Acer’s dream team confirms netbook Android experiments, thinks it has a “good chance”

At Acer’s over-the-top product onslaught event last night, Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci and product guy Jim Wong confirmed they’d been playing around with Android in the labs, but didn’t think an Android netbook was ready for primetime. Beyond the previously-confirmed Acer A1 Android smartphone, Wong confirmed that they’ve prototyped android on a netbook, and that “it has a good chance” of making it into the hands of consumers, though he didn’t foresee any desktop application at the moment. He says the big obstacle is making sure consumers get a full-fledged browser experience, and that they’ll share more when they feel it’s consumer ready. He also stated that he was pretty Acer sure everybody was testing Android on netbooks, so we’ll see which manufacturer bites first.

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Acer’s dream team confirms netbook Android experiments, thinks it has a “good chance” originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kensington outs new handful of netbook accessories

It was just a matter of time, really. We’ve seen desktop accessories, laptop accessories and now netbook accessories. Kensington has today launched five new products aimed specifically at the blossoming market, and while the tiny wired ($14.99) and wireless ($24.99) mice aren’t anything spectacular, the Power Adapter for Netbooks ($49.99) clearly shows a pinch of ingenuity. The unit is compatible with a whole slew of netbooks (not surprising given just how similar they all are), and includes a built-in USB port to give you that extra charging socket that you’ve been secretly longing for. There’s also a new security lock ($24.99) and reversible sleeve ($14.99), which ought to join those other pieces we mentioned on store shelves later this month.

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Kensington outs new handful of netbook accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One goes legit

After a little bit of suspense-free rumoring, the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One is now official — and pretty lovable. It’s an inch thick, boasts a LED backlit screen with WXGA resolution, and runs the usual netbook internals like an Intel Atom processor, 160GB HDD and 802.11 b/g WiFi. On top of that there’s Bluetooth, 3G, Dolby Pro Logic Sound and a multicard reader. It’s also got a 8-hour lifespan with a 6 cell 5200mAh battery. Build quality is top-notch for its class, and we’d say Acer’s doing good by the Aspire One name — though they’re messing with any sort of tight definition of “netbook” in the process. No word yet on price or availability.

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Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One goes legit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freescale-powered LimeBook hits eBay for astronomical price

China’s Tsinghua Tongfang has had quite the difficulty launching any of its Lime-splashed gear here in the United States, and while it has bothered to show up at CES the past two years, we’re still waiting for the LimePC UMPC and LimeBook netbook to arrive in proper fashion. Evidently, one eBay user reckons that Americans really will pay anything so long as something’s considered “rare,” as the Lime OS-packin’ LimeBook — which was spotted in January in Las Vegas — is being offered up for US delivery at $500. Yeah, 500 smackers for an unproven, practically unheard of Freescale-powered netbook with a 9-inch display, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 32GB SSD, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel webcam and the Linux-based Lime OS. Anyone feel like burning through some discretionary income in order to let us know what the feeling of ownership is like?

[Thanks, Joseph]

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Freescale-powered LimeBook hits eBay for astronomical price originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Has Android Prototype Desktop PC

At a press event tonight, Acer dropped an interesting fact: they have a prototype desktop PC running the Google Android OS. This isn’t the first we’ve heard of large-form-factor devices running Android; last week there were rumors HP was toying with Android as a laptop OS.

I personally think this is an awful idea. As our editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff said on PCMag Radio today, Android totally lacks desktop-class productivity applications – yes, it has basic document editing options, but nothing with the power laptop and desktop owners would expect. When I floated the idea to Smart Device Central editor Jamie Lendino, he responded tartly, “haven’t we already seen the HTC Advantage?” That’s a reference to a failed, overpriced sort of Windows Mobile netbook that landed with a giant thud in the marketplace in 2007.

Linux definitely has a place on netbooks and desktops. But the Android variant of Linux (because that’s what it is, really) isn’t designed for powerful devices. Never mind that Android is hard to find on the market even in phones. Acer is a smart company with a lot of Linux experience. They’re probably toying with an Android desktop to compare it to other available Linux options. I’m hoping they’ll realize it just isn’t a good fit.

Gigabyte posts specs for ThinNote S1024 and Booktop M1022

It’s all coming together, folks. Merely hours after Gigabyte hosted up a product portal for its T1028 TouchNote, the same occurrence has just went down for the ThinNote S1024 and Booktop M1022. Both rigs were initially introduced last month at CeBIT, and now you can pretty much bank on ’em shipping stateside within the next little while. As for the M1022, you’ll find it bundled with a vertical docking station and packing an N270 or N280 processor, Windows XP Home, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, WiFi, optional WiMAX / HSDPA and a 6-cell battery. The S1024 netbook contains most of the same hardware, but you’ll have to handcraft your own stand if that you’re thing.

[Via iTechNews]

Read – ThinNote S1024
Read – Booktop M1022

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Gigabyte posts specs for ThinNote S1024 and Booktop M1022 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gigabyte posts T1028 TouchNote product page, user manual

Gigabyte’s T1028 TouchNote has been cooking on the back burner for weeks now. After we first spotted it lookin’ pretty at CeBIT, the tablet / netbook hybrid has since landed in the FCC’s database and has now shown up officially on the company’s website. The formal specifications list explains that the 10.1-inch machine will boast a swiveling touch panel (LED-backlit), a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, 92 percent full-sized keyboard, embedded HSDPA module, a 2.5-inch 160GB SATA HDD, Bluetooth 2.1, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, 4-cell battery, WiFi and twin 1.5-watt speakers. Optional equipment includes an Atom N280 CPU, WiMAX module, 1,366 x 768 resolution panel (at least according to the user manual) and a more longevous a 6-cell Li-ion. Now, give us a price and ship date and we’ll be pleased as punch.

[Via Slashgear, thanks Chris]

Read – T1028 product page
Read – T1028 user manual

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Gigabyte posts T1028 TouchNote product page, user manual originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 128GB SSD slotted into Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9

Considering just how cheap Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 gets on occasion, there’s practically no doubt that the SSD portion of this mod will run you more than the computer itself. For those wild and wacky DIYers who couldn’t honestly care less, jkkmobile has put together a video (along with a gallery of images) showing exactly how the process works. For what it’s worth, we’re told that the whole ordeal was a simple matter, but you can judge for yourself after jumping past the break and mashing play.

Continue reading Video: 128GB SSD slotted into Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9

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Video: 128GB SSD slotted into Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft boasts that 96% of netbooks now run Windows

Remember the old days when Microsoft was dragged kicking and screaming into offering Windows XP on netbooks? Neither does Microsoft, apparently, as the company is now all too happy to boast that a full 96% of the netbooks on the market run on its venerable OS. It’s also, unsurprisingly, quick to point out that virtually all of that growth comes at the expense of Linux, which Microsoft once again notes sees much higher rates of return once folks “realize their Linux-based netbook PC doesn’t deliver that same quality of experience.” Of course, all of this talk also has a little something to do with the even more netbook-minded Windows 7 which, ironically, could well be trying to peel off some market share from XP by this time next year.

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Microsoft boasts that 96% of netbooks now run Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Acer Aspire One D250 gets unboxed

Just days after the machine popped official on some of the company’s overseas web portals, Acer’s Aspire One D250 netbook has just been acquired and unboxed across the pond. The N280-powered rig doesn’t look drastically different than previous Acer netbooks, but you know you’re hungry to hit play and search intently for the minute changes. It’s just past the break, by the way.

Continue reading Video: Acer Aspire One D250 gets unboxed

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Video: Acer Aspire One D250 gets unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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