I wanted to take a moment to let you know about a new web site I’ve just launched, called mobiputing. As you can probably guess from the name, mobiputing is and will continue to be a sister site to Liliputing. But while Liliputing is focused on netbooks and mobile computing hardware and software generally, my aim with mobiputing is to cover the world of smartphone apps.

Right now there’s a pretty heavy focus on iPhone and Android applications on the site, because that’s where most of the development has been recently (and because I happen to have a Google Nexus One Android phone and an iPod Touch to test out new apps). But I’m hoping to touch on most of the major platforms, and I’ve already started lining up writers to help out with app reviews and recommendations for other platforms including WebOS.

While the netbook market was just getting started when I launched Liliputing, smartphones have clearly been around for a little while. But it’s an exciting time in the smartphone space, with Android phones like the Nexus One giving the iPhone some serious competition in terms of specs and available applications. And Microsoft is set to launch the most significant revision to its mobile operating system in a decade later this year.

Of course, I’ll also continue covering software development that’s relevant to the mobile computing space at Liliputing. So you can still expect to see the occasional post about Ubuntu, MeeGo, Jolicloud, Android, and Chrome OS. But if you’re at all interested in news about smartphone apps and operating systems, I hope you’ll check out mobiputing.

Asus has pretty much stopped offering its netbooks and nettops with Linux preloaded. Instead, most of the company’s products come with Windows XP or Windows 7. But retailer Newegg is selling a first generation Asus Eee Box EB2020 nettop with Red Flag Linux, a Chinese Linux distribution that’s designed to look an awful lot like Windows XP.

The Eee Box with Red Flag Linux comes with 1GB of RAM, a 160Gb hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, a mouse and keyboard, and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor.

Newegg is selling the nettop for $219.99, but after a $30 mail-in rebate the price drops to $189.99 plus free shipping.

via Engadget

It looks like Lenovo may be planning to add a WiMAX option to the IdeaPad U150  inch thin and light notebook. Wireless Goodness spotted an FCC filing for the U150 with an internal wielress card that would support WiMAX mobile broadband as well as 802.11b/g/n WiFi.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U150 features an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and an Intel CULV processor. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium, and falls into the category of budget thin and light notebooks that are larger and more powerful than netbooks but a little less capable than full sized laptops. I reviewed the U150 last month, but the model I tested didn’t support WiMAX.

No word on pricing or a release date for the WiMAX version.

It seems like everybody and their kid brother has a new nettop with next-generation NVIDIA ION graphics to show these days. So how do you set your super-slim and tiny desktop PC apart from the crowd? Simple. You slap a unicorn logo on the side. At least that’s what Sparkle is doing with its nettops.

The company is currently showing off a mini-desktop called the Calibre Cuti with a dual core Atom 330 CPU and first generation NVIDIA ION graphics. But Sparkle plans to introduce a new version of the nettop with next-generation ION in time for the Computex trade show in June.

The computers support up to 4GB of RAM and can handle hard drives up to 500GB. They have 802.11b/g/n WiFi built in, HDMI and DVI video outputs, 7.1 channel audio, 6 USB ports, and optional Bluetooth.

As expected, HP is now offering customers the option of configuring the HP Mini 5102 business netbook with a 1.83GHz Intel Atom processor. The processor upgrade is only $25, but there’s a slight catch — it’s not available on any of HP’s “Smart Buy” configurations. And that means you’ll end up paying at least $543 to purchase the HP Mini 5102 with an Atom N470 processor if you go through the HP web site. You may be able to negotiate a better deal if you’re making a bulk purchase for your business or school.

The starting price for the “Smart Buy” configurations is $399. For that price, you get a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 10.1″ 1024 x 600 pixel display, Windows 7 Starter, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 4 cell battery as well as a 160GB 7200RPM hard drive.

via Netbooked

Netbooks and Notebooks

• HP Mini 311 11.6″ notebook w/NVIDIA ION, Win XP Home for $379.99 + free shipping – Amazon
• Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Atom 1.33GHz 12″ Netbook for $299 + $13 s&h – Dell
• Refurbished HP Mini 110 netbook w/Atom N270, 10.1″ display, Win 7 Starter, 3 cell battery for $229.99 – eCost
• Dell Mini 10v Netbook for $149 with the purchase of a Dell laptop or netbook – Dell

Nettops

• Refurbished Acer Aspire Revo AR1600 w/NVIDIA ION LE, Win XP Home for $179.97 – CompUSA
• MSI Wind Box DC200 w/Atom 230, Win XP for $249.99 + free shipping – Amazon
• Zotac Mag nettop w/Atom 330, NVIDIA ION, 2G RAM, 160GB HDD, no OS for $285.24 – Amazon

Accessories

• Cavalry 1TB 7200RPM USB 2.0 External Hard Drive w/ One-Touch Backup for $84.99 + free shipping – Buy.com

You can find more deals on netbooks, gadgets, and accessories in the Liliputing Deals section.

OK, so you already know that the Alienware M11x outperforms pretty much every other sub-$1000 notebook with an 11.6 inch display when it comes to gaming performance. And you know that it has a 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics. But do you know how tightly fit the graphics, processor, memory, battery, and other components are?

Well, know you do. Because the folks at 163 dissected an M11x laptop and posted an “alien autopsy” online.

At 4.5 pounds, the Alienware M11x isn’t exactly the thinnest or lightest 11.6 inch laptop around. But it looks like Dell worked pretty hard to take up as little space as possible. The battery and power supply actually use about half of the laptop’s space, leaving little room fro the hard drive and other components.

You can find more strip-down photos, including shots of individual components at 163.

via GadgetMix

Netbooks with 9 inch displays were all the rage for a hot second in 2008. But now they’ve largely passed out of fashion as PC makers pump out larger models with 10 inch displays and nearly full sized keyboards. But apparently the folks at Netsee didn’t get the memo, because this South Korean company just introduced the UNC-890 netbook which looks like something straight out of mid-2008.

The Netsee UNC-890 has an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. It also bucks the latest trend of outfitting netbooks with hard drives, and instead comes with a 32GB solid state disk.

Rounding out the specs are 1GB of RAM, WiFi, and a 3MP webcam. It measures less than an inch thick and weighs just 2 pounds.

via UberGizmo

The Viliv S10 Blade is a 10 inch netbook that can function as a tablet thanks to a multitouch display and a hinge that lets you fold the screen down over the keyboard. Chippy from UMPC Portal and jkkmobile both have pre-production units, and they got together last night for an “open review” where they tested and talked about the laptops live on camera.

In a nutshell, they were both quite impressed with the build quality. And while they didn’t do a comprehensive battery test, it looks like you should be able to get around 7 to 8 hours of run time.

The laptop comes with a choice of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 or 2GHz Atom Z550 processor and it should come as no surprise that the 2GHz model is faster. It’s also capable of playing some 720p and even 1080p HD video smoothly with the proper codecs installed — as well as 720p HD flash video using the latest beta version of Adobe Flash Player 10.1.

For more details, check out Chippy’s review session debrief or watch the two videos from the live session.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but it looks like Intel is getting ready to phase out its first generation of desktop Atom chips. The  Intel Atom 330 dual core and Atom 230 single core chips should be done by the end of the month. These were the first Atom chips designed for low power desktop and nettop computers, and Intel has pretty much replaced them with the new Intel Atom D410 and D510 Pine Trail chips with integrated GMA 3150 graphics.

Fudzilla reports that come April, vendors won’t be able to order new Atom 230 or 330 chips. That doesn’t mean you won’t still be able to buy a computer like the Acer AspireRevo nettop or Asus Eee PC 1201N with an Atom 330 processor. But once Acer, Asus, and other PC makers run out of the chips they have on hand for those machines, they’ll probably start pushing newer models with the latest chips more heavily.