Orange has announced two new "connected laptops", the Asus 1005HGO and the Compaq CQ61 and two new mobile broadband dongles.

The 10.1-inch Asus 1005HGO with embedded SIM card is an Orange exclusive. Offering Windows 7 starter and weighing 1.27kg, it's angled as the on-the-go option.

The 15.6-inch Compaq CQ61 is bundled with an Orange e1752 dongle and comes with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Asus netbook will cost from ?25 to ?35 a month on 18-month and 24-month mobile broadband contracts with 1GB, 3GB and 5GB options available.

The Compaq laptop is offered on the same contracts but also requires an upfront pay-out of between ?65 and ?130 depending on which contract is taken, although it is free on a 5GB, ?35 per month, 24-month contract.

As far as dongles go, the new Orange e1752 dongle will be bundled with mobile broadband packages while the Option 515M, which will come with a free 8GB Micro SD memory card, will be charged at around ?20.

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Tags: Hardware Phones Orange Laptops Mobile broadband USB modems Tariffs Asus Compaq Netbooks Software Asus 1005HGO Compaq CQ61

Orange offers two new "connected laptops" originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:34:14 +0000

Day 4 of our Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 nominees round-up gives us a chance to look at what many of us are using right now - laptops. So, before you head over to the voting page to mark your choices, here's a little run down of our pick of the crop for the year.

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Apple MacBook Pro

Type

13-inch portable/multimedia

Release date

08/06/09

Price

?899/?1149

PL review rating

9/10

It was more or less inevitable that one of the year's Macs would make it into the shortlist and it was the dubbing of the "Pro" title to the smaller end of the MacBook range that did it for us in 2009. What it means is a high performance spec set and typically beautiful Apple design on something nice and portable. At 13 inches it's an excellent size for both home or on your knees and the seamless aluminium deck and neat cut-outs for the various ports and connectors give a premium finish that other manufacturers just don't achieve.

Under the hood, you get the choice of the cheaper 2.26GHz/2GB RAM/160GB model or the 2.53GHz/4GB/250GB for a few pennies more. Both come with a bright and glossy 1280 x 800px? LED backlit screen and an Nvidia GeForce 9400M GPU for high quality HD playback. The non-removable battery is a bit of a grind - particularly as that 7 hours of reported battery life is only with the screen at 50% but you can't have everything. The whole thing is topped off by the welcome addition of an SD card and backlit keyboard for easier use on flights etc. A very solid, attractive and usable contender for this year's award. Simply put, it oozes quality.

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Sony Vaio Z

Type

13.1-inch ultra-portable

Price

?2159

PL review rating

9/10

Fighting in a similar space as the 13-inch Pro is the same sized Sony Vaio Z. Strangely though it makes the Apple computer look cheap at around double the cost. What you're paying for though is a fantastically light 1.5kg carbon fibre and magnesium body built for mobile use. It has an isolated keyboard, much like the MacBook, but a superior 1600 x 900 pixels LED backlit screen that's simply one of the best around with its curious matte/gloss hybrid finish.

Lurking within is a powerful combo of an Intel 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, an Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS and 4096MB of high speed DDR3 memory all backed up with a luxury 128GB SSD. As with the Pro, there's also a DVD/CD drive plus an SD slot and also a direct HDMI port rather than the adaptor needed for the Apple machine. Yes, this thing is more expensive and actually doesn't even offer much in the way of battery life but it's sexy as hell and light as a feather. Very hard to walk past in the shops without an oooh and an ahhhh.

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Dell Adamo XPS

Type

13.4-inch ultra-portable

Release date

Any time now

Price

?1799

PL review rating

9/10

The real head turner for 2009 has to be the Dell Adamo XPS. Not content with throwing us one version of the new luxury sub-brand, Dell went and invented the thinnest computer known to man with this 9.9mm curiously folding PC. That's thinner than a CD case.

Frankly, the rest of the specs are a footnote but, if you're interested, what you get for whatever portion of the money is left is an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV (1.4GHz) processor, 4GB DDR3-800MHz and a Solid State 128GB. There's only integrated graphics to play with plus a non-Full HD 1366 x 768 LED screen and a thoroughly disappointing 2.5 hours battery life. But if you can cope with the last parts, you can still feel safe that you're buying an incredible work of design.

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Toshiba NB200

Type

10.1-inch netbook

Release date

23/4/09

Price

?250

PL review rating

8/10

At the other end of the price range and the only netbook to have made the grade for Pocket-lint in 2009 is the Toshiba NB200. Simply enough, it's an upgrade to the NB100 but what you get now is a larger, nearly full size and well-designed, isolated keyboard plus an LED backlit display with a reasonable resolution of 1024 x 600px. That lot aside, there's nothing wildly exciting about the machine apart from its robust build and excellent 8-hour life and that's before you've upgraded to the 9-cell battery.

For just ?250 you get all this plus 1GB RAM, an Intel Atom N280 processor and a 160GB HDD all running Windows XP. There's a 1.3-megapixel webcam and it handles all the normal connectivity you'd expect. Like we said, not astounding but definitely good value.

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HP Envy 15

Type

15.6-inch multimedia PC

Release date

22/10/09

Price

?1199

PL review rating

8/10

The Envy 15 is very much a Windows take on the MacBook Pro. It has similar levels of high design input minus that Apple touch, but what it's missing in class it more than makes up for in raw grunt. It's the only machine on our list to feature the new Intel Core i7 CPU and it comes with 4GB RAM that's expandable up to a whopping 16GB. It runs Windows 7 on a nice, bright, Full HD 1366 x 768px LED screen - as is the mode - with a whole 1GB ATI GPU helping you render just about anything you can think of.

The Envy measures 38 x 24.4 x 2.65cm and weighs 2.35kg putting it firmly in the multimedia category and, just in case you needed to be sure, it has all the HDMI ports, eSATAs and USBs that you'd need. Sorry to see a lack of Blu-ray though. The real drawback is the miniscule 1.5 hours battery life, but then this thing wasn't meant to be taken on the move. So, now you know what they are, how are you going to vote?

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Related links:

• Feature - The low down: Best Digital Camera 2009
• Feature - The low down: Best Car Gadget 2009

Tags: Hardware Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Pocket-lint Awards Features HP Envy 15 Apple Sony Vaio Laptops Netbooks Dell Dell Adamo XPS Macbook pro Toshiba NB200-11H Toshiba

The low down: Best Laptop 2009 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:17:54 +0000

Thanks to its Intel Atom 330 dual core processor and Nvidia ION dedicated graphics with full HD media support, Asus is claiming unprecedented netbook performance for its new Eee PC 1201N multimedia netbook.

Said to be "breaking the boundaries of what is possible on the netbook platform", other features for the new Windows 7, 12.1-inch device include a LED-backlit, 1366 x768 WXGA display, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, webcam, HDMI port and a memory card reader.

Asus is claiming up to 5 hours battery life for the 120IN and it offers a 250GB hard drive plus 500GB online Eee storage, 2GB RAM, measures in at 296 x 208 x 27.3-33.3mm and weighs 1.46kg.

The Eee PC 1201N will be available in black or silver in the UK around mid January for ?399.

Tags: Hardware Netbooks Laptops Asus Eee Nvidia Intel Windows 7

Asus Eee PC 1201N multimedia netbook announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:21:39 +0000

MSI has announced the UK launch of the "cutely compact, feature rich and ultra stylish" MSI Wind 12 U200 mini notebook.

Offering Windows 7 and a 12.1-inch, 16.9 ratio, LED backlit frameless screen, the 1.5kg U200 boasts 6.5-hours of battery life.

Measuring in at 297mm by 190mm the mini notebook offers MSI's "Ergonomics De-Stress" keyboard that claims to increase comfort by its 51% larger (than what we're not sure) surface area.

Specs include a 1.4GHz Intel CULV processor, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, webcam, card reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, three USB ports, HDMI port and built-in speakers.

Priced at ?399 the U200 is available in piano black and pearl white in shops this month.

Tags: Hardware Netbooks Laptops MSI Windows 7

MSI Wind 12 U200 mini notebook launches originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:58:39 +0000

The countdown to?CES 2010, the biggest electronics trade show on the planet, has begun, but what can we expect from the show, and what should we start to get excited about? Here are six areas that are going to dominate the news come January.

Don't forget, Pocket-lint will be bringing you all the news, reviews, comment, photos and video as it happens in the run up to CES and live from Las Vegas for the duration of the show.

You can bookmark our CES coverage at pocket-lint.com/CES2010

Digital Living

Technology has gone mainstream supposedly, so that means the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center will be filled with technology launches that embrace all of us rather than just a select few. In real terms that means everything from gadgets for kids, gadgets for mums and dads that look after kids, and gadgets for the silver surfer. Expect new toys for health, parenting and higher education.

Apple

Don't get too excited,?Apple isn't attending CES, regardless of how many rumours you hear, but that doesn't mean companies that work in the Apple eco-system aren't going to be in Vegas launching new gadgets. With a whole area dedicated to the iPod,?iPhone?and Macs, expect a fair share of iPod speakers, cables to connect to something else in your life and the usual array of cases to protect it all.

eBook readers

If you're planning on getting an ebook reader for Christmas you might want to think again. The ebook market has exploded in the US with Amazon,?Barnes & Noble?and?Sony?all fighting over each other to offer you the digital reader you supposedly need. Plastic Logic has already confirmed that it will be launching a new ebook at CES and there is bound to be other manufacturers like?Spring Design?and iRex offering new models.

3D

Riding on the wave of euphoria that Avatar will no doubt give the industry, consumer electronics manufacturers like?Sony, Toshiba, LG?and?Samsung?will be likely to be pushing?3D TV?hard at CES 2010. IFA 2009 already showed us the concepts, CES will show us the reality. Expect new televisions, announcements from the Blu-ray Disc Association, television makers, graphics card companies like Nvidia and movie companies all trying to get in on the action.

Netbooks

While most people have surely moved on from the popularity of netbooks, CES organisers CEA believe netbooks are going to still be big news at CES 2010. What that means is a barrage of computers that don't do much but let you surf the Web and write the odd document. Of course manufacturers will be trying to tell us otherwise with improved graphics courtesy of Nvidia and ATI. You should also probably expect a barrage of tablet devices with touchscreens allowing you to surf the Web around the home.

Green

With the economy making a comeback, manufacturers can once again turn their eyes to saving the planet. Although the idea of being green for green's sake is still very niche, generally manufacturers will be trying to tell you to ignore the thousands they are spending on lighting their booths and the sheer carbon emissions the show creates, by concentrating instead on how they've made advancements in the glass they use or the boxes your favourite gadgets go into. At least you can sleep at night knowing that we haven't had to chop down any trees to let you read this.

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Tags: Audio Car And GPS Dad Gadgets Gaming Hardware Home And Kitchen Home Cinema Phones Cameras Software Sports Fitness CES2010 ebooks Televisions Netbooks Sony LG Samsung Toshiba Apple iPod iPhone 3DTV Laptops Eco Amazon Barnes and Noble Spring Design

CES 2010: What new gadgets will be announced? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Qualcomm has unveiled a new device called the Lenovo Smartbook that it hopes will marry the smartphone with the netbook, very much like the HTC advantage attempted to do in 2007.

Qualcomm's CEO Paul Jacobs showed off the shiny, red smartbook during the company's annual analyst meeting in New York according to reports online.

The device, which is expected to be officially launched at CES 2010, sports a clamshell design to reveal a keyboard and screen.

It will be powered by a Qualcomm snapdragon chipset and be 3G enabled on AT&T's network in the US Qualcomm's CEO confirmed.

The Snapdragon chipset can already be found in the Acer Liquid, the HTC HD2, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the Toshiba TG01.

Although no name has yet to be given, Qualcomm has said that it will run with the advertising slogan "The world organized around you" hoping the device would act like a sixth sense.

Tags: Hardware Phones Qualcomm Lenovo Smartbook Lenovo UMPC Snapdragon Netbooks CES2010

Qualcomm Lenovo Smartbook unveiled originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:46:01 +0000

Acer's Ferrari One?laptop is expected to be hitting the US in January Pocket-lint has learnt, however it is unlikely to ship with the external graphics card designed by AMD that would give it the power of a desktop PC.

Already available in the UK, the new laptop features a PCI Express card slot that will allow users to connect an External Graphics Port to boost graphics performance over and above the power of the mini notebook.

According to AMD, the ATI XGP can run up to four displays when activated on the notebook PC and comes with HDMI with integrated audio, DVI and USB connections providing the ability to connect to a variety of devices.

However, while the technology is available (it features a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 graphics card), AMD has yet to find a manufacturer willing to launch the new product as a standalone accessory, even though Acer and Fujitsu-Siemens have added the port on some of their netbooks already.

According to an AMD spokesperson, the box of tricks will bring the power of a desktop computer to the netbook allowing gamers to play the latest games at home, while still having a portable, small and lightweight device on the road.

We will keep you posted.

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Tags: Hardware Netbooks Laptops Acer AMD Acer Ferrari One

Acer Ferrari One gets US date, AMD XGP box no where to be seen... originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:16:47 +0000

The Moblin Linux project, which aims to create a user-friendly, lightweight and media-rich interface for mobile devices, has announced the release of version 2.1 for Intel Atom-based devices. A video overview of version 2.0 is on Youtube, and there's a pile of screenshots of 2.1 available too.

The team behind the release states that this includes the "broadest feature additions, customer requested improvements, and overall polish to date". It includes a better browser, 3G support, Bluetooth support, an integrated app installer, localization improvements, a nicer UI and several bug fixes and performance upgrades over 2.0.

The release is 754MB, and can be installed using either a CD or a 1GB (or greater) USB stick. You'll need a netbook or nettop with an Intel Atom or Intel Core 2 CPU, but it's not compatible with the GMA-500, Nvidia or ATI graphics chipsets at the moment. A full list of compatible devices can be found on the team's website.

If you've got a netbook lying around that you don't use much, then give Moblin a try, and let us know what you reckon in the comments.

Tags: Software Operating Systems Netbooks Nettops Moblin Linux Software updates

Moblin 2.1 released for netbooks originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:57:15 +0000

With laptop innovation moving faster than just about any other area of consumer technology, it seems rather unfair to do a best laptop of the year category. Anything released back in January is comparatively obsolete next to anything from the last few months. The arrival of both Windows 7 and CULV technology in the latter half of the year has distorted matters even more. That said, 2009 started with some memorable moments at CES and a definite clutch of landmark releases that have managed to stay in contention for the Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Award for Best Laptop. Here's a little reminder of some of the highlights for you, and don't forget to tell us just which would get your vote.

Multimedia & Games

The laptop industry has moved into three clear areas of machines over the last 2 years although more recently it's threatened to fragment even further. One of the sectors beginning to divide in 2009 is the multimedia notebooks which, since the rise of the netbook and the slimline PC, now consists of just about anything over 2kg in weight with a 15-inch or more screen size. The point is that whereas once they might have been considered portable, the only moving anyone would do with them now would be short distances within the home. And, as for them being lap-tops, well there's now a select few of them that would crush your thigh bones even if you thought about it.

As a consequence of being housebound, these have predominately become entertainment units fit with powerful graphics cards, Blu-ray players, quad core processors, HDMI ports and, of course, HD quality widescreens. Some of the better examples of the year include the Samsung R720, the Asus F70, the Acer Aspire 7540 & 5542, MSI GX723, HP Pavillion DV8, Packard Bell EasyNote DT85 and the Sony Vaio NW series. That's been pretty much the middle bench of this category.

However, beyond these entertainment machines are the slightly lower spec and more portable professional type traditional laptops in the same vein as the MacBook Pro range which was itself refreshed right from the beginning of the 2009. The addition of a 17-inch model and later the 15-inch and 13-inch upgrades helped to remind us that although their specs may be lower, these are still machines to be reckoned with. Toshiba very much has its own take on the market with the Satellite series as re-released throughout the year, Dell has its Studios with an impressive update to the Studio 15 seen in 2009 and the one that got most tongues wagging was the HP Envy laptops with their Core i7 processors and enormous wedges of RAM available up to a slightly insane 16GB.

At the very other extreme of this category is a growing number of monster machines for gamers. It's a tricky area given that most self-respecting VG-heads will build their own PCs, but there is an ever-growing PC gaming market once more and plenty of consumers who want to buy something tailor made. What 2009 has continued to show here is that even this end of computing is moving away from desktops, which were normally classed as the only machines to offer the necessary power and screen size.

The minimum you'd expect to pay for these mostly 17-inch beasts would be a cool ?1000 like we saw in the Packard Bell iPower GX at the beginning of the awards year and the budget but effective Advent 6555 which has arrived since. However, Dell's Alienware, the Demios X-10 and the Asus G60 were also there in case you really wanted to start splashing the cash on dual GPUs and more lights, bells, whistles and sub-woofered sound hot-rods. Hard to tell how big this niche will get in the future but it's certainly been a feature this year.

Finally, and just to be typically awkward Apple finally brought us a new version of their ?799 entry level machine - the 13-inch unibody white MacBook. 2006 was the last time the company refreshed that model and we were beginning to think they would leave it at that.

Ultra Slim

By far the biggest growth area in laptops has been the thin, slim, ultra-portable, ultra-stylish machines. Consumers have been crying out for something with the portability of a netbook but with the battery and processing capabilities nearer the multimedia muthas as well as larger screen sizes to match - typically between 13 and 15 inches. We'd already seen the beginnings of this with the MacBook Air and the Toshiba Porteges but it was at CES 2009 when the fashion really hit home as MSI released their X-Series of laptops with the X320, which has now matured through the X400 and X600 too. Dell managed to eke out the tease on the style-conscious Adamo for nearly 6 months before more recently blowing us all away with even thinner and more unique Adamo XPS and it's the launch of the Intel CULV platform that's really produced the gold rush we're seeing right now.

Asus were quick to move from the already good looking brushed aluminium UX series to the new low voltage, longer lasting system take on the same design with the near enough Asus UL series. There must have been a secret meeting in a darkened smoky room between the marketing chiefs a few months back because it seems X-series has become synonymous with this laptop form. Samsung's X-series arrived with typical gusto in October after the announcement at IFA and once Sony had decided that the trend was here to stay, they produced an Vaio X-series of the company's very own too. And, just to prove they're not all about stacking them high and selling them cheap, Dell produced a slightly less premium take on the trend with both the Inspiron and Lattitude Z-series. Presumably, there were no Xs left. Finally both Toshiba and Acer, with the Timeline range, went about more portable solutions although in a slightly more sedate and less thin-crazed way.

Interestingly, because of the focus on efficiency and form, what we haven't seen, and perhaps for the first time, is any significant increase in RAM and processor cores - typical signs of raw power. Instead 2009 has given the consumer laptops with a definite purpose. We have more battery power, a lighter load, more power-friendly LED screens, often with SSD internal storage solutions as well. Throw Windows 7 into the mix and there's never been a better time to buy a laptop.

Netbooks

If 2008 was the arrival of the netbook, then 2009 has most certainly represented its peak. According to Samsung, Q4 of 2009, now, is when we should expect to see the largest sale in netbooks worldwide. Simply everyone makes them including Orange, LG, Nokia, BlackBerry and even Hello Kitty. There is some suspicion that the wave will roll back once more with the ultra-slims taking a lot of that market share away, with a solution that most people were probably after in the first place, but it seems there will always be a place for devices like these that simply need to be carried in a smaller space.

That said, there have been one or two standout innovations in the netbook field starting at the very beginning of the year in Las Vegas with the arrival of three very important machines. The first was from the inventor of the netbook, as Asus held aloft the touch and swivel screen Eee PC tablet, the T91. The second was the HP Mini 2140 and its near full size keyboard and, perhaps most famously, was Sony's half admission that netbooks were here to stay with the release of the Vaio P not-netbook. The company has since gone the whole hog with the Vaio W.

It's almost seemed that the manufactures themselves have sensed that the traditional netbook might have been a fad. Most have ditched the early 8.9-inch models with 10-inch machines being the baseline these days, the best of the current crop are the Dell Mini 10v, the Toshiba NB200, the Medion E1312, HP Mini 5101, Asus Eee PC 1008HA, Samsung N510 and the Acer Aspire One D250, many of which now come with 2GB of RAM, near full QWERTYs and better graphics than ever before. There's been a recognition that it's hard to get much done on such small machines so we've seen the addition of the Nvidia ION platform to allow gaming and HD video playback to help bolster the trade too. The other way to go has been the blurring of the very definition of the category by creating a series of 11-inch not-netbooks, which straddle the gap in machine class, and often come with non-Atom processors like the HP Pavillion DM1 and the Packard Bell dot m/u.

Aside these small boosts and the touchscreen capabilities, perhaps the only real innovation has come from Acer who has brought out a version of the D250 that comes with both Android and Windows operating systems installed as well as, of course, the offering of a 3D laptop too. It'll be interesting to see how Google's desktop OS takes off and who'll choose to run netbooks on Windows 7. But, most of all, it'll be interesting to see what's come of the netbook in 2 year's time.

What do you think?

But these are just some of the fantastic choices our readers have had in 2009. What would you like to see held aloft as the winner of Pocket-lint Best Laptop 2009? Who have we missed out? Which are your unsung heroes and of those we've already mentioned, which would get your vote? Let us know in the comments below and you can help our panel decide which make the shortlist of nominees to be announced here on Pocket-lint on 16 November. We'll have all out coverage of the Vodafone Pocket-lint awards 2009 right here. Don't miss a minute of it.

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Related links:

• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - digital cameras
• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - car gadgets
• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - music gadgets

Tags: Hardware Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Pocket-lint Awards Features Asus Acer Samsung Laptops Netbooks Dell Dell Adamo XPS

Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - laptops originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:10:45 +0000

Apple appears to be removing support for Intel Atom processors in the forthcoming 10.6.2 patch for Snow Leopard. OS X Daily is reporting that the update kills support for the processor, which is primarily found in netbook and nettop computers.

Apple doesn't sell any machines that have Atom-based processors, and the licensing agreement explicitly says that OS X is not permitted on hardware that's not sold by Apple. Despite that, there's a large and growing community of modders that build "hackintoshes" that run the OS.

The tech company has a reputation for heavy-handed comedowns on these groups, including a whole pile of legal threats to Psystar - a company that sells custom-made Apple machines. This move is regarded by many to be an attempt to shut down the hackintosh community in the same way.

However, groups of modders invariably move faster than big tech companies, so it's unlikely that it'll be long before a version of the 10.6.2 patch that works absolutely fine on Atom processors is found in the wild.

Read

Tags: Software Operating Systems Apple Snow Leopard Hacking Netbooks Intel

Snow Leopard update removes Intel Atom support originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:37:45 +0000

Asus has rolled out a couple of kiddie's netbooks, both complete with Disney branding. They're pretty similar to Asus' "Seashell" Eee PC, coming as they do with an 1.6GHz Atom Processor, Windows XP, 8.9-inch display and 1GB of memory.

There's no SSD option, only a 160GB hard disk, but it does have n-standard Wi-Fi, as well as b and g. There are 3 USB ports, a card reader, and plenty of parental controls and Disney software onboard.

The Disney netbook comes in either princess pink or magic blue and costs ?300. It's available now.

Tags: Hardware Netbooks Disney Asus Photos

PHOTOS: Asus Disney Netbook originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:25:45 +0100

It's not easy for netbook manufacturers to stand out from the crowd, especially when you consider how small the actual differences in terms of hardware from one model to another is.

Tablet PC models have turned up more recently, although until now they've all used a standard finger touch display which just requires your finger to work. ?

However, we ran into a Chinese company called Shenzen Gold-East Electronics Co Ltd - oddly enough, based in Shenzhen - that figured it was a good idea to fit a digitizer pen input display instead of a touch display.

So what? You might say, well, the advantage is that you get much more precise touch input and we have a feeling that this might become popular with various organisations that are looking for a cheap pen-input type touchscreen device.

Considering that the economy has yet to kick off again and with all the spending cuts, we might soon enough see couriers running around with these asking for your signature instead of those fancy expensive tablets that they have these days.

On a more serious note, we can also see these being useful for people that like to jot down notes on it, especially as it can be used in tablet mode, although you have to manually switch the screen rotation by pressing one of the two buttons next to the screen.

A version of Windows XP for Tablet PC should work just fine on it, although it's unlikely that we'll see Microsoft give that union its blessing. We're not sure it'll be a big seller, but it's at least somewhat innovative in what is a fairly stagnant market.

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Tags: Hardware Netbooks Tablet PCs Shenzen

Shenzen offers pen-input touchscreen netbook originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:29:48 +0100

Michael Dell has slammed the netbook saying that while it's on everyone's wish list the excitement soon fades once they get it home.

"If you take a user who's used to a 14- or 15-inch notebook and you say 'Here's a 10-inch netbook,' they're gonna say 'Hey, this is so fantastic. It's so cute. It's so light. I love it'", Dell told Silicon Valley's tech-obsessed Churchill Club on Tuesday night according to El Reg. "But about 36 hours later, they're saying 'The screen's gonna have to go. Give me my 15-inch screen back'".

Dell of course offers a number of different netbook options including the popular Dell mini 10, a favourite with hackintosh fans.

The news comes as Dell and AT&T?have announced that the Dell Vostro 1520, one of the company's low-end laptops, will be available as a "connected" option through AT&T.

Coming with 3G built in, the new laptop will come with a 2-year AT&T DataConnect 5GB monthly service plan for $633.?

Read

Tags: Hardware Netbooks Dell Dell Mini 10 Dell Vostro 1520 Michael Dell AT and T

Michael Dell: Netbook novelty wears off fast originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:34:14 +0100

Acer unleashed its Android netbook on the world today, something it had already admitted it was going to do.

The addition of Android isn't the only bonus for the D250 – it also now comes with Windows 7 rather than the Windows XP of the original version.

It is bizarrely familiar to those who have Android handsets, but without the touch support does seem a little weird. Plus, there are no designated keys to support Android, so you end up using the trackpad to get around and the ESC key to go back.

We were on hand at the launch to grab some shots of the new, or rather old, hardware with the new OS shoehorned into place.

We've got a date now too - the D250 will be hitting shelves from 22 October and will come in two versions. The XP Home with Android version will be ?279 and the Windows 7 with Android will be ?299.

News -?Acer officially announces Aspire One D250 with Android

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Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Android Acer Acer Aspire One D250 Photos

PHOTOS: Acer Aspire One D250 with Android originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:06:44 +0100

Acer has officially launched their dual OS netbook, combining the Android operating system and Windows 7, which we first brought you news of back in June 2009.

This will mean instant-on booting (18 seconds "to be able to chat") and fast shutdown (3 seconds). You'll be able to access emails and the Internet through Android and switch over to Windows 7 when you want to be more productive.

The new Acer Aspire One D250 with Android comes with a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit LCD display, and is powered by an Intel Atom processor backed by up to 2GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive.?

Acer is also claiming that any internet connections made on the Android OS can remain active, even if you "reboot the netbook or suspend the session". We'll pin them down on exactly how this works and will update when we have more details.

We've got a date now too - the D250 will be hitting shelves from 22 October and will come in two versions. The XP Home with Android version will be ?279 and the Windows 7 Start will Android will be ?299.

Read

Related links:

• Feature - Five reasons to buy an Android laptop...

Tags: Hardware Laptops Acer Acer Aspire One D250 Netbooks Android

Acer officially announces Aspire One D250 with Android originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:23:10 +0100

Nokia has confirmed the launch of its Booklet 3G netbook in the US on Tuesday.

"We are going to sell a lot of these", Nokia's US head honcho said at the New York launch event.

The mini-laptop, which we saw at Nokia World earlier in the year, as Nokia is pushing it, will be $299 with a 2-year contract, exclusive to Best Buy for "The Holidays". Users will then be expected to pay $60 a month for AT&T's 5GB plan, however, AT&T has confirmed there will be other plans available nearer Christmas.

Those looking to get the?Nokia Booklet 3G?without any on-going costs will be able to pay $599 without the AT&T data package.

Launching on 22 October in time for the Windows 7, specs include Windows 7, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, a 120GB hard disk, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi is n-compatible, a 720p screen, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and the promise of 12 hours of battery life, although Nokia failed to be able to clarify whether that 12 hours of battery was with Wi-Fi and 3G turned on.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Nokia Nokia Booklet 3G

Nokia Booklet 3G hits the US originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:56:55 +0100

The blurb on the Amazon website describes the Asus Eee PC S101 as an "exquisitely designed netbook for fashion forward individuals who view style as much of a factor of success as substance".

However, if you are not one of those "fashion forward individuals" then it may interest you instead that they are selling the previously-priced ?479 netbook for a rather more palatable ?279.99.

This "ultra-portable" netbook gets a 10-inch screen with an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB hard drive. Battery life seems decent, giving you over 5 hours of use between refills, whilst the 4-in-1 card reader will help make sure all your data is backed up.

Connectivity is catered for with Bluetooth, 802.11 a/g/n along with three USB 2.0 ports, and a headphone port while you'll be using Windows XP Home Edition as your OS.

Amazon is also offering free delivery and we'll have another tech deal for you tomorrow.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Asus Asus EPCS101 Amazon Daily Tech Deal Eee

Daily Tech Deal: Asus Eee S101 netbook from Amazon originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Already available at the Carphone Warehouse, Dell has announced the wider availability of its 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z.

Claiming to combine the mobility of a netbook with the capability of a laptop, it's another size zero effort weighing in at 1.4kg and measuring 25.8mm thin.

With a new Intel "CULV" ultra-low-voltage processor, the Inspiron 11z offers up to 4GB memory, a 1366 x 768 resolution display, integrated Wi-Fi, a 1.3MP webcam, hard drive of up to 500GB and a six-cell battery for around 6 hours of battery life.

Direct from Dell, the Windows Vista laptop is now available in seven colours, with pricing from ?349.

Related links:

• Feature - Five ultra thin, ultra light and ultra portable notebooks

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Dell Dell Inspiron 11z

Dell Inspiron 11z available now originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:45:04 +0100

In the States Sony has take the wraps off what it says is the world's lightest notebook - the Vaio X Series.

With a lightweight carbon-fibre chassis, the 11.1-inch X Series weighs in at 1.6 pounds - about 0.72kg - and is just over half an inch thick, although it loses both an optical drive and USB - both functionalities are taken care of with an external option.

The 16:9 display is LED backlit, the touchpad gets multi-touch capabilities, there's GPS and an SSD drive instead of hard disk.

Running Windows 7, power-wise, the standard battery is good for 3.5 hours, while the super-extended capacity battery claims 14.

In the US the X Series will come with 3G from Verizon Wireless, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Available in black and gold, pricing for the X Series starts at about $1300 with retail availability due in November. It will be available in the UK from November as well.

Related links:

• Feature - Five more ultra thin, ultra light and ultra portable notebooks

Tags: Hardware Sony Laptops Vaio Netbooks Windows 7

Sony Vaio X Series announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:48:20 +0100

One man's urge for a computer in his kitchen has pushed him into gutting an Asus Eee netbook and fitting it in his kitchen cupboards.

No doubt baulking at the price of the LG or Samsung "connected" fridges that feature built in computers, a gadget fiend from Germany has modded an Eee PC 701 into not only being touchscreen, but also featuring a TV tuner as well.

The end result, which the video guides you to, shows that he can then watch and control his computer while mincing around the kitchen.

As for the crazy music soundtrack, we aren't sure. Probably one for the mute key.

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Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Kitchen gadgets Asus Asus Eee 701 Video

Asus eee 701 gets modded into kitchen cupboard originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:55:02 +0100

Launched back in August, the Vaio W series mini notebook has seen a drop in price from its RRP of ?499 down to ?339.99 at Play.com - although we previously had its entry price at around the ?400 mark.

Sony clearly has the female of the species in mind with this effort, when it states: "carefully designed isolation keyboard with precise key spacing prevents typing errors, even with long fingernails", so anyone used to a Mac or ZX spectrum should be fine.

There are no surprises with the specs, coming with Intel Atom N280 processor, 160GB hard drive and 1GB RAM. It also gets a 10.1-inch, 16:9 widescreen with a 1366 x 768 resolution display and there's also a webcam and mic, b/g/draft-n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

If you're in two minds then you could do a lot worse than clicking through on the link below to take a look at our hands-on photos, before following the one to the Play.com website.

Related links:

• Photos - Sony Vaio W
• Shop - Play.com

Tags: Hardware Laptops Sony Sony VAIO W11 Netbooks Daily Tech Deal Play

Daily Tech Deal: Sony VAIO W11 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Medion has announced a 13-inch notebook that comes packed with a ultra-low voltage processor, 16:9 HD display, and an integrated optical drive - something which is relatively rare on 13-inch machines.

Insides, along with the optical drive, there's a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU2700 ULV processor, an Intel 4500M graphics card, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk, a 1.3-megapixel webcam and runs Windows Vista - but ships with a free upgrade to Windows 7.

There's also a memory card reader, b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3 USB ports, an expresscard slot, and all the audio ports you'd expect. It weighs 1.7kg including the battery, and that battery should hold out for 4 hours, if you believe Medion's claims.

It's available now from medionship.co.uk and costs ?500, including VAT.

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• News - Medion Akoya E7330 D PC headed for Aldi
• Buy - Medionshop.co.uk

Tags: Hardware Medion Netbooks Laptops Intel

Medion launches AKOYA E3211 laptop originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:04:49 +0100

There's nothing wildly spectacular about the looks of the refresh to the Samsung N-series netbooks but then there isn't supposed to be. The tech giant has affordability in mind with the N130 and N140 which are designed to take over from the popular NC10.

On first look, the keyboards are typically small for 10-inch machines but well spaced given what there is to work with but the hinge doesn't allow you to push the screen back very far which could be a problem for taller people. With 1.60GHz Atom CPUs, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDDs, the difference in prices - N130 at ?279 and N140 at ?329 - is purely down to a bigger battery and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

If you'd rather a little more finger space and a proper WVGA resolution, then the N510 offers something more comfortable and luxurious with the major additions of an 11.6-inch screen and the backing of the NVIDIA Ion platform for HD playback and even some gaming. It will cost you ?429 but still only runs XP, the same as the others.

The big netbooks push comes at what Samsung believes is the peak time for these devices. Phil Brown, Samsung UK general manager for mobile devices, said:

"We were always led to believe that Q4 of 2009 will be the best time for netbook sales."

It was also confirmed that Samsung will be sticking with Intel for the foreseeable future, despite the AMD Vision launch, and that touchscreen netbooks would "certainly be on the radar" for 2010. It seemed very much a case that the company could quite easily make OLED, 3D, 3G and other such netbooks right now but it's a question of the devices being cheap and marketable enough while the technologies are still relatively young.

Related links:

• News - Samsung N510, N130 N140 netbooks debut at IFA

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Samsung Samsung N130 Samsung N140 Samsung N510 Nvidia Intel Ion IFA2009

PHOTOS: Samsung N130, N140 and N510 netbooks originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:03:28 +0100