Acer Aspire One hands on

"http://www.eeepcnews.de Acer Aspire One Netbook. First impressions from Computex 2008"

AMD Netbook - AMD UMPC

A bit old but still interesting -

"http://www.eeepcnews.de - First impressions of the new AMD Netbook or UMPC"

Want a 9 cell MSI Wind battery? Build your own!

Submitted by Brad Linder -

Sure, MSI recently jacked up the price on the 6-cell battery version of the MSI Wind laptop by $50. But why settle for 6 cells when you can build your own 9 cell battery for less money?

Here's the original post from the MSI Wind.net forums.

Here's Brad's writeup.

VIA Nano and Intel's Atom benchmarked head-to-head

From Engadget -

PC Perspective, Eee PC News, and Hot Hardware all ran comparison tests of the Via Nano and the Intel Atom 230 recently, and a 1.8GHz Nano L2100 with Chrome9 graphics outperformed a 1.6GHz Atom 230 with GMA950 graphics at everything from MP3 ripping to 3D benchmarking. There are trade-offs with the Nano a bit more power-hungry, and the Atom's memory and graphics systems occasionally. Still, the Nano seems to have more raw horsepower than the Atom -- and it's pin-compatible with VIA's popular C7M, so hopefully subnotebooks like HP's Mini-Note will make the jump.


Source article here.

Third-generation Classmate PC on its way

From Crave -

Intel is working on the next version of its low-cost laptop, which could be ready in the next month or so. The new version will have a different look and feel from the existing model and will get both hardware and software upgrades. The user interface might probably come from OLPC spin-off Sugar Labs which has announced it will develop a version of its Sugar interface for the Classmate PC.

Source article here.

Lenovo to launch netbook by the end of September

From Digitimes -

Lenovo is reportedly planning to enter the netbook market by the end of September this year, with either existing subcontractors Compal, Wistron, or Pegatron as the OEM. Compal makes most of Lenovo's notebooks and have produced 1.1 million in Q2 this year alone. Wistron makes the X-series subnotebooks and have shipped an estimated 550,000 - 580,000 while Pegatron makes the IdeaPads and have shipped around 200,000.

Source article here.

Sylvania to enter expanding netbook market

From Ross Rubin's Out of the Box -

Sylvania has announced that it will be offering a 8.9″ LED-backlit Sylvania g netbook MESO. Specs include the usual 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 2.2 lbs, multi-card reader, webcam, 80 GB HD. Available colors will be onyx, snow, solar, and blossom.

It will be available in either XP Home or Ubuntu Netbook Remix versions and will probably sell for USD299 at Walmart although the reseller has no official announcement yet.

Source article here.

India's '$10 Laptop' to Cost US$100 After All

From PC World -

A low-cost laptop being developed by the Indian government will cost US$100 when available, and not $10 as was earlier stated. A spokesman for Minister of State for Higher Education said on Wednesday that the price would in fact be US$100 rather than $10.

In a transcript of the speech delivered at a Delhi conference on Tuesday, the Minister was quoted as saying that the government aims to provide $10 laptops to students. It has since been updated subsequently to reflect the new price.

Source article here.

India says it is developing a $10 laptop

From Computerworld -

India is developing a laptop to be sold at $10 that will target higher education applications. Research is being carried out at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai. The specifications of the $10 laptop were not disclosed, nor is it clear if the project will be achieved with the help of a government subsidy.

Source article here.

Asus Eee PC: The Chart

From Asus UK -

Asus Eee PC 1000 CNET's No. 1 subnotebook

CNET Asia has rated at Asus Eee PC 1000 as its number one subnotebook sight unseen. Reasons given are the 10.2" 1024 x 600 LCS, the 92% full size laptop keyboard, 1.6GHz Atom 2GB max RAM, all of which make it theoretically the most powerful subnotebook. Possible downside though is that it is obviously bigger and less portable than previous Eee PCs, weighs 1.33kg and are much more expensive.

Source article here.

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini Clip Covers

"Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini Netbook with coloured clip covers"



Kinda like Nokia Expresscovers!

Jointech JL7100 - $99 Asus Eee PC Clone

Hongkong-based Jointech has announced its USD99 JL7100, an Asus Eee PC look-alike but which uses Windows CE instead of Windows XP or Xandros. Windows CE is typically used in PDAs and smartphones and has limited functionalities relative to the full-blown desktop operating systems.

The choice of Windows CE also means the JL7100 need not be as fully featured also. While it comes with the ubiquitous 7" 800 x 480 LCD (thought 64K colors only), it has only 64MB internal storage - clearly not enough if you deal with a lot of multimedia files.

It also has only 64MB RAM - it might be enough to run the built-in apps but certainly not other programs, assuming you can install third-party apps.

As for the built-in apps, you only get viewer versions of MS Word, MS Excel, and MS Powerpoint. It would have been infinitely useful if Jointech had included versions that allow editing.

Moreover it does not have any built-in wireless capabilities, although it ostensibly supports this via USB ports. Neither does it have any memory card slot. So again, you can only expand storage via the USB ports.

Put simply, the JL7100 is basically a Windows-based PDA pretending to be a subnotebook. As to whether it will appeal to consumers, that would be a matter of personal taste. But given that you will need to buy a USB wifi dongle plus upgrade the RAM and internal storage if you want to do any surfing, you will end up spending somewhere near Asus Eee PC 2G Surf pricing territory. At that point, you are better off buying the real thing.

Now if all you need is a PDA, you would do a lot better with one of those PMP (Personal Media Player)/PDAs flooding the market today. Unless you need a QWERTY keyboard, that is. But then that would assume you will be doing a lot of typing, something which the JL7100 does not expect you to, given that its "Office" apps are all limited to viewing documents only.

Specs:

Weight : 680g (Including Battery)

Operating System - Win CE 5.0

Memory

Chipset: Samsung
Internal Storage: 64MB
External: Optional via USB 1-8GB
Ram: 64MB
USB ports: 3

Supported Software

MS Word Viewer
MS Excel Viewer
MS Powerpoint Viewer
MSN Messenger
Media Player
Image Viewer
Wordpad
PDF Viewer
Calculator
Paint
Internet Explorer

Dimensions: 225 x 165 x 36 (mm)

LCD: 7" 800 x 480 TFT 64K colors

Casing: Black / Pink / White / Skyblue

Power: 7.4v

Touchpad

Speaker: Stereo Speaker

Battery Type: LiOn, 4 hr charging, 4-72 hrs (standby)

Multimedia Support

Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV and others
Video: AVI and others
Recording: WAV
Images: BMP, JPG, GIF and others

Product Page here.

Improving the Eee PC keyboard's responsiveness

For users who have problems with the Eee PC keyboard's responsiveness, there is an ongoing thread over at the eeeuser forum on how to improve it.

Basically the steps, as posted by ilcarolader, are:

1- Remove your keyboard by pressing towards the screen the three thin metal staples that you can see right over the F1, F6 and F12 keys. You should be then able to remove the keyboard by picking it up from its upper side and letting it shifting towards the screen.

2 - Use a roll of masking tape (the kind of adhesive tape used in house painting) to cover the keyboard back side with 2 or 3 strips.

3 - Put the keyboard back in its place, making sure the three metal fastener will block it correctly.

Warning: covering the back side of your keyboard might interfere with the cooling of your Eee PC.

A sample implementation (posted by Sava) -




You can read the entire thread here.

Impulse NPX-9000 - world's cheapest laptop?

Alibaba has a listing for a subnotebook, Impulse NPX-9000, that is being promoted as the "World's Cheapest Laptop." Specs include the following:

SPECIFICATIONS:

1) 400 MHz MIPS CPU
2) 7" Analog Screen
3) 128 MB SDRAM
4) 1 GB Flash Memory
5) 80 Key English Keyboard & Touch Pad
6) Linux O.S.
7) Connectors: SD Card Slot, VGA Port, USB x 3, Mini USB, Microphone and Earphone Jack
8) AC Adaptor and Accessories
9) External USB LAN or 802.11g WiFi dongle (optional)


INCLUDED APPLICATIONS:

1) Excel File Viewer and Editor
2) Word File Viewer and Editor
3) Internet Browser
4) Media Player
5) Flash Viewer
6) O-Image Photo Viewer
7) Typing - Word Processor
8) Drawpad - Paint Application
9) Pointer Application

Price is FOB Shenzhen China USD 129.00~130.00. The catch? Minimum Order Quantity is 100 Piece/Pieces.

Source Article here.

Subnotebook Prices in the Philippines

From a post by C#@RD in the Philippine-based Tsikot forum, a listing of available subnotebooks and their prices in the Philippines. (USD1 - around PhP44.20) -

Asus EEE 701 02Gb solid state device Cel-M / 512Mb / 2Gb SSD / 7in. / no cam / wifi / Linux 11,300 Demo
Asus EEE 701 02Gb solid state device Cel-M / 512Mb / 2Gb SSD / 7in. / no cam / wifi / Linux 11,900
Asus EEE 701 04Gb Solid state device Cel-M / 1.0Gb / 4Gb SSD / 7in. / cam / wifi / Linux 15,900
Astone [060Gb SATA] Via / 1.0Gb / 060Gb SATA / 7in. / cam / wifi / Linux 16,500 Value
Whiz Book [020Gb SATA] Geode / 512Mb / 020Gb SATA / 8.9in. / no cam / wifi / Linux 16,500
Deep Blue H1 [040Gb SATA] Via / 1.0Gb / 030Gb SATA / 7in. / cam / wifi / Linux 16,500
Neo Explore X2 [040Gb SATA] Cel-M / 512Mb / 040Gb SATA / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / XPH 17,999 Value
Whiz Book [060Gb SATA] Geode / 512Mb / 060Gb SATA / 10in. / no cam / wifi / Linux 18,500
Acer Aspire One 08Gb solid state device Atom / 1.0Gb / 8Gb SSD / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / Linux 18,800 New !!!!
Asus EEE 701 08Gb solid state device Cel-M / 1.0Gb / 8Gb SSD / 7in. / cam / wifi / Linux 19,900
Asus EEE 900 XP 12Gb solid state device Cel-M / 1.0Gb / 12Gb SSD / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / XPH 23,300
Asus EEE 900 Linux 20Gb solid state device Cel-M / 1.0Gb / 20Gb SSD / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / Linux 23,300
Asus EEE 1000H [120Gb SATA] Atom / 1.0Gb / 120Gb SATA / 10in. / cam / wifi / XPH 29,900 Soon !!!!
MSI value Wind [160Gb SATA] Atom / 1.0Gb / 160Gb SATA / 10in. / cam / wifi / no OS 23,900 11-08-08
MSI U100 Wind [080Gb SATA] Atom / 1.0Gb / 080Gb SATA / 10in. / cam / wifi / XPH 25,900 Best Buy
MSI U100 Wind [160Gb SATA] Atom / 1.0Gb / 160Gb SATA / 10in. / cam / wifi / XPH 28,900 Best Buy
MSI U100 Wind [160Gb SATA] Atom / 2.0Gb / 160Gb SATA / 10in. / cam / wifi / XPH 29,900 Best Buy
HP mininote 2133 [120Gb SATA] Via / 2.0Gb / 120Gb SATA / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / VHB 29,900 Hot !!!
HP mininote 2133 [160Gb SATA] Via / 2.0Gb / 160Gb SATA 7200 / 8.9in. / cam / wifi / V-bsns 34,900 Loaded !!!

Source forum thread here.

RAM Upgrade Voids Warranty for MSI Wind

From ubergizmo -

MSI reportedly has announced that user DIY RAM upgrades will effectively void the warranty on its Wind subnotebooks. It actually requires a bit of computer hardware skills since there is no direct RAM access panel thus MSI's warranty policy. While warranted, such policy might turn some customers off.

Source article here.

MSI Wind with 6 cell battery now available

Submitted by Brad Linder -

It looks like MSI is selling the 6-cell version of the Wind laptop (which should get 5 or more hours of battery life) a bit early. The company had said the battery shortage would keep units off the streets until September, but Mwave.com is selling 6 cell versions of the MSI Wind now for $570. That's $70 more than the original price MSI had promised, but that seems to be par for the course. (A lot of people thought the first generation Eee PC would cost $200 rather than $400 due to some poor marketing).

Source article here.

Toshiba reveals plans for mini-book

From PC Authority Australia -

Toshiba showing off an ultra low-cost subnotebook prototype with a UMPC form factor, with a sliding keyboard. Initial specs include Vista, Atom, 5.6" screen, 64GB SSD, and GPS. Hands-on play reveals it runs Vista smoothly albeit a bit awkward with the virtual keyboard taking up two-thirds of the screen.

Source article here.

ASUS to offer Eee PC Branded Hard Drive, Optical Drive, and 3G Card

According to Laptop Mag, Asus appears set to offer a set of new USB-based Eee PC branded accessories, including an external hard drive, an optical drive and a 3G connection card called T500.

While Asus has been perceived as unnecessarily diluting the Eee PC brand by coming out with TVs and other products, as well as confusing the consumer with countless overlapping Asus Eee PC model variants, these accessories are just right.

MSI has chance to make netbook for LG X110

From Digitimes -

LG Electronics is planning to launch its Atom-based netbook X110 this October and it will probably be manufactured by its long-time OEM Micro-Star International (MSI).

The X110 will feature an 8.9-inch panel, 2GB memory and 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP. It will be priced around NT$19,000-24,000 (US$625.50-790.11).

Source article here.

HP reveals plans for a second ‘low-cost’ mini-note

From APC Mag -

HP has announced plans for its second mini-note which will be closer to the conventional netbook in functionality than the original 2133 and nearer to competitors from Asus and Acer in price.

The reason for this split? The 2133 sits at the top end of the nascent market, which is north of where many retail opportunities lie. HP differentiated the 2133 from the pack by pre-installing Vista Business and using commercial notebook features such as an anodised aluminium chassis, a spill-resistant keyboard and a shock-proof hard drive fitted with a 3D accelerometer.

While these features clearly positioned the 2133 as a mini-note for the business mobility set, they also translated into an $899 price tag in a market where the latest mainstream mini-notes cost $599-$699. HP intends to close that gap with the new mini-note which might use Intel's Atom instead of the underpowered VIA of the current 2133.

Source article here.

MSI Wind heads to Czech Republic, gets redubbed Mivvy M310

Submitted by Brad Linder,

Looks like the folks in the Czech Republic are getting their own version of the MSI Wind laptop. Unlike the American and European version and its various cousins (Advent 4211, Medion Akoya Mini), the Czech version will pack 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive.

Source article here.

Advent 4211: A cheaper MSI Wind

Mobile Computer UK has a review of the Advent 4211, which is basically a rebadged MSI Wind U100. Only thing is it is much cheaper than the original.

According to MSI, the price difference is due to the Advent having only a 12 month warranty as opposed to MSI's two years and as well having a less shiny finish.

Compare to the Wind at £350, the Advent, aside from the abbreviated warranty and plainer finish, is a much better deal at £280.

Source article here.

Getting a refund for pre-installed Windows

A blogger named uncle_benji has chronicled in his blog, equiliberate, how he was able to get a USD200 refund from Hewlett Packard by refusing to agree to the End-user License Agreement for the pre-installed Windows Vista on his new HP dv6815nr.

It took several phone calls and some email messages but he has proven it can be done. While this may theoretically apply to the Asus Eee PC's Windows XP, I seriously doubt if anyone will be able to successfully obtain a refund from Asus. First of all, there is the Xandros version that is readily available. Secondly, Asus' customer support department is, shall we just say, not like HP's customer support department.




You can read the original blog post here.

Medion Akoya E1210 (aka MSI Wind)

Submitted by Jon Bradford -

Sainsbury's is selling the Medion Akoya E1210 for £299. Specs include

• Intel® Atom™ N270 Processor (1.60Ghz, 512KB L2 Vache, 533 MHz FSB)
• Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition (includes SP3/OEM version)
• 10” TFT 1024 x 600 display
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• 80 GB Hard Drive
• Draft-n Wireless LAN
• Stereo loudspeakers
• Integrated Webcam with Microphone
• Included Software – Corel®, WordPerfect®, Office X3, BullGuard Internet Security (trial)

Jon's blog here.

Medion Akoya E1210 specs here.

Asus Eee PC 900 has 30GB?

According to Ubergizmo Asus will be revising its Eee PC 900 by offering 30GB of storage space. However it is not sure if this will be a new variant or will replace the 12GB and 20GB models currently available. The new model will be available in black and white colors, Linux and XP. And other than the change in capacity, other specifications remain the same except, perhaps, shorter battery life due to the hard drive addition.

Source article here.

Acer Aspire one Officially Arrives In The US

From Notebookreview -

The Acer Aspire one is now available authorized resellers including BestBuy, Circuit City and CDW. Prices range from $379 to $499 depending on configuration. All models come with a one-year limited warranty.

Source article here.

Acer Aspire Linux specs here.

Acer Aspire Windows specs here.

MSI Wind (U100) Unboxing in HD Video

Adam Smith is one of the lucky few to get an MSI Wind and he has posted an unboxing video all the way to Windows booting.


MSI Wind (U100) Unboxing in HD from Adam Smith on Vimeo.

MSI Wind specs here.

Asus Eee PC 1000H now in stock at Newegg

Specs include:
Fine Ebony
Intel Atom
10.0" Wide SVGA Screen
1GB Memory
80GB HDD
Integrated Graphics
(limit 1 per customer)

Asus blames lack of Linux Eee PC 901s on Atom hold-ups

From Register Hardware UK -

Asus blames Intel and not Microsoft for the apparent absence of the Atom-based Eee PC 901 from UK suppliers' shelves. Windows XP-loaded 901s are widely available from British resellers. It seems all manufacturers are experiencing delays in shipments of Atom CPUs from Intel, impacting orders both large and small, no matter what volumes were previously promised.

Asus claims to produce Linux and XP Eees in equal numbers and will continue to do so but says the Linux Eees are the better selling models.

Source Article here.

Celio REDFLY Video Review - Unboxing

Mirax Freedom: the Brazilian MSI Wind

Sent in by Wilson Azevedo -

The national market of mini-laptops is about to take a beautiful chacoalhada with the August debut of the Mirax Freedom, a rebadged MSI Wind, with 10" screen 80 GB HD, and a 1.6 GHZ Atom processor. It is the first Atom-based subnotebook in Brazil and will be priced at BRL999 (around USD600) or about the current price of 7" netbooks.

Source article here.

Google translated site here.

HP Mini-Note? MSI Wind? Acer Aspire One? Asus EEE PC 1000? Upcoming Dell E?

For those who can read Tagalog, there is an interesting thread in the TipidPC forum comparing the HP Mini-Note, MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One, Asus Eee PC 1000, and even the upcoming Dell E subnotebook. The thread is actually in Tagalog and English so English-speaking readers should be able to understand much of the posts.

You can read the thread here.

Dell said to be planning launch of low-cost notebook in August

According to Digitimes Dell is planning to introduce a low-cost subnotebook, the Dell E Series, in August. The notebook will be manufactured by Compal Electronics with the LCD panels to be provided by either Samsung, Chi Mei Optoelectronics and possibly AU Optronics.

Dell is expected to ship 2-3 million units this year, specially since they will be priced at only US$299, US$100 cheaper than the Acer Aspire One.

Source article here.

iPhone's biggest competition might be the ASUS Eee PC

Just came across a rather dated but still timely article on how the iPhone and Asus Eee PC impact each other's market by Seth Weintraub on the Computerworld blog. Weintraub talks of the iPhone being a success not only because it is a computer in the form of a phone, it has a very user-friendly but powerful OS with a browser comparable in usability with desktop browsers. Hence, it is also grabbing Internet market share like no other phone in history.

He then cites French telecom SFR bundling the EeePC with a 3G USB dongle package for €199 down and €29/month, which is a very attractive deal. (In addition to SFR, Philippine mobile telecom Smart and a Japanese telco have also offered bundles.) Significantly, SFR is France's second leading mobile carrier and it lost the battle to sell the iPhone to France Telecom's Orange. SFR is partially owned by Vodafone which is also part owner of Verizon in the US. If the Eee PC deal is successful, Vodafone should fine it easy to replicate elsewhere.

Now that Apple has launched its 3G iPhone via exclusive deals with telcos in several countries, perhaps we can expect more such bundles to be offered.

Source article here.

Asus Eee PC 1000 and 1000H Pre-Order at Amazon

The Asus Eee PC 1000 and 1000H are now available on a pre-order basis from Amazon. -



ASUS Eee PC 1000 40G specs -
10" Display
Intel ATOM Processor
1 GB RAM
40 GB Solid State Drive
Linux
6 Cell Battery
Fine Ebony
Price: USD699.99 with FREE with Super Saver Shipping.

Asus Eee PC 1000 40G order page here.



ASUS Eee PC 1000H 80G specs -
10" Display
Intel ATOM Processor
1 GB RAM
80 GB Hard Drive
XP Home
6 Cell Battery
Fine Ebony

Price: USD649.99 with FREE with Super Saver Shipping

Asus Eee PC 1000H Pre-Order page here.

First look at the Fujitsu Amilo subnotebook

Submitted by Brad Linder -

Fujitsu Siemens is the latest company jumping into the netbook game. While there aren't a lot of details about the company's upcoming 8.9 inch laptop, Netbux.de did snag a photo of the computer. And Heise has a tiny bit more info.

Original articles in German here and here.

Brad's write-up here.

Eee PC 701 4G going for a Dollar

From Ubergizmo

Folks in Japan will be able to pick up the older Eee PC 701 4G for a mere dollar, albeit they have to sign up for a wireless data plan that will set them back between $30 to $65 monthly.

Source article here.

MSI finally ships the Wind

From Engadget -

MSI has finally started shipping the Wind to US customers. Fry's, NewEgg, Amazon, ZipZoomFly, MWave and Buy.com are now all shipping units. Press Release follows:

MSI BEGINS SHIPPING THE WIND

The Wind is available in Fry's and online New Egg, Amazon, Fry's, ZipZoomfly, MWave.com and Buy.com

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – July 8, 2008 – MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, has begun shipping all the pre-ordered Wind U100 notebooks. The Wind, with its speedy new Intel Atom™ 1.6GHz processor, is also on sale at Fry's and online at www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com, www.frys.com, www.zipzoomfly.com, www.mwave.com, and www.buy.com. These first notebooks sold will feature Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and a 3-cell battery.

In September, MSI will begin selling a Windows version of the Wind with a 6-cell battery , as well as the Linux version with a 3-cell battery. MSI will also carry a 6-cell battery for customers who wish to upgrade their 3-cell battery in late September.

Source article here.

Acer Aspire One Unboxed and Disassembled

From iTech News Net -

HelloMan at Mobile01 has disseambled an Acer Aspire One mini laptop and posted several photos of it.

You can view more photos and other details here.

ECS G10IL w/ 3G Options in US in Sept

From Laptop Mag -

In an interview, ECS VP Sales Henry Kwan provided the follwing G10IL specs:

* EDGE, HSUPA, and HSPDA mobile broadband support but no WiMAX support
* Come in two display-size variations: an 8.9" and a 10". US will get the 10".
* Be available in US in Sept. Prices will start at USD399 with an 8GB SSD version running Linpus Lite 9.4 Linux and a 80GB hard drive version running Windows XP. Cheapest model won't have 3G options.
* Will be the first mini-notebook designed and marketed for business use, not education.

Read the full interview and other details here.

Asus confirms Eee PC 904 and Eee PC 1000 specs and prices

From Mobile Computer Mag -

Asus has now officially confirmed the Asus Eee PC 904 as well as other models and their respective prices. The Eee PC 904 is essentially a Celeron-M 900MHz based Eee PC 900 with a larger keyboard in an Eee PC 1000’s chassis. At £269 inc Vat, it is considerably cheaper than the short-lived Eee PC 900. The Eee PC 901, both Linux and Windows XP is at £299 inc VAT while the Eee PC 1000 is at £369 for the 40Gb SSD model and £349 for the 80Gb HDD.

Source Article here.

Elonex One T

Submitted by Brad Linder -

Elonex, makes of the 100 pound laptop (that's money, not weight) for the UK, is following up their first effort with a new computer: The Elonex One T. Unlike the One, the T doesn't have a tablet mode and is more of a traditional laptop. But it's small, cheap, and light weight. And it also appears to be a clone of the 3K RazorBook, SkyTone Alpha 400, and half a dozen other machines based on the same design.

Original story here.

Brad's take, with the 3K RazorBook comparison here.

Gigabyte Netbook M912V Tablet Announced

From PC Launches -

Gigabyte has announced its Netbook M912V tablet PC, with a price of $699.

Specification:

Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor
Intel 945GSE chipset
1GB DDR2 RAM
160GB HDD
8.9” WXGA 1280x768 Touch screen, LED Backlight, with 180° rotation angle
80 key keyboard
Three usb ports
dual 1.5 watt speakers
1.3mp webcam
Bluetooth
802.11b/g wireless
Li-ion 4500mAh, Battery life 3.5 hrs
Windows XP, Vista Home Basic or Linux

Source article here.

Product Page here.

Asus offers $100 rebate on Eee PC 900, brings price down to $449

Submitted by Brad Linder -

Asus is offering a $100 rebate on the Asus Eee PC 900, bringing the price down to $449. This is the slightly older model with the 8.9 inch display and Intel Celeron Processor instead of the Intel Atom CPU. The move probably indicates that Asus wants to:

a) differentiate the Eee PC 900 from the $599 Eee PC 901
b) move some 900 units, possibly in an effort to phase them out, or possibly in an effort to have them eventually replace the 700 series.

Brad Linder // Liliputing

Asus Eee PC eBook Reader Mod

According to GottaBeMobile a forum member at Overclockers Australia is building a slate form factor tablet PC from the bones of an Asus eee PC. The Sketchup image above shows what the finished product will look like. Per the thread -

"With the 9” model of the Asus eee pc being released, numerous 7” models were being sold for bargain prices in OCAU’s trade section. I bought such a model coming to approximately $255 AUD, which is much much less then the Sony e-book reader which came to $430 AUD with shipping.

Now this would save me almost $200 AUD, and as an advantage I have a color screen instead of B&W, ability to surf the WWW, wireless connection, ability to do more then read books, be used as a pad to jot down uni notes."

Source article here.

Eee PC 901 shows up for pre-order on Amazon for $399

From Engadget -

Amazon has a listing for an "Eee PC 900" with 16GB of flash and an Atom processor with a pre-order price of $399. However the specs and price are actually for the Asus Eee 900. Given that Asus has released an endless stream of new Eee models that differ little from each other, Amazon's miscue is understandable. If you are planning to order the 901, better confirm that you are, in fact, getting the 901.

By the way, NewEgg also just went live with the 12GB XP-based 901 for $599.99. Shipping today.

Source article here.

MSI Wind hands-on video and Aspire One/Eee PC 901 comparisons

Mobile Computer (UK) has a nice video comparison of the MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One and the Asus Eee PC 901 -



In addition, it has a comparative review of the three units here.

MSI Wind Windows specs here.

Acer Aspire One Windows specs here.

Asus to Offer Eee PC With Built-in 3G Wireless

From Yahoo News! -

Asus will offer Eee PCs with built-in 3G (HSDPA or HSUPA) by September end in Europe in response to competing products such as ECS' G10IL which should also be out at around September.

The new models will likely be bundled with 3G contracts form telco service providers, with the price depending on available subsidies.

Source article here.

Asus Eee PC 904/905 to get Larger Keyboards

According to ubergizmo the new Asus Eee PC 904 and 905, both of which has a 8.9" screen but uses the Asus Eee PC 1000's chassis will also have a larger keyboard as compared to the 900/901 models which they will probably replace in the near future.




Source article here.

MSI Wind Desktop Out Soon

According to ubergizmo MSI will be releasing its Wind PC in September at under USD300. Specs include 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, DVD drive, WiFi, and Win XP.




Source article here.

Advent (Rebadged MSI Wind) Available at PC World UK

A rebadged version of the MSI Wind, Advent, is being sold by PC World UK for Price £279.99 VAT inclusive with free shipping.

MSI Wind available at Amazon

Good news is Amazon is now selling the MSI Wind for USD499.99 with FREE Super Saver Shipping. Bad news is it will ship within 3 to 5 weeks.

Everex plans 10" Eee PC killer

From PC Advisor -

Everex plans to release a larger 10.2" 1024 x 600 backlit LCD-equipped Cloudbook with 3G capabilities and WiMAX in November. Other features include 2GB max of RAM, 1.3MP webcam, express card slot, 4 in 1 card reader, two USB ports, either a 4-cell or 6-cell battery and Windows XP or Linux OS. The processor will likely come from affiliate VIA although Intel's Atom is being considered.

Everex will also launch new 8.9in models by the end of August, along with a model with WiMax wireless internet capability in September.

Source article here.

Everex Cloudbook specs here.

Medion Akoya Mini E1210 Unboxing

Medion Akoya Mini E1210 specs here.

MSI Wind Unboxing

The House of The Dead 2 running on EeePC w/Touch panel

Asus Eee PC 900 with touch screen

Add Another to the Eee Family, “Eee Monitor” Revealed

From Laptop Mag -

Joining the pictures of new Eee PCs (903, 904, and 905) floating around on the Net are some shots of the Eee Monitor (or perhaps an Eee PC all-in-one). While there are no info on the specs or availability yet, the monitor appears to be around 19" - 20", with a webcam, brightness/contrast controls, 2 USB sports and a card reader in front and 4 USB ports, 2 Ethernet ports, 3 audio ports (mic and two audio-outs) at the rear. Strangely there is no VGA or DVI port.

Interestingly there is a Denon logo in front, which indicates the unit might have a built-in amplifier and speaker system. Price is rumored to start at USD500.

Source article (with more photos) here.

Asus confirms Eee PC 904 HD

According to PC Retail Mag Asus will be launching its Eee PC 904 HD into the UK in the coming weeks, said to be the cheapest of the new models at about £250.

The Eee PC 904 HD will come in the same body as the 1001, but will have 8.9" screen, a full size keyboard, and a hard drive.

Source article here.