other hand, you are going to pay a bit more (like, somewhere near $50 more) than a similarly kitted Eee PC 1000HE. And how about that N310? That depends — is $479 too much for one of the most “attractive and compact” 10-inchers on the market? For $10 less, Laptop points out, you can get double the battery life in the form of the (admittedly rather rough ’round the edges) Samsung N110. But “if style is at the top of your mobile computing list,” the the reviewer continues, this guy is worth a look. And that isn’t the half of it — peep the links below for the full, unexpurgated reviews.

Read: Samsung N120 review
Read: Samsung N310 review

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Samsung’s N120 and N310 netbooks get reviewed, embraced originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA ‘Seashell’ review roundup

Posted in: ASUS, netbook, review, reviewed, roundup, Today's Chili, ultraportable

For those near and dear to ASUS’ Eee PC netbook line, the 1008HA ‘Seashell’ is definitely a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t look like an Eee, it doesn’t feel like an Eee and it doesn’t boast a replaceable battery like an Eee; needless to say, only two of those three facts were lauded by reviewers across the web. Much like Apple’s MacBook Air, the battery in this here machine is not user-serviceable, and while tests proved that it could last well over three hours with “normal” use, ASUS has yet to make clear what plans it has for offering replacements. In any case, most everything else about the machine was found to be on par or above, with performance being satisfactory for basic tasks and the keyboard / trackpad being exceptionally yummy. Still, it feels as if ASUS is charging a bit much for a familiar lineup of internals, but those willing to pay for style should definitely take a closer look.

Read – Trusted Reviews (“a very refined and classy netbook”)
Read – T3 (“a good all-round package”)
Read – CNET UK (“great styling and a relatively light chassis”)
Read – Bit-Tech (“definitely worth considering, but looks come at a cost”)
Read – WhatLaptop (“a compelling proposition”)
Read – PCPro (“If you don’t mind paying a premium for fine design, then the Seashell is a tantalizing prospect”)

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ASUS Eee PC 1008HA ‘Seashell’ review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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