Netbook Evangelist | The blog with information resources for netbooks

Verizon Wireless is trying the widely used cellphone subsidy strategy to netbooks, offering a rebate that brings the cost of a $178 Mini 110 from Hewlett-Packard Co. down to $29.

Buyers are required to sign up for a $59-a-month 3G wireless plan from Verizon to get the rebate, in much the same way that buyers of mobile phones get reduced prices when they sign up for a wireless contract.

The HP Mini 110 sports a 10.1-inch screen and lists for between $339 and $379 on Amazon.com, depending on the expected battery life, which is estimated at 3.75 hours on the lower-priced model and 9.75 hours on the higher priced model.

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is offering the device at $177.49 plus taxes, but promises to send a $100 prepaid credit card as a rebate.

The company said its offer will only be good as long as supplies last, but observers are speculating that this strategy could gain steam and extend to other carriers and netbook devices.

Verizon offers $178 HP netbook for $29 – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com
Published: February 15, 2010, 6:14 PM EST

Just before Christmas, the FCC was spotted with Asus’ Eee PC T101MT convertible touchscreen netbook, but few details were available at the time. The Taiwanese PC-maker has now listed the system on its site, with specifications including a 10.1-inch LED-backlit resistive multitouch 1024×600 display, an Intel Atom N450, 1GB or 2GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 160GB or 320GB HDD along with 500GB of Asus WebStorage (free for a year).

The Eee PC T101MT also features a webcam and mic, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Ethernet, VGA-out, three USB 2.0 ports, a multicard reader, headphone and mic jacks, up to 6.5 hours of battery life, and has Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, or Home Premium preinstalled. Although the device has a product page, Asus hasn’t specified a price or release date, but it will eventually hit shelves in white or black

Asus T101MT convertible tablet netbook gets official – TechSpot News

Wouldn’t a Google Chrome OS based notebook come as a refreshing change from the standard Windows 7 Starter Edition? Someone actually thought this and thus, a Google Chrome OS netbook will be introduced later this year. This netbook would be similar to the recently announced N-series netbook N210.
Samsung’s Chrome OS running netbook will have 3G built-in, Wi-Fi, 64GB hard drive (SSD?), and will offer 12-hour of battery life. Speculations suggest that Samsung would be using Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor and it’s also possible that Intel’s new Pine Trail platform would be used.
Last year, Acer claimed that it will be the first PC maker which will come out with Chrome OS based netbook. And now, Samsung has announced these plans. It’s quite possible that both launches would take place simultaneously when Google announces its Chrome OS.

Techtree.com India > News > Consumer Electronics > Samsung to bring Chrome OS Netbook

Nvidia’s Ion graphics solution for netbooks provides the extra video power that’s lacking from Intel’s current Atom processor. It can handle Direct X graphics as well as 1080p “full” HD. After taking a while to get Ion-based products to market, Nvidia is already back with Ion 2, though the company is keeping it low-key as the first generation of Ion systems is still selling. Ion 2 may pack 5-10 times as much graphics power as Intel’s new “Pine Trail” Atom processor.

Acer announces first Nvidia Ion 2 netbook: Aspire One 532G | Laptops and Desktops | ZDNet.com

Asus may have a chance at running with the iPad if it can manage to exploit the device’s weaknesses and build on what Apple has done right.

Disappointed with Apple’s iPad? You’re not alone, which is why Asus’ announcement of a “killer product” coming in June raised so many eyebrows. While Apple’s iPhone represents a perfect cocktail that few competitors have been able to match, the iPad’s many shortcomings make it ripe for competition. Here are five things we think Asus will have to do to get some traction against Apple’s class-defining iPad.

Asus Eee Pad Tablet: Potential iPad Killer?

Panasonic has announced a new line-up of “Let’s Go” notebooks and amongst them is a netbook “Let’s Note”, sporting the new Intel Core i7 processor. The netbook in question boasts of a 1.20GHz Intel Core i7-650UM vPro processor with a 10.4-inch (1024 x 768) display. Intel’s Atom chip is the standard stuff that is showing around all over as the driving CPU of the 10.1 inches netbooks these days like the Dell Mini and HP Mini, so to have a netbook with Core i7 is surely an amazing thing for this form factor.

The base model of the netbook packs Intel Core i7-620UM vPro processor running at 1.06GHz but you can configure it to get the top of the line version – the Core i7-650UM at 1.20GHz. This processor benefits from Intel’s Turbo boost technology that allows the speed to flex up to 2.13GHz depending on usage. It manages to include this in a chassis weighing just 0.93kg, whilst also bundling a 3100mAh battery rated to last for 7.5 hours. It also features 2GB RAM by default which is again configurable up to 4GB, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. It also has integrated graphics, a choice between a 500GB hard drive or a 128GB SSD, along with 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, VGA output and Bluetooth. The “Let’s Note” also includes a PC Card slot, an SD / SDHC reader, two USB 2.0 ports and VGA output. WiMax is also an option.

Core i7 Netbook with Windows 7 | Redmond Pie

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.

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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