Apple Macbook Air going more anorexic

Rumors are circulating of a new Macbook Air that's getting more anorexic than before. Taiwanese site DigiTimes reported that Apple will soon launch a new Air model with an 11.6" display and an Intel Core i-series low voltage CPU.

The device will be manufactured by Quanta Computer, according to Mingchi Kuo, senior analyst at Digitimes Research who cites discussions with upstream component makers.

Apple currently only offers the Air in 13.3" form factor and scaling down to a more compact size might be Apple's way of differentiating the Air from the Macbook and Macbook Pro models.

How likely is this going to happen? Steve Jobs has made it perfectly clear that he has no love for the netbook, and with the netbook market supposedly eaten away by Apple's iPad, makes this possibility even slimmer (no pun intended). That is, if you assume that Apple is aiming the Air at the netbook market (ie the sub-US$500 market).

What's more likely is that the new Air will cost more than US$1000 and is aimed at the status-seeking corporate execs who prefers to be seen with a showy business notebook, than be able to do any real productive work on it.

What's for sure, even if the new Air goes to market it will probably suffer the same fate as its older brother. Despite the ultra-thin, eye-grabbing design the current Macbook Air has never been one of Apple's top draws, being too pricey for what you get in return. With the new Air, I don't see this changing anytime soon.

Source: Apple readies 11.6-inch MacBook Air and new iPod touch

Jolicloud 1.0 test-drived

If you're tired of the whole Windows XP drama, and looking to try something fresh to revitalize your netbook, take a look at the Jolicloud. The newly minted version 1.0 is starting to roll out to the beta testers and one of the first users is Sascha from Netbook News. Check out his below video.

Give your netbooks a new lease of life with Pixel Qi

Ever since the Apple iPad hit the stores, tablets are all the rage and the netbook market is slowly dying out. Everyday there are more news of companies working hard to release their own tablets.

But before you decide to replace your trusty netbook, maybe you can consider upgrading it and breath some new life into it. One of the best ways to do that is to replace the netbook's display with one that can switch between color LCD screens and e-reader-like black-and-white displays.

Made by Pixel Qi, the 3Qi display operates in three modes: a full-color LCD transmissive mode; a low-power, sunlight-readable, reflective e-paper mode; and a transflective mode, which makes the LCD display visible in sunlight.

The 10.1-inch displays became available on July 1 through online retailer Maker Shed's website. The initial stock sold out in under a day, after which Maker Shed made the US$275 display available for pre-order, and will resume shipment "by the middle of this week," according to the website.

"Sales have been much higher than expected -- but we have the screens and are delighted about the enthusiastic reception from individuals running small projects. We are pleased to be able to support their efforts," said Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO of Pixel Qi, in an e-mail.

For now, Pixel Qi says it can guarantee the compatibility of the displays, which cost $275 each, with only two models of netbooks–the Samsung N130 and Lenovo S10. But the screen works in most other models and swapping out existing netbooks screens for those from Pixel Qi is a simple DIY tweak. "Changing the screen of your netbook is easy, the process takes about 5-10 minutes using a small screwdriver. It's simple," says Jepsen.

Beyond enthusiasts, Pixel Qi is also focused on working with "bigger customers," says Jepsen. Tablet maker Notion Ink has shown its upcoming Adam tablet uses a 3Qi display, while Pixel Qi in March signed a deal with One Laptop Per Child to develop screens for future XO devices. It is likely that a variant of the 3Qi screen will appear on OLPC's XO-3 tablet, which will also function as an e-book reader.

Check out this howto video from Maker's Shed on installing the 3Qi screen into an Acer netbook.

Asus Eee PC 1018PB Reviewed at CNET

Dan Ackerman from CNET has just posted the latest review of the Asus Eee PC 1018PB.

This is a straightforward Eee PC housing the standard Intel Atom N450 processor, up to 2GB RAM, 250GB storage etc. Nothing new or groundbreaking in terms of its internals. Instead, Asus has gone back to the drawing board to refresh the Eee PC design with a new slim, metallic look that's attractive and professional.

Performance-wise, the 1018 doesn't really distinguish itself from the pack but it ran for 5 hours and 15 minutes in the battery test and achieved a pretty low annual energy consumption cost compared with other brands.

Read the Asus Eee PC 1018PB review for more details.

Miffy gets 'netbooked'

Bandai Namco in celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Miffy cartoon character is unleashing the power of cute to children, in the form of a limited edition Miffy netbook.

Miffy (or Nijntje) is a small female rabbit in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. The first Miffy book was produced in 1955, and almost 30 others have followed. In total they have sold over 85 million copies, and inspired a television series as well as items such as clothes and toys featuring the character.

The latest addition to the Miffy empire is a netbook with specifications that are good if not great, and a look that is so sickly sweet it may just melt in your mouth. The netbook features a standard 1024x600 pixel 10.1 inch display and GMA 3150 graphics. The Intel Atom N450 processor is not deviating from the current market standard either.

The Miffy netbook is aimed squarely at the young ones, especially girls. The team at Bandai happily includes a number of Miffy themed applications and wallpapers, along with a casing that's liberally covered with character silhouettes. The Bandai Miffy will be available in both Windows XP and Windows 7 configurations, and can be pre-ordered right now for a hefty price range of US$900-US$1000.

Asus Eee PC 1215N with Dual-Core and ION

If you're like me, one of the early adopters of the netbook and still languishing with a N2xx series Atoms, the time has come to upgrade to dual-core netbooks with HD capable hardware.

Asus has introduced new Eee PC 1215N netbook with dual-core Intel Atom D525 1.8Ghz processor and Nvidia ION. Like the other 12xx series, the 1215N has a 12.1-inch HD ready display supporting 1366x768, and takes up to 2GB of RAM and up to 320GB of HDD.

Graphics-wise, it comes with the next generation Nvidia ION processor along with Nvidia Optimus technology. This technology automatically switches between integrated graphics and discrete graphics as per the requirement with due care taken for power consumption as well. Support for HD includes an HDMI out for connecting it to external HD displays enabling full 1080p HD playback.

What comes as a surprise is the inclusion of Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 3.0 support for better connectivity, along with the obligatory built-in Wi-Fi and webcam. Appearance wise, the 1215N is not much different from its cousin, the 1201. Check out the video review below.

No word yet on the pricing and availability of this netbook but it would probably be higher compared to current models.

AMD-powered dual-core Acer Aspire 1551 hits the shelves

If you've been wishing for a laptop with netbook form factor but without the limp of Atom processors, the latest Acer Aspire 1551 might just be the one for you.

The Aspire 1551 is endowed with not Atoms, but AMD's Athlon II Neo processors, inside a petite form with an 11.6" LED-backlit display and crammed with up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 802.11n WiFi, HDMI-out and a six-cell, five-hour battery. All this into a package that weight around 1.3Kg.

Two models will be made available. The pricier model (~US$550) will have a 1.5Ghz AMD Turion Neo K625 dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive, while the cheaper one (~US$480) will have a 1.3GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K325 CPU, 3GB of memory, and a 250GB hard drive.

Libretto W100 coming to Singapore

Toshiba will be selling the Libretto W100 in Singapore soon. What's so special about the Libretto W100? It's probably the world's first dual-touchscreen tablet. Although the concept is not new, the Libretto W100 would be the first such machine to actually hit retail shelves.

What's immediately apparent when you first look at the W100 are the 2 1,024x600 pixels 7" multi-touch LED-backlit displays. It doesn't have a keyboard and instead flashes a virtual keyboard on one of the displays.

It runs on Intel Pentium U5400 1.20Ghz processor, has 2GB of memory, 62GB of solid-state storage, and comes with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It only weights 0.81Kg which is pretty light, it packs a 1-megapixel front-facing webcam and has a built-in accelerometer that automatically switches from book mode to laptop mode.

The Libretto will be selling for S$1,999 which is a pretty steep price tag, and will come in various metallic colours. The low battery life (2 hours with four-cell battery, double that for the eight-cell pack) probably won't help sales either, and will make this appealing only to early adopters.

Check out the video demo below.

New Samsung N230 touts 13+ hours of battery life

Samsung's N230 will last 13+ hours of usage, so they claim in a new announcement. The netbook will offer seven hours of battery life, but if you're on a plane or simply can't be bothered to charge the machine then this can be extended to 13.8 hours with a 66Wh battery.

The N230 sports a premium black finish, weighs below 1kg and measures 23.2mm slim. Designed for consumers who want portability, the 10.1-inch N230 offers sufficient computing power to do their daily tasks.

It's powered by either an Intel 1.66GHz N450 or a 1.83GHz N470 Atom processor, has 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive, WiFi with wireless N and built-in 3G. Throw in Bluetooth 3.0 and the system offers plenty of connectivity.

Samsung has announced that its N230 netbook will be available worldwide with a starting price of $399.

Source: Korea Newswire

Rugged HP Mini 100e netbook for school kids

HP is preparing for the US back to school season and has offered up a new netbook for students called the HP Mini 100e Education Edition. This is the first product aimed at students between kindergarten and 6th grade, with a low price of US$300.

The HP Mini is a Pine Trail machine, with 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 1GB RAM, 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600-pixel display and 160GB HDD. There's also a VGA webcam, and the laptop comes with a choice of a 3 cell, 4.5 hour battery or a 6 cell, 8.5 hour battery which also sits flush with the base of the unit.

Its made with a strong plastic chassis held together with steel pins, metal-alloy hinges that should hold up well to repeated use, a 92% spill-resistant keyboard and a carry handle. The handle is non-user removable, because HP wanted as few removable parts as possible to keep children from messing with the netbook.

It includes an intergrated modem for use in developing or remote areas where broadband might not be available, and it has an LED on the back of the lid so that teachers can see when there's network activity.

The 100e comes with productivity, education, and security software preinstalled from Microsoft with Office 2010, Microsoft Math, and Microsoft Security Essentials.

The HP Mini 100e is not available at the retail level and is sold through B2B channels wordlwide at this time. It's expected to go on sale globally the first week in July.