Sotec C101’s ‘upgrade’ has been released, C103. What has changed as compared to its previous model? Nothing. The only refreshment is that it is now available in 2 different colors: black and white. Well, if you call a Here are its (boring) specifications:
So, what has changed? Color!
[sotec webpage] [via akihabara]
A couple of days back, we posted about the MSI Wind U110 Eco. We were quite happy to see the inclusion of Ati Mobility Radeon HD3200 in it. Well looks like it does not come with the HD200 Graphic Card and instead, it comes with the lame Intel GMA 500. Great work MSI PR guys!
More bad news about Intel GMA 500: It does not support Aero on Windows 7
[via akihabara]
VIA has unveiled a new mainboard reference design for netbook. It will come with 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor with a 800MHZ FSB. But that alone is not the reason for the HD playback. It has the VIA’s Chrome9 graphics with support for hardware H.264, MPEG-2/4, VC-1 and WMV9 decoding that let it decode the HD videos. It supports resolution up to 1366×768 and external display resolutions of up to 1920 x 1440. It also has support for wifi, BT and GPS.
Th VIA Chrome 9 GPU will allow a machine to decode the HD video with less 40% CPU use. Surely, they are going to give the Intel Atom, some tough competition.
[via Slashgear]
press release:
VIA Surfboard Rolls Out Peak HD Performance for Mini-Notebooks
VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design offers a highly power-efficient, ready-to-build solution to give system developers a head start in the mini-notebook market
Taipei, Taiwan, March 17, 2009 – VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design – an ultra-compact mainboard incorporating the VIA C7-M ULV processor, the brand new VIA VX855 unified IGP chipset, and advanced VIA multimedia and connectivity silicon, that has been specifically designed for easy integration into devices targeted at the rapidly growing mini-notebook market.
Unveiled today at the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar (GMB) Tech Forum Spring in Shenzhen, China – an event bringing together a host of PC manufacturing and infrastructure partners focused on delivering affordable, power efficient mini-notebooks to global markets – the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design will not only reduce development time and costs for system manufacturers, but offers the latest advancements in ultra-mobile technology including smooth playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video and outstanding 8-channel HD audio.
While consumers have been quick to endorse the mini-notebook form factor and the convenience provided by its connectivity and web surfing capabilities, the rise of HD video has resulted in a growing demand for better visual computing from ultra-mobile products.
The VIA Surfboard C855 meets this demand by providing flawless playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video, which along with support for internal display resolutions of up to 1366 x 768 pixels and external display resolutions up to 1920 x 1440 pixels, the latest high definition VIA Vinyl Audio, and a wide range of connectivity options, allows for a rich on-the-go multimedia experience.
“A key advantage of the VIA Surfboard C855 is the head start it affords mini-notebook system developers or those seeking to enter the market,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Not only is VIA in the unique position of being able to offer customers a complete, ready-to-build solution, but the new board’s HD capabilities mean VIA-based mini-notebooks will provide a superior multi-media entertainment experience.”
For more details on the VIA GMB Tech Forum Spring, please visit the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/company/events/2009gmb-techforum/
About the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design
Designed for 10-12″-screen mini-notebook devices, the powerful, feature-rich yet highly power-efficient VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design comes with a VIA C7-M ULV processor supporting an 800MHz FSB, combined with the VIA VX855 media system processor with its support for a wide range of digital media technologies and I/O appropriate for the mini-notebook market.
The advanced graphics experience of the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design is powered by the high performance VIA Chrome9 HCM IGP offering support for hardware acceleration of the widest variety of leading video standards including H.264, MPEG-2/4, VC-1 and WMV9, which significantly reduces the workload and power consumption of the processor and enables high bit-rate HD video playback while utilizing less than 40% of CPU resources.
The latest high definition audio is supported through VIA Vinyl 8-channel HD audio, and a rich range of connection options includes support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G for unparalleled flexibility.
More information about the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design may be found on the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/spearhead/surfboard_c855/index.jsp
About the VIA GMB Alliance
Launched in Shenzhen, China, in October 2008, the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar Alliance was established as part of VIA’s long-term commitment to inspire innovation in mobile computing devices by sharing its leading-edge technology and expertise in power efficient x86 processor platforms.
Leading Chinese manufacturers are participating in the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar, as well as infrastructure partners such as American Megatrends (AMI), InnoLux, ITE Tech, PQI, SanDisk and TD Hi-Tech.
A key focus of the VIA GMB Alliance is to bring innovative mobile computing devices such as mini-notebooks to fast-emerging markets around the world, as well as within China. These markets are among the fastest growing in the world and are developing a keen appetite for mobile computing.
Further details on the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar may be found on the VIA GMB website at:
http://gmb.viatech.com/
So, we finally got the VAIO P! Although the SONY hates to use the word netbook for the VAIO P, but we still consider it as a netbook due to its specifications and size. It is a different story all together, when you talk about its high price though.
Immediately when you hold it in your hand, you get the feeling of SONY’s excellent built quality. Everything is so well made and manufactured. Also, I would like to point out that it is much smaller and thinner than what it looks in the various photos published online so far.
On the left side of the VAIO, you will find the DC port, a USB port and earphone jack.
This is its right side
On the front (left side), you will find the WiFi on-off switch, SD card reader followed by MS duo card reader.
On the other front (right side), you will find the on/off switch followed by battery and HDD indicators.
SONY has modelled the VAIO P around its keyboard. Even though I’ve not still powered on the unit, I can feel how nice is the keyboad. The travel and depth of the keys is great. I had some doubts in my mind regarding the chicklet style keys of the VAIO P, but they feel great so far.
The power brick is almost the size of the EEE 1000H’s power brick, which is 50% the size of adapters of big notebooks.
Comparison with the EEE 1000H
The EEE 1000H absolutely dwarfed the VAIO P!
Stay tuned for the full review which will be published by the end of this week!
UMPCportal was able to perform crystalmark benchmark test on the UMID. Here is the screenshot showing the results obtained thereof:
Looks like a lot of netbook manufacturers are now finally focusing on improving the battery life. Asus has already announced a battery pack for EEE 1000HE, which should give you 9+ hours of battery life. Now, MSI has launched Wind U110 Eco, which offers 9-hour battery life. Here are its other specifications:
Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz CPUDid you observe that it includes an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 graphics card? Wow. MSI, please do not spoil the whole package with a 3-cell battery. I hope they make the 6-cell battery as standard for it. Otherwise, you will very soon be hearing the complains of the people about the crappy battery life.
[MSI]
A Taiwanese company named KuroKids have released a netbook named after a Japanese cartoon character, Doraemon. Hardware-wise, it is based on Intel’s classmate PC. It comes with a familiar Windows XP OS and will cost you around $500.
That is a pretty expensive price for an OLPC-based netbook though.
[via CheapLaptops]
Looks like the rumors of OLPC opting ARM instead of Atom processor were true. The OLPC has finally decided to go for the ARM platform. The current XO-1 is very power-frugal and uses just 5 watts of power on an average, which is really efficient for an X86 machine. That said, if the company opts ARM, it would nearly triple the battery life of these devices with the same capacity battery. ARM has much better power management features and also has built-in WiFi. However, the desktop version of Windows does not support ARM processor, which means no XP or no Windows 7.
Continue reading “OLPC wants Windows 7 for ARM”
READ THE FULL REVIEW OF EEE 1000HE here
I had a chance to play with the EEE 1000HE today. Being the user of 1000H, I could not stop myself in comparing the two and justifying, if the EEE 1000H should upgrade to the 1000HE. The EEE 1000HE brings minor, but useful advancements over the EEE 1000H. In this post, I’ve enlisted and explained the differences between the two and if you will gain anything by EEE 1000HE over 1000H.
Keyboard: Immediately when you open the lid, you will see that the keyboard has undergone a huge change. Gone is the small right shift key which was placed at somewhat awkward location. The keys are chicklet styled and have more space between them. Also, The placement of right shift key is more natural now. The location where the right shift key was present in 1000H is now taken by another function (fn) key. The ASUS representative there told me that this will let the consumer use the PageUp and PageDown buttons with one hand. Although, I doubt that one can hold this 1.4kg+ machine for a long time with one hand.To me, the biggest change is the keyboard. After using it for 3 minutes, I had already become accustomed to the new location of the right shift key. Does the new shift key arrangement makes a difference to me? No. The reason is that I do not use the right shift key much. I made the required change in my typing habits ever since I got my first EEE, which was EEE 701, which also had the small right shift key. So, when I moved to 1000H (I still have my 701), the right shift key did not bother me much.
So, the question arises, whether you should upgrade to the new EEE 1000HE. The answer is simple. If you own an EEE or another netbook, where you find the right shift key annoying and you cannot work without it, then you may go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, if you are accustomed to the right shift key or do not use it much, then you should instead get an extended battery for you existing netbook. However, it is different story if you have few hundred dollars begging to be spent.
Folks at Registerhardware have posted a nice video of EEE 1008HA. In the video, ASUS representative have shown the concept and theories behind the 1008HA. I really like the improved keyboard and the slim design. They claim that they have made a lot of improvements on the software side too, where they particularly mentioned the new EEE dock. I do not think that it is very useful. I would have appreciated a custom shell for the Windows instead.
