Netbook Evangelist | The blog with information for netbooks & tablets

Source: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4358417&sku=A180-8023&SRCCODE=WEM1834IM&cm_mmc=Email-_-Main-_-WEM1834-_-Laptop

The chipmaker’s designs on the market for MIDs will place it at odds with makers of smartphones and mobile operating systems—such as Apple and Microsoft

Apple didn’t take kindly to disparaging remarks made publicly last fall by a pair of Intel (INTC) executives about the iPhone and its chips, designed by ARM Holdings. The computer maker was so incensed, in fact, that Chief Executive Steve Jobs called Intel’s Chief Executive Paul Otellini to complain, people familiar with the matter say.

The jabs stopped and Intel publicly backed off its comments. But the episode is a reminder of Intel’s larger ambitions for handheld computers and mobile phones, and how those plans could put it at loggerheads with some longtime partners. Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, is readying new chips and a version of the open-source Linux operating system specially designed to run a new class of “mobile Internet devices,” or MIDs. Consumers could use the devices to play high-definition video, make Internet-powered phone calls, or download directions and local business listings on the go. The effort could presage an attempt by Intel to land its products in pocket-size smartphones, a category where Apple (AAPL) has sold 17.4 million units.

At the same time, as Intel tries to tap into the burgeoning market for smartphone and handheld chips, estimated by iSuppli to be worth $3 billion this year, its mobile Internet devices could also compete with the iPhone for buyers. Intel’s Linux effort also poses a threat to longtime collaborator Microsoft (MSFT), which is trying to land its Windows Mobile operating system in more handheld devices. Intel is stocking up on Linux talent, partly to aid the handheld effort. “Intel is going to be entering solidly into Apple’s space,” says Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group. “It’s going to make for an interesting next decade.” Apple declined to comment.

Partnering with Device Makers The Linux software, called Moblin 2 and expected to be in software developers’ hands by March, will run new portable computers Intel calls “MIDs,” set to arrive around midyear, Intel told BusinessWeek. Companies including Lenovo (LNVGY), Hitachi, and BenQ already make MIDs using previous designs, and Intel plans to announce new partners in February at a mobile technology conference in Barcelona, Spain.

By providing a free version of Linux for mobile devices that run its chips, Intel is hoping to jump-start a new breed of handheld computers, a category it’s been largely shut out of. Most smartphones—including the iPhone and Palm’s (PALM) new Pre, which garnered accolades at its Jan. 8 unveiling in Las Vegas—run chips designed by ARM and licensed by manufacturers including Qualcomm (QCOM), Samsung, and Texas Instruments (TXN). On Jan. 19, Qualcomm paid $65 million to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for technology and engineers to enhance its smartphone chips’ multimedia capabilities. “Intel would like to promote the MID category at the expense of high-end smartphones,” says Gordon Haff, an analyst at market researcher Illuminata.

The fight over which companies will supply the chips and software for smaller and more powerful handheld computers such as MIDs comes as the PC recedes from the center of tech industry action. Worldwide PC sales are expected to drop more than 5% this year. Waning demand has slashed Intel’s fourth-quarter profit by 90%, and whacked Microsoft’s second-quarter earnings as well.

Mobile Computing’s Category Lines Blur Meantime, handhelds are taking on many of the functions of full-fledged computers. Market researcher Gartner (IT) forecasts the worldwide smartphone market will grow 32% in 2009, to 190.8 million units. “The line between what’s a smartphone, what’s a mobile Internet device, what’s an ultra mobile PC—it’s all going to disappear,” Dell (DELL) CEO Michael Dell said in an interview last year. Another sign of the changing times: Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, who presided as CEO over the PC boom of the late ’90s, said on Jan. 23 he plans to retire in May.

Yet Intel’s history in the mobile computing market has been checkered. The company sold its XScale mobile chip business to Marvell Technology (MRVL) in 2006, and some analysts are skeptical its latest run at handhelds will go better. “What Intel is trying to do with this mobile Internet device category is essentially tell people, ‘The smartphone is too limited for a lot of applications…so you need this thing in between,’” says analyst Haff. “I’ve certainly yet to be convinced there’s a market for something in between a smartphone and a netbook.”

To help with the convincing, Intel is stocking up on staff skilled in the operating system that will run the devices. One of the world’s most experienced Linux programmers, Alan Cox, will join Intel from Red Hat (RHT) in March and work on projects including Moblin. “They were more than happy to have him there,” says Paul Cormier, an executive vice-president at Red Hat. At the beginning of January, Intel brought on board Peter Anvin, another key Linux developer.

Intel is also paying special attention to MIDs’ software to try to ensure users find the devices compelling. The devices will feature new capabilities like touchscreens that recognize users’ gestures and a graphical user interface that employs 3D and translucent icons. Moblin 2 will be free to hardware makers and distributed by companies including Canonical and Novell (NOVL). “What we’ve done in the PC space, we’re driving into these smaller[-size] devices,” says Doug Fisher, vice-president for Intel’s software and services group. “We’re doing some aggressive stuff to make sure Linux takes advantage” of MIDs, he says.

Modifying the Atom Netbook Processor On the hardware side, Intel is adapting its Atom processor, used today mainly in low-priced portable netbook computers, for MIDs. Atom sales have been a bright spot in Intel’s otherwise gloomy business; fourth-quarter sales of the chips rose 50% from the previous quarter, to $300 million. A lower-power version of Atom called Moorestown, scheduled to arrive in 2009 or 2010, will target MIDs, which need to run longer and cooler than netbooks do, and future Atom chips could target smartphones as well.

Developing free software for mobile Internet devices also gives Intel an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, whose market share has been shrinking. Microsoft counters by saying it doubts the market potential for handhelds with relatively large screens that could be unwieldy to carry around. “I’m not sure there’s a third category of device” between a cell phone and a netbook, says Andy Lees, a senior vice-president in Microsoft’s mobile communications business. “The thing that distinguishes a phone is it goes in your pocket or purse. If you have a six-inch screen, that’s no-man’s land.”

The fight over who’ll supply the chips and software for new generations of mobile computers is straining some of the tech industry’s most durable alliances. “Intel is very aggressive about developing a software platform that they can deliver on MIDs, and eventually cell phones, and deliver it with their [chips] for free,” says analyst Enderle. “Apple and Microsoft are…collateral damage.”

Source: http://pda.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090125_296994.htm

Samsung Electronics plans to follow-up its NC10 netbook in the coming few months with a new model and expand its range of smart phones with models based on a number of different operating systems, it said Friday.

“In the first half of this year, for touch-screen phones we will expand our line-up and upgrade some of the functions including the user interface and for smart phones expand our line-up and provide various OSes to satisfy the diverse needs of our customers,” said Chi Youngcho, head of the recently created digital media and communications unit, in a conference call with analysts.

Samsung already offers phones based on the Windows Mobile, Symbian and Linux operating systems but perhaps most anticipated is an announcement from the company concerning a phone based on the Android OS developed by Google.

Samsung is a member of the Open Handset Alliance group formed around Android but has yet to show a phone running on the platform.

Chi also said Samsung plans to “expand our PC business by launching a new netbook.”

No other details were disclosed but a follow-up to the NC10 has been rumored for a while. Internet reports late last year had the computer, called the NC20, launching around February and based on Via Technologies’ low-power Nano processor.

If true that would be a departure from most competing machines, which almost all run the same Intel Atom processor. It would also be somewhat of a coup for Via, which has struggled to gain share from Intel in the mainstream market for years.

The NC10 was launched in the latter half of 2008 and, like most netbooks, is based on Intel’s Atom processor and Windows XP. It has a 10.2-inch screen.

Netbooks have become popular with consumers, who are attracted by their compact size and low price. The market was created in 2007 when Asustek Computer launched its Eee PC and grew quickly to initially attract fellow Taiwanese competitors and then major laptop brands jumped into the market.

Earlier this month Sony, which had not launched a netbook, launched its Vaio P-series machines which are netbook-size laptops but based on the higher-specification Intel Atom Z520 chip.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/158206/samsung_plans_new_netbook_smart_phones.html

Notebook or Netbook? It’s a question for the ages, or at least for anyone shopping for a new portable PC. Buy.com has the Acer Aspire One Netbook for a tantalizing $289.99 shipped. The hitch: it’s a refurb.

The last time I posted about the Aspire One, it was $309.99 new. However, this refurb has much beefier specs, including 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP instead of Linux.

The One also features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, an 8.9-inch screen, a Webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless. It’s modeled in sapphire blue, which I can tell you firsthand looks mighty attractive.

That’s because I’ve got one of these babies right here. You can read about my experiences with it in The Netbook Diaries, but I’ll sum up: it’s a great little travel companion if you don’t mind a slightly cramped keyboard and screen and have easy access to AC power (battery life bites).

This configuration sells for around $370 new, so if you don’t mind a 90-day warranty instead of the usual 12 months, the refurb is definitely a good deal. If Buy.com runs out, you can get the same model for the same price from TigerDirect.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10145607-58.html

CherryPal has announced its new netbook called the Bing. You might be thinking the Bing is just another netbook, and in many ways, it is. The little machine offers a 10.2-inch screen, Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Mic and dual speakers.

The resolution of the screen is 1024 x 600 and the netbook runs a version of the Linux operating system with an XP option. Exactly how the machine runs its operating system is where things get different. The Os can be ran from the CherrypalCloud.

Perhaps the coolest thing about the new netbook is the limited time offer that Cherrypal is offering the netbook under. For $399, consumers can get the netbook and the C114 desktop computer together. Cherrypal isn’t clear on how long this deal will be offered, but that amounts to a netbook and a nettop for the price of a netbook.

Source: http://www.i4u.com/article22762.html

Some how among the chaos that the Sony Vaio P brought on the new Viliv S7 MID (mobile internet device) appears to have been overlooked. With a brief overlook this tablet style netbook appears to be yet another good contender in a growing market of affordable Internet ready notebooks.

What makes the Viliv S7 MID stand out among a sea of similar devices? Battery life is key in a potable device such as this and the S7 MID certainly delivers with 200 hours of standby times and up to 7 hours of continuous “Blu-ray” movie playback on the 7-inch 1024 x 600 touchscreen on only a single charge.

Along with a 1.3GHz Atom processor and 1GB of RAM you get a choice between a 16GB SSD and a 60GB hard drive. The S7 MID also comes with a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, card reader and much more. Connectivity options also include WiMAX and HADPA. Unfortunately there is no pricing or launch date available yet.

Qualcomm plans on challenging Intel on the netbook and mobile Internet device (MID) front, arguing that its Snapdragon chipset will out-compete Intel’s Atom processor in the growing market segment.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said he anticipated Intel would try to get into the smartphone and MID space at the same time Qualcomm would be rolling out Snapdragon devices. He said he expected 15 companies to launch MIDs and netbooks based on Snapdragon in the first half of 2009, and that they would have a significant advantage over Intel’s products. Jacobs compared a Snapdragon device to something akin to a Research In Motion BlackBerry device in that it would always be on.

Qualcomm demonstrated Google’s Android platform on Snapdragon last week at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, and said the demonstration was intended to show that Android can run on mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and larger WVGA displays, such as net tablets, which is what Snapdragon is optimized for doing. Qualcomm has said some of the companies it is currently working with to develop Snapdragon devices include handset makers HTC, LG and Samsung.

Source: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/qualcomm-challenges-intel-over-netbook-dominance/2009-01-12

Hardware provider Hewlett-Packard has released a Linux version for its mini-laptop. HP wants to be clear from the outset that disabling the Linux command line interface in the product is not an act of heresy.

End of October 2008 HP began confirming rumors about their own Linux netbook variant, and have now followed up with release of their Mini Mi 1000 series. The netbook has 2 GByte system memory and an Intel Atom CPU, with the choice of an 8.9 or 10.1 inch display, and costs around $330. HP describes the mobile internet software as “a user-friendly, all-inclusive interface built on Linux.” In fact, “Mi” stands for mobile internet, a clear message that HP wants to put the mini-laptop square into the netbook market.

With a homegrown Linux based on Ubuntu, HP promises that the Mini Mi “offers everything you want with just one click” for e-mail, Internet, photos, music and video. Basic configuration includes wireless-G, webcam and microphone for social networking.

A caveat for CLI aficionados: “Please note, the Linux command line interface is disabled on this edition.” Having stumbled across this in the HP announcement, developer and author Erica Sadun wanted to know why in her blog. Jonathan Kaye, HP’s director of consumer notebooks promptly responded: “HP is focused on the user experience and developed the HP Mini 1000 with Mi for the mass consumer market that wants a complete mobile Internet experience and not just a Linux computer.” He continues, “As this is HP’s first product with a custom user interface built on Linux, HP is very open to customer feedback that could help improve the experience.”

For those concerned with making a fashion statement, a Vivienne Tam Windows XP edition of the HP Mini 1000 is available for about $700. It’s touted as the “world’s first digital clutch,” although currently clutchable in Windows XP only.

Source: http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/online/news/hp_mini_mi_linux_netbook_released

Dell and AT&T Energize On-The-Go Lifestyles with Special Offer for Select $99 Inspiron Mini 9
Round Rock, Texas, January 9, 2009

* $99 Inspiron Mini 9 after $350 Dell Mail-in Rebate – Regularly a $449 System
* Available only with Purchase of a Qualifying Two-Year AT&T LaptopConnect Agreement
* Offer expires Jan. 31, 2009

Dell and AT&T Mobility today announced a nearly irresistible offer that brings nationwide high-speed connectivity at an affordable price to the award-winning Inspiron Mini 9. Built-in mobile broadband on this compact, take-it-everywhere Internet buddy keeps you connected with friends, finds and Facebook

Through Jan. 31, 2009, digital nomads can purchase a select Inspiron Mini 9 that is regularly $449 for $99 after a $350 Dell mail-in rebate1 and the purchase of a qualifying two-year AT&T LaptopConnect agreement.

The Inspiron Mini 9 is a small, easy-to-carry Internet companion that can be tuned to fit your specific needs and deeds. Minis are ideal for teens, tweens, travelers and “Tweeters” to surf the Web, chat with friends, blog, upload photos or enjoy online videos, music and games.

AT&T offers the nation’s fastest 3G network in nearly 350 major U.S. metropolitan areas. AT&T Laptop Connect customers with a 2-year service agreement also enjoy free connectivity to the AT&T Wi-Fi network, the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network with thousands of hotspots across the country.

The News:

* Inspiron Mini 9 with built-in mobile broadband capability regularly $449 is available for $99 after a $350 mail-in Dell rebate exclusively on Dell.com.
* Requires the purchase of a two-year AT&T Laptop Connect agreement for $60 per month. Additional fees apply.2
* Available exclusively on Dell.com.
* Offer valid through Jan. 31, 2009

Quotes
“AT&T and Dell have come up with an attractive offer for a truly exciting connected device with AT&T mobile broadband built-in,” said Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T emerging devices. “Because it’s lightweight, well-featured and ultra-portable, the Inspiron Mini 9 makes mobile computing at home or on the go easier and more affordable. Match that with the nation’s fastest 3G network and this is a big win for consumers.”

“This promotion with AT&T comes at a remarkable time, as the demand for affordable broadband connectivity on mini notebooks like the Inspiron Mini 9 continues to skyrocket,” said Michael Tatelman, vice president, Dell global consumer sales and marketing. “The Mini 9 is designed specifically for mobile, hi-def lifestyles that require fast and reliable access to e-mail, social networking and Internet surfing, and this offer adds exceptional value to the equation.”

About Dell

People worldwide can buy Dell online, by phone and in nearly 20,000 stores.

Source: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2009/2009_01_09_rr_001?c=us&l=en&s=corp

Answering the call for yet another netbook in the world is Velocity Micro, who has graciously provided us with the NoteMagix M10 (pictured) here at CES. The 10.1-inch machine includes a 4-cell battery for up 5 hours of usage, 802.11b/g WiFi, a 2.6 pound chassis, Windows XP running the show and a custom carrying case to really showcase its awesomeness. Never mind those trivial tidbits like CPU model / speed, RAM quantity and GPU type — Velocity Micro clearly thinks you don’t even need ‘em. Moving on, we’ve got the even more portable 4.8-inch NoteMagix M5 UMPC, with packs a touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 3G WWAN and 5 hours of battery life. Both machines should be available later this Spring for prices that are currently unknown.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/10/velocity-micro-delivers-notemagix-m10-netbook-and-m5-umpc/