Feb 23

Dell’s Mini 10 comes with any amount of RAM you want, so long as it’s 1GB

Posted in: memory, netbook, Today's Chili
Dell's Mini 10 comes with any amount of RAM you want, so long as it's 1GB

The case of the Mini 10 just gets curiouser and curiouser. The company finally acknowledged the red-lidded QVC stepchild on its site just last week, but before that quietly mentioned an interesting bit of information on its official blog: the 1GB of memory figure that seemed like just a start is actually the end, too. The RAM in the first batch (or possibly batches) of Mini 10 models will be non-upgradable, and while we don’t know why a company that built itself on allowing people to customize computers would prevent them from upgrading their netbooks, we are sure this won’t be a popular move. Additionally, the first Mini 10s will all be running XP, though Ubuntu will be coming, as well as an optional 720P display and even a TV tuner. That all sounds fantastic, but after waiting through all this is anyone going to wait longer still for a proper-spec’d machine?

[Thanks, Eric]

Filed under:

Dell’s Mini 10 comes with any amount of RAM you want, so long as it’s 1GB originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 23

Lenovo S10 users complaining of endless fan noise

Posted in: lenovo, netbook, Today's Chili

Lenovo’s S10 netbook has always had a reputation for being a bit warm to the touch, but it sounds like the little lappy has some more serious issues with heat — the official Lenovo support forums are flooded with users complaining that the fan endlessly spins up and down. Making matters worse, Lenovo apparently hasn’t acknowledged the problem, and some customers report that S10s sent in for repair return in exactly the same condition. That doesn’t sound totally awesome — anyone else having this problem?

[Thanks, Denis]

Filed under:

Lenovo S10 users complaining of endless fan noise originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Feb 23

UMID M1 gets official, handled on video

Posted in: MID, netbook, Today's Chili, UMPC

We never in our wildest dreams imagined UMID would be the one to blur the line between netbooks and MIDs, but sure enough, it has. The all too elusive mbook (or M1, as it were) has reserved itself a spot on the web, and moreover, we’ve finally found ourselves a video of this fellow in action. We’re still believing a 4.8-inch screen is just too small for the Atom inside to be fully appreciated, but maybe our goliath fingers and awful eyesight aren’t indicative of the majority.

[Via PMP Today]

Read – Official website
Read – Hands-on video

Filed under:

UMID M1 gets official, handled on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 20

NVIDIA Ion platform to support VIA Nano processors this year

Posted in: nano, netbook, nettop, NVIDIA, nvidia ion, NvidiaIon, Today's Chili

It’s pretty clear NVIDIA already has some big plans for its new nettop / netbook-specific Ion platform, and it looks like its reach is about to get broader still, with company president Jen-Hsun Huang reportedly confirming that the platform will also support VIA’s Nano processor by the end of the year. As you may recall, the two companies had been in off and on talks about a partnership last year before things finally fell though in November, and there was even a point where it seemed like NVIDIA might actually acquire VIA. No word from Intel on this latest development, although it doesn’t seem like it’ll be affecting the Atom’s status as the go-to processor in the short term. There’s also unfortunately no indication as to exactly what sort of VIA-powered, Ion-based systems we can expect to see, although it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if they followed the Ion / Atom combo and went with a nettop first.

[Via GadgetMix.com]

Filed under: ,

NVIDIA Ion platform to support VIA Nano processors this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 20

ARM’s stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID

Posted in: arm, Linux, MID, mwc, mwc09, netbook, snapdragon, Today's Chili, ubuntu

We’re not sure what sort of shenanigans ARM gets up to, but it managed to amass itself quite the interesting collection of netbooks for its MWC booth. Information was scant, but they were showing that Freescale i.MX-based Pegatron netbook and nettop we saw at CES, an ultrawide 11.1-inch Snapdragon-based netbook from Wistron, a Snapdragon-based convertible tablet netbook from Inventec Alaska, and a totally odd “tech demo” of a Qualcomm-based Wistron MID semi-running a sketch version of Windows Mobile 6.5. Most all of the systems were in some level of prototype form, and seemed unbearably slow at running whatever prototype flavor of Linux they happened to have, while the MID didn’t really seem to operate at all, at least to our touch. Still, it’s clear that Snapdragon and Freescale i.MX are allowing for some pretty wild and thin form factors while still rocking decent battery life.

Gallery: ARM’s stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID

Continue reading ARM’s stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID

Filed under: , ,

ARM’s stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 20

Inspiron Mini 10 finally shows up at Dell’s website

Posted in: netbook, Today's Chili

In one of the most bizarre sequences of events we can recall, Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10 has finally arrived on its maker’s website. And this is after being briefly (and we stress “briefly“) unveiled in a 3- x 3-foot cubical at CES, being impersonated at Tecso by the smaller Mini 9 and showing up early on QVC. Yeah, weird. At any rate, we knew that the Round Rock powerhouse was looking to offer this pup up for sale starting on the 26th, so we figure now is a perfect time to host up a holding place in order to get people informed. As we’d heard, it’ll sport a 10.1-inch display, 802.11b/g WiFi, optional Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI out, an external DVD drive, upwards of 160GB of HDD space, 1GB of RAM, a keyboard that’s 92 percent the size of a standard laptop (that’s the same as on ASUS’ Eee PC 1000HE, by the way), a multitouch trackpad, 720p media playback, optional WWAN, an internal TV tuner and your choice of a 3-cell (3 hours) or 6-cell (6.5 hours) battery. Yummy!

[Thanks, John]

Gallery: Inspiron Mini 10 finally shows up at Dell’s website

Filed under:

Inspiron Mini 10 finally shows up at Dell’s website originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 20

Dell Mini 9 and 12 headed to AT&T stores?

Posted in: att, netbook, Today's Chili

You can already get an HP Mini netbook or a Sony VAIO P not-a-netbook up and running on AT&T’s network with relative ease, but it looks like your options could be about to get more convenient still, at least if this seemingly authentic screen courtesy of The Boy Genius Report is any indication. Apparently, both Dell’s Mini 9 and Mini 12 netbooks will be finding their way into AT&T stores at some point in the not too distant future, although there’s unfortunately no indication of an exact date or price. As the Boy Genius speculates, however, it seems likely that they’ll be at least somewhat competitive with the $99 that Verizon will be asking for the HP Mini 1000 on a two-year data card plan, which will apparently be available sometime in May.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under:

Dell Mini 9 and 12 headed to AT&T stores? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Feb 20

ASUS begins shipping ultra-longevous Eee PC 1000HE

Posted in: ASUS, netbook, now shipping, NowShipping, ship, shipping, ships, Today's Chili

ASUS’ Eee PC 1000HE, which managed to garner some pretty high praise amongst reviewers, is now shipping out to eager buyers. For those that missed it, this here netbook sports a 1.66GHz Atom N280 and a high-capacity battery that could last up to 9.5 hours under perfectly ideal conditions. And for under $400, how in the world can you complain with that? If you too have received your tracking number, feel free to gloat about it in comments below. Might want to hold the actual digits close to your chest, though — we hear netbook interceptions are on the rise.

[Thanks, Mitchell]

Filed under:

ASUS begins shipping ultra-longevous Eee PC 1000HE originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , ,
Feb 19

Dell Tries to Cancel Psion Netbook Copyright

Posted in: netbook, Today's Chili

There’s a case to made for the genericization of the word “netbook.” The term has come to refer to lightweight, low-power PCs. Even as the definition of what constitutes a netbook becomes more blurred, the word’s place in our daily vocabulary has become further cemented. After all, in this age of cloud computing and economic uncertainly, netbook manufacturers have been doing pretty brisk business.

The thing is, Psion owns the right to the term. The company copyrighted it in the 90s, and as it has become commonly used, Psion has become more aggressive about attempting to secure its trademark: It has sent letters to manufacturers who have been bandying about the term. Dell is among those guilty parties, having just released the Inspiron Mini 10.

So now, Dell has taken it upon itself to file a Trademark Cancellation petition: “Upon information and belief, Psion intends not to resume bona fide use of the Netbook name in the ordinary course of trade.”

No Comments | Tags: ,
Feb 19

Haier shows off mysterious “NetBooks,” Android phones

Posted in: Android, Features, hands-on, MID, mwc, mwc09, netbook, Today's Chili

Haier’s offerings are always an adventure, and this year at MWC they didn’t disappoint. They were showing off an interesting assortment of MIDs, confusingly dubbed “NetBooks,” including a mini-laptop of sorts (left) that falls somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, we’re totally short on specs, release dates or other sorts of relevant informations, so what you see is pretty much what you get. On a similar note, Haier had two Android-based devices at the show, dubbed the G1 and the G2, along with a BlackBerry 8900 look-alike we didn’t see, and another phone that even the PR person wasn’t sure what it was. These two “Googlephones” (their word) were sadly out of battery when we went for a demo, but one of them bore more than a passing resemblance to the BlackBerry Storm, though it happens to be lighter, smaller and runs a new OS… maybe RIM can call up Haier for some pointers.

Gallery: Haier shows off mysterious “NetBooks,” Android phones

Filed under: , ,

Haier shows off mysterious “NetBooks,” Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: