ASUS has recently introduced some of its new products: the PadFone and the super slim Eee PC X101 netbook. The netbook can run MeeGo or Windows 7 in dual-boot and is powered by an Intel 1.5GHz Oak Trail Atom processor bringing a 600 graphics GMA. Eee PC X101 has two USB ports, a headphones socket and the chiclet keyboard that ASUS always incorporates in its notebooks. The device sports a 10-inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution and the traditional webcam placed above the display.  The netbook runs on a 6-cell battery.

The full specifications are not available for the time being, but NetbookNews suggests that X101 should weigh less than 1 kg. Users can choose between a red Eee PC X101, a gold one or a white device.

Some press photos were also leaked out of the PadPhone before its announcement at CompuTex Taipei, not much is known about it yet, but we can see that it will dock with your Asus smartphone similar to Motorola’s Atrix 4G laptop dock, sans keyboard.

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The Hercules brand isn’t exactly a household name, but it is better known for the line of speakers than “real” computer equipment. Even so, they’re already onto the next generation of computing with two new eCAFE netbooks.

The EX HD eCAFE netbook is the one that boasts a “real world” battery life of “at least” 13 hours. That should be more than enough to keep you Skyping and Twittering all day long. The Slim HD eCAFE netbook, on the other hand, has a claim to fame with its less than one-inch profile.

To keep the battery life optimal, the Hercules netbooks use a ARM Cortex A8 800MHz low-power processor, solid state storage, 512MB RAM, and a fanless design. This sounds awfully gutless, but the custom Linux-based operating system is optimized for this environment. Then again, you can easily find a lot of smartphones with more juice than this.

Running through the rest of the specs, we find a 10.1-inch 1024×600 LED screen with 720p video support, a trio of USB ports, Ethernet, card reader, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and 80GB of online storage. The slim starts at an affordable $229 and the EX HD lists at $269. Expect both to ship this month.

[Read via Hercules]

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We saw the Samsung Series 9 at CES earlier this year. The 13-inch super-skinny laptop is supposed to rival equally slim competitors like the MacBook Air… but the MBA comes smaller than that too. So, Samsung could be countering again.

We’re now hearing word out of Seoul that Samsung is considering an 11-inch version of its Notebook 9 Series. This would really put it on par with the MacBook Air (OS concerns aside), since the super slim notebook would then be available in both 13-inch and 11-inch variants. I’d imagine that some of the specs would take a downgrade in the size reduction, but that’s to be expected.

Samsung claims an 11-inch notebook is in the works that would fit somewhere between the tablet offerings (like the Galaxy Tab) and its “true” notebook offerings. Then again, the 11-incher would start to look a little too much like a netbook (albeit at a much more expensive price that Samsung’s typical netbooks)… aside from that gorgeous brushed aluminum finish.

[Giz via WSJ]

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Android isn’t just for smartphones and tablets anymore. If NEC has its way, you’ll be wanting to get your hands on its Android-powered LifeTouch Note netbook too.

The idea isn’t exactly original, as other companies have entertained the idea of an Android netbook in the past, but you would think that plunking Honeycomb on something like this would have made more sense. That upgrade might come in the future, but the LifeTouch Note is getting pre-loaded with Android 2.2 Froyo instead.

Tech specs include an NVIDIA Tegra 250 mobile processor (Tegra 2), up to 8GB of internal memory, GPS, accelerometer, WiFi, SD/SDHC slot, and a 2MP camera. You can get it with or without 3G, but the weird thing is that the 7-inch LED backlit display is a resistive touchscreen. Seriously? Why not capacitive like everyone else? It’s not like you need the resistive precision for handwriting or text entry. You actually have a physical keyboard.  It also has a touch-sensitive pad so you don’t have to mark up the screen.  A headphone jack and mini USB.

I guess it’s an interesting idea, but it looks like the netbook realm is better reserved for Chrome OS.  At least we can expect it to be cheaper than a Windows netbook.  We’ll have to wait and see how it competes with the Asus slider netbook.

[via Akihabara]

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Given the rapid rise of tablet devices and the quickly plummeting prices of entry-level notebooks, you would think that no one would actually want a netbook anymore. Even so, these mini-laptops are still around and there are still people who want to have them.

The Samsung NP-N145 Plus follows along the short-lived tradition of the netbook, offering many of the specs and features you’ve come to expect from products in this range. It’s no powerhouse, but it’s not priced as a powerhouse either. After all, it’s still cheaper than buying an iPad if all you want is some casual web surfing on a screen bigger than your smartphone.

Quick Spec Check

Anyone who has been in the market for a netbook PC in the last year or so won’t find too many surprises when it comes to the N145 Plus. It comes powered by an Intel Atom N450 processor. That’s a dual-core chip, moving along at 1.66GHz.

The fairly standard 10.1-inch display has a webcam embedded above it, Windows 7 Starter 32-bit runs the show, and you get backed up to 1GB of RAM, the usual assortment of ports, and an SD card reader.

First Impressions and Build Quality

I’ve encountered my fair share of cheap netbooks, using less than impressive materials and offering a less than acceptable build quality. Thankfully, the N145 Plus from Samsung isn’t like that.

For starters, they’ve opted away from the glossy surface of most netbooks for a matte finish all around. That’s a good thing, as you don’t have to worry (as much) about it being a fingerprint magnet. It’s also nice how the battery is designed in such a way as it “props up” the back part of the netbook. This allows for better ventilation on its underside.

Compared to many other netbooks in this price range, the Samsung N145 Plus certainly feels like it is better made than most. The guts inside, as described above, are pretty much par for the course though.

Keyboard and Trackpad

It’s not really a chiclet keyboard, but the keyboard does offer a decent amount of separation between the individual keys. They offer just the right amount of key travel and “clackiness” that I want to see in a keyboard. Remember that this is a netbook-sized keyboard, though, so if you haven’t dabbled in this realm before, you might find it a little cramped.

While I like how they laid out the directional keys (and page up/down keys) toward the bottom-right corner of the keyboard, I’m not a fan of the placement of the “\” key in that same corner. More often than not, when my right pinky finger went reaching for the shift key, I’d hit the “\” key instead. That’s terribly annoying. Look just above it; the key is basically duplicated. Get rid of the bottom one and give me a larger shift key, please.

As far as the trackpad is concerned, it offers a similar finish as the rest of the netbook. It’s smooth and of a decent size, given the netbook proportions. Multitouch gestures, like two-finger scrolling, work. Most people will likely want an external mouse for longer sessions, but it does the job in a pinch.

General Everyday Performance

If you’re expecting the kind of heavy lifting that you would get even with a bargain-minded consumer notebook, you’re going to be disappointed. This is anything but a powerhouse, but it’s just fine for the more basic tasks on your list.

Need to surf the web, watch a YouTube video, or edit a blog post? No problem. The smaller screen resolution of a netbook isn’t exactly ideal, but it is certainly more portable than its full-size notebook counterparts. I wouldn’t push the web browsing beyond a half dozen tabs or so, though, as it will start to lag.

Similarly, you probably don’t want to try doing any major picture or video editing on this either. You can do minor stuff in Movie Maker and Paint, but not much beyond that. Go in with the right expectations and you’ll get what you need.

Overall Thoughts

When netbooks first hit the scene, they seemed like a fascinating possibility. Smartphones weren’t nearly as widespread at the time and netbooks were a lot cheaper than real laptops. Then, the world changed.

I used to use a netbook for checking my e-mail on the go and doing some casual web surfing; I do that on a smartphone now. If I want to do any lifting that is remotely heavier, I whip out a real laptop instead. After all, you can get a bargain notebook for $400 or so no, which is awfully close to the price of a netbook.

This isn’t to knock the Samsung N145 Plus. Compared to other netbooks in the same range, it offers a good deal of quality and comfort, as well as a nice ergonomic design. However, the netbook market as a whole probably isn’t going to stick around much longer. People are much more inclined to use their smartphones (or tablets) for tasks previously assigned to the netbook. How much longer can they last?

[$339 from Samsung]

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There was so much talk about this lightweight operating system for so long and then it drifted off into the background. The attention is being diverted back and the Google event on December 7 could be the venue for its unveiling. As a quick refresher, Chrome OS focuses almost exclusively on cloud computing, making for very little heavy lifting on the part of the netbook itself; everything is handled by Google’s servers.

The idea is that the netbook doesn’t need much and the Atom processors making their way around most netbooks would suit this OS just fine. The rumor is that the initial rollout of the Chrome OS netbook (NexusBook, maybe?) will be on a friends and family basis, shipping about 65,000 units worldwide. After that trial phase, Google can then decide whether it wants to go mass market with this thing.

[Gizmodo]

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It’s almost as if Gigabyte has devised a product for the most indecisive person on the planet. Maybe you want the portability of a notebook, the touchscreen of a tablet and the comfort of a desktop. If all of the above apply, maybe you want the Gigabyte Booktop T1125.

It’s not entirely new for Gigabyte to pull off such a move, but the Booktop T1125 is a little different than some of the other products it has released in the past. In the strictest sense, it is a convertible tablet. This means that you’ll likely be using the 11.6-inch display in a notebook like fashion most of the time. The display can then rotate and fold back down so you have a tablet PC experience.

Partly what separates the T1125 from its predecessors is that there is also a “sideways” dock. Planting the system into this dock in a portrait-like fashion, you effectively get a desktop experience. You can presumably connect a primary LCD to the dock and then use the T1125 as a touchscreen-enabled secondary display. You know, for Twitter updates and that sort of thing.

Running through the specs, you’ll find a choice of Core i5 or i3 ULV processors, USB 3.0 ports, Optimus battery-enhancing technology, THX and dual-channel speakers. All of this will start at $1,299 and it ships later this month. This convertible tablet thing has been done many times over in the past, what makes Gigabyte’s Booktop notable is they’ve made a docking bay for it, and that its a netbook. Woot?

SOURCE: Netbook News via Engadget

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Many news sources, most emphatically the Taiwanese Digitimes, are equivocating views of hardware manufacturers shipping Chrome powered netbooks quite soon. And if the rumours are to be believed, those thinking of launching Chrome netbooks include Acer and HP, among many others.

But what catches the eye is the fact that Google itself may have plans of launching the first ARM powered netbook by the end of November (or perhaps early December). Sounds similar? Yes, Google adopted a somewhat similar strategy with its Android powered Google Nexus One.

Talking about the Chrome OS, it surely has one thing to its credit: the fact that it stands on the shoulders of a giant. And looking at the monumental rise in popularity of the Chrome web browser owing to its ease of use and simplicity, there seems to be no plausible reason to doubt the success of Chrome OS. Google have been talking about it as an Operating System, custom-built for the internet surfer keeping the netbooks in mind. Simply put, it means a minimalist environment that provides all (or most) of the functionality of an operating system in a browser-like tabbed interface. Based on a Linux kernel, Chrome OS is expected to resemble the browser in terms of UI.

Apparently, Linux based netbooks haven’t had much success in the past, but this can be attributed to the general users’ apathy towards UNIX. With Google deciding to ride the bandwagon, the scene is surely bound to change towards good.

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Kids Classmate Tablet Notebook Computer

I remember when the standard batch of school supplies I received each September consisted of a yellow ruler, a nub of an eraser, and a #2 pencil. My, how times have changed. These days, even the youngest of students are getting loaded with computers and the Kids Classmate is the latest in this revolution.

Looking like it takes on the Intel reference design, the newest $650 Kids Classmate comes from the good people at Kid Computers. The idea is that this education netbook can be used anytime and anywhere for students in kindergarten clear through to grade 12.  It’s a convertible tablet, featuring a 10.1-inch color touchscreen display that can rotate and swivel to suit the specific needs of each class. They say kids can “scrawl and draw just like they would with pen and paper.”

Other specs include the Intel 1.66GHz processor, 1GB memory, and 160GB hard drive, along with internal microphone, speakers, video chat software, and 1.3 megapixel webcam. Is it groundbreaking? Probably not, but it does look like a great educational tool. Expect the first shipments to happen on June 1… just in time for the end of the school year?

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Samsung Corby Netbook

We already know about some of those Samsung Corby phones that pop up at local retailers, but it looks like the Korean manufacturer wants to expand that brand in to the realm of netbooks too. Recently unveiled are the new Samsung Corby netbooks and oh boy are they vivid.

If you’re thinking that these netbooks look a little too familiar, you’d be right. That’s because the Samsung Corby netbook is really just a rebadged version of the Samsung N150 netbook that we saw a couple of months ago.

Available in the Caribbean Yellow and Flamingo Pink shown here, as well as Bermuda Blue, the Samsung Corby netbook has a rather standard set of features. There’s a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display, 1GB DDR2 RAM, Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive, webcam, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VGA, a card reader, and Windows 7 Starter.

The eccentrically-painted netbooks were announced in Italy for 329 Euro. With the current exchange the way that it is, we can probably expect the equivalent North American product to sell for about $440 or so.

Samsung Corby Netbooks Image Gallery

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