Todays & Tomorrows Technology

We’re still waiting for an official release for ASUS’ Eee Keyboard – the latest we hear is that it should drop sometime in August – but that hasn’t stopped French site Blogeee from getting their hands on one. Rather than cherish it for the rarity it is, they’ve decided to open the Keyboard up and find out what’s making it tick inside.

As you might expect, it’s basically a long, flat netbook, with a custom circuit-board to which ASUS have frustratingly soldered the 1GB of RAM. Cooling is via heat-pipes to the Atom N280 1.66GHz processor and accompanying chipset, leading back to a 40mm exhaust fan which, Blogeee report, makes little noise. Other components are more modular, such as the Bluetooth and WiFi adapters and the 16GB SSD.

The battery is a 1,880mAh pack that Blogeee estimate will be good for up to 1hr 40 minutes wireless runtime. The unit they’ve acquired also has a Silicon Image wireless HDMI transmitter which also takes care of up to 1080p graphics and HDCP certification, though we’ve previously heard that not all models will include it.

Blogeee end up a little confused about the point of the ASUS Eee Keyboard, suggesting that the storage is too little for a true HTPC while a regular netbook or nettop will provide just as good an internet machine. We’re still keen to try it out ourselves, but for now we’ll have to wait for the official release.

If you’ve been holding off on picking up one of HP’s Mini 110 series netbooks because you’ve wanted it in pink or white (what, really?) then today is the day to flex your credit-card. HP have unleashed the two new color versions of their 110 XP Edition, meaning you can have the 10.1-inch Atom N270/N280 netbook in sober black, coquettish pink or lost-in-a-snowstorm white.

Update: HP have also added the Broadcom HD Video Accelerator option to the Mini 110, priced at $30 (Thanks Peter!)


They’re our names, I should point out, not HP’s official nomenclature, so expect to be laughed at if you ring up to place your order and use them. Picking the non-standard color schemes pushes the price of the 110-series machines up by $20 each; they’re only available for the XP Edition variants, too, not the Mi Edition.

Otherwise your money gets you a choice of 16GB or 32GB SSD, or 160GB 5,400rpm HDD, together with WiFi b/g, 1GB of RAM and a color-matched keyboard. Prices start at $349.99 for the black model.

It looks like the torrent of Atom N270 netbooks won’t be followed by a similar rush of Atom N450-based budget ultraportables, as several manufacturers have apparently revealed plans to delay mass production until netbook heavyweights Acer and ASUS show their hand. That could push bulk availability back until the first half of 2010, despite engineering samples of the new Intel N450 chip already being available.


According to DigiTimes, lower than expected demand for netbooks – in part through segment saturation – in the first half of 2009 has left many vendors with legacy stock and reduced profit. That has encouraged them to take a more wait-and-see attitude, slashing R&D budgets and instead monitoring the big names to better gage the market.

Acer and ASUS are expected to reveal their N450-based ranges in Q4 2009, with white-box manufacturers planning to begin their own mass production in Q1 2010. The end result for the consumer may be reduced choice in netbook models, though given that the combination of building-to-budget, fitting in with Intel and Microsoft’s licensing limitations, and segment naivety has left most current netbooks pretty much identical to each other, that may not be such a bad thing.

Earlier in the month we heard that Atom N270 based netbooks and nettops would be unlikely candidates for inclusion in the Windows 7 Upgrade Program, and that’s looking to indeed be the case. ASUS have announced details of their program, including which models will be eligible, and only two of the company’s sprawling Eee PC netbook line are included: the 1101HA and the 1005HA.

Neither of these use the N270: the 1101HA adopts Intel’s Z520 CPU, while the 1005HA has the N280. You’ll also need to have a particular model in order to be eligible: the 1101HA must be running Vista Home Premium, while the 1005HA must be running either XP Pro or Vista Business. Considering most of these netbooks are bought with Windows XP Home, that doesn’t bode well for existing customers.

There are also a few Eee Top all-in-ones and the Eee Box EB1501 nettop, but it’s generally a poor showing for the company’s budget range.

Samsung are preparing to launch a new, 11.6-inch netbook, the N510, and rather than Intel’s Atom Z5xx series of processors they’ve picked the 1.66GHz N280. The N510 will also use NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset, paired with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-drive.

The presence of Ion will make the N510 capable of high-definition video playback, which should make the WXGA 1,366 x 768 more usable. Rival machines such as the Acer Aspire One 751, which have similarly-sized displays but use Atom Z5xx series processors and standard netbook graphics, have proved woefully underpowered for HD content.

Other Samsung N510 specs include WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth and wired ethernet, together with an integrated webcam and microphone, multi-format memory card reader, 6-cell Li-Ion battery and Windows XP Home. It’ll apparently be priced at around €570 ($799), which is mighty-expensive for an Atom-based netbook.

After telling us – and then telling us again – that the Eee Keyboard would arrive this month, ASUS are now promising their nettop-in-a-keyboard will actually drop in August 2009. Rather than blaming manufacturing delays or last-minute firmware tweaks, ASUS claim the Eee Keyboard – which squeezes in an HD capable nettop and 5-inch touchscreen – was in fact held back while they attempted to define a niche for it to sit in.

That’s surprising, given that back at CES in January the company seemed to have a pretty good idea of what the point of the Eee Keyboard was. Fitted with Wireless HDMI, it can stream HD content either stored on its 32GB SSD or from the internet to a nearby display, with controls and other apps shown on the compact touchscreen.

Still no final word on pricing, but the last we heard ASUS were planning for a $400 starting price – though that doesn’t get you Wireless HDMI, only wired – and two different models. Each will have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and both WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0. Earlier this month ASUS demonstrated the Eee Keyboard running Moblin, rather than Windows XP as it has been seen using in the past.

SlashGear stopped by the Pepcom Digital Experience in New York this week, and caught up with one of the more interesting netbooks on the horizon: Lenovo’s S12. While it may physically resemble one of the company’s previous models, albeit with a larger 12.1-inch display, what makes the S12 really special is the NVIDIA Ion chipset inside. The demonstration – which you can see after the cut – showed silky-smooth simultaneous HD encoding and playback.

In fact, the Lenovo S12 was using its HDMI port to output 1080p content onto a big-screen HDTV while also re-encoding a 1080p clip into an iPhone-friendly format. Both moved on at a fair clip, and the playback was completely smooth and unaffected by the encoding process.

When you consider that the S12 is otherwise pretty much identical to a mainstream netbook today, it’s all the more impressive. As well as Ion there’s a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and up to 320GB hard-drive, together with WiFi, Bluetooth and an ExpressCard slot. Full specifications are here. The Lenovo S12 with NVIDIA Ion is expected to go on sale this month, priced at $499.99; cheaper models, lacking Ion, will start at $449.99.

Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A is still too rich for our blood – $1,000 or thereabouts is simply too much to pay for a netbook, no matter how slick its touchscreen trackpad - but that doesn’t mean we’re not interested in lapping up all the information about the distinctive ultraportable that we can. UMPC Fever have acquired one of the Atom N270 netbooks and promptly shot a video unboxing.
It’s not just the trackpad – which is actually a 4-inch optical-touchscreen running at super-crisp 854 x 480 resolution – which makes this netbook stand out physically. The huge Mebius logo, basically a stylized Möbius strip, certainly stands out on the lid, but it’s arguably more attractive than a massive Sharp logo.

Inside, there’s an easily accessible Gigabyte WiFi module and Fujitsu 160GB hard-drive; the RAM also looks pretty easy to reach too. We’re just hoping that Sharp see sense and drop the touchscreen into their more grown-up ultraportables; pair it with something other than an Atom N270 and a somewhat more realistic price and you’d have a real winner.

HP have announced a new netbook, the Mini 5101, and like their original entrant to the market they’ve gone with business-friendly materials targeted at “on-the-go professionals”. The HP Mini 5101’s 10.1-inch display is clad in anodized aluminum, while the lower case is made from magnesium alloy. Inside, there’s the usual Intel Atom processor, in this case the 1.66GHz N280, paired with up to 2GB of RAM and up to a 320GB HDD or an 80GB SSD.

Two display options are available, a standard 1024 x 600 or an HD-capable 1366 x 768 16:9 panel, with graphics via Intel’s GMA 950 chipset. Ports include three USB 2.0, VGA, ethernet, audio in/out and an SD/MMC card reader, while there’s also WiFi a/b/g/n, optional Bluetooth 2.0 and optional EVDO/HSPA WWAN. A 2-megapixel webcam lurks up in the screen bezel, along with stereo microphones.

The whole thing weighs from 2.64lb, and measures 10.3 x 7.09 x 0.91 inches. It’s being offered with either Windows XP Home, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 or FreeDOS, as well as either 4-cell or 6-cell batteries. Pricing starts from $449, and you can pick up the HP Mini 5101 from July.

Kohjinsha’s SK3 UMPC, which we saw yesterday, has been officially launched in Japan. The 7-inch touchscreen SK3 gets an Intel Atom 1.33GHz processor paired with 1GB of RAM and a 60GB 1.8-inch 4,200rpm hard-drive; there’s also WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0 and GPS.

As expected there are also dual cameras, a low-resolution webcam by the screen for video calls, and a 3-megapixel version presumably for still shots. Ports include ethernet 10/100, VGA, audio in/out, a microSD slot, two USB 2.0 ports, multiformat card reader and an ExpressCard 34 slot.

It’s also impressively smaller than its SC3 predecessor, at 193 x 132 x 30 mm, and weighing just 720g. Kohjinsha are suggesting 3.2hrs runtime from the 17Wh battery in the Jeita test, a test known to produce over-ambitious results. Steve from UMPC Portal (who, frankly, we trust about battery runtime estimates more than we ever did Jeita) is guesstimating at between 2 and 2.5hrs of real-world use, which is a real disappointment.

Still, we won’t argue with more options in the ultramobile touchscreen category, and we’ve a feeling Japanese customers won’t either when the Kohjinsha SK3 goes on sale there. It’s expected to be priced at the equivalent of around $733, including local taxes.

Shuttle have announced a barebone version of their X50 all-in-one PC, offering buyers the choice to install the storage and memory they prefer. The X50 – announced officially back in March - has a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 16:9 resistive touchscreen and Intel’s Atom 330 dual-core processor; in its barebone form it comes devoid of RAM or hard-drive.
According to the press release, it seems the X50 barebone can be outfitted with between 512MB and 2GB of DDR2 RAM, and various types of 2.5-inch drive. That could be anything from a budget 80GB hard-drive to a high-capacity SSD, though that would arguably be overkill given the 1.6GHz processor and GMA 950 graphics.

Other specs include a 4-in-1 memory card reader, gigabit ethernet, WiFi b/g/n, VGA output, five USB 2.0 ports, audio in/out and a VESA mount on the back. It comes with no OS, but instructions for loading software from a network connection or USB drive are included.

The Shuttle Barebone X50 will go on sale at the end of June, with an MRSP of €361 ($499).

After months of complaint from US would-be VAIO P buyers, Sony has apparently relented and added a new, faster processor option to their “don’t call it a netbook” ultraportable. The VAIO P VGN-P698E gets Intel’s 1.60GHz Intel Atom processor, likely the Z530, together with a 128GB SSD and the usual integrated Verizon EVDO Rev.A and GPS.

Unfortunately that’s still a fair few clock-cycles behind Japan’s latest VAIO P, the 2GHz Atom Z550 model announced earlier this month. In fact it’s slower, even, than the now-toppled Japanese flagship – which ran at 1.86GHz with an Atom Z540 CPU – and the Windows XP option is also unavailable, as Sony have seemingly decided US customers only want Vista.

Best of all is the price: for the smudge of extra processing power and double the SSD you’re looking at $1,499.99. That’s a full $500 more than the 1.33GHz 32GB SSD model. It’s available for pre-order now, and will begin shipping around June 26th.

If carrying your computer like a plastic handbag appeals, and you’re also a fan of pen-computing, then Daewoo’s latest netbook may be the best thing for you. The SOLO C920-mini starts from humble netbook beginnings – an Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 60GB 1.8-inch 4,200rpm hard-drive – then throws in an 8.9-inch touchscreen and nifty carrying handle.

That should give you something to hold on to when you’ve flipped the touchscreen around and are using the C920-mini as a slate. The display runs at 1024 x 600, the same as ASUS’ Eee PC T91, and there’s a 1.3-megapixel webcam and stereo speakers sensibly located in the screen bezel rather than just above the keyboard where they’d be covered up.

Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, two USB 2.0 ports, ethernet and audio in/out. Thanks to Microsoft’s netbook software licensing policies, though, you can’t get the Daewoo machine with XP Tablet Edition, so there’s no standard handwriting recognition or any of the other pen-enabled niceties. No word on pricing nor availability outside of Korea.

ASUS’ Eee PC T91 convertible touchscreen netbook should have been on sale in the UK for several weeks now, but the 8.9-inch tablet has been suspiciously absent from online and bricks-and-mortar retail stores. According to what a company official told AsusTablet, that delay is due to a “logistical mishap” in distribution; we can apparently expect the netbook to arrive in stores from Monday June 22nd.
The ASUS representative did not go on to explain the exact nature of the “mishap”, although they were at pains to point out that the T91 is still shipping. It’s also unclear whether the delay will impact shipments of the netbook outside of the UK; the T91 was supposed to begin shipping in the US this week.

Buyers of the tablet will get an Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD. What makes the T91 interesting is its rotating display, which can be folded flat against the keyboard and thus leaving the netbook as a touchscreen slate. Standard and 3G versions are expected.

We already knew the Viliv X70 would start from a terribly reasonable $599, but now we’ve heard from importers Dynamism that presales for the 7-inch UMPC will start at 1PM EST on July 6th. The first shipment of the Atom-based touchscreen handheld is expected on July 28th, and just to make sure every one of those gets a new home to go out to, there are a few tempting offers available to those who preorder.
The freebies are limited to the first 777 preorder customers. Those who go for the cheapest $599 Viliv X70 Express will automatically get an upgrade from the standard 1.2GHz Atom CPU to the 1.3GHz Atom Z520, together with a free car kit, leather pouch and screen-protector.

Meanwhile anyone going for the more expensive X70 Premium models – which have the 1.3GHz CPU as standard, with various SSD sizes from 32GB to 128GB and the choice of integrated 3G HSPA – will get a free standard battery, car kit, leather pouch and screen-protector. The Premium range starts from $729.

While the bigger SSDs and integrated 3G sound good, we’d still go for the base model X70 and pair it with a MiFi. After all, slot in a 16GB microSD card and you’ve got twice the solid-state storage, plus 3G connectivity for four other WiFi devices.

We already know that the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA trades a little of its 1008HA Seashell brethren’s waifish slenderness for a full sized VGA port and removable battery, and now we’ve got the first unboxing video. Liliputing acquired a 1005HA a little in advance of the imminent US launch; check out their video after the cut.

It’s early days for feedback on performance, but we’re expecting pretty mainstream things (for netbooks, anyway) from the Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard-drive. More interesting is ASUS’ claim of up to 10.5hrs runtime from the removable battery; we’ll be eagerly waiting for Liliputing’s benchmarks on that.

Otherwise it’s more of the same which, if you’re a fan of ASUS’ teardrop-shape chassis and super-glossy displays, isn’t particularly likely to disappoint. We’re not entirely sure on when the Eee PC 1005HA will arrive in the US; one would-be buyer has apparently been told it’ll be late-August or early-September by a company representative.

When Fujitsu-Siemens announced they’d be making a netbook, many ears pricked up. The company has a long history of ultraportable devices, and still makes one of the more appealing UMPCs; many hoped some of that innovation would follow through to the Amilo Mini Ui 3520. One landed on the SlashGear test bench recently, and we thought it only fair to put it through its paces.
Back when the first in-the-wild shots of the Amilo Mini emerged, we admired its Stormtrooper-esque design and compact size. In the plastic, it has a semi-gloss finish that does a reasonable job of avoiding fingerprint smudges, plus you can replace the lid cover for alternative colors. Fujitsu-Siemens pre-fit the white and include a burgundy red cover (and will sell you additional options) but we can’t seem most people swapping even semi-frequently, if at all.

Ports include two USB 2.0 sockets, audio in/out, VGA, a multiformat card-reader, ethernet and a 34mm ExpressCard slot. The latter may find favor with mobile users toting ExpressCard 3G modems, but the specs of the Amilo Mini undermine anything more serious such as high-quality sound cards or TV tuners. More disappointing is the keyboard and trackpad, neither of which is especially appealing. The trackpad is an okay size, if a little small, but the buttons not only flank it but have angled cut-outs at the bottom, presumably for stylistic reasons. In reality, though, it simply makes them harder to press.
As for the keyboard, that’s cramped and shows surprising quantities of flex. Considering this is an 8.9-inch netbook, the ‘board is more the size you might find on an original 7-inch Eee PC. It feels cheap, and that’s at odds with the rest of the chassis which is of reasonable quality. Above it, the screen has a sizable bezel, which has the end result of making the panel itself look smaller. Still, it’s relatively clear and bright, and lacks the gloss finish that many find frustrating. It runs at 1024 x 600 resolution.

Inside, there’s the usual Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, paired with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a rather paltry 60GB PATA hard-drive. An 80GB drive is an option, but still only half the size of what’s available as standard on rival machines. Graphics are courtesy of Intel’s GMA 950M chipset, and the OS is Windows XP Home. Both WiFi b/g and Bluetooth are standard fit.

Performance from the Atom processor is never going to be something to write home about, but Fujitsu also allow you to underclock it some more. They call this “Silent Mode”, and it basically limits CPU and GPU speed so as to reduce the need for a noisy fan; in reality, we noticed little difference between the two either in performance or sound. Memory and CPU benchmarks proved roughly on a par with other N270/1GB machines, but the Amilo Mini’s PATA hard-drive let it down compared to SATA or SSD based rivals. Still, you’re unlikely to be asking too much performance from the netbook, and the payoff is a slightly cheaper sticker-price.
Battery life from the 2,200mAh Li-Ion pack was roughly three hours of video playback with the screen brightness at half; turning off the WiFi/Bluetooth extended that, and the display remains usable even notched down close to its minimum backlight. Alternatively, ramp it all the way up and ask some heavy crunching of the N270 and you’ll drain it after just a couple of hours.

The Fujitsu Amilo Mini Ui 3520 is certainly distinctive in its looks, and it’s reasonably compact and sturdy, but the tricky touchpad buttons and dire keyboard undermine its abilities. Standard Bluetooth and the ExpressCard slot will have appeal for some users, and the relatively small hard-drive may not, considering most usage scenarios for netbooks, actually be too much of an impediment, but there are other machines we’d reach for before the Fujitsu. The upside is, of course, the price: right now, you can pick up the Ui 3520 from around £245 ($398) online, though that’s still more expensive than the older (but similarly specified) 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One. If it were our money, we’d go for the Acer.

ASRock have announced a new ultraportable, the Multibook G22, and while from the outside this might look like a standard netbook its specs make it something more unusual. Not only does the 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 G22 have an integrated DVD Supermulti drive, but it uses Intel’s dual-core Atom 330 processor paired with NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset.

Atom-aficionados will know that the 330 is more usually found in nettops, and that Intel never really intended it to be used in portables. Here, the 1.6GHz CPU is paired with 2GB of DDR2 RAM (up to 4GB is supported), a 320GB hard-drive (up to 500GB supported) and of course the 1080p-capable NVIDIA Ion. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet, plus Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and there are VGA, HDMI, audio in/out, ethernet, modem and three USB 2.0 ports.

The trackpad recognizes multitouch gestures including pinch-zooming and chiral-rotating. Throw in a 10-in-1 memory card reader, 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo speakers and a microphone, and you’ve pretty much summed up the Multibook G22. No word on where it’ll launch, nor for how much, but it’s certainly unusual enough for us to keep an eye out for.

The Acer Aspire One 531 range has finally reached the US, making its official appearance on the company’s regional website and even, we’re hearing, making it out to retailers. Several versions of the 10.1-inch netbook are available, including integrated 3G on two of the models.

Common to all versions is the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, a 160GB hard-drive 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display, webcam and WiFi b/g. The Acer Aspire One Pro 531h-1791 throws 2GB of RAM and Windows XP Pro into the mix, while the Aspire One 531h-1440 and 531h-1766 get only 1GB of RAM and Windows XP home, but add integrated 3G. The only other difference between the two 3G-enabled models is the warranty: one year on the 1766 and two years on the 1440.

If bought with a two-year AT&T data plan, the 3G models can be had for as little as $150. Elsewhere, the AOP531h-1791 is listed at around $466.20 at PC Super Store, while the AO531h-1766 is listed at Amazon and Radioshack for around $449.99.

We’ve known Toshiba’s mini NB205 netbook was headed to the US since the beginning of the month, and the first units seem to be arriving. LaptopMag’s well-work test bench is one of the earliest recipients, and while the N280-based NB205 may be behind the curve when it comes to reaching the market, according to reviewer Joanna Stern it “rises above the competition”.
Singled out for particular praise are the “beautiful” design, “spacious keyboard” and “exemplary” battery life, which manages to reach an admirable 8.5hrs. There are also neat features such as the USB charging port which continues to supply power to peripherals even when the netbook is switched off.

Minor points of annoyance are the chunky screen bezel and the prolonged boot time. The 1.66GHz N280 Atom is never going to be a speed demon, but it puts in a decent performance overall. Considering the price – $399 for 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-drive, plus WiFi b/g – anybody desperate for a current-N-Series netbook should look at the NB205; those with room to wait, though, might want to see the first Atom N450 machines launching in Q4 2009.