Sony’s announced it will support Breast Cancer Awareness month by outing two new bundles — and both of them are super pink. The first bundle will include a Berry Pink 10.5-inch Vaio W with an Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive, plus a matching sleeve and mouse. The second bundle will include the special edition Rose Pocket Edition reader with a gold clutch case, plus download codes for four e-books. Sony has said it will donate $110,000 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in conjunction with October sales for these bundles. The Vaio W bundle will run you $499, while the reader bundle is $199. Both can be ordered now at Sony Style.
We dare say NVIDIA’s ION platform hasn’t been the quickest to go from announcement to market availability, but at long last we’re seeing a number of pretty decent options cropping up. The Samsung N510 is a great test case for the prowess of the chipset, as it boasts the otherwise entirely unremarkable Atom N280, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD spec, meaning that whatever performance gains it exhibits will be down to the ION infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, the 11.6-inch machine showed marked improvements over standard netbooks in the graphics department, with hardware-accelerated 1080p video decoding and mildly graphically-intensive games made possible. With six and a half hours of battery life and a matte 1366 x 768 screen, the N510 was well received by the PC Pro team, who could only bemoan the uncompetitive pricing of £382 (about $613). Hit the read link for their full impressions.
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.
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.
SAN FRANCISCO — Intel showed off a spiffy new version of Moblin, a Linux operating system designed for mobile gadgets. Initially targeted at netbooks, Intel has now hinted that it will extend the system’s reach to mobile phones.
Intel started the Moblin initiative last year in a bid to maximize the potential of netbooks and other devices that use the company’s Atom processor. But this is the first time that it has shown how the operating system, which is built on a Linux core, will appear to users.
“Moblin will be ready in time when Moorestown (the successor to the current Atom platform) ships next year,” Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel told developers at the Intel Developer Forum, an Intel-hosted conference, on Tuesday.
Although Intel did not explicitly say it was planning a smartphone version of Moblin, the company showed a screenshot of the Moblin user interface (above) with phonelike functionality such as notification for missed calls.
Moblin’s user interface is reminiscent of the recently launched Android phone from Motorola, the Cliq. Moblin brings together updates from social networking sites, the browser, news, calendar and phone call updates into a single screen called Myzone.
The social network aggregation idea is one that has become extremely popular among smartphone makers. With the Pre, Palm was the first handset manufacturer to meld contacts, e-mail and social networking information into a single interface. Since then, Motorola and the HTC Hero have adopted a similar approach.
Intel initially aimed Moblin at netbooks, which largely run Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system. But with Moblin potentially running on mobile phones, Intel is walking into an extremely competitive segment. Last year, Google launched Android, an open source mobile operating system built on the Linux kernel. Android is fast becoming a favorite among handset makers such as HTC and Motorola.
So far, Intel doesn’t have a processor for smartphones. But the company has ambitions to get into that fast-growing market. Earlier this year, Intel said it is working with LG to create a new line of smartphone-like internet devices based on the Moorestown platform and the Moblin operating system. The two companies plan to release the device next year.
Meanwhile, Intel’s Moblin developers have been moving forward with their new OS. In January, they released an alpha version of Moblin, with which interested users could test multiple levels of the core Linux operating system including the boot process, connectivity, networking manager and user interface development tools.
At its developer conference Tuesday, Intel showed a slick interface that seemed to be designed to work well with both touchscreen and standard displays. Moblin screens will have a top bar with access to seven broad categories including applications such as a calendar, e-mail, browser as well as online connectivity options and a world clock.
Moblin is designed for multitasking, says Intel. So if a call comes up during web browsing, the interface allows users to switch easily to another application, such as the camera or a map program.
The latest demo is the first sign that Moblin could become a rival to Android and even the iPhone. But with no devices in the market yet that use the operating system, Moblin remains a dream for Intel.
Sony wowed us this morning with its Vaio X Series, but details are now emerging. According to this video, the .55-inch thin system may be more netbook than notebook. And boy, do I want to hold it in my arms.
Thanks to its 11.2 inch display it looks really compact and that carbon fiber outside and keyboard, oh that keyboard, make my mouth water. As for what is on the inside, we don’t know much. The guys at NetbookNews say there is discussion of an Intel Atom processor (they seem to be hoping for the next generation Pineview CPU), but we won’t be surprised if they go with Intel’s new ULV offering. Either way it is something low powered since Sony has been touting crazy all day battery life (from the video though the battery doesn’t seem to be replaceable).
Now it would be typical Sony to jack up the price on this 1.5 pound baby, but I am thinking it might not be as high as some anticipate (crossing my fingers for under $750). Don’t forget Sony was saying a few months ago it wants to enter the low cost ultraportable space. Our sources tell us this sweet lappie will launch sometime in October with Windows 7. [Netbook News]
Nokia has introduced two new phones loaded with music features and revealed the pricing of its upcoming Booklet 3G netbook at its ongoing Nokia World conference in Germany.
Here’s a rundown of the key announcements.
Last month Nokia introduced the Booklet 3G, a netbook-sized laptop that promised some power-packed features. Booklet 3G will have a 10.1-inch screen, up to 12 hours of usage time, Atom processor and Windows 7. It will weigh about 2.75 lbs and include 1 GB of RAM and 120 GB hard drive. It will also sync with a Nokia handset and offer easy access to Nokia services such as its Ovi app store. See the complete list of specs. But the Booklet 3G comes with a rather hefty price tag. It will cost €575 or $820.
Nokia showed off two new phones at the conference, the first of which is the Nokia X3. The X3 slider phone will have a 2.2-inch display and 3.2-megapixel camera. The phone targeted at music lovers will have stereo speakers, dedicated music keys and support for up to 16GB of storage via microSD card. The X3 will have a ‘flight mode’ so users can listen to music in-flight even though their phones need to be switched off. Music on the phone can be managed using Nokia’s Ovi Player PC software and and Windows Media Player 11. The X3 will be on sale in the fourth quarter of the year for €115 or $165, before taxes and subsidies. See additional features of the Nokia X3.
Nokia also launched the X6 phone. The slim phone has a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 32GB storage and will include access to the company’s ‘Comes with Music’ music subscription service. The X6 also has a 5-megapixel camera, dual LED flash, TV-out, video editing, full web browser and Flash Lite support. It will also ship in the fourth quarter for €459 or $655, without taxes and subsidies.
Nokia also disclosed the pricing of its N97 phone. The device, which gathered mixed reviews, has a 3.2-inch touch display, QWERTY keyboard and fully customizable homescreen. The N97 will cost €459 or $655, without subsidies.
Meanwhile, check out Nokia’s hands-on video with the Booklet 3G laptop.
Asus, which set the netbooks market on fire with its Eee PCs, has some exciting new products coming up for release this year. Leaked slides of the company’s product roadmap for the U.S. show it is planning to introduce a new netbook with a 12-inch display and Nvidia’s Ion graphics chip and a tablet PC with multi-touch capability.
The new netbooks are expected to be priced from $300 to $500, says the Netbook News website.
Despite an overall slowdown in PC sales due to the weak economic environment, the netbook market has been going gangbusters. Sales of netbooks grew 40 percent in the second quarter, almost twice that of the growth rate of larger notebook PCs, says DisplaySearch, a research arm of the NPD Group.
Asus’ 1201N netbook is likely to have a 12-inch display, an Atom N270 processor, 2 GB RAM and 250 GB storage. It will also include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capability and at $500 will be among the company’s premium products. The netbook is expected to be available in mid-October.
Around that time, Asus will also have a convertible tablet PC running Windows 7, says Netbook News. The $550 T91 convertible tablet is expected to come with a 32 GB solid state drive.
If two slides leaked to the Eeeuser.com forum are to be believed, ASUS has some pretty interesting — though not terrifically surprising — netbooks on the horizon. The slides, which are apparently the company’s roadmap for US products for the next two quarters, are chock full of refreshed product information. It looks like we’re going to be seeing a brand new Eee PC, the 12-inch 1201N, which will bring NVIDIA’s Ion platform to the line for the first time, with an Atom N270 CPU, 2GB RAM, a 250GB HDD, Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi, running $499 for release in mid-October. Other than that, we can expect to see the 1005HA-P with the N280 processor and a 250GB HDD option running Windows 7 also arriving in October for $399, and the 1005HA-M with the N270 processor, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Edition for $349. Finally, Netbook News is also reporting some new 1008HA models not listed on the slides, as well as a multitouch, Windows 7-running T91 convertible tablet with a 32GB SSD priced at $549. There’s no timeline mentioned for this one, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground expectantly. The other slide is after the break; hit the read link if you want the full details on each model.
Sure — we haven’t seen or heard anything about Coby’s netbook line since way back in January at CES, but that didn’t stop them from showing up for pre-order, did it? Color us a little surprised, but here they are. Two models have appeared on Amazon for pre-order. The 12.1-inch Coby NMPC1220XPBLK apparently boasts a 1024 x 800 resolution, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive, while the NBPC1022XPBLK is a 10.1-incher with identical specs. The first runs $423, while the 10.1-inch model is $318. So tell us: will you be ordering one?
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Sony wowed us this morning with its 
