Korean PC maker Viliv has a pretty wide range of portable computers including touchscreen tablets and convertible netbooks with touchscreens and full QWERTY keyboards. But they tend to be a little hard to come by if you happen to live in the US. Sure, you could always order one online, but if you’re the sort of person that prefers to try before you buy, you were pretty much out of luck. That changes tomorrow.

As jkOnTheRun notes, Best Buy will be stocking 5 Viliv models starting March 22nd. That includes a few 5 and 7 inch slate PCs, plus two versions of the 7 inch Viliv S7 netbook with a touchscreen display that you can fold down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.

The Vili S7 is probably the model I’m most interested in. It’s available Windows XP, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, and a choice of a 60GB hard drive of a 32GB SSD. Unfortunately both models are hobbled by a reltively slow 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor. Th Viliv S5 and X7 tablets feature similar specs — but no keyboard, which makes these touchscreen tablets smaller and lighter than the netbook.

There’s no word on whether Best Buy might eventually stock the new Viliv S10 convertible netbook with a 10 inch touchscreen display.

VIA is no stranger to the netbook game. But thanks to Intel’s dominance of the netbook chip market, you don’t hear much from the company these days. But that hasn’t kept VIA from building new energy efficient chips. The latest VIA paltform combines a VIA Nano CPU with a VIA VX900 graphics processor to enable HD video playback on low power netbooks.

Sascha from Netbook News got a chance to check out a test system with a 1.2GHz Nano U3100 processor and VX900 graphics chipset with HD Chromation 2.0. The chipset allows you to watch 1080p HD video out of the box. In order to achieve the same thing with an Intel Atom chipset (on Windows at least), you need a media coprocessor like the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator or a separate graphics card like NVIDIA’s ION platform. The VX900 chipset can handle both local HD content and 1080p HD Flash video streaming from the web.

Sascha says we should start to see systems using the new chipset in June — although that’s when they’ll show up at the Computex trade show. It might be a bit longer before we actually start to see them in stores.

You can check out Sascha’s video after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

HP is showing off a flexible display technology that allows you to take a computer screen and actually roll it up and put it in a poster tube. There’s just one catch: right now the material can only be rolled about a half dozen times. In other words, HP isn’t going to be putting out a tablet or netbook that you can roll up and stick in your pocket anytime soon.

But the displays are incredibly thin, which means the technology could be used to reduce the size of computer screens in the future. They also use less power, since the screen only uses energy when the image it’s displaying changes — much like an eInk display.

You can check out a brief video after the break. Unfortunately it doesn’t really show the screens displaying anything.

via Engadget

Read the rest of this entry »

The UMID mBook BZ is smaller than a typical netbook, yet it features netbook-like parts including a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z515 processor, a solid state disk, Windows 7, and a 1024 x 600 pixel display. But unlike a typical netbook, the mBook BZ’s display is just 4.8 inches. The entire mini-notebooks measures just 6.3″ x 3.8″ x 0.75″, and the QWERTY keyboard is probably easier for most people to use with their thumbs than all ten fingers.

If you’ve been wondering how UMID managed to cram so much computer into such a small space, the FCC is here to help. Wireless Goodness spotted an FCC listing for the UMID mBook BZ which was posted late last year. It includes a user manual, some external shots of the mBook BZ, and a series of photos of the computer’s innards.

The mainboard is quite compact, but it still makes room for a USB port, memory, and flash storage as well as a wireless chip that handles 802.11b/g and Bluetooth connectivity.

While Apple’s iPad won’t begin shipping until April, you an already pick up dozens of accessories for the tablet. In fact, Macworld has a roundup of 2-dozen iPad cases that are aready competing to keep your Apple tablet safe.

It’s probably worth pointing out that you can also pick up a netbook slipcover or a case designed for a portable DVD player. The truth is, there are already plenty of products to protect a device with a 10 inch screen from scratches and scuffs, and some of the items on Macworld’s list are really just netbook cases.

But I suspect we’ll also start to see iPad screen protectors and other devices designed specifically for the 9.7″ tablet. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see accessory makers start to advertise generic products such as headphones as if they were designed specifically for the iPad. Everybody loves to jump on the latest trend.

Gateway’s EC14D series notebook has an 11.6 inch display and Intel CULV processor — which does absolutely nothing to set it apart from a dozen similar models from Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. But here’s one thing that does set it apart: This laptop has a built in DVD burner.

The Gateway EC14D07U went on sale in the US earlier this month. And now you can pick one up in Canada, although north of the border they like to call it the Gateway EC14D01h. And much to my surprise, it turns out the laptop is actually cheaper in Canada than the US. Canadians can pick one up for $579.99 CAD (about $571 US), while it sells for about $630 in the States.

The specs appear to be the same wherever you purchase the EC14D. It has a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, an 11.6 inch., 1366 x 768 pixel display, 4GB of RAM, a 320G hard drive, and an 8X DVD Super-Multi drive. It sports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 6 cell, 5600mAh battery, HDMI output, a multitouch touchpad, and runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

via Netbook Tech

According to DigiTimes, notebooks, eBook readers, slate PCs, and other devices with built-in 3G modems could start to outsell USB 3G modules by 2012. We’ve definitely seen a growing number of netbooks and larger notebooks with integrated broadband modems in the past year or two, and most of the major wireless carriers are now selling subsidized notebooks to customers that purchase a data plan to go with it — much the way they’ve been selling 3G USB modems for the past few years.

There’s no doubt that an integrated 3G modem is a more elegant solution than carrying around a separate modem just to get online. But there’s a major advantage to the two-piece solution: It’s not tied to a single device. USB modems can be paired with multiple computers. And we’ve seen the introduction of the MiFi and other devices that are essentially portable mobile broadband  hubs, allowing you to connect multiple computers to a 3G or 4G data streams over a WiFi connection.

But you know who really cares about being able to connect multiple computers to the net with a single modem? Geeks like you and me. And while we’re definitely part of the target market for 3G modems, let’s be honest: Most laptop users buy a single computer and use it for a couple of years before replacing it. An integrated modem is probably a better deal for those customers. But I think I’ll be keeping my USB WiMAX dongle for now.

via SlashGear

Netbooks and Notebooks

• Toshiba Mini NB205-N325BN w/Atom N280, Win 7 Starter, 6 cell battery for $279.95 + free shipping – Buy.com (via Amazon)
• Asus Eee PC 900SD 8.9″ netbook w/800MHz Celeron, Win XP Home, 8G SSD for $220 + $5 s&h – CompUSA (via Amazon)
• Extra 15% off refurb Dell Inspiron 11z Laptops: Deals from $331 + free shipping – Dell (via Dealnews)
• Gateway EC14D07u 11.6 inch laptop w/DVD burner, 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100, Win 7 Home Premium for $629.99 – Amazon
• 15% off Lenovo IdeaPad U Series eCoupons: USP0318U – Lenovo
• 10% off Lenovo IdeaPad S12 laptops! eCoupons: USP0318S12 – Lenovo

Accessories and Other

• Kingston SSDNow V Series 64GB 2.5″ SSD for $144.99 + $1.99 s&h – Newegg
• Microsoft Zune HD 16GB MP3 Player for $175 + free shipping – Dell
• HP 8G USB Flash drive for $16.99 – Amazon

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

OK, so you’ve picked up a shiny new netbook. It’s light and small enough to throw in your bag and take with you wherever you go — but it’s also kind of cute and it would be a shame to scratch up the lid. So unless you picked up a netbook from Samsung (which appears to he the only company that still ships slipcovers with their netbooks), you’re probably going to be in the market for some sort of protective case.

Now imagine a world where you don’t need a separate case for your notebook — because your notebook is the case. Designer Zhang Shouze has drawn up a concept laptop that has  sturdy case and an integrated handle that serves double duty as a laptop stand. The idea is you just fold up the laptop and carry it by the handle when you’re on the go.

Of course, this kind of assume that the only thing you need to carry is your laptop. You might still want a bag for carrying your cables, accessories, pen and paper if you’re that sort of person, maybe your lunch… I don’t think bags are going out of fashion anytime soon. But I still kind of like this concept. At the very least, it’ll make going through airport security a heck of a lot simpler.

via Gizmodo

Scosche is going all out with a new line of products designed for netbooks (although, to be perfectly honest, they should work with pretty much any standard laptop). The products include new power, audio, connection, and case accessories.

In the audio lineup, there’s a new skyCASTER RF wireless headset for listening to music or making VoIP calls. The headphones have a range of up to 100 feet.

The company’s new netBOOK power accessories include three chargers. The netVOLT home is a 40 watt universal charger, while the 50 watt netVOLT Car lets you charge a netbook in the car. It also has an integrated USB port that lets you charge two devices at once. There’s also the inVERT — a 100 watt power inventor that you can use with a 12v power socket in an automobile.

As far as connection accessories, the Scosche netBOOK Connect line includes a Bluetooth USB adaptor, a flash card reader, and a 3-port USB hub with a cooling fan built into it.

Finally, Scosche is introducing a few netbook cases including the netSUIT Pro, which it describes as a case for netbooks or the Apple iPad tablet. There’s also a reversible sleeve and cleaning supplies in the Scosche netBOOK Protect line.

You can find more details and photos in the press release. unfortunately what you won’t find are any price tags.

via Gadget Review