J&W launches Minix Netbook

Looks like every single computer manufacture wants to have a netbook under their company’s name. Same is the case with the J&W, a motherboard manufacture. Unlike other companies, which just rebrand the netbooks of other companies, J&W are going to manufacture the netbook themselves. As a result of it, chances are that it will end up being cheaper than the other netbooks. It has the usual netbook specs:

  • Intel Atom N270 processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 945 chipset
  • Windows XP (Ubuntu version in talks)
  • HSPDA (optional)
  • WiFi, BT
  • webcam (1.3MP)

It comes with a keyboard cover that will prevent your device from getting destroyed in case you spill some liquid over it. Although that does not make it special at all as several 3rd party accessory makers sell these cheap keyboard covers for the netbooks. Personally, they do not provide enjoyable typing experience. So, I generally do not keep the liquids and my netbooks too close.

But, does not it looks too much like the MSI Wind U100? Even the specifications are similar to the MSI Wind U100.

[via]

Apple Macbook Air clone – Teso

Teso is not the company many people are familiar with, but it has come up with a decent looking netbook, which looks a lot like the Apple’s Macbook Air. Sporting a 12.1-inch display, it should be smaller than the Macbook Air and not to mention much cheaper due to its netbook-ish specs:

  • Atom N270 CPU
  • 250GB HDD
  • WiFi
  • 1.4kg
  • RJ45 port
  • 2 USB 2.0 ports

So, the Macbook Air’s Intel Atom based clone is here. Although the specifications are quite normal for a nebtook (other than the 250GB HDD), it is really slim. It is nice to see the manufactures producing slim devices as they are much easier to carry around provided they do not give shabby battery life.

Although the keyboard is not all like the one found on Macbook Air. But hey, we are talking about netbooks here.

[via digi163]

credit: Y Smith via contact form

EEE PCs are still the best selling netbooks, at least in Japan

ASUS EEE PC are still the best selling netbooks in Japan with having nearly 27% of the total market share of netbooks. Also, EEE 1000H is the best selling netbook in Japan followed by Lenovo Ideapad S10 and Acer Aspire One.

Commentary: The reason behind the EEE 1000H’s success is simple. With newer EEE PCs rolling out in the market, the price of the 1000H has fallen down considerably. The full-featured netbook along with an irresistible price tag have together resulted in great sales.

[via digitimes]

Also read:
Lenovo Ideapad S10 review

Disk Performance comparison: EEE 1000HA V/S EEE 1000H V/S EEE S101

Here are the results of crystaldiskmark done on EEE 1002HA

EEE 1000HA V/S EEE 1000H V/S EEE S101

Here are the results of the crytaldiskmark performed on EEE 1000H:

Disk Performance comparison

Here are the results of the crytaldiskmark performed on EEE S101

Performance comparison EEE 1000HA

Commentary: HDD performance of 1002HA is slightly better than 1000H. However, S101 nails both of them as it uses SSD.

Note: tests on both the machines were done with fresh copy of OEM Windows XP home installed

Toshiba netbooks to enter US market later this year

Although Toshiba’s netbook NB100 is currently available in Europe and South America, Toshiba is yet to launch a netbook in the US  market. Rumor has it that instead of launching the now-old NB100, it will launch a completely new product. Nothing about its specifications has been revealed so far. Patrick Mani of Toshiba says

You know us: We won’t be the least expensive out there and we won’t be the most expensive.

We all know that Toshiba is not going to take the US market lightly. However, it will be interesting to see what Toshiba comes up with later this year

[via netbookboards]

Reason why Netbook manufactures are not going to embrace the 1.86Ghz Intel Atom processor (Z540)


The famous N270 Intel Atom processor, which is clocked at 1.6GHz is still selling like hot cakes and the netbook and nettop manufactures are still going in for the N270 processor instead of 1.86GHz processor. Ever wondered why? The reason is simple: COST. The Z540, Intel’s 1.86GHz processor costs more than twice of what N270 retails at.

The  Z540 costs $135, whereas the N270 costs just $44. Clearly, OEM simply won’t want to use a processor that costs nearly $100 more than the tried-and-tested N270 processor. Intel needs to keep the costs low for the Atom processor range so that more netbook manufactures embrace the Z540 processor. After all, overall price matters a lot in the netbook field. Also, $100 price difference is huge gap when we are talking about netbooks

[download Intel Official Pricelist]

[via Fudzilla]

OLPC to opt ARM processor instead of Intel Atom for XO-2

It is not an unknown fact that the Microsoft won’t be making an Windows OS having ARM processor support. XO-2, which is targeted to be launched after 18 months from now is likely going to have ARM processor instead of Intel Atom processor.

ARM processors consume much much less power than any power-frugal Intel Processor processor. But since the the ARM processors can run full blown version of Linux, who is complaining?

[via olpcnews]

Meet the Sony VAIO P's ugly brother

Looks like, folks at Lenovo are very busy working on a new netbook, which looks a lot like SONY VAIO P netbook. The screen seems to carry some extra wide resolution, which looks much wider than the VAIO P. Just like VAIO P, it supports a nice keyboard to type upon.

I just don’t understand the utility of the extra-wide screens possessed by the VAIO P and this Lenovo netbook. The main use of the netbooks is web-surfing and most of the websites are optimized for 1024 x 600(or 768) resolution. The extra resolution just results in blank space around the webpage.

No information about the specifications is known at this point.

[via]