Roundup of VIA powered netbooks from Computex

Eee PC News.de has a nice little pictorial showing about 20 mini-notebooks that were on display at Computex. What do they all have in common? They’re small, light weight, cheap, and they’re powered by the VIA C7-M CPU.

If you want an up-close like at the Airis Kira, Great Wall A81, Ngai Lik 8010A, CZC Hn1, TongFan Imini S1, Newbyte S10, Everex Cloudbook Max, or iDot VED8900, now’s your chance. Eee PC News.de blogger Sascha Pallenberg says he’ll be posting some hands-on videos over the next few days as well.
Saturday, June 21st, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Eee PC 901 hands on

Sascha from Eee PC News.de is one of three bloggers I know of who managed to get his hands on an Eee PC 901 while in Tapei for Computex last week. Yesterday he ran a few benchmarks and posted a first look at the new computer, comparing it with its predecessor the Eee PC 900.
As you can clearly see during his PC Mark 05 test, the Eee PC 901 blows away the 900 when it comes to graphics performance. The 901 also features a larger touchpad with two distinct buttons and a rougher surface.
The thing that I was most surprised to hear is that the Eee PC 901 features a 1-click overclock/underclock feature which seems very similar to the “turbo” button on the MSI Wind. It seems that Intel must be marketing the Intel Atom CPU as an easy chip to underclock and overclock since we’re seeing multiple manufacturers not only supporting speed switching, but adding a keyboard shortcut to change the CPU speed.
Of course, the ability to underclock the CPU from 1.6GHz to 800MHz when you unplug the power cable or hit the underclock button isn’t that surprising. What is a bit more unusual is the option to overclock the CPU to 1.8GHz. Typically if a company’s going to release a CPU that can run at 1.8GHz with some stability they’ll just call it a 1.8GHz chip and not a 1.6GHz CPU.
Of course, the higher the clock speed, the shorter your battery life will be. The Eee PC 901 comes with a 6600mAh battery, which provides more juice than the standard batteries that come with the Eee PC 900 or Eee PC 701. Under typical conditions, the Eee PC 901 battery should last about 5-6 hours.
Sunday, June 8th, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

Eee PC 901 available now — in Taiwan

While most of us will have to wait a little while to get our hands on the new Eee PC 901, tech journalists and bloggers who are in Taipei for Computex can just wander down the street and pick one up. Well, maybe it’s not quite that easy. Joanna Stern from Laptop Magazine says she had to check with 10 different shops before finding one that had the computer. But ultimate, Stern and colleagues from Eee PC News.de and NotebookReview all managed to pick up shiny new Eee PC 901 units.

The laptops are selling for 17,300 NTS, which is about $573 US and run the Chinese version of Windows XP. The keyboards on these early production models were apparently a little bit bent, so all three proud new Eee PC 901 users wound up removing the keyboards to fix them. Hopefully that won’t be necessary by the time these computers start hitting the states.

You can check out a gallery of unboxing and hands on photos at Laptop Magazine, while you can see some initial benchmark test results at Eee PC News.de.

Friday, June 6th, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Gigabyte M912 running Ubuntu Netbook Remix - Video

We already knew the Gigabyte M912 ultraportable tablet would run Windows Vista instead of XP. But if you look closely that this hands-on video from Laptop Magazine, you can see that it’s also capable of running Ubuntu. And not just any old Ubuntu. That looks to me like Ubuntu Netbook Remix, the new version of the open source operating system customized for low cost computers with Intel’s low-power Atom CPU.

Basically, Ubuntu Netbook Remix is just plain old Ubuntu with some CPU optimizations and a new program launcher designed for devices with small screens. But it’s interesting to see that Gigabyte loaded the OS onto a demo unit, and it seems to run smoothly.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Noahpad adds multi-touch, still looks crazy

E-Lead’s Noahpad has what can only be described as the strangest design of all the low cost ultraportable computers I’ve seen over the last few months. It’s about the same size and shape as an Asus Eee PC, but the Noahpad has a virtual keyboard that doubles as a trackpad. Press a button and you can use the touchpad to navigate, press the button again and you can type on the virtual keyboard with all the tactile feedback you’d get by typing on a picture of a keyboard laid out on a piece of paper.

You can also rotate the screen and use the device in tablet mode. But it doesn’t have a touchscreen. Rather, the keyboard winds up on the back and you’re supposed to type without seeing the keys. Or you can just hang the computer over a coat hanger to watch a movie or look at photo slideshows. Don’t believe me? Check out the official Noahpad web page for suggested uses.

Engadget spotted a Noahpad at Computex, and discovered that E-Lead isn’t done adding features to the device. Now it supports multi-touch. You can put two hands on the keyboard and slide your fingers inward to shrink an image or slide out to make it bigger. Or you can rotate images by spinning your hands. The iPhone, Macbook Air and Eee PC 900 all sport similar multi-touch features. But judging by the videos, the Noahpad’s multi-touch feature is far less sensitive and far more awkward to use.

You can check out the videos at Engadget Chinese.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Classmate PC gets the Atom treatment

If you thought it was just consumer-oriented computers like the Eee PC, MSI Wind and ECS G10IL that were getting the new Intel Atom processor, think again. CNET Asia found a Classmate PC hanging out that the Intel Atom booth at Computex.

The Classmate PC is built using an Intel reference design, and is basically Intel’s answer to the OLPC XO Laptop. The machine is primarily targeted at educational markets and developing nations. The model on display at Computex was manufactured by ECS, the sole Taianese manufacturer, although other companies in other countries will likely introduce the same product with different names.

In the US, CTL sells the Classmate directly to consumers under the CTL 2go PC name with a starting price of $399. Currently the CTL 2go PC ships with a 900MHz Intel Celeron CPU, but hopefully we’ll see a version using the power-saving Atom CPU soon.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

First look at the ECS G10IL - Video

The Computex trade show floor is awash with tiny laptops this year. But one of the models we’ve most been looking forward to seeing is the ECS G10IL. Sascha Pallenberg from Eee PC News.de and Joanna Stern from Laptop Magazine managed to find a few pre-production models hanging out at the Intel Atom booth. How do we know these were pre-production units? Well, for one thing the black and white models seemed to have different layouts. Even the touchpad buttons looked different on each model.

While ECS has said it will release 8.9 inch and 10.2 inch models, only the larger unit seems to have made it to Computex. In a nutshell, the computer seems relatively responsive, a crisp display, and weighs just about 2 pounds. Joanna ran a quick boot comparison between the Eee PC 1000 and the ECS G10IL and the Eee PC won by a landslide. But the test was kind of stacked since the Eee PC was running Asus’s custom version of Xandros Linux which tends to boot in less than 30 seconds, while the ECS G10IL was running Windows XP.

Last I heard, the G10IL will cost $500, but there’s no word on the availability yet.
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | Tags: ,

MSI Wind 8.9 inch model makes guest appearance at Computex

MSI may only be releasing a 10 inch model of the Wind laptop in the US, but the company plans to release an 8.9 inch model in selected countries. No, I don’t know which countries yet, but Engadget did manage to snap a photo of the elusive MSI Wind U90 at Computex, so at least we know it’s real.

It looks like the U90 is pretty much identical to the U100, except it has a smaller display. Surprisingly, MSI doesn’t seem to have put the U90 in a smaller case, but instead just packed an Eee PC 701-style bezel around the smaller screen. On the one hand, that means you get the same excellent near-full-sized keyboard whether you buy the MSI Wind U90 or U100. On the other hand, are you kidding me? This thing had better be significantly cheaper. I’m willing to bet it is — for MSI, but not necessarily for consumers. My guess is that the U90 will only be offered in countries where MSI does not sell the U100.
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

Medion Akoya shows up at Computex

German computer maker Medion has its upcoming low-cost mini-notebook on display at Computex. The company announced the Medion Akoya Mini back in April, but now we have a few more details, thanks to TweakTown:

  • CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom prcoessor
  • RAM: 1GB DDR2-667
  • Storage: 80GB SSD!
  • Display: 10.2 inch 1024 x 600 pixel screen
  • OS: Windows XP
  • Communication: Ethernet and 802.11n
  • Ports: 3 USB 2.0, flash card reader
  • Webcam: 1.2MP
  • Battery: 3 cell
  • Weight: About 1 kg

No word on pricing, but if that 80GB solid state disk isn’t a typo, the Medion Akoya will probably cost a few bucks more than similar laptops like the Asus Eee PC 1000H or the MSI Wind, which both include hard drives instead of solid state disks.

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , ,

More Gigabyte M912 details emerge

We got some initial details about the Gigabyte M912 low cost tablet PC yesterday, but the folks at TweakTown stumbled across a working unit at Computex today and managed to jot down a few more details. So here’s the rundown:

  • CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom
  • OS: Windows Vista, XP, or Linux
  • Display: 8.9 inch 1280 x 768 touchscreen with 180 degree rotation angle
  • RAM: 1GB DDR2 533MHz
  • Storage: 120/160/250Gb HDD
  • Webcam: 1.3MP
  • Communications: Ethernet, 802.11g
  • Keyboard: 80 keys
  • Battery: 4 cell 7.2 volt 4500mAh
  • Weight: 1.2kg

Still no word on pricing or availability.

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: ,

Eee PC laptops: 3 models, 3 sizes

Engadget snagged a photo of an Asus Eee PC 701 sitting next to a 901 900, sitting next to a 1000. And as expected, the Eee PC 1000 is larger than its siblings, but not exactly enormous. If you look closely you can see that the Eee PC 901 900 is also a tiny bit larger than the Eee PC 701, but it also has a significantly roomier screen.
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Canonical shows off Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Canonical won’t be ready to ship its custom version of Ubuntu for low-cost ultraportable laptops until the fall, but that’s not stopping the group from showing off an early version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix at Computex.

Engadget got their hands on a few screenshots, and to be perfectly honest, it looks pretty much like Ubuntu with a big ole launcher program that gives you easy access to your most frequently used programs. This sort of launcher certainly comes in handy on devices with small screens.

Under the hoot, UNR will also use Moblin technologies designed for the Intel Atom CPU, which should help the operating system’s performance when running on devices with the low powe processor.

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Gigabyte M912 runs Windows Vista

Gigabyte has gone out of its way to make sure the company’s first low cost ultraportable stands out from the crowd. Not only will the Gigabyte M912 feature a swiveling tablet-style touch screen, but Engadget Chinese reports that it also runs Windows Vista instead of Windows XP.

The decision to use Vista is apparently due to the inclusion of the touchscreen. It costs less to include Windows Vista with touchscreen support than it would cost to package the M912 with Windows XP Table PC edition. This makes the Gigabyte M912 one of the first Intel Atom based computers to run Windows Vista.

Engadget says the operating system runs more smoothly than expected on the low-powere processor. You’ll reportedly also be able to pick up an M912 with Ubuntu. No word on pricing or availability yet.

[via jkkmobile]

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , ,

First VIA Nano-powered PC shows up at Computex

While the Computex trade show in Taiwan is awash with Intel Atom-powered computers, the VIA Nano CPU has been a bit harder to find. That’s not really too surprising, since Intel officially launched the Atom today, while VIA’s newest chip probably won’t be ready to ship for a little while longer.

But the folks at AVING did manage to find one 10.2 inch laptop that claims to feature a 1.2GHz VIA Nano processor. The Tongfang Imini SI Mini-Note also has the VIA VX700 IGP chipset, VIA UniChrome Pro II 3D/2D graphics, and packs an 80GB hard drive and 512MB of RAM. It weighs in at 1.3kg, measures 249 mm x 180mm x 32 mm, and comes with a 6 cell 4000mAh battery. And that’s all we know for now.

[via UMPCPortal]

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , ,

AMD intros new chips for ultraportables

It looks like AMD doesn’t plan to sit back while Intel and VIA duke it out over the low-cost laptop market. AVING is reporting that several new computers on display at Computex are powered by an AMD CPU and ATI graphics card.

Honestly, it’s hard to make out much from the garbled translation, but jkkmobile has found at least two models, a low cost computer with an 8.9 inch screen and Linux operating system and a higher performance system with a 7 inch 1280 x 60 pixel touch screen, 1GB of RAM, and a 60GB or 80GB hard drive.

Update: It looks like AMD doesn’t plan to launch a new chip specifically designed for low cost, low power laptops. A spokesperson tells CNet that there are already a number of small, cheap laptops using AMD chips and the company doesn’t see the need to release a new version.

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | Tags: ,
« Previous Entries ||