Small Mini Laptops

Asus U36JC Mini Laptop Preview

2010-12-06T01:03:00.000-08:00

Sascha from netbooknews.com give us an quick overview of the upcoming ultraslim mini laptop, the Asus U36JC. It has a 13.3-inch display with Intel Core i5 processor, 1GB DDR3 RAM, and Nvidia GeForce 310M graphics.

Source

MSI Wind U100 Updated With Windows 7

2009-11-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

After the release of Windows 7, most netbook manufacturers are upgrading their new netbook model to Windows 7 and 250GB HDD. MSI is doing the same, including their first generation of 10-inch netbook, Wind U100.

While MSI has released several updates to its Wind netbook line including the Wind U120, U123, U110, and U115, the MSI Wind U100 still remains popular. That's why the company decided to upgrade this very first model of their netbook.

Other than the Operating System and hard drive space, other specs remain the same. Netbooknews.de reported that the upgraded version of MSI Wind U100 will cost 349 euros.

What Should You Look for in a Small Business Laptop?

2009-11-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

These days, when you have a business, a laptop is no longer a luxury but a necessity. When buying a small new laptop for your business, some of the considerations you need to make include the size, OS, CPU power, hard drive space, connectivity options, battery life and other extras that will make your small business laptop your best buddy when it comes to your portable computing needs. All of these are important things to consider when choosing a laptop for your business needs. Some people may also add price to this list but when you talk about business laptops, price is seldom an issue since these are viewed as investments and necessary tools for your business, not an unnecessary expense.

When you first consider the size of your new small laptop for business, you will need to find one that is comfortable for you to carry around. Anything that weighs more than 4 lbs. can become bothersome if you are to bring this along with you every day and everywhere. While you may consider size as one of the options for buying a small laptop for your business needs, you will still need to consider what features can be found in such a minuscule package. Balance out the size of the laptop with what is found in it to come up with the ideal small laptop for your needs.

For your OS considerations, choose one that is compatible with the software and hardware that is found in your computer. Also, choose one that is compatible with the programs that you use for your business. It would be rather useless for you to choose an OS for you small business laptop based on reviews and recommendations from others when you find that you can’t use the software you need for your business on it due to compatibility issues.

For your CPU options, you will of course want a processor, RAM and GPU that suits your processing needs. When you are buying a laptop for business purposes, think more in terms of spreadsheets, Power Point presentations and the like when deciding on these things. These days, however, these things are not much of a problem when you choose a small laptop for your business since most of the newer models out in the market all meet the high expectations you have when it comes to these three things.

Storage, battery life and connectivity are also some of the more important options you will need to consider for your small business laptop. Storage or hard drive space should be somewhere around 120 GB at the least for your many data storage needs and you can go for those that have a maximum hard drive capacity of 250 GB if you feel you will eventually need that much space for your data and software needs. Connectivity is also an important thing for you to consider since this is one of the main reasons why people buy a laptop. Wifi capabilities, Bluetooth and other connectivity options should be looked into. Battery life is also another important thing to consider, especially if you need to do things on the run. This is not that big a problem these days however since most small laptops now have batteries that can run your laptop for as long as 12 hours straight.

Acer Aspire AS1410 Review Roundup

2009-11-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

Instead of calling it a netbook, we consider the Acer Aspire AS1410 a new category of mini laptop that stays between netbooks and full sized laptops. While it comes with higher-end specs compared to a typical netbook, it’s competitively priced at just around $437, which is still within the netbook price range.

Specification

1.4GHz Intel Core2 Solo ULV SU3500 Processor
2048MB DDR2 667MHz Memory
250GB SATA Hard Drive
Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N
HDMI port
Windows Vista Home Premium (SP 1)
6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
11.6" HD WXGA Acer CrystalBrite LED-backlit Display
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

Customer Reviews
Customers' reviews rating is excellent. It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars. Read all the reviews here.

Pros and Cons
Pros:

Measuring 11.2" x 8" x 1.2" and weighing 3.1 pounds, it's barely any bigger than a typical 10-inch netbook, and it’s actually lighter than some.
Full size keyboard - the keys are nice and large with a little space between them which is comfortable to type on.
The SU3500 CPU is significantly faster for most tasks compared to Intel Atom powered netbook. Can be used for gaming and playing 720p or 1080p videos.

Cons:

The lid with glossy finish will easily show fingerprints, while the glossy display made it difficult to be used outdoor. These are common issues found in most mini laptops in the market.
Performance issue when watching high quality video from sites like YouTube and Hulu in full screen mode.
6 hours battery life is shorter than some of the netbooks out there which is capable to last for more 8 hours.

Videos

Overview of Acer Aspire AS1410:

Unboxing of Acer Aspire AS1410 (by Liliputing):

Gaming performance on Acer Aspire AS1410:

Availability:
The Acer Aspire AS1410 is available in 3 colors: Sapphire Blue, Ruby Red, and Black. All are available for $437 on Amazon. Check out price comparison here.

Conclusion:
The Acer Aspire AS1410 is blurring the line between netbooks and standard laptops. It's an excellent alternative for those who want the portability of a netbook, but require higher specs to handle tasks that netbook is not able to handle.

Source: Amazon, Liliputing, DevHardware.com

Asus Eee PC T91MT Now Available For Pre-Order

2009-11-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

Remember the Eee PC T91MT that we mentioned in the earlier post? It's now available for pre-order on Amazon. For $549, you will get an updated version of Asus touchscreen netbook which comes with the following specs:

Intel Atom Z520 Processor 1.33GHz
1GB of DDR2 RAM, 1 Slot, 2GB Max
32GB Solid State Drive + 500GB Free Eee Storage
Multi-Touch Functionality
Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit) Operating System
8.9-Inch Touch LED LCD Display; Bluetooth; 5 Hour Battery Life

The difference between the Eee PC T91MT with it's predecessor (T91) is that it runs Windows 7, the touchscreen supports multi-touch functionality, and the SSD has been upgraded from 16GB to 32GB.

Lenovo Ideapad S10-2 Mini Laptop To Be Available in Colorful Design

2009-10-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Lenovo Ideapad S10-2, the second generation of 10-inch mini laptop from Lenovo, is now available in several new colorful designs. The basic specs of the these special designed S10-2 are similar to the standard version, except for they come with Windows 7 Starter Edition.

Here's the rundown of the S10-2's specification:

1.6GHz Intel N270 Atom Processor
1GB (200-Pin) DDR2 SO-DIMM Memory
160GB 5400RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive
802.11b/g Wireless Connectivity
10.1" (1024x600) 16:9 LED Display
Intel GMA950 Graphics
Windows 7 Starter Edition
Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life

So far, we have found the Floral Sea and Nature version to be available on Amazon for $349.99. With the unique design on the lid, these mini laptops could be great Christmas gifts for 2009! Check out also the customer reviews here.

Windows 7 On Mini Laptops

2009-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Windows 7 was released on 22nd October, and we can already find a bunch of netbooks running Windows 7 on the market. We predict that it will very soon replace Windows XP as the major Operating System in the mini laptop market.

Sascha Pallenberg from Netbooknews.com attended Microsoft’s Windows 7 launch event in Taipei, Taiwan and has taken a video of various mini laptops running Windows 7. The mini laptops in the video includes: ACER Ferrari One, Aimtek LA10, HP NB-DM1 -1001TU, EeePC 1008HA, Aitek FICCW101, Gugabyte M1022, HP min 110, Gigabyte T1028 & an EeeBox. Check it out!

Asus Eee PC 1001HA 1201N & T91MT

2009-09-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

There are 3 new models of Eee PC mini laptops being "discovered" recently.

First, eeepc.it reported that a mini laptop called Eee PC 1001HA was found on several European retailers website. It's basically an Eee PC 1005HA with a different finish. Instead of a glossy black or white lid, you get a wavy pattern that makes the lid look like carbon fiber. Other than that it boasts the usual Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB of HDD and Windows XP Home OS.

Then there's another mysterious Eee PC 1201N mini laptop showing up on a Chinese store, boasting a 12-inch widescreen display with 1366×768 resolution, an 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, and NVIDIA ION graphics. The design is similar to other “seashell” series netbooks.

And finally, Liliputing discovered a new model of touchscreen netbook called the T91MT on Asus support page. Looks like Asus is working on a new model of touchscreen netbook called the T91MT, where the "MT" stands for multi-touch. This means that the T91MT will probably be running Windows 7 Home Premium which has all the multitouch features and expected to be released in late October or early November.

All of these new Eee PC models are not officially announced by Asus.

MSI Wind U110 ECO Now Available

2009-09-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

The MSI Wind U110 ECO is an 10-inch netbook which claimed to have over 15 hours of battery life with its nine-call battery. It was announced by the company early this year, and now finally made available in the U.S.

For $399.99, you can get the MSI Wind U110 ECO from Amazon which comes with the following specs:

10" WSVGA 1024*600 VGA Display
1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 Processor
1GB RAM
160Gb SATA Hard Drive
Intel GMA500 Graphics
9 Cell Battery (7800mAh)
Windows XP Home

How to Determine the Best Small Laptop (Ultraportable) for You

2009-09-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of small laptops that are now available to those who want them in the market these days and the sudden popularity and increase in the numbers of these mini laptops may confuse a prospective buyer as to which one to choose. What exactly is the best small laptop for you and how do you determine which one out of the dozens that are available to you should you buy? There are a number of factors you may need to consider before you do go out and purchase one of these ultra-portable and ultra-light computing devices. Some of the factors that you may need to consider include processor speed, wifi capabilities, number of USB ports and other similar concerns you might have.

When it comes to processor speed, you may not have that much of a problem since most of these small laptops have processors that are capable of handling all your computing needs despite the rather small frame of this gadget. The processors you can find in these small laptops include Intel Core 2 Solo, Core 2 duo, Dual Core, Celeron 723 and Intel Atom, among others. RAMs for these small laptops come in choices of 1GB to 2GB standards with a few of them upgradeable to 4GB and 8GB, depending on the customer’s needs. While in the past these small laptops used to have a hard drive memory that allowed a person to store only up to 4GB of programs and data in their mini computers, technology has increased this capacity to somewhere between 80GB to 250GB.

Other things you may also need to consider when it comes to these small laptops and finding the best small laptop for your needs is the battery life that these gadgets have. Some brands boast of batteries that can run for 12 hours straight without need for charging while some are only capable of running on batteries for a maximum of 4 hours. The keyboard and the placement of the keys is another consideration some people use when choosing a small laptop. Some of the keyboards integrate some of the other key functions in with the other original keys, making it sometimes confusing to use while other small laptops have full function keyboards despite the small size.

Most of these small laptops measure around 10 to 12 inches with weights that are between 3 pounds to 5 pounds. However, there are smaller versions that seem to be coming out in the market these days as well with mini laptops that retain the full functionality of their bigger counterparts at a miniscule size of less than 9 inches and a weight of 2 pounds. There are also a lot of small laptops that now have built in cameras like their bigger brothers and better graphics and sound cards as compared to the older versions of these mini laptops. Although most of these small laptops do not have optical drives that can read and burn DVDs and CDs, a few of them do. All of these things you can consider when you are looking for the best small laptop for your needs but, the decision after all these considerations are made may come down to one important detail we almost forgot to mention, your budget and the price of these gadgets.

Toshiba Mini Laptop

2009-08-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

Unlike other mini lapop manufacturers such as Asus and Acer, Toshiba releases only a few models of mini laptops to date. And despite being more than a year late to the mini laptop game in North America, Toshiba still manage to soar past the competition with the Mini NB205, which comes with a stunning design, a spacious keyboard and touchpad, and an exemplary more-than 9 hours of battery life.

The Toshiba Mini NB205 is a 10.1-inch mini laptop. It might be a late comer to the mini laptop market, but being late is not always a bad thing. Apparently, Toshiba has been watching all the buzz being generated in the mini laptop market, and glean from all the rants about these devices ways to improve upon its own product. This enables Toshiba to create a mini laptop that, while housing a standard Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and Microsoft Windows XP Home, manages to rise above the competition. It has everything that we would recommend for a mini laptop: a decent system performance, an ergonomic keyboard and touchpad, an excellent battery life, and most importantly an affordable price that’s according to the public’s demand.

Specification:

10.1-inch widescreen display (WSVGA)
1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU
1GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, upgradeable to 2GB
160GB Hard Drive (with TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor )
6-cell battery delivering up to 9 hours of battery life
Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR
802.11 b/g wireless and 10/100 Ethernet
One USB port with Sleep-and-Charge and two additional USB 2.0 ports
Memory Card Reader Slot
Built-in Webcam, speaker and microphone
RGB port for connecting to external displays
Windows XP Home operating system
Weight: 2.9 lbs.

Review:

And here's an unboxing and review video on the Toshiba NB205:

And be sure to check out the customer reviews too!

Availability:
Toshiba offers 2 different configuration for the NB205:

The first configuration comes with a Black Onyx casing, and do not have Bluetooth feature. This model (Toshiba Mini NB205-N210) is currently available on Amazon.com for $348.89.

The second configuration comes with bluetooth feature and are available in 4 color option: white, pink, blue, and brown. The price for this model is slightly higer -- currently selling for $399.99 on Amazon.com. Each color comes with a different model name:

Toshiba Mini NB205-N310BN (Sable brown finish)

Toshiba mini NB205-N311W (Frost White casing)

Toshiba mini NB205-N313P (Posh Pink finish)

The Toshiba NB205 is known as Toshiba NB200 in UK and other Europe countries, and Dynabook UX in Japan.

Dell Mini Laptops

2009-08-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

Dell's mini laptops come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 9-inch to 12-inch. In this post, we will discuss each and every models of Dell's mini laptops.

1. Dell Inspiron Mini 9

Overview:
Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is the first mini laptop from Dell. It comes with 8.9-inch display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom Processor, 16GB SSD, and 1GB of RAM. Dell has discontinued this model of mini laptop, but you could still get it from online retailer such as Amazon.com for $339.

Good:

Compact, sturdy design
Configurable online

Bad:

Awkward keyboard
Limited storage space with 16GB SSD
Short battery life (3 hours 12 minutes from 4-cell battery)

Specification:

1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor N270
1 GB RAM
16GB Solid State Drive
Glossy 8.9 inch LED display (1024X600)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
Wi-Fi 802.11a/g
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
4-1 card reader
Dimension: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches
Weight: 2.3 pounds

Availability:
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is currently available at Amazon.com for $339.

Review:

2. Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Overview:
There are 2 versions available for this mini laptop: Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and Dell Inspiron Mini 10v. The difference between these 2 models are:

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 uses Intel's more energy efficient Atom Zxx series processors, while the 10v comes with an Intel Atom N270 or N280 CPU.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is cheaper
Dell Inspiron Mini 10v does not have an "edge to edge" display like the one found on the Mini 10
The Inspiron Mini 10v's screen resolution maxes out at 1024 x 600 pixels, while the Mini 10 is available in a high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display.
You can customize your Mini 10 order to include a built-in TV tuner, but not in the Mini 10v.

Other than the differences stated above, both models of Insipron Mini 10 come with a 10.1-inch screen, 1GB RAM, and 160GB hard drive -- a typical 10-inch netbook spec. The Inspiron Mini 10v is said to be the replacement for the Mini 9 as it has a spec that stacks up against the Mini 10 and the Mini 9.

Good:

Compact design
Various colors and designs are available
Roomy keyboard
Bright, glossy display
Good TV reception (Mini 10v)

Bad:

Finicky touchpad and touch buttons
Lacks VGA port (Mini 10)
Reviewer experience trouble in playing back a 720p WMV video both on the screen and via HDMI to a 32-inch HDTV
Bulky, awkward TV antenna (Mini 10v)

Specification:

1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor N270 (Mini 10) / up to 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor Z530 (Mini 10v)
1 GB RAM
160GB Hard Drive
10.1-inch Widescreen Display with 1024x600 resolution (optional HD display 1366x768 available for Mini 10)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 (Mini 10v) / Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 (Mini 10)
Wi-Fi 802.11g
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA (Mini 10V only); HDMI connector (Mini 10 only); USB x 3
3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
Dimension: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches, 2.6 pounds

Availability:
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v is currently available on Dell's official site. Price differs base on configuration. You may also get a pre-configured unit from Amazon.com with a price as low as $368.57.

Review:

3. Dell Inspiron Mini 12

Overview:
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a mini laptop with 12.1-inch screen. When this mini laptop first came out, Dell has made Windows Vista the default OS for this machine. The result is a sluggish performance. So if you decided to get this mini laptop, be sure to install Windows XP instead of Vista on it. Ir run much smoother on XP.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a great choice for those who like to have a bigger screen and keyboard than the typical 10-inch netbook. It's unfortunate that Dell has discontinued the Mini 12 model, just like the Mini 9. But there are still remaining stocks at Amazon.com. You can pick a unit of Mini 12 with Windows XP at the price of $439.99.

Good:

Glossy 12.1-inch screen
Slim design
Excellent battery life with six-cell battery
Nearly full-size keyboard

Bad:

Sluggish performance under Vista
Slow hard drive
Quiet speakers

Specification:

Up To 1.6-GHz Intel Atom Z530
1 GB RAM
80GB Hard Drive
12.1-Inch Glossy LED Display (1280x800 resolution)
Intel GMA 500 Graphics
Wi-Fi 802.11a/g
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
Dimension: 11.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 inches,
Weight: 3.2 pounds (with six-cell battery), 2.8 pounds (with three-cell battery)

Availability:
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is currently available on Amazon.com for $439.99.

Review:

And that covers all mini laptops from Dell. The most attractive part of Dell's Mini laptops is that they offer various colors and designs that customers can choose to match their own personalities. At the same time, the system offers decent performance that's enough for you to perform your daily tasks. Dell's mini laptops are recommended for those who are not very demanding on system performance, and like to have something that looks special. We will keep the list updated as new models of Dell mini laptop is released.

Asus Eee PC T91 Unboxing Video

2009-08-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Asus Eee PC T91 is the first touchscreen convertible mini laptop from Asus. It features an 8.9 inch touch screen display, Intel Atom Z520 CPU and runs Windows XP Home for it’s operating system. It also features a semi 3D graphics card, created by Asus themselves.

The Asus Eee PC T91 is currently available on Amazon.com for $499.99. Jkk Mobile has ordered a unit of this mini laptop and done an unboxing video.. check it out:

Samsung Mini Laptops

2009-08-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

Samsung is well-known for building great quality mini laptops. Their first mini laptop, the Samsung NC10 trumps the field with its spacious keyboard and more than 6 hours of battery life. It has become one of the best mini laptop in the market which top the best selling chart untill today. The company continues to release several new mini laptop models after NC10. Each of them comes with equally great or even better quality. Below are the list of all Samsung mini laptops.

1. Samsung NC10

Overview
Samsung NC10 is the first mini laptop from the company. It comes with a 10.2-inch display, an Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, and 120GB hard drive.

On the good side, the Samsung NC10 has a long battery life (over 6 hours), a big and ergonomically-designed keyboard (93 percentt full size), a speedy hard drive, and a great quality webcam and speakers.

On the bad side, the Samsung NC10 has a rather small touchpad which some people might feel difficult to use. Also in tems of physical design, it might not look as attractive as some competitors.

Specification

1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
1GB RAM, Upgradable to 2GB
120 GB, 5400 rpm hard drive
10.2-inch with 1024x600 resolution display
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
3-1 card reader; SD memory reader
Microsoft Windows XP Home
10.3 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches, 2.8 pounds

Availability:
The Samsung NC10 (with 6-cell battery) is currently available at Amazon.com for $371.24.

Review:

2. Samsung NC20

Overview
The Samsung NC20 comes with a 12.1-inch screen, a VIA Nano processor, 1GB RAM, and 160GB hard drive.

On the good side, this affordable 12-inch mini laptop provides comparable performance to its predecessor, NC10, while boasting a larger screen and a full-size keyboard for a more comfortable mobile computing experience.

On the bad side, the Samsung NC20 is thicker and has a shorter battery life (4 hours plus).

Specification

1.3-GHz VIA Nano U2250
1GB RAM, Upgradable to 2GB
160GB, 5400 rpm SATA Hard Drive
12.1-inch, 1280x800 resolution display
VIA Chrome9 HC3 Graphic Card
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
3-1 card reader
Microsoft Windows XP Home
11.5 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches, 3.4 pounds

Availability:
The Samsung NC20 (with 6-cell battery) is currently available at Amazon.com for $493.96.

Review:

3. Samsung N110

Overview
The Samsung N110 is an improved version of Samsung N110. It comes with a 10.1-inch screen, a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 160GB hard drive.

On the good side, the Samsung N110 has a few improvements over the NC10 which include the extended touchpad and increased in battery capacity that gives it a lengthy 7 hours of runtime.

On the bad side, the Samsung N110 is a little more expensive than similarly configured netbooks

Specification

1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
1GB RAM, Upgradable to 2GB
160GB, 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
10.2-inch screen with 1024x600 resolution
Intel GMA 945 Graphic Card
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.0
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
3-1 card reader
Microsoft Windows XP Home
10.3 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches, 2.8 pounds

Availability:
The Samsung N110 (with 6-cell battery) is currently available at Amazon.com for $373.99.

Review:

4. Samsung N120

Overview
Samsung N120 is pretty similar to N110. It has all the same specs as the N110. The main difference between N110 and N120 is that N120 comes with a full-size keyboard.

On the good side, the Samsung N120 comes with a full-size keyboard, and long battery life (more than 7 hours) which is even better than N110.

On the bad side, the display of this mini laptop has a poor viewing angle.

Specification

1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
1GB RAM, Upgradable to 2GB
160GB, 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
10.1-inch screen with 1024x600 resolution
Intel 945GSE Graphic Card
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.0
Ports: Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; VGA; USB x 3
3-1 card reader
Microsoft Windows XP Home
10.27 x 7.3 x 1.19 inches, 2.8 pounds

Availability:
The Samsung N120 is currently available at Amazon.com for $396.76.

Review:

5. Samsung N310

Overview
The Samsung N310 is also known as Samsung Go in the U.S. Designed by Japanese artist Naoto Fukasawa, it has rounded and smooth edges which are modeled after a pebble.

On the good side, the Samsung N310 has an eye-catching design, long battery life (more than 8 hour with 6-cell battery), roomy keyboard, and fast system boot time.

On the bad side, it has a huge, ostentatious Samsung logo on the lid which some people might not like it. Also, the price is relatively higher than other 10-inch mini laptops with the same configuration.

Specification

frameless 10-inch screen
pebble design keyboard
Intel Atom processor
1GB of RAM
160GB hard drive
1.3-megapixel camera
three-in-one memory card reader

Availability:
The Samsung NC310 (with 6-cell battery) is currently available at Amazon.com for $449.95.

Review:

Samsung NC10 VS N310 Comparison:

And that covers all mini laptop models that Samsung has released so far. Samsung is definitely one of the leading netbook manufacturer in today's market that build great quality mini laptops. We highly recommend Samsung mini laptops to anyone who's looking for a mini laptop. We will keep the list updated as new Samsung models are released.

Toshiba NB205 VS Sony VAIO W Comparison

2009-08-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Toshiba Mini NB205 and Sony VAIO W are two of the hottest netbooks released to the market recently. In the following video, you will see both netbooks being put together for physical comparison.

You can see that both netbooks have a chiclet-style keyboard, which look very similar. In terms of size, the Toshiba NB205 is slightly larger but thinner than the Sony VAIO W.

The video is not in English, but you get to see both netbook being physically compared.

via

MSI Wind Battery Turned Into iPhone Battery

2009-08-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

This guy mod the battery of his MSI Wind into a iPhone charger. He adds a USB port directly in the battery which allows him to charge his iPhone by just plugging in his iPhone into it. Check it out:

I think the hack is very cool, but not that practical. But if you are interested, the author teach you how to do it here.

Acer To Release Android Netbook in Q3

2009-07-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

According to a representative from Acer, the company will be launching a new model of Acer Aspire One netbook that will be running on Google Android operating system.

Not much information is revealed about this new netbook model, but we do know that it will available in both Android and Windows XP and it will have a 10-inch display and an Intel Atom processor.

Source

New 10.1 and 11.6-inch Netbook From HP?

2009-07-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

While Acer and Asus is expected to stop releasing new netbook in the 2nd half of 2009, DigiTimes reported that HP might working on new 10.1-inch and 11.6-inch netbooks.

According to the source, Taiwanese computer maker Inventec has been tapped to work on an updated 10.1 inch netbook for HP, which is expected to start production at the end of September.

Digitimes also reported that Quanta has been hired by HP to manufacture a new 11.6-inch mini laptop.

Source

Acer Mini Laptops

2009-07-29T04:59:00.000-07:00

Acer is one of the earliest company to enter the world of mini laptops. Thanks to persistence and quality, they have managed to carve out a niche for themselves in the market, and are now amongst the top ten mini laptop brands.

Below is the list of all Acer mini laptops (below 13-inch):

	Display	Processor	HDD	RAM	Graphics	Battery	OS	Price	Reviews & Rating
Acer Aspire One AOD150	10.1" (1024 x 600)	1.6GHz Intel Atom N270	160GB	1GB	Intel GMA 950	6-cell (up to 6.5 hours)	Windows XP Home	$329.99	4.5 >> read customer reviews	Compare Price
Acer Aspire One AOD250	10.1" (1024 x 600)	1.66GHz Intel Atom N280	250GB	1GB	Intel GMA 950	6-cell (up to 9 hours)	Windows 7 Starter	$367.17	5.0 >> read customer reviews	Compare Price
Acer Aspire One AO751h	11.6" (1366 x 768)	1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520	160GB	1GB	Intel GMA 500	6-cell (up to 8 hours)	Windows XP Home	$329.99	3.0 >> read customer reviews	Compare Price
Acer Aspire One 531h	10.1" (1024 x 600)	1.6GHz Intel Atom N270	160GB	2GB	Intel GMA 500	6-cell (up to 6 hours)	Windows XP Pro	$419.00	4.0 >> read customer reviews	Compare Price
Acer Aspire AS1410	11.6" (1366 x 768)	1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300	160GB	2GB	Intel GMA 4500MHD	6-cell (up to 6 hours)	Windows 7 Home Premium	$399.99	4.5 >> read customer reviews	Compare Price
Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T	11.6" (1366 x 768)	1.3GHz Intel Core2 Duo SU7300	320GB	4GB	Intel GMA 4500MHD	6-cell (up to 8 hours)	Windows 7 Home Premium	$599.99	N/A	N/A
Acer Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ	11.6" (1366 x 768)	1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100	320GB	3GB	Intel GMA 4500MHD	6-cell (up to 8 hours)	Windows 7 Home Premium	$549.99	5.0 >> read customer reviews	N/A

The list above includes most, if not all, of the Acer mini laptops that are currently available in the market, and will be constantly updated to include any newly released mini laptops from Acer.

Acer Aspire One D250 Is Getting 1280 x 720 Resolution Screen

2009-07-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Although there are news about Acer not releasing new netbook models for the rest of the year, the company has recently announced that it will produce one last revision of its Aspire One D250 netbook before Intel’s upcoming Pine Trail-M platform makes its way onto store shelves in Q1 2010.

The new version of Acer Aspire One D250 will comes with a 1280 x 720 display, with other specs remain the same: Atom N270 1.60GHz, 1GB of DDR2 533MHz, 160GB 2.5-inch SATA II drive, SD card reader, Intel 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a webcam, and a 6-cell battery.

It's currently available for pre-order in Norway, and is expected to be released on 30th of July.

Source

Acer And Asus Stop Releasing New Netbook Models For 2009

2009-07-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

While Asus and Acer have released quite a number of new netbook models in 1st half of 2009, Digitimes reported that both companies will not be releasing anymore new netbook model in the 2nd half of the year. The reason is that they want to wait until 2010 when Windows 7 and Intel’s new Pine Trail-M Atom chips are available.

In the meantime, both companies will be focusing on getting rid of current netbook stock and releasing laptops that are larger and higher priced, but still relatively thin and light. These laptops will be using Intel’s CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) processors instead of Atom CPUs.

Asus Eee PC 1011HA Hands-On Video

2009-07-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Asus Eee PC 1011HA will be the first mini laptop with 11.6-inch screen from Asus. While it's not yet released in the U.S., Portable Monkey from Japan has got a unit there and done a first impression video on this mini laptop.

Here are some point of interest on this video:

The Eee PC 1011HA appears to be quite light and thin even with the 6-cell battery.
The keyboard has small right shift key at the wrong place.
The touchpad does not has multi-touch functionality

Here's the video:

The Asus Eee PC 1101HA comes with a glossy screen with 1366 x 768 resolution, a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive.

Finding Free Wi-Fi For Your Mini Laptop

2009-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

One of the advantage of having a mini laptop is that it's easy to carry, and it let you stay connected to the net wherever you go. But you still need a Wi-Fi connection in order to stay connected. Here's a useful video that show you how to find free Wi-Fi spots near you:

Asus Eee PC 1005HA Available In Matte Screen

2009-07-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Asus Eee PC 1005HA is definitely a great mini laptop, but one of the possible complains that people might have on this machine is the glossy screen which will turn into a mirror when being used outdoor or in a brightly lid room. The good news is Asus does offer a matte screen version called the Eee PC 1005HA-V, which is currently available on Amazon.com for $339.

You will notice that the price for the matte screen version is slightly lower compare to the standard version (Eee PC 1005HA-P), and that's because Asus has decided to lower the specs for the matte screen version for some reason. Instead of 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU and 10 hours of listed battery life, the Eee PC 1005HA-V comes with only 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU and 8 hours of listed battery life.

HP Mini 5101 Review Roundup

2009-07-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

HP Mini 5101 is the latest business class mini laptop from HP to replace the Mini 2140. It was made available just a few days ago and is already reviewed by Laptop Magazine and PC Mag. Here are the review roundup for HP Mini 5101.

First, there are several features that the HP Mini 5101 stands out from the crowd. In terms of external design, it has a stylish, durable design which the casing consist of all-black, sturdy brushed metal aluminum lid and a magnesium alloy base. In terms of hardware specs, it got an 160GB 7200rpm hard drive and 2.0-megapixel webcam which differs from most mini laptops out there which comes with 5400rpm hard drive and 0.3 or 1.3 megapixel webcam. Also, it comes with a few useful features like the DuraKey finish on the keyboard, and an accelerometer that shuts down the hard drive in the event of a fall. Another thing that's special about this mini laptop is that there will be a 1366 x 768 resolution screen option expected to be available by end of July. This will be the highest resolution screen for mini laptops.

In terms of performance, Laptop Magazine is very pleased with the graphics, video transcoding, and wireless range of this mini laptop which achieved above average scores in every aspects. PC Magazine however commented that although the 7200rpm hard drive does boost the performance of this mini laptop a bit, but it produce more heat and noise compare to other mini laptops that are equipped with a 5400rpm hard drive.

In terms of battery life, Laptop Magazine is able to get nearly 8 hours of battery life by simulating real life usage of the mini laptop (surfing net with wifi turned on and performing other tasks), while PC Mag gets 5 hours 15 minutes of baterry life running the MobileMark 2007 test. Both reviews are using the 6-cell battery in their test.

In final verdict, the HP Mini 5101 is said to be a mini laptop with most things right, except for the price which is higher than most of its peers. Laptop Magazine given it a rating of 4 out of 5 and selected it as one of their Editors Choice, while PC Magazine rated it 3.5 out of 5.

The HP Mini 5101 is currently available for $399 on HP online store. The specs that you are getting with this price are: 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 10.1-inch with 1024 x 600 resolution, 4-cell battery, 1GB RAM, and 160 GB 7200 rpm HDD.

Here's short video review on HP Mini 5101 by PC Mag:

Samsung GO N310 Reviewed

2009-07-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Laptop Magazine has reviewed the new Samsung GO N310 10-inch mini laptop.

Overall, their comment to this mini laptop is pretty good, except for having a higher price than its peer, and they don't like the ostentatious Samsung logo on the lid. Other than that, the Samsung GO N310 is found to have strong battery life which last for 8.5 hours, a roomy keyboard that's comfortable to use, and a trendy & compact design that's eye-catching.

The Samsung GO N310 was officially announced in the U.S. few days ago and is currently available for order on Amazon.com.

Another Apple Netbook Rumors

2009-07-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

While Apple has repeatedly said that they are not going to release any netbook, that doesn't mean they will not release other form of small, light, and ultraportable computing devices. TheStreet.com reported that Apple will be coming up with a tablet computer with 9 to 10-inch touchscreen, which is larger than an iPod Touch, but smaller than any MacBook. The device is expected to be made available before holiday season, according to TheStreet.com. Find out more on TheStreet.com.

Toshiba NB205 Review Roundup

2009-07-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

Toshiba NB205 is the first mini-laptop from Toshiba to join the U.S. netbook market. Despite being late to the game, Toshiba has managed to produce an excellent mini-laptop that is comparable to most other top netbooks in today's market. While the specs for Toshiba NB205 are mainly identical to most other netbooks in the market (10.1-inch screen, Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive), it stands out from the crowd with its uniquely designed lid, excellent battery life, and ergonomically designed keyboard and touchpad. Several reviews has been done on this mini-laptop, and most of them gives pretty good comment to it.

Here are the summary of good and bad about Toshiba NB205:

Good:

Unique and stylish design with a textured lid that's fingerprint-resistant.
A standard six-cell 5800 mAh lithium ion battery which gives 8 hours plus of battery life.
Full-size keyboard and large touchpad that are comfortable to use.
Useful feature such as the Sleep-and-Charge technology on the USB port.
Bundle with a good deal of useful software

Bad:

Battery that sticks out at the back of the mini-laptop makes it looks bulky.
Lousy speaker which hide below the front edge of the system

Source: Laptop Mag, CNet, PC Mag

Check out also the following unboxing video and first impression review for the Toshiba NB205 mini-laptop:

Conclusion: although being late to the market, Toshiba NB205 is definitely one of the top netbooks in today's market. It's currently available on Amazon.com for $399.98. The colors available includes pink, brown, black and blue.

LG Unveils Levi’s Edition of X120 Netbook

2009-07-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

This might looks cool to the Levi's fan, but weird to the others -- LG has just unveiled a special Levi edition of their Xnote Mini X120 netbook in Korea.

The LG X120 Levi’s Edition netbook has the same specs as the original X120: Atom N270, 10.1” 1024x600 Display, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, Windows XP Home, 6-Cell Battery). What's special about this mini laptop is the design of the lid which looks like a pair jeans, with a denim slip cover on it.

via

HP Mini 5101 Now Available

2009-07-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

The HP business netbook, Mini 5101, is now available on HP's official site at a starting price of $399.

The specs of HP Mini 5101 are: Atom N280 Procssor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD (7200rpm), 10.1” 1024x600 Display, GMA950 Graphics, 2MP Webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, 4-Cell (29Whr) Battery good upto 4.5 hours.

Apple Netbook Rumor

2009-07-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Is Apple going to release a netbook? I believe that's a question many people have, especially Apple's fan. There are rumors everywhere that Apple is going to release a netbook sometime this year, and yet Apple keeps on saying that they don’t really look up to the success of netbooks.

Nothing confirmed until today. If you wish to know more, and kept up-to-date with the latest Apple netbook rumors, check out MacRumors Forum which discussed and posted several updates regarding this info. You might also wabt to check out the following video.

Asus Eee PC T91 Review Roundup

2009-07-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

The much awaited Asus Eee PC T91 finally hits the market few days ago, and there are already several reviews done on this first convertible touchscreen netbook. Based on all the feedback from the reviews, the Asus Eee PC T91 netbook is just an average machine.

On the good side, the Asus Eee PC T91 is cheaper than most other tablet netbooks out there in the market. The battery gives around 3:30 - 4:25 hours of usage, which is one of the best among all tablet netbooks. Also, the Eee PC T91 is complemented for its compact design, good build quality, and useful touchscreen interface.

On the bad side, the performance is pretty slow due to it's Atom Z520 processor. Laptop Magazine reported to experience some lagging when they open IE and chatted on Skype simultaneously. Besides that, it has the same disadvantage as Eee PC 1008HA which is having a battery that is not user replaceable. Some reviewers also think that the 16GB Solid State Drive, and 16GB SD Card is too small for storage space.

Source: Laptop Magazine, Engadget, CNet, Liliputing

Samsung Go (N310) Gets Official In US

2009-07-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Samsung N310 which has been renamed as Samsung Go is now made official in the U.S.

This mini laptop from Samsung has a trendy design and will be available in several colors including Sunset Orange, Mint Blue, Midnight Blue, and Jet Black. The Sunset Orange of Samsung Go N310 is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com at the price of $479. As for the specs, the Samsung Go N310 will comes with a 10.1-inch 1024x600 Display, 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1GB DD2R RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, and a 6-cell battery that can provide up to 9 hours of battery life.

Check out more details on Samsung Go N310 on the official product page.

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Privacy Policy

2009-07-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

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Log Files and Stats
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Links
This Blog contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites. We suggest our readers to be aware of this when they leave this blog and to read the privacy statements of each and every site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Blog.

This privacy policy updated July 2009.

Asus Eee PC T91 Now Available For Order

2009-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Asus first convertible touchscreen netbook, the Eee PC T91, is finally available for order on Amazon.com. At a price of $499.99, the Eee PC T91 comes with the following specs:

8.9-inch Touch LCD Display
Intel Atom Z520 Processor 1.33GHz
1GB DDR2 RAM; 2GB Max
16GB Solid State Drive, Plus a Free 16GB SD Card and 20GB Free Eee Storage
Windows XP Home OS

Adding 2-Finger Scrolling To Asus Eee PC 1005HA and 1008HA

2009-07-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

While Asus Eee PC 1005HA and 1008HA has a touchpad that support multi-touch gestures, the 2-finger scrolling feature has been disabled. This feature, which allows users to scroll through web pages and other documents by placing 2 fingers on the touchpad and dragging up or down, used to be an available in the older Eee PC model such as the Eee PC 1000, 1000H, and 1000HE.

Now for all of those Eee PC 1005HA or 1008HA owners who find it inconvenient without the 2-finger scrolling feature, there are 2 solutions posted on EeeUser forum that you can apply. One is by installing a third-party app, while the other is by hacking the Synaptic touchpad driver. Read more about them on the forum: method 1, method 2.

via

Sony VAIO W Now Available For Pre-Order

2009-07-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Sony VAIO W series netbook is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. For $499.99, you will get this first netbook from Sony which comes with the following specs:

10.1 LCD w/ XBRITE-ECO technology & LED backlight, Integrated MOTION EYE camera & microphone
1.66GHz Intel N280 Atom Processor
1GB of pre-installed RAM
160GB HDD
built-in A2DP Bluetooth technology
3 Cell Battery
Microsoft Windows XP Home Premium

In related news, Notebook Italia got a chance to spend a few minutes with the Sony VAIO Mini W netbook recently, and have posted a brief hands-on video on the netbook:

While we couldn't tell how well the netbook perform, what we can see from the video is that it does have a chiclet-style keyboard, and a wide touchpad which should be quite comfortable to use. Also, it has a very thin lid, and the design is stylish.

New Colors Available For Eee PC 1005HA and 1008HA Now

2009-07-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Asus Eee PC 1005HA and 1008HA were only available in black and white when they were first released in the U.S. Recently 2 new colors, blue and pink, has been made available for both 1005HA and 1008HA on Amazon.com. The specs and the pricing remain the same.

Asus To Release 8.9-inch Eee PC T91 On 15 July, 10-inch Eee PC T101H By End of 2009

2009-07-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Eee PC T91, the first 8.9 inch touchscreen and convertible netbook/tablet from Asus has been getting a lot of attention over the last few months. Those who have been waiting for the T91 Eee PC touchscreen netbook, here's a good news to you.. Asus has announced on Twitter that the Eee PC T91 will be available on the 15th of July, which is just a few days away!

On the other hand, Asus is also preparing another 10-inch touchscreen Eee PC called the Eee PC T101H. The specs of this new 10-inch touchscreen netbook is as follows:

10.1 inch screen with 1024 x 600 pixel resistive multi-touch panel
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU
GMA 500 graphics
1GB RAM
16GB SSD + included 16GB SD card
0.3MP camera
802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G Module, Digital TV tuner
OS: Windows 7
Colors: Black, silver
Weight: 3.3 pounds

The 10-inch Eee PC T101H is expected to be released before end of this year.

Google Announced Chrome OS, Targeting Netbook Users

2009-07-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

We know that Google Chrome is a web browser designed by Google to run better with other Google Apps, and to let us browse the web faster. But that's not all Google Chrome is about. Google has just announced recently that they are coming up with the Chrome OS -- an open source, Linux-based OS that will be a light weight system targeted specifically at netbooks.

Apparently, with the fast and lightweight user interface, Google Chrome OS is designed in such a way that most of the user experience will be web-based. This will make it a perfect OS for netbook, which is supposed to be used mainly for interacting with the web.

Here are some facts about the Google Chrome OS:

fast, light weight system
minimal interface just like Google Chrome
able to run on both x86 and ARM chips
will support all web-based applications
will be available on netbooks in the 2nd half of 2010

Find out more about Google Chrome OS on Google Blog.

More About Sony VAIO W Netbook

2009-07-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sony VAIO W series netbook is now availalble for pre-order on U.S. Sony Style website. As expected, it has a starting price of $499, and available in 3 different colors: pink brown and white. Besides a higher resolution screen (1366×768 pixels), the specs are similar to most standard netbooks out there: Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 160GB Hard Disk Drive, and 1GB DDR2 SDRAM.

Sony has also put up some videos about the Sony VAIO W netbook on their Youtube channel. Here's one of the interview with the VAIO W developer:

More videos can be found on Youtube. While the Sony VAIO W is yet to release in the U.S., the folks at whatlaptop.co.uk has published the first review on this netbook. According to them, the color and contrast on VAIO W screen is excellent, and they also like the chiclet-style keyboard on this netbook. Check out the full review here.

Sony To Release Netbook Named VAIO W

2009-07-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

After the overpriced VAIO P mini laptop (which is not a netbook), Sony finally decided to come out with a real netbook that's equipped with a standard netbook specs:

10.1-inch screen, 1366×768 resolution
Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz
160GB HDD
1GB RAM
webcam
GMA 950/W-LAN
Bluetooth
3.5-hour battery pack
Windows XP Home Edition

According to Liliputing, the Sony VAIO W netbook will hit the U.S. in August with a starting price of $499. It may hit the Europe market sooner as Sony UK has already put up a product page for the VAIO W.

Here's the Official Press Release for the Sony VAIO W Series

Asus Eee PC Comparison List

2009-07-06T06:26:00.000-07:00

After the release of Eee PC 2G Surf in 2007, new models of Eee PC never stop coming up. If you are wondering how many models Eee PCs have been released to date, the answer is 27. That is quite a huge number considering the Eee PC product line is only around for 2 years time. To make it easy for consumers, Asus recently put up a comparison list of all Eee PCs on their website. This should be a quite useful list for those who feel overwhelmed by too many Eee PC models out there. It also gives us an overall picture of how the Eee PC has evolved over time. The Eee PC comparison chart is also available for download in PDF format.

Samsung N310 and N510 Coming To The U.S. Soon

2009-07-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

Good news to the U.S. folks.. Two new Samsung mini laptop models, N310 and N510 are coming to the U.S. soon.

Samsung N310 is one of the more colorful and stylish netbook that comes with a frameless 10-inch screen and a ruggedized lid. It will hit U.S. market on July 15th with a price of $479. Samsung will be renaming U.S. version of N310 as Samsung Go, and will be replacing the originally lower capacity battery with a higher-capacity 8800 mAH pack, which is said to have 10 hours of usage time.

The Samsung N510, the first 11-inch mini laptop, on the other hand is expected to be released during the Fall or between the Q3 and Q4 time frame. The Samsung N510 is also the first mini laptop from Samsung that will be based on the NVIDIA ION platform which bundles a low power Intel Atom CPU with a higher performance NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor. Blogeee has spotted the Samsung N510 in a press event in France, and taken some pictures of it. It looks pretty much similar to the Samsung NC20, which has a 12.1-inch screen and VIA Nano processor, but with an extra HDMI port, and also a smaller screen.

Source: Laptop Magazine

Asus Eee PC 1005HA Review Roundup

2009-07-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Overview
Right after Asus released the ultra-thin Eee PC 1008HA, there are much complaints about the non-replaceable battery on this mini laptop. Asus responded to the complaints by releasing the Eee PC 1005HA which comes with a battery that can be easily removed and replaced. It looks virtually identical to the Eee PC 1008HA but is thicker and heavier.

Here's the rundown of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA specs:

10.1 inches display, 1024 x 600 resolution
Intel Atom N280 Processor 1.66GHz
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD plus 10GB Eee Online Storage
Intel GMA 950 Graphics
6-cell Lithium-Ion battery (5600mAh, 63Wh)
Expansion: 4-in-1 media card slot
Wireless: Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Ports and connectors: (3) USB 2.0 ports, VGA OUT, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet (Gigabit), stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, 1.3 megapixel webcam
Dimension: 10.2 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches
Weight: 2.8 lbs
Genuine Windows XP

The Asus Eee PC 1005HA is currently available on Amazon.com for $389.99.

Check out the following videos for an overview on the Asus Eee PC 1005HA

An introductory video to the Asus Eee PC 1005HA:

Unboxing of Asus Eee PC 1005HA:

Reviews Roundup
There are several reviews done on the Eee PC 1005HA, and all of them are favorable. Cnet has given this mini laptop an 'Editor's Choice' status, while Laptop Magazine rated it 4 out of 5 stars. Brad from Liliputing commented that the Eee PC 1005HA is a netbook that's certainly worth checking out for any one who are in the market for a new machine.

Here are the roundup of good and bad about the Eee PC 1005HA:

Good:

Excellent battery life. Both Liliputing and Laptop Magazine manage to get 8 hours plus of battery life from their test.
Removable battery and full sized VGA port which are both missing in the Eee PC 1008HA. The replacable battery enable you to swap it with a spare battery whenever the original battery dies out, without having to send it back to Asus for expensive surgery.
Spacious and comfortable keyboard, featuring nice large keys that are comfortable to type on, and two reasonably large shift keys on each side of the netbook.
RAM is easily replacable by removing the small door on the back of the netbook.
Above average system performance that is sufficient to carry out everday computing tasks. Simultaneously conducting video calls over Skype and surfing the Web with multiple tabs open didn’t cause any system hang-ups.
Compelling software, including Data Sync that lets you synchronize files across multiple computers, EzMessenger that lets you send messages to other computer users on your network, Eee Docking that lets you access a handful of Asus apps when you scroll your mouse over the top of the screen, Font Resizer, Parental Control, and more.
Sleek and attractive design.
Lower price than the Eee PC 1008HA

Bad:

Noisy fan.
Glossy display that's not suitable for outdoor use, and glossy lid that smudges quickly

Conclusion
Among all mini laptops from Asus, the Eee PC 1005HA is the most well rounded Eee PC so far. It's cheaper than the 1008HA, with a starting price of around $389, and it’s thinner and lighter than the Eee PC 1000HE which it’s designed to replace. Also, the ridiculously long battery life made it stand out from the crowd. It's definitely one of the best mini laptops in our recommended list!

Asus And Samsung To Release 11-inch Mini Laptops Soon

2009-06-29T05:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

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.

via

Acer Aspire One D250 Review Roundup

2009-06-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

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!

via

Kaspersky Introduces Special Edition Internet Security Software For Mini Laptops

2009-06-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

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.

[Source]

Best Mini Laptops

2009-05-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ever since Asus introduce the Eee PC netbook, mini laptop has become the new trends in the laptop industry. We are seeing new mini laptop being introduced almost on daily basis. The Eee PC line from Asus for example, has released more than 10 models of netbook in 2008 alone. To keep up with the competition, other popular brands such as Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind, Dell Inspiron Mini, etc, have also released a comparable number of netbook models. To consumers, the assortment of mini laptops on the market today can be overwhelming. A simple guideline for selecting the best mini laptop is to consider the battery life, keyboard design, weight, and price of the mini laptop since most of them are having an almost similar specs. Below are the top 5 mini laptops that excel in these aspects.

1. Asus Eee PC 1000HE

As of now, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE is still considered the best netbook among all the Eee PC models. While the specs and features for this netbook are pretty standard for a machine of its class (160GB HDD, three USB ports, a webcam, VGA out, 4-in-1 card reader and the usual ethernet and WiFi connectivity), what really makes it a winner is the great battery life that support up to 7 hours of usage, the ergonomic keyboard design, and the easy-to-access panel for HDD and RAM upgrades. The only drawback for this netbook is that it's 3.2 pounds heavy, which is a little heavier compare to other netbooks.

Here's a great video review for the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. A Canadian version of Eee PC 1000HE (which has not much difference compare with the US version besides the multilingual keyboard layout, and the language of the OS) is used in the review, and the reviewer is comparing it with the the 8.9-inch Eee PC 900HA.

The Asus Eee PC 1000HE is currently available on Amazon.com for $384.48. It's currently the bestsellers in the Computers & PC Hardware department of Amazon.com.

2. Samsung N110

The 10-inch Samsung NC10 has been one on the best netbook in the market that gets a lot of positive feedback from the professionals as well as the the end users.. and the 2nd generation Samsung N110 further improves it to a near perfect netbook. Similar to the Eee PC 1000HE, it has a pretty standard netbook specs (1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, and 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 screen), and what makes it stand out from the crowd is the long battery life (more than 7 hours), ergonomic keyboard and touch pad, and the sleek design of this netbook. Compare to the Eee PC 1000HE, the Samsung N110 is more expensive (currently selling for $409.99 on Amazon.com) but is lighter weighing just 2.8 pounds.

Review for the Samsung N110 netbook:

3. MSI Wind U100

MSI Wind U100 is another solid performance netbook with a 10-inch screen, a comfortable keyboard, a very capable Atom processor, and 5-plus hours of battery life. The weight is just 2.6-pound, and is currently selling for $358 on Amazon.com.

Review for MSI Wind U100:

4. Acer Aspire One AOD150

Acer Aspire One is well known for it's low price, while other aspects of the netbooks are pretty decent. It's not the best mini laptop out there, but it definitely offers an excellent value. It has a slim and stylish design, good performance, and 6 hours of battery life. It might not be performing as well as other top netbooks such as the Eee PC 1000HE, but it beats the competition on price. The Acer Aspire One AOD150 is currently available on Amazon.com for $329.

Review for Acer Aspire One AOD150:

Also check out this great video - Asus Eee PC 1000HE vs Acer Aspire One AOD 150:

5. HP Mini 2140

The HP Mini 2140 meet almost all of the requirements that a good mini laptop should have: a well-designed keyboard, a durable design, and more than seven hours of battery life. The only drawback for this machine is its higher compare to other netbooks on the market. It's currently selling for $536.40 on Amazon.com. But the extra cash buys a more durable case and more endurance. You may check out the review roundup for the HP Mini 2140 in one of our earlier post.

And that's it for now. There are certainly no shortage of great quality mini laptops in today's market. As for now, these are the top 5 mini laptops that we would recommend to anyone interested in getting a mini laptop.

HP Introducing New Netbook Model - Mini 110

2009-05-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

HP is introducing a new netbook model called the Mini 110 which is expected to be released on early June.

Compared to its predecessor, HP has made several improvements to the Mini 110, including larger hard drive capacities, improved graphics performance, more USB ports, and comes with Syncables software that's used for synchronizing files between netbook and another PC. There will be 3 color options available for the Mini 110: black, white and pink.

There will be 3 different edition of HP Mini 110:

HP Mini 110 XP Edition: This model comes with either a 32GB solid state drive or a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and optional WWAN. At launch this netbook will be available with the same black swhirl pattern found on the HP Mini 1000, but in July it will also be available in white and pink. The HP Mini 110 XP Edition will also be available with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator for handling 1080p video. A high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display option will eventually be available as well. This netbook should be available starting June 10th with a base price of $329.99.

HP Mini 110 Mi Edition: This version comes with Ubuntu Linux and HP’s custom Mi Edition interface for the operating system. It will be available with up to 2GB of RAM and a hard drive up to 250GB. Prices start at $279.99. The HP Mini 110 Mi Edition should be available June 10th for $279.99.

HP Mini 1101: This model will be available with Windows XP Home, XP Pro, or Vista. You can also get it with freeDOS if you want to install your own operating system. It’s available with a 32GB SSD or 160GB or 250GB hard disk. There’s also an optional EV-DO/HSPA mobile broadband modem. The HP Mini 1101 will be available starting June 1st with a starting price of $329.

[Source]

Acer Aspire One AO751H Quick Review Roundup

2009-05-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

Acer has recently launched the Aspire One AOH751H, which is the very first netbook in the market that comes with an 11.6-inch screen. The other main internal part of this netbook are: an Intel Atom Z520 Processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 160GB hard drive.

According to Acer Senior Product Manager, Ray Sawall, the major complains that people have for a 10-inch netbook, is that the keyboard and screen size are too small for typing and surfing the Internet. The 11 inch Acer Aspire One AOH751H is designed to overcome these problems.

While the Aspire One AO751H is yet to be released, Gadgetmix has already done a quick review on this netbook. They complemented this netbook for its high-resolution display (1366 x 768 pixel), full-size keyboard, great battery life, and multi-touch touchpad. Also, the Aspire One AO751H is pretty thin and light compare to the popular Eee PC 1000HE from Asus. On the negative side however, the Acer Aspire One AO751H is found to have a slow boot up time, and slightly slower performance compare to other netbooks with N270 processor.

We have also spotted a few video reviews for the Acer Aspire One AO751H on YouTube. On the third video below, you will find that the Aspire One AO751H doesn't seem to run well under Vista.

MSI Wind U123 Now Available

2009-05-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

MSI Wind U123 which was reviewed a while a go is now available on Amazon.com for $349.99 with a 6-cell battery.
Here's what you will get for the price you pay for:

10.2-Inch 1024x600 LCD Panel, Webcam 1.3M, Exclusive MSI EasyFace (Face Identification software) Inside
Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Processor
1GB DDR2 533 Mhz SO-DIMM (1 Slot) upgradable to 2 GB MAX
160GB 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Drive
Windows XP Home, 6 Cell Battery

Overall, the MSI Wind U123 is an above average netbook. You might want to check out the review roundup for the MSI Wind U123 before purchasing it.

Eeebuntu 3.0 Now Available - Linux Based OS Designed Specially For Eee PC User

2009-05-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

Windows XP and Linux are the 2 operating system that dominate the world of netbooks as of now. While there's nothing much you can do with the Wondows XP, there are quite a number of variation of Linux OS that a netbook user can choose from, and Eeebuntu is one of them.

The Eeebuntu is a custom version of Ubuntu Linux designed specially for netbooks. While the recent release of Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope has built in improved support for netbooks, Eeebuntu 3.0 which is developed based on Jaunty Jackalope, takes one step further by using a custom kernel designed to work with all of the hardware and custom hotkeys on most Asus Eee PC netbooks.

There are 3 version of Eeebuntu avaialble for download now: Base, Standard and NBR. The base version is the smallest, lightest and most stripped down among the three. It comes with only the usual configuration applications, Firefox, restricted extras and the Eeeconfigure application. It takes little space on your netbook to install the base version of Eeebuntu, and you can choose to install other apps of your choice after it's installed. The standard version is the most popular among the three. It contains everything you need to get working and playing on your EeePC, which includes a basic Ubuntu installation plus a full suite of internet applications such as Firefox, Pidgin, Thunderbird, OppenOffice applications, VLC Media Player, and Compiz desktop effects. NBR includes the Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface. And the NBR version (stands for Netbook Remix) is similar to Standard version, but uses the Netbook Launcher, which is customised for the small screen of the EeePC by providing a tabbed environment with easy to access icons for all the applications and documents you use day to day.

The Eeebuntu 3.0 is now available for download on its official website. You might want to try it out if you are a Linux user, and is not satisfied with your current Linux OS.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Review Roundup

2009-05-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

Update: Asus Eee PC 1008HA is now available on Amazon.com for $419.99

Asus Eee PC 1008HA, also known as the Seashell netbook, is one of the thinnest netbook around. It boast a very slim and classy design, without sacrificing the functionality.

Here's the rundown of the Seashell netbook's specs:

10.1" LED Backlight WSVGA Screen (1024x600)
Intel Atom N270/ N280 CPU
1GB DDR2 SO-DIMM
160GB HDD and 10GB complimentary online Eee Storage
3-Cell (up to 4 hrs) or 6-cell (up to 10.5hrs) battery

While the Eee PC 1008HA is not yet officially released in the US, there are already quite a number of reviews been done on this netbook, and most of them are favorable. Overall, they are impressed with the slim and stylish design, the ergonomic keyboard and touchpad, and the above average performance of this netbook.

The biggest drawback of the Eee PC 1008HA however is the non-user-replaceable battery, which means you cannot switch to a backup battery when the original one run flat. This is a big disadvantage for those who need to travel long distance. Asus however manage to offset this by delivering a decent battery life. A 3-cell battery will give you around 4.5 to 5 hours of typical usage, according to TrustedReview. So you can expect a much longer battery life when the netbook run under 6-cell.

In short, the Asus Eee PC 1008HA, an extremely shiny netbook with most features and functionalities found to be on par or above, is a perfect netbook for average users, especially for the fashion forward individuals. Only if you are a hardcore netbook user who want to take control of every part of the machine, you may find the Eee PC1008HA not to your taste due to the inaccessible battery. The Asus Eee PC 1008HA is currently available for pre-ordeer on Amazon.com for $409.99.

The verdict from some of the expert reviews:

Trusted review:

"Hardcore netbook users, who want the very best battery life possible for the least amount of cost, won't find the Eee PC 1008HA to their taste - not least due to the inaccessible battery. Yet, Asus has delivered a very refined and classy netbook without sacrificing functionality and this should be applauded. And, while it is expensive for a netbook, it delivers enough that it isn't extortionate. Thus, if you're after a little more refinement than regular netbooks can deliver, this is your best bet." full review

CNet UK:

"The Eee PC 1008HA Seashell is a stunning netbook. It's very comfortable to use, extremely light and portable, and is a good all-round performer. For us, the Eee PC 1000HE's superior battery life makes it the better machine, but the Seashell holds its own in what is an increasingly competitive netbook market." full review

RegHardware:

Get over hang-ups about built-in batteries and you'll see the 1008HA as not just a very, very sexy, slimline netbook but as an eminently portable and a powerful one too. The only aspect we don't like is the very limited upgrade path. We'd like the price to be keener, but you do get an impressive feature set for your money, certainly more than much cheaper netbooks provide. If you're willing to make a few trade-offs, this is one gorgeous netbook. full review

PC Pro:

"Stunning design goes hand in hand with fine usability, but the non-replaceable battery and high price count against it." full review

Dell Announced Latitude 2100 Netbook

2009-05-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

Dell has just announced a new 10-inch netbook, Latitude 2100, which targets the educational market.

Different from most netbooks on the market today, the Latitude 2100 comes with a thick and heavy chassis. It measures 10.4" x 7.4" x 1.6" and weighs 3.4 pounds when put together with the optional 6-cell battery, making it one of the bulkiest netbook around. Also, in preparation for the rigorous use by the school students, Dell has designed the Latitude 2100 with rubberized cases, and offers an optional handle / shoulder strap, and docking cart that schools can use to store and charge up to 24 netbooks.

Other specs for the Latitude 2100 is quite similar to other netbooks on the market: Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD, Windows XP, etc. The rubberized cases will be available in a variety of colors including yellow, green, blue, and red.

Check out the introductory video for the Latitude 2100:

Also, Laptop Magazine has done a review on the Dell Latitude 2100. Check it out.

[via CNET News]

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Hits FCC and Available For Pre-Order Now On Amazon

2009-05-19T05:49:00.000-07:00

I bet many people have been desperately waiting for the release of the Eee PC 1008HA Sea Shell netbook, especially after reading the reviews and comparison of it with the Eee PC 1000HE. The good news is that this slim and sexy netbook has made its appearance at FCC, and is expected to be made available really soon!

Amazon has already started to accept pre-orders for Eee PC 1008HA, both in Pearl White and black color, at the price of $409.99.

Acer Officially Announced The Aspire One AOD250 and AO751h for North America

2009-05-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Acer has officially announced its newest Aspire One line-ups, AOD250 and AO751h for $298 and $379.99 respectively in US.

The main difference between the Acer Aspire One AOD250 and AO751h are the screen size and battery capacity. The Acer Aspire One AOD250 is equipped with a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 3-cell battery, while the Aspire One AO751h features an 11-inch, 1364 x 768 pixel display and a 6-cell battery. Also, while both Aspire One D250 and AO751h comes with the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, the AO751h offers an option to switch the CPU to 1.22GHz Atom Z520.

Here's the full specs for the Acer Aspire One AO75:

IntelR Atom Processor Z520 (1.22GHz, 490MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
Genuine Microsoft Windows XPR Home (Service Pack 3)
11.6-inch WXGA 16:9 ratio Acer CrystalBrite? High Definition LED back-lit TFT LCD (1364 x 768 resolution)
Mobile IntelR US15W Express Chipset
1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
Integrated IntelR Graphics Media Accelerator 950
160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader and Dedicated SD Card
Acer InviLink? 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDR
Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
Three USB 2.0 Ports
6-cell Li-ion Battery (5200mAh)
11.18" (W) x 7.79" (D) x 1" (H)
Sapphire Blue
One-Year Standard Warranty
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $379.99

And here's the specs for the Acer Aspire One AOD250:

Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
Genuine Microsoft Windows XPR Home (Service Pack 3)
10.1-inch WSVGA 16:9 ratio Acer CrystalBrite? LED back-lit TFT LCD (1024×600 resolution)
Mobile IntelR 945GSE Express Chipset
1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
Integrated IntelR Graphics Media Accelerator 950
160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDR
Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
Three USB 2.0 Ports
3-cell Li-ion Battery (2600 mAh)
10.17" (W) x 7.24" (D) x 1" (H)
Ruby Red
One-Year Standard Warranty
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $298.00

[via Engadget]

HP Mini 2140 Review Roundup

2009-05-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

The HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC is designed to cater to the mobile professional. This business-grade netbook features a 10.1-inch screen, a remarkably large keyboard, a high capacity hard drive, and plenty of impressive features.

Here's the rundown of the HP Mini 2140 specs:

10.1-inch diagonal HP Illumi-Lite LED (available in SD 1024 x 576 or HD 1366 x 768)
Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.60GHz
1 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
160 GB 5400 rpm SATA
Mobile IntelR GMA 950 Graphics
Choice of 3-cell or 6-cell battery
Genuine WindowsR XP Home

Overall, the HP Mini 2140 is an excellent mini laptop. It has best build quality and keyboard design among all netbooks on the market today. The expressCard slot offers fantastic expansion possibilities, and the 6-cell battery offers up to 7 hours of battery life. The major complain that most people have on the HP Mini 2140 when it was first released was the low screen resolution of 1024 x 576, which HP has already resolved now by offering a high definition resolution (1366 x 768) option.

Now let's look at some reviews done by the professionals on the HP Mini 2140:

jkOnTheRun:

Liliputing:

Laptop Magazine:

"The $529 HP Mini 2140 (starting at $499) rises above the majority of the netbook competition by incorporating a well-designed keyboard, a durable design, and more than seven hours of battery life. Some may prefer the $499 Samsung NC10 (also a LAPTOP Editors’ Choice winner). It’s $30 less than the similarly configured HP Mini 2140, and its six-cell battery doesn’t bulge from the bottom of the chassis like the Mini 2140. But the extra cash buys a more durable case and more endurance." (full review)

NotebookReview:

"The HP Mini 2140 proves HP can make a serious netbook for business professionals and students alike. Unfortunately for HP, the amazing design and solid range of features are diminished by a low-resolution screen. That said, there is a silver lining to this stormy cloud. HP informs us that the 2140 will be offered with a higher resolution screen (1366 x 768) later in 2009 for a modest price increase, and we're glad to hear that.

As it stands now, if you're willing to put up with the lower resolution screen the Mini 2140 is probably the best netbook on the market. However, if you're willing to wait for HP to offer a higher resolution screen later this year you will be even happier." (full review)

Conclusion: HP Mini 2140 is a near perfect mini laptop after HP resolve the low resolution issue. The only reason that might set you back from buying this top class mini laptop is the higher price tag compare to other netbooks on the market.. but it's still a highly recommended netbook as you will get what you pay for.

Asus Eee PC T91 TouchScreen Netbook Gets An Early Review

2009-05-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

While Asus first touchscreen netbook, the Eee PC T91 is yet to be released, TechRadar has already got a chance to review a pre-production unit of this machine. Overall, they are very impressed with this touchscreen netbook and rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Eee PC T91 is complemented for its brilliant touch screen, solid build quality, excellent battery life, and comfortable keyboard. On the down side, besides being a finder print magnet, the Eee PC T91 suffers from the same flaw that the Eee PC 1008HA have: a non-user removable battery.

The Asus Eee PC T91 is expected to be released in June 2009.

Toshiba Mini NB200 Reviewed

2009-05-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Toshiba Mini NB200, or known as Dynabook UX in Japan, is reviewed over at Portable Monkey. The good things about this machine which they like are the excellent build quality, descent battery life (3.5 hours with a 3 cell), light weight, and the extremely quiet fan. On the bad side, they found the Toshiba Mini NB200 to have a speaker with low, inadequate sound volume, and the lid opening range is very limited. It's also worth noting that the RAM of the Mini NB200 is upgradable to 2GB despite the fact that Toshiba says the netbook maxes out at 1GB, according to Portable Monkey. Read the full review here.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Reviewed

2009-05-10T01:50:00.000-07:00

Asus unveiled the Eee PC 1008HA, one of the company's thinnest and lightest netbooks to date, at CeBIT in March. It is just 1-inch thick and weighs 2.4 pounds. The specs, however, is similar to most of other Asus netbook: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of DDR 2 memory, a 160GB hard drive with Windows XP on it, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1024 x 600 display and SRS Surround Sound audio. Recently, Asus has officially announced that the netbook will be released in the UK on May 15th.

While there are still a few days away from the 1008HA release date, Trusted Reviews has already got their hands on the machine, and done an early review on it. According to the review, the Eee PC 1008HA is sleek and pretty, but sacrifices the battery life. Here's their verdict:

"Hardcore netbook users, who want the very best battery life possible for the least amount of cost, won't find the Eee PC 1008HA to their taste - not least due to the inaccessible battery. Yet, Asus has delivered a very refined and classy netbook without sacrificing functionality and this should be applauded. And, while it is expensive for a netbook, it delivers enough that it isn't extortionate. Thus, if you're after a little more refinement than regular netbooks can deliver, this is your best bet."

Also, I4U has done a comparison between the Eee PC 1008HA and Eee PC 1000HE, and the result is that they favor the Eee PC 1008HA over the Eee PC 1000HE. According to them, the only factor that Eee PC 1000HE beats the Eee PC 1008HA is the battery life, while the Eee PC 1008HA is slimmer, lighter, and more portable than the Eee PC 1000HE. Here's the verdict:

"The above comparison between the Asus Eee PC 1008HA and the Asus Eee 1000HE shows that the 1008HA is all set to overtake the Asus Eee 1000HE as the undisputed king among Asus netbooks if the price is right. Asus Eee PC 1008HA caters in the same way to both fashion forward individuals and those looking for a high performance netbook. Asus has not started to ship the Asus Eee PC 1008HA and therefore, its exact price is unknown. Unless the price is not much higher than $387, the price at which the Asus Eee PC 1000HE sells, you should opt for Asus Eee PC 1008HA without hesitation."

Overall, the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell looks like a pretty promising netbook!

Asus Eee PC T91 to Release in UK Soon

2009-05-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Asus Eee PC T91, the first touch screen convertible netbook from Asus, is coming soon to UK.

The Eee PC T91 made its first appearance at CES in January, and after 4 months of waiting, according to Electric Pig, Asus finally confirmed that the T91 model will be released in UK in either late May or early June, with an RRP in the region of ￡449 (around $677 US). There's no announcement on its availability in US yet, but is believed to be released in US soon as well since AllAsus.com has started to take pre-order for the T91.

The Asus Eee PC T91 will features a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, a 5 hour battery, and an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.

MSI Wind U123 Now Available For Pre-order

2009-05-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

MSI Wind U123 is spotted to be available for pre-order now on Amazon.com. It's currently listed at a price of $349.99, and with the following specs:

10.2-inch LED backlight (1024 x 600 pixels)
1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor
1GB (DDR2 533) Upgradable to 2GB
160GB SATA HDD
Intel GMA950
Intel 945GSE + ICH7-M
802.11b/g Wireless LAN
6-cell lithium ion battery
Windows XP Home

Checkout the review for MSI Wind U123 for more details about this netbook.

Acer And Asus To Release 11.6-inch Netbook

2009-05-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

Acer Germany has recently listed a new 11.6-inch netbook model called the Aspire One 751 on their website. The netbooks is equiped with an Intel Atom Z520 processor paired with a US15WExpress Chipset, 2GB RAM, LED-backlit 200-nit WXGA display with 1366×768 resolution, Wi-Fi b/g and an optional Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and triband UMTS/HSPA WWAN. While there's no words on when this netbook will be made available in the US, it's expected to hit UK market within this month, and is expected to priced around $518.

At the same time, Digitimes is also reporting that Asus will be releasing a 11.6-inch Eee PC netbook this month. There's no further information available for the 11.6-inch Eee PC at this moment, other than that it will account for 30% of Asustek’s shipments for the rest of the year, according to the company's president Jerry Shen.

Most netbooks today have the standard size of either 8.9-inch, 10.1-inch or 12-inch display. And it looks like now the 11.6-inch netbook size is going to be another new standard size for netnook. We suspect that there will be more 11.6-inch netbooks from other brands popping up soon.

Samsung N310 Now Available in UK

2009-05-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

After being released in Korea few days ago, the Samsung N310 mini laptop now show up on Amazon UK, and also several other UK online stores. The price listed on Amazon is £399.05.

Among all other Samsung netbooks, the N310 is the one with a moree unique design. It is covered with a colorful rubberized coating that comes in blue, turquoise, red, and black, while the keyboard and screen that covered in glass goes virtually from one end of the chassis to the other.

The internal parts are similar to most other standard netbooks today though: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and a 4-cell battery which Samsung claims will last up to 5 hours.

Dell Mini Laptops

2009-05-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

Since 2008, Dell has released quite a number of new mini laptop models. We will give you an overview of each models of mini laptops in each product lines from Dell. We will also add in reviews for each models of Dell mini laptop in this post as they are available.

Currently there are 3 models of low-cost mini laptop in the Dell Inspiron line:

1. Inspiron Mini 9

Inspiron Mini 9 is the first netbook model from Dell. It has an 8.9-inch display and the starting price is as low as $279.

The specification for the Dell Inspiron Mini 9:

Glossy 8.9 inch LED display (1024X600)
Up to Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
1GB DDR2 RAM at 533MHz
Up to 16GB Solid State Drive
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
Wireless 802.11g Mini Card
Optional AT&T built-in cellular mobile broadband (HSPA 7.2)
32WHr Battery (4 cell)
Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Dell provides its customers with the flexibility to configure their own specs. The specification listed above are the maximum specs that you can get, and the price of the final product will base on the configuration selected. There are several reviews being done on the Dell Mini 9 laptop, and the overall rating for this netbook is above average. Check out the video review below, and the Inspiron Mini 9 review roundup which links to several expert reviews on this machine, and giving you an overall idea of good and bad about this netbook.

2. Inspiron Mini 10

The Inspiron Mini 10 is another netbook from Dell that comes after Dell Mini 9. It has a 10.1-inch screen size and a starting price of $399.

The specification for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10:

10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x576)
Up to Intel Atom Processor Z530 (1.6GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
Wireless 802.11g/n (1510) Mini Card
24WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (3-cell)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition SP3

Released in February 2009, Dell is a little late in joining the 10-inch netbook competition, but the Inspiron Mini 10 is still outstanding in a few ways. It's one of the thinnest and lightest netbook in its class, provide several colorful design options, has a bright glossy display, and a roomy keyboard. However, at similar price, the 3-cell battery on this machine is making it less competitive compare to other netbooks in the same class such as the Asus Eee PC 1000 HE and Samsung NC10.

3. Inspiron Mini 12

With a 12.1-inch display, we consider the Inspiron Mini 12 a mini laptop instead of netbook. It has a starting price of $399 and comes with the following specification:

12.1" widescreen TrueLife® Display (1280x800)
Intel®Atom®Processor Z520 (1.33GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (onboard)
60GB PATA Hard Drive (4200 RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
Wireless 802.11g Mini Card
48WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

Here's a great video review on the Inspiron Mini 12 by mobilecomputermag.co.uk:

And finally this video gives you an overview of all 3 Dell Inspiron Mini laptop:

MSI Wind U123 Review Roundup

2009-05-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

MSI recently released a new netbook model, U123 which is an upgrade for the formal model U120. Compare with U120, it comes with a more powerful Intel Atom N280 processor, and a higher upgrade limit of 2GB RAM rather than the 1GB limit on the U120.

This video gives you a quick overview of the features and specifications of MSI U123:

Here's the specification for the MSI Wind U123:

10-inch 1024 x 600 LED Backlit Display (Anti-glare)
Intel Atom N280 CPU
1GB DDR2-667 RAM (Upgradable to 2GB)
160GB HDD (5400RPM WDC WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0)
Intel GMA950 Graphics
6-Cell 5200mAh Lithium-Ion Battery
1.3MP Webcam
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
LAN 10/100 Port
Multi-card reader (5 in 1)
3x USB 2.0, D-Sub, Microphone, Headphone ports
260 x 180 x 19.75mm Dimensions
1.35kg / 2.9lbs (with 6-Cell)
Windows XP Home SP3

The Wind U123 can be further categorized into 3 versions:

- U123: the standard fare model
- U123H: equipped with a 3.5G (HSDPA) WWAN module
- U123T: equipped with an integrated TV tuner

Unfortunately, the company does not provide a forth option that combined all features from the 3 above into one "perfect U123".

MSI has been building netbooks with promising performance since its first netbook model, U100, and this latest model does not disappoint us as well. Here are a few reviews done by the experts, which most of them give this machine a thumbs up:

1. Laptop Magazine:
Giving the MSI Wind U123 netbook a rating of 4 out of 5, Laptop Magazine complements this machine with its attractive design, comfortable keyboard, long hours of battery life, and competitive price. The only thing that they don't like is the stiff mouse buttons and small touchpad, but you can easily overcome this by getting a wireless laptop mouse. Overall the MSI Wind U123 is still a recommended netbook:

"For just $379, the MSI Wind U123 offers good performance for a netbook and more than 8 hours of endurance. While the similarly configured ASUS Eee PC 1000HE ($399) and Samsung N110 ($469) have more comfortable touchpads and slightly better keyboards, the MSI Wind offers a complete package for a very competitive price." read full review

2. Portable Monkey:
Similar to Laptop Magazine , Portable Monkey likes the excellent build quality & design, and also the long battery life of the netbook. The drawback are (1) due to the shape of U123, it cannot be placed on the lap comfortably and (2) if you upgrade anything inside this machine, your warranty is voided.

"The MSI Wind U123 does really well with the important features: an excellent keyboard and display that is relatively quiet and gets up to 6.5 hours on a single charge, but is marred but many more minor flaws: You can’t place it in your lap properly, upgrading your internals voids your warranty, no built-in touchpad scrolling capability and the microphone volumes were barely audible. Some of these flaws look like they will be fixed with firmware updates but the warranty issue will be a deal breaker for most." read full review

Overall, the MSI Wind U123 is great in build quality and performance, but with the limitation that you are not allowed to upgrade the internal parts of the machine or your warranty is void. This shouldn't be an issue for the average users, since most of them will not be doing this.

Samsung N310 Released in Korea

2009-04-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

Samsung N310 which was unveiled last month is now available in Korea.

The specs for the N310 netbook are: 10.1inch 1024x600 display, Atom N270 CPU, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 1.3MP Webcam, 802.11g Wi-Fi ,Bluetooth. 3x USB ports, SRS sound and a 3-in-1 card reader. It features a rubberized case, which will be be available in Turkey Blue and Red Orange, a nice large keyboard, and a standard battery that’s reportedly good for up to 5 hours. The price for Samsung N310 is between 900,000 KRW and 1,000,000 KRW ($672 - $747).

[Source]

Toshiba Unveils 10-inch Netbook

2009-04-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Toshiba recently announced a new model 10-inch netbook in Japan and Europe. Although being the same model, Toshiba has named them differently in these 2 different regions -- Dynabook UX in Japan, and Mini NB200 in Europe.

The specification for the new Toshiba 10-inch netbook is as follow:

10-inch display with 1024×600 native pixel resolution
Intel Atom N280 1.66 GHz Processor
1GB RAM
160GB HDD
Integrated GMA 950 graphics
802.11b/g WiFi
Windows XP Home

Portable Monkey has had a chance to play around with this new netbook, and written a short post on it. Here's the summary of their first impression on this machine:

exquisite gold metallic hinges
great build quality and design
lightweight with 3-cell battery
smooth trackpad (best netbook trackpad so far)
nice chickeley-style keyboard (like the Eee PC 1000HE)
small powerbrick

Also, Megawhat.tv who got a chance to check out the Toshiba NB200 at a UK event has taken a video of the new netbook to give you a better look at it:

In terms of external design and appearance, this netbook seems to be pretty impressive. The performance is yet to be find out though.

MSI Wind U100 Plus Announced

2009-04-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

MSI has recently announced a Wind U100 Plus netbook. It's almost similar to its predecessor model, U100, except for a faster 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU and higher capacity battery which is said to last for 7 hours.

Here’s a rundown of MSI Wind U100 Plus specs:

10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution
1GB of RAM
160GB hard drive
802.11b/g/n WiFi
integrated flash card reader
1.3MP webcam
Bluetooth 2.1.

In addition to the usual white, black and red colors, the MSI Wind U100 PLUS will be available in 2 new colors: Rose Champagne (pink) and Metallic Blue. No words on the release date and price for the U100 Plus netbook for the moment.

[Source]

The first Android Netbook - Skytone Alpha 680

2009-04-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

So far, most netbooks run either on Windows or Linux. Now here's the first netbook that run on a different OS, Google Android. The netbook model is Skytone Alpha A680 which is manufactured by a Chinese electronic maker. It has a 7-inch, 800 x 480 resolution touchscreen display with a swivel, a 533MHz ARM11 Processor, 128MB RAM, and 1GB flash memory for storage. The specs are much lower than other standard netbooks today, but it's more than enough to run Google Android, which was developed for ARM-based cellphones. Also, the low-end specs means lower price. There's rumor that the price for this machine will be as little as $100.

[Source]

Sharp Release Netbook with With Optical Sensor LCD Pad

2009-04-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

While more and more companies are joining the netbook market, most of them comes makes pretty similar machine which comes with a standard specs. But we do get surprise once in a while when a netbook like Mebius PC-NJ70A from Sharp is announced. It's claimed to be the first netbook with LCD touchpad that allow for both stylus and multi-touch finger operation.

The LCD touchpad is an 854 x 480 resolution screen placed right on the palm rest and is able to recognize drawings and text using the bundled stylus, and to perform the same finger-based functions, such as zoom in, zoom out, rotate, and other multi-touch functions which is similar to what you can do with an iphone or Apple’s latest MacBooks.

Check it out in the following video:

Other than the LCD touchpad, Sharps's Mebius PC-NJ70A netbook has a standards specs like many other netbooks on the market: 10.1-inch screen, a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, an Intel 945GSE Express Chipset, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB of HDD, 1.3Mp webcam, Bluetooth 2.1 and wireless web over 802.11b/g.

No words on when this netbook from Sharp will be released, but it's expected to retail for ¥80,000 ($814 US).

[via]

Dell Vostro A90 Available in US Now

2009-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dell Vostro A90 netbook which has already been released in Europe for quite some time, is now available in the US.

The Vostro A90 netbook has an identical specs as the Inspiron Mini 9:

8.9-inch screen
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1GB RAM
16GB SSD
Windows XP Home
WiFi, Bluetooth and an optional 0.3 webcam

An obvious difference between them would be the external design -- the Vostro A90 comes in a cool all-black design. The price for Vostro A90 is currently set at $349.

Sharp to Release Netbook Next Week

2009-04-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

According to Akihabara News, Sharp will be launching a netbook from the Mebius Line-up next week. No information is available for this netbook yet, but we it's likely to feature the standard specs we find on most netbooks today.

Asus First TouchScreen Netbook - Eee PC T91

2009-04-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

Asus Eee PC T91 is the first touchscreen netbook from the company. The convertible touchscreen can pivot, and lay flush against the keyboard, thus giving it the flexibility to be used as a Tablet PC. This model of netbook from Asus was first presented at CES 2009, and has recently made its appearance at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This is a good sign of it being available soon in the US -- great news for those who have been waiting for a touchscreen Eee PC!

The Asus Eee PC T91 will comes with a 1.3GHz Intel Atom Processor, 8.9-inch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution, Intel GMA 500 graphics and 1 GB of RAM. Asus has not make any official announcement on T91 model yet, but we have found a few hands-on videos on this netbook:

Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M Released

2009-04-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M, a netbook with foldable touchscreen display is now available. The company has made the 8.9-inch convertible touchscreen netbook before in 2008.. so this would be the second touchscreen netbook from Gigabyte, and according to UMPC Portal, Gigabyte has learned a lot from its experience with the previous model and built a much better machine in the 10.1-inch Touch Note T1028M.

Here's the specification for Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M

10.1" swivel touch screen
Intel Atom Processor N270 1.6GHz
2.5" 9.5mm SATA HDD 5400rpm, 160 GB
1GB RAM (Max 2GB)
Mobile Intel 945GSE Express Chipset+ ICH7M
Embedded HSDPA Support
92% full-sized keyboard
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home

UMPC Portal has done a review on this machine and complement its fast 2.5 inch hard drive and great reception of its UMTS 3G modem. Here's their summary comment on Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M:

"The Touchnote offers a lot more than the average netbook and offers significant improvements over the groundbreaking M912M that came before it. Convertible touchscreen, draft-n WiFi, BT2.1, fast 2.5” drive, easy upgrade possibilities, Expresscard/34 and the well-prepared SIM card and 3G Antenna are a a feature set you won’t find on any other device. The glossy screen and average battery life are really the only two points I could highlight as issues. Oh, and perhaps the fact that an advanced N280-based model is coming soon! Currently Gigabyte stands alone in offering a 10” touchscreen notebook at this price point but they may not have the playground to themselves for long. The ASUS T101H is an obvious competitor and many will be laboring over the choice between the two. Until we get hands-on with the T101H we won’t be able to make a decision but until then, we can certainly say that the Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M is a unique, good value and well thought-out choice in both the prosumer end of the netbook market and the budget notebook market." Read full review

Dell Netbook Roadmap Leaked

2009-04-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

A full set of Dell's netbook roadmap slides are leaked. From the slide, we can see that Dell is planning to release an 11-inch netbook (Mini 11) by end of Q3. Also, there will be quite some changes to the Mini 10. Dell is planning to add 3G modem, Vista, and may be a 1.86GHz Atom processor to the Mini 10 on 17th April. And finally, a new 1.6GHz Atom N270 SKU will arrive in May and Dell will update will update everything in the second half of the year with Intel's Pine Trail processors.

[via Engadget]

Samsung NC20 Is Now Available

2009-04-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

Samsung NC10 is one of the best netbook in today's market due to its good build quality and excellent battery life. Following the success of Samsung NC10, the company has recently announced a 12-inch mini laptop named NC20. Besides having larger size, another major difference between Samsung NC20 and NC10 is the processor. Samsung has chosen to use 1.3GHz VIA Nano U2250 processor in NC20 instead of Intel Atom processor that's used in the NC10. The specs for NC20 is as follows:

1.3-GHz VIA Nano U2250 Processor
1GB RAM, Expandable to 2GB
160GB/5,400 rpm HDD
12.1 inches display with 1280 x 800 resolution
Windows XP Home (SP3)
3.4 pounds

With 12.1-inch screen, Samsung NC20 might be too big to be called a netbook, but is still a great choice for those who are interested in a mini laptop. It's currently available on Newegg for $549.99 with 1Gb of RAM, a 160Gb hard drive, and Windows XP Home. A review for Samsung NC20 is available on Laptop Magazine.

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2009-03-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Netbooks vs UMPC vs Ultraportable Laptops

2009-03-29T02:56:00.000-07:00

In Small Mini Laptops, we cover every laptop computers that are 13-inch or below in size. We generally call them mini laptops, but in fact, they can be further categorized into 3 main groups: netbook, UMPC, and ultraportable laptops. In this post, we will briefly explain the definition and differences between these 3 laptop categories.

Netbook is a new term in laptop industry that's becoming popular in recent years. It's a small and low-cost computer that is primarily designed for web browsing and e-mailing, and is relying heavily on the Internet for remote access to web-based applications. Compare to standard-size laptops, netbook has lower processing power (generally run on Intel Atom CPU), lower battery capacity, and lack of certain standard features in normal-size laptop such as optical/CDs/DVDs drive. Apparently, the most attractive characteristic of a netbook is the low-price which generally falls below $500, and can go as low as $200+. Size wise, netbook normally comes with either 8.9-inch or 10-inch screen. Some of the popular netbooks in today's market includes Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, Samsung NC10, and MSI Wind.

UMPC stands for Ultra-Mobile PC. It was originated from project Origami launched by Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, and a few others in 2006. The form factor for UMPC is defined as touchscreen mini-tablet smaller than eight inches with a resolution of at least 800 pixels wide. Due to their tiny size, many UMPCs comes with on-screen virtual keyboard instead of physical keyboard. Some UMPCs feature Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, webcams, fingerprint readers, stereo speakers, TV tuners, and memory card readers. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and WWAN connections are sometimes included as well.

Ultraportable laptop is basically a full-featured laptop, but with smaller size -- normally less than 14 inches screen, and weigh less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs). Other than size, an ultraportable laptop will have similar processing power and features as other standard laptops. Examples of ultraportable laptops includes the 13-inch Dell XPS, and the SR series, Z series, and TT series of Sony VAIO.

And that basically cover the 3 major categories of mini laptop that will be the main focus of this blog. Hope you get a clearer picture for each categories of mini laptop now after reading this post!

Welcome To Small Mini Laptops

2009-03-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Small Mini Laptops blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide the latest news and reviews about mini laptop computers.

There are a few categories of mini laptop computers: netbook, UMPC, and ultraportable notebook. Each categories have different level of specs and pricing. We will cover cover them all in this blog, as long as their size is 13-inch or below.

Our objective here is to help people to make a smart laptop buying decision. Stay tuned for more mini laptops' news and reviews to come!

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