Asus And Samsung To Release 11-inch Mini Laptops Soon

While Acer is the first company to release the 11-inch netbook with its Aspire One 751, we are about to see more mini laptops of the same size from Asus and Samsung very soon.


Asus Eee PC 1101HA will be the first upcoming mini laptop from Asus with an 11.6-inch screen. It's one of the member from Asus "Seashell" series of netbook, and thus looks a lot like the Eee PC 1005HA and 1008HA in terms of styling. They are quite different though in terms of internal parts. Besides a larger screen and higher resolution (1366 x 768 pixels), the Eee PC 1101HA will comes with a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, US15W chipset, and GMA 500 graphics instead of the normal Intel Atom N270/N280 chipset that most 10-inch netbook have today. The rest of the parts for this netbook are standards: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3MB webcam, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. The Asus Eee PC 1101HA is expected to to be released by end of July.


On the other hand, there are rumors about Samsung planning to release an 11.6-inch netbook with the model name of N510. The netbook will comes with an 11.6-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, NVIDIA ION chipset, GeForce 9400M graphics, a 160GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM. Also, the price for the Samsung N510 will be around $650, and is estimated to start shipping on 30th of June, according to rumors.

Toshiba NB205 Now Available For Pre-Order

Toshiba NB205 is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

There are 2 models available: a $349 version which lacks Bluetooth feature and comes in black with a slightly different finish, and a $399 version which comes with bluetooth, higher quality case, and more choices of colors (only blue is available at this time though). Other internal specs for both models are similar: a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a 6-cell, 5800mAh battery that is said to have 9 hours of battery life.

HP Discontinued Mini 2140, Introducing New Mini 5101

HP recently announced that they will be phasing out the Mini 2140 netbook soon, and introduce a new business class netbook, the Mini 5101, to replace its predecessor.

Here's how the internal specs for the Mini 5101 is going to look like:

• 10.1-inch diagonal LED display in WSVGA or HD resolution
• 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU
• 160GB/250GB/320GB 7200rpm hard drive
• 80/128GB SSD
• 4-cell/6-cell battery (8 hours)
• 2MP webcam
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• anodized aluminun display enclosure in black, brushed finish
• magnesium alloy mini frame
• spill-resistant QWERTY keyboard with HP Dura Keys finish

As you can see in the specs, the HP Mini 5101 is quite different from other netbooks on the market. First, the external casing of Mini 5101 consist of sturdy brushed metal aluminum lid and a magnesium alloy base. Second, the storage option offered on this netbook is different from the 160GB 5400rpm hard drive that most netbook on the market today offer. It comes with a hard drive with 7200rpm, and provides an option of 160GB, 250GB, and 320GB of storage size. Also, a SSD option is available for either 80GB or 128GB. Third, it features a 2.0MP webcam instead of 1.3MP cameras found on most of other netbooks. And finally, HP has made it extremely easy for us to upgrade the RAM on the Mini 5101. Brad on Liliputing has got a chance to play around with it, and demonstrate this cool feature on a video:



According to HP's press release, the Mini 5101 netbook is going to be released on late July. For more photos and first look impression on the HP Mini 5101, go check out Brad's post on Liliputing.

Special Edition Of Samsung NC10 Netbook

While Samsung N110 was said to be the replacement for Samsung NC10, it looks like the Samsung NC10 is not going to be phased out in the near future. The reason we say this is because a few special edition of Samsung NC10 has been spotted recently.


Check out the Agnes B. Edition NC10 netbook which features a stylish lid signed by the designer, Agnes b., and featuring a lizard. This edition of NC10 is only available in France.


And in UK, there's another special edition of Samsung NC10 with floral pattern design on the lid. It's currently available on UK retrailer, John Lewis, for ￡329.

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Acer Aspire One D250 Review Roundup

The Acer Aspire One D250 is the latest 10-inch netbook from Acer. It comes with the same internal specs as its predecessor, the Aspire One D150, but fits into a slimmer and lighter case.

Here's a quick rundown for the Acer Aspire One D250 specs:

• 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display
• 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU
• 1GB RAM (upgradable to 2GB)
• 160GB 5,400 rpm Hard Drive
• Microsoft Windows XP Home (SP3)
  

Laptop Magazine, Liliputing, and PC Mag have each made their own reviews on the Aspire One d250, and all of them rated this netbook quite high. According to Laptop Magazine, the Acer Aspire One D250 provided fairly decent performance, and garnered nearly the exact same scores in every department as the D150, which is expected since it comes with an identical internal specs with its predecessor. Joe on Liliputing actually tried watching an episode of Lost in HD at ABC.com and was pleasantly surprised to find it running smoothly all the way after a few moments of stuttering at the beginning.

Measuring 10.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches and weight 2.8 pounds (with a 6-cell battery), the Acer Aspire One D250 is very thin and light, almost identical to the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, but does not look as stylish. The keyboard and touchpad for the Aspire One D250 is the biggest complaint which all of the reviews above find them be too small. Other than that, the rest of the functions are exceptionally well put together: three USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, a 4-in-1 memory card slot, headphone and mic ports, and a 0.3-megapixel webcam.

The most attractive part of this netbook is the price. While some manufacturers increase prices following a design update, Acer has kept the price steady on the Aspire One. As of now, you can get an Aspire One D250 with 6-cell battery for $345.99, and a 3-cell D250 for $295.99 on Amazon.com.

The final verdict: The Acer Aspire One D250 is not the best netbook in the market, but it offers great value for the money you are paying for. It's one of the most affordable netbook on the market and still offer great performance.

ThinkFree Releases Office Suite For Netbooks

Due to the popularity of netbooks many new products are created. The ThinkFree mobile office suite is one of them. The software includes a Microsoft Office-compatible word processor, spreadsheet app, and presentation app, that is geared to run on most Atom-based netbooks with low resolution (1024 x 600 pixel) displays. For netbook owners who do not want to overload their netbooks with Microsoft Office, the ThinkFree mobile office suite will be a great alternative.

The software suite is currently available for $39.93, but during the promotion period, you get one for $24.95 by entering the coupon code THINKFREE during checkout. The coupon code will also give you an extra 1GB of online storage space.

Apple MacBook Pro 13" News And Reviews

Apple fans out there who have been waiting for the rumored netbooks or mini laptops from Apple.. no, there's still no sign of any netbook from Apple, but the new MacBook Pro 13" that was announced last week seems to be a great machine that beats most of other mini laptops on the market, but of course with a higher price (starting from $1200), and slightly bigger size.


On the hardware specs, Apple offer the 13-inch MacBook Pro with either a 2.26GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors (each with 1066MHz FSB and 3MB of L2 cache), up to 8GB of 1066MHz DDR3 RAM, up to 500GB of 5,400rpm HDD or 256GB of SSD storage. There’s a DVD burner but no Blu-ray option, while graphics are courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce 9400M with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM. Connectivity includes WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and gigabit ethernet, plus a FireWire 800 port, Mini DisplayPort, two USB 2.0 ports, audio in/out and an iSight webcam. The range starts at $1,199 for the 2.26GHz model and $1,499 for the 2.53GHz model.

Now check out the following reviews for the Apple MacBook Pro 13" :

A very good video review on the latest MacBook Pro 13"


MacBookCult has also written a great review on MacBook Pro 13". They love the machince so much and give it a rating of 9 out of 10. Here's their summary on the new MacBook Pro 13":

• The 13-inch MacBook Pro truly deserves its “Pro” label. But it’s priced at a “consumer” level.
• It’s cheap, but not cheap junk like a Netbook.
• It is fast, capable, and a ton of fun to drive.
• Battery life is amazing.

Read their full review here.

Looks like Apple has again produce an excellent product, which it always does. The 13" MacBook Pro could definitely replace other netbooks. It has an excellent battery life of 8 hours usage, and has an unibody casing that not only looks stylish but is also thin and light. If price is not a concern, you can seriously think about getting a MacBook Pro 13" instead of a netbook!

Asus Eee PC T91 To Release In The US By End Of July

After the product page of Eee Pc T91 shown up on Asus' official website, the company today announces on Twitter that the new touchscreen netbook will be released in the US on late July. Those who have been waiting for this convertible tablet style netbook, start saving now for your much-awaited touchscreen netbook!

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Kaspersky Introduces Special Edition Internet Security Software For Mini Laptops

Internet security company, Kaspersky, has recently released a special edition of Internet Security program, designed specially to run on netbooks. It supports any mini laptops that run on Intel Atom, Intel Celeron, or VIA C7-M processor, and has been tested on Acer Aspire One, Samsung NC10, MSI Wind, and newer models of Asus Eee PC netbooks.


What makes this product different from other Security software is that it is designed to work with netbooks that have 1024 x 600 pixel or lower resolution screens, and it consumes less system resources to avoid slowing down the netbooks which generally having lower processing power compared to normal computer.

The software will cost you $29.95 a year, and you can have 30 days of trial run before purchasing it.

Asus Eee PC T91 Product Page Shows Up On Asus US Website

Still remember the Asus Eee PC T91 touch screen netbook? It has now got a product page on Asus USA website which confirms that the netbook will weigh just under 2.2 pounds and will comes with a battery that support up to 5 hours of usage on a charge. Also, according to the product page, Asus has developed a software called TouchSuite which allow users to perform a myriad of fun tasks with their fingertips, such as touching up photos, creating photo albums, leaving handwritten desktop memos for loved ones, and sketching cartoons or custom emoticons.


The Asus Eee PC T91 will be the first touch screen mini laptop from the company, which the display can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode. It will comes with an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and run on Windows XP. There's no words on the price and availability for this netbook in the US yet, but Register Hardware has reported that the T91 will carry a hefty price tag of around ￡450 or around USD 740 in the UK.

Acer Aspire One 751 Now Available For Pre-Order

Acer's first 11.6-inch netbook, the Aspire One AO751h, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It comes with the following specs:

• 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display
• Intel Atom Z520 CPU
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB Hard Drive
• GMA500 graphics
• WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Windows Vista
  

You could either order the Aspire One 751 with a 3-cell battery (which supports up to 3 hours of usage) for $399.99, or with a 6-cell battery (which supports up to 8 hours usage) for $449.99. If the normal 10-inch netbook is too small for you, the 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 might be the right choice for you. Also check out our previous review roundup for this netbook.

Samsung N110 Review Roundup

Samsung NC10 is one of the top netbook that's recommended by most reviewers since it hit the market last year. Samsung N110, the second generation of 10-inch netbook from Samsung, gets even better. While most of the hardware specs of the Samsung N110 is similar to its predecessor, the improvement is made on the battery life, the touchpad, and the external design of the netbook. The 6-cell battery of Samsung N110 are improved from 5,600mAh in NC10 to 5,900mAh, which support up to seven hours of general usage and eight hours of video playback, according to TrustedReview. On the touchpad, the N110 has improved from the originally smaller and vertically narrow touchpad on the NC10, to a larger touchpad measuring 2.5 x 1.3 inches on N110. Also, the mouse button, is slightly more raised compared to the one on NC10. And on the appearance, the Samsung N110 has an improved design with glossy coating, rounded edges around the palm rest, and burgundy trim along the bottom edge of the chassis, making it looks sleeker and more professional.


Check out the following video for a brief introduction for the Samsung N110 netbook.



As you see in the video, the basic specs for the Samsung N110 is very similar to the NC10:

• 10.2-inches display with 1024 x 600 resolution
• 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
• 1 GB RAM (expandable to 2 GB)
• 160GB 5400rpm HDD
• Windows XP Home
  

The Samsung N110 is currently available for $429 on Amazon.com. The price of this netbook might seem a bit higher than other similar class netbooks on the market, which would be the only drawback that this netbook has, but considering the high quality of this machine, it's still worth the slightly higher price.

"I received the Samsung N110 from Amazon ahead of schedule. Free shipping on the computer and the 2gb of ram. Pricing was the best around (from a reliable source.) I absolutely love this little machine. It is resonably fast - actually faster than I expected, & the keyboard is very comfortable to use - not crowded at all for my fat fingers! It offered to split the harddrive into two partitions, which I did. With the 160gb harddrive, I have more space than I will need. The D: drive is being used as a backup/recovery for the C: drive. I have loaded Mapsource, Skype, and MS Office 2007 onto the machine and it all works beautifully. (I shared the DVD on my desktop machine & mapped the Netbook to it, so I could easily load software without having to purchase a separate USB DVD.)

Overall, the best purchase I have made in a computer - lots of "bang for the buck" with this baby. I am taking it with me to Europe in about 10 days and am looking forward to being able to do email & web exploring on the trip. It is the perfect size for travel and the battery is really amazing - I have not run it down after 8 hours, it still had more to give!! Highly recommended!!!!"

(by Philip L. Benson, taken from Amazon.com)

And here's what other professional reviewers think about Samsung N110:

Laptop Magazine
"Samsung has created a near-perfect netbook in its N110. Thanks to the improved ergonomics of the touchpad, and north of 7 hours of battery life, it improves on an already stellar system and continues to beat out the competition. Though customers can get similarly configured netbooks with six-cell batteries for considerably less money—the Acer Aspire One AOD150 costs $120 less and the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE $70 less—the N110 offers a better keyboard and better endurance than both of those models and is lighter than the ASUS. Samsung’s $469 premium price tag is well worth it for those who cherish longer battery life."

Trusted Review
"Despite not adding a great deal over the NC10, the N110 is still an outstanding netbook provided you don't care about mooted extras such as video decoding. Thus, once the NC10 is inevitably discontinued, the N110 is one netbook that should be on most people's lists."

PC World
"Offering an improved mouse button and impressive battery life, the Samsung N110 would make a great choice for your next road trip. At $470, it isn't by any means the cheapest netbook on the block, but it certainly is a handsome, functional one. While I salute Samsung for correcting design flaws present in the NC10, I'd have preferred to see this the first time around."

The final conclusion: the Samsung N110, as the successor of NC10, is no doubt one of the leading netbook in today's market. If you are looking for a quality mini laptop and do not mind paying a little extra dollars, the Samsung N110 is highly recomended.

How To Upgrade The RAM for Dell Inspiron Mini 10v

Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook comes with a default 1 GB RAM. For those who are thinking of upgrading their Inspiron Mini 10v RAM to 2GB, here's a useful video series that shows you how to do it.

Toshiba To Enter US Netbook Market With NB205

Toshiba is entering the US netbook market with the new model NB205, which comes with a 10-inch mini laptop with 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of RAM (upgradable to 2GB), and 160GB hard drive.


While the hardware specification for this netbook is pretty standard, the Toshiba NB205 does come with a few extra features that make it stands out from other netbooks:

• The 160GB hard drive is protected from sudden drops by a 3D accelerometer
• The display is LED-backlit, which is nominally greener than CCFL-backlit screens, and helps the system last longer on a charge
• Sleep-and-charge USB ports which allow users to charge their USB devices attached to the netbook even if its turned off
  

There will be two versions of Toshiba NB205 available -- the $349 version with flat-keyboard in black, and the $399 version which adds Bluetooth capabilities, and comes in four colors (white, brown, blue, or pink). Laptop Magazine has made some hands-on impression for the $399 version of Toshiba NB250 netbook, and they found this machine to be the best looking netbook, and also having the best keyboard and touchpad aming all netbooks that they have seen so far.

Although it might be a little late for Toshiba to enter the US netbook market now, looks like the company has managed to produce a great quality netbook that are comparable, even better than other popular netbook brands such as Asus, Acer, and Samsung.

Asus Unveils 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA

Following the release of Acer Aspire One AO751H, Asus is also showing off their first netbook with 11.6-inch display, called the Eee PC 1101HA, at Computex this week.


The Asus Eee PC 1101HA will feature a 11.6-inch LCD screen with a 1,366 x 768 resolution, an Intel's Atom Z520 / Z530 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, a multicard reader, three USB 2.0 ports, and a battery with up to 11 hours of usage. In terms of styling, the 1101HA looks a lot like the recently launched Seashell line of netbooks. More details about the Asus Eee PC 1101HA netbook is to be announced on Computex 2009.

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