Netbook Evangelist | The blog with information resources for netbooks

Jim Dalrymple

If analyst predictions are any indication of what the iPad will see in actual sales, it’s going to be a good run for Apple.

(

In a research note to clients on Wednesday, Needham & Company’s Charlie Wolf predicted Apple would sell two million iPads in fiscal 2010 and an additional six million devices in 2011, according to a report on AppleInsider.

Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop. You can follow him on Twitter @jdalrymple.

READ MORE >> Analyst: Apple will sell 8 million iPads by 2012 | Apple – CNET News

By Phil Goldstein

Netbook shipments jumped 79 percent last year to 30.2 million units, according to research firm Strategy Analytics–and the market is poised to continue growing this year.

The research firm said North America and Western Europe propelled the market’s growth. In the U.S., carriers including AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have begun subsidizing netbooks (with the purchase of a two-year mobile data plan) and carrying the devices in their retail outlets. Thus, along with smartphones and data cards, netbooks with built-in wide area wireless have helped fuel mobile data traffic growth. The carriers have been selling netbooks for between $150 and $200 when paired with a two-year data plan contract.

READ MORE>> Report: Netbook market grew 79% last year – FierceWireless

Alienware M11x plays genie in a bottle

By Ian Williams

DELL HAS LAUNCHED a rather odd but quite impressive gaming laptop packed into a form generally associated with a netbook.

Coming under the Alienware brand, the M11x was showcased at CES, but is now available to the roving masses. It packs in an Intel ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor running at 1.3GHz, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory at 1066MHz, a Geforce GT 335M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated GDDR3 memory and your choice of a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive or a 256GB SSD.

As you might expect, the M11x runs 64-bit Window 7 Ultimate edition and packs in all the usual connectivity options in including 802.11n WiFi, HDMI, three USB ports, card reader and firewire as well as Displayport and an optional 3G modem available. All of this is stuffed into a chassis with an 11-inch screen and weighing in at around two kilograms.

Dell packs a gaming notebook into a netbook – The Inquirer

Steve Jobs will probably disagree, but we think that netbooks have a few things up on the iPad.

Steve Jobs felt compelled to take jabs at the netbook market when he announced his magical Apple iPad stating at one point, "The problem is that netbooks aren’t better than anything." But don’t ditch that netbook just yet. Here are 42 reasons (ranked in no particular order) why I think netbooks can give the iPad a run for its money.

1)
Netbooks are cheaper. The majority of them run between $200-$400. And after you spend all that money on accessories and upgrade options for the iPad, you’d be able to buy three netbooks for the same amount of money.

2)
With a netbook, you can multitask, allowing you to run several apps at the same time.

3)
Though it hasn’t been confirmed that there is absolutely no Flash support in the iPad, we at least know netbooks have full Flash support.

4)
Netbooks have USB ports, about two to three on average. The iPad has none.

5)
Higher Resolutions. There are several 10-inch netbooks that offer 1,366-by-768 resolutions, namely the HP Mini 5102, Dell Mini 10, and Sony VAIO VGN W-Series. The iPad tops out at 1,024 by 768.

6)
Netbooks have options for bigger screens. You can get one with an 11-inch or 12-inch widescreen.

7)
Removable batteries. You can buy an additional battery for your netbook if you want, allowing it to last for multiple days.

Every single netbook comes with a webcam for video conferencing and chats.

9)
They have physical keyboards, so you don’t have to spend extra money to buy a physical one that docks.

10)
Multiformat card readers are built into every netbook, so you can download photos and videos from your camera.

READ THE REST OF THIS STORY >> 42 Reasons Why Netbooks Are Better Than the Apple iPad – Reviews by PC Magazine

Who would have thought that the most innovative thing about the iPad was going to be its price?

Steve Jobs’ bombshell, that the widely anticipated multimedia tablet from the company famous for its premium pricing would start at $499, brought the audience, generally low key until then, to its feet and even sent Apple’s stock up by five bucks a share at one point.

This was seismic for two reasons. First, most of us figured it would cost around $1,000. And second, that price means the iPad could savage two categories of products: netbooks (stripped-down, inexpensive laptops) and e-book readers.

With that price, Jobs landed a sucker punch.

O’Brien: Why Apple’s iPad will change gadget world – San Jose Mercury News

HP today teased its slate prototype in a video (viewable below) with a handful of information. Company CTO Phil McKinney explained that the company had wanted to produce this device for years but that it was waiting until the OS and parts weren’t "outrageously expensive;" while not ready to provide a price, he noted that it could have cost $1,500 if released earlier. The new price is "affordable."

HP slate to be "affordable," run stock Windows 7 | Electronista

The Dell Mini 1011 Netbook is priced at $297.69 on Amazon.

The Dell Netbook features a 10.1 inch, widescreen display surface with a 16:9 aspect ratio designed to present websites without a lot of left-right scrolling. You can also expand your cinematic experience by connection to an external monitor or TV using the HDMI port. The Dell Mini 10 offers multiple hard drive options and 2GB of memory so you have plenty of room to store your music, photos and more on the go. It features Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.6GHz, 512K cache, 533MHz FSB).

Dell Mini 1011 Windows 7 Netbook under $300 on Amazon

Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up the new iPad as he speaks during Apple’s event in San Francisco.

 

After months of speculation, Apple has finally lifted the veil on the iPad, its long-rumored tablet computer. The device will be available in late March starting at $499 for the 16GB version.

Apple unveils $499 iPad tablet – USATODAY.com

 

 

The Apple tablet may be the big news this week, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other exciting, unreleased products out there to drool over. Digitimes reports that a senior VP at Acer has confirmed they will be launching a Chrome OS netbook in the second half of this year. He further stated that Acer’s goal is to ship one million Chrome netbooks in 2010. Considering this netbook will only be out for a few months of 2010, Acer has high hopes.

Sadly, Acer wasn’t forthcoming with information about the in-development netbook. He did reveal that Acer will be launching an application store for their netbooks and smartphones in 2010. They will also be launching e-readers for sale in Asia and Europe, starting in Q3.

Acer Confirms: Chrome Netbook Launching in Q310

(Credit: MSI)

Acer has a prime competitor in the ultra-affordable Netbook market, and that’s MSI. The just-announced MSI Wind U135 doesn’t add much that’s new to the Netbook equation, swapping out the previous Atom N270 processor for a next-generation battery life-extending N450, nicknamed Pine Trail. Starting at $309.99, the Wind U135 comes with a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, plus 1GB of RAM.

The very Netbook-looking Netbook comes in charcoal, silver, ruby, or sapphire, aka black, silver, red, or blue, with a film-printed shiny coating. New to the Wind U135 is a raised chiclet keyboard, so that the Netbook joins the ranks of nearly every other laptop nowadays. A new, larger touch pad has also been added. Five different power management settings are built in–not that we have ever had to concern ourselves with power efficiency on a Netbook.

A 10-inch screen with a standard 1,024×600-pixel resolution, three USB ports, a 1.3 megapixel Webcam, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi round out the features. And, of course, for a price this low, the Wind U135 runs Windows 7 Starter.

The MSI Wind U135 is available for purchase starting today on a variety of retail Web sites.

Scott Stein, a New York Jets fan and CNET senior associate editor, has written about tech, entertainment, video games, and viral culture for outlets including Laptop, Wired, Maxim, Esquire Online, Asylum, and Men’s Journal. He also appears on the Digital City podcast. In his spare time, you might see him performing improv in New York City (when he’s not being a dad).

MSI Wind U135 Netbook joins Pine Trail party | Crave – CNET