Category: PC

More Details on Dell’s Upcoming Inspiron Mini

APC got their hands on the upcoming mini-notebook from Dell. Currently the notebook is being called the “Inspiron Mini.”

  • Ubuntu will probably be an option
  • Most likely being released in August
  • The wait is because they are trying to get the keyboard just right
  • No dedicated function keys
  • Three USB ports, VGA, and a memory card reader

The notebook looks really good, I love all of these new small form factor notebooks.  I personally consider these to be an amazing option for college students, they can take them to classes without adding too much weight to a bag, and since a lot of typing is going to be done on it, it doesn’t need to be too powerful.

Asus All-In-One Eee Monitor Debuts

Asus has finally unveiled their all-in-one addition to the Eee lineup. The new computer is named the Eee Monitor (terrible name by the way) it should come in sizes from 19 to 21 inches, have a built in TV tuner, and be priced around $500.

The PC should be shipping in September alongside Asus’s 42″ Eee TV.

I think that Asus may be going a little too far with that Eee TV, but I do think the Eee Monitor is a great idea. At $500 who wouldn’t get this all-in-one, the only problem I think the majority of the market would be frustrated by is the fact that it runs Linux (the vast majority of the public just isn’t ready for it yet), but of course, this is just me assuming that it won’t run Windows as well.

PC World

Asus Eee Box Details

The Asus Desktop Eee PC has been a long time coming (a few months at least!) and Asus has finally given some actual info on the computer.

The name of it is now the Asus Eee Box, the computer will be available worldwide in July with both Linux and Windows XP versions. The cheapest model will be priced at $330 and have a 80GB hard drive (250GB max) 802.11n Wifi, 4 USB ports, and a card reader.

There is no word yet on what processor the Eee Box will have but one would assume it will be packing an Atom CPU just like it’s notebook brother.

PCWorld

Dell Mini Inspiron, Dell’s First Ultraportable

Brian Lam of Gizmodo ran into Michael Dell at All Things D and saw a pretty interesting little laptop that Dell is developing.

The notebook is Dell’s first ultraportable and is developed with low cost and developing countries in mind. The notebook came from Dell’s IdeaStorm (where customers can go and give Dell ideas for products).

The notebook had three USB ports, a card reader, VGA out, and ethernet. There is no information as to pricing or what operating system it will be running but the thing looks like a very worthy competitor to HPs MiniNote 2133.

Gizmodo
Dell Your Blog

Asus Ee PC 901 To Be Released on June 3rd For $650

Asus will be launching the Eee PC 901 on June 3rd for $650. We already saw some early pictures and a few specs on the 901 but now we have a date and we also have a price (or a round about price).

The 901 is also supposed to be sporting Bluetooth, which is a first for the Eee PC lineup. What’s interesting about this release is that the MSI Wind is going to be released on the same day as the 901 and the Wind is going to be $250 cheaper and have a larger display (10″), so I wonder how Asus is planning to fight off the Wind, unless of course the $650 price point is for a Windows XP version, or one with a larger solid state drive and a cheaper version of the 901 is also going to be released.

DigiTimes

French Blog Gets Exclusive Pictures of Next Eee PC

A French blog by the name of Blogeee.net has allegedly gained access to some pictures of the next Asus Eee PC, the 901. The blog says that the next Eee PC will get a few pretty big upgrades.

The 901 will get a new motherboard, an Intel Atom processor, and a whole bunch of exterior changes.

  • VGA port is now on the right side.
  • Metal sides on the screen hinge.
  • Kensington lock has been added next to the ethernet port.
  • Asus logo has been removed in favor of the Eee PC logo.

All of these pictures seem to be real and all of the improvements seem nice, nothing I would consider to be revolutionary but when it comes to these ultraportable notebooks it is hard to expect anything more than incremental upgrades.

Blogeee (via Gizmodo)

Asus Eee PC 900 Now Shipping From Amazon

The new Asus Eee PC 900 is now available and shipping from Amazon.com. This new Eee PC is priced at $549 for the 12GB SSD version and $585 for the 20GB SSD version (at the time of writing this).

The second generation Eee PC features a larger 8.9 inch wide screen with a 1024 by 600 resolution. It will also feature a new FingerGlide touchpad that recognizes two finger gestures for scrolling and zooming.

Specs:
900MHz Celeron M processor
1GB DDR2 RAM
UMA graphics chipset
802.11b/g Wifi

12GB with Windows
20GB with Linux

The Toshiba Portégé R500, 1.7 Pound 12-inch Notebook

The Toshiba Portégé R500. This thing is one heck of an ultraportable. The R500 sports a 12-inch display and a full size keyboard and yet still is able to weigh in at only 1.7 pounds.

The last Toshiba Portégé R500 weighed 2.4 pounds, to lose those ever important 0.7 pounds Toshiba removed the optical drive.

The Toshiba Portégé R500 starts at $2,599, and although that is including a 64GB solid state disk I still think it is a little expensive. The MacBook Air, with an 80GB non-SSD is only $1,799. I would rather see the R500 without the SSD, which may be an option but I don’t have that information at this time.

The MacBook Air is nearly twice the R500’s weight but it makes up for it with its larger screen and nicer style.

The R500 is a really good option though for someone who values having the lightest notebook they can find and doesn’t care about spending a lot of money.

PC Magazine

Lenovo IdeaPad U110, 2.4lbs 11.1″ Notebook Shown On Video

Lenovo’s IdeaPad U110 is 2.4lbs, it features an Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 (1.6GHz) processor, 2GB memory, 120GB HDD, 11.1-inch widescreen WXGA display, Bluetooth, Wifi, dual-layer DVD burner, 1.3 megapixel web cam, and priced at $1,899.

The notebook looks to be very competitive with the MacBook Air (which I’m sure a lot of people will compare it to) the pricing seems very reasonable for what you get, although I’m not sure what I think about the standard 4-cell battery that is only rated at 2 hours of use, if I was to purchase this I would probably spring for the 7-cell battery.

The notebook also has 3 USB ports, VGA, Firewire, Mini-PCIe / ExpressCard slots, 6-in-1 card reader, audio in and out, along with stereo speakers.

TechEBlog
Lenovo IdeaPad U110

CTL Announces Ultraportable Notebook For $350

Here comes another one of those oh so popular ultraportable notebooks, this time it is made by CTL (maker of the Classmate 2) and is called the IL1 and is so far the cheapest ultraportable I’ve seen, priced at $350.

Via C7-M 1GHz processor
1GB RAM
7″ LED-backlit LCD (800×480)
Integrated graphics
VGA output for second monitor
4GB solid state drive
2x USB ports
802.11b/g Wifi
1x RJ-45 10/100 Ethernet
56K Modem
SD/MMC Memory Card Reader
Windows XP or Linux
Integrated 640×480 webcam

Dimensions & Power
9.6″ x 6.8″ x 1.7″
2.6lbs
4-cell Li-Ion Battery
About 4.5 hours battery life

CTL [viaGizmodo]

Psystar OpenComputer Ships, Gizmodo Gives Details

A Gizmodo reader has sent in a video and some information regarding the Psystar OpenComputer. Patrick (the reader) was lucky (?) enough to be one of the first to get a shipped OpenComputer.

“The thing boots up and runs pretty damn fast, says Patrick, but Software Update won’t recognize it so you won’t be able to patch. System Profiler thinks that it’s a Mac Pro.”

The idea of a super fast Mac for under $1,000 looks good on paper, unfortunately if you can’t update your operating system you may end up with incompatibilities down the road which might not let you even use an iPod with the system, and who knows whether or not Psystar will be able to help you upgrade the system later on.

We already know that you can’t reinstall Leopard by yourself on this machine, what else is wrong with this deal?

Gizmodo has a video of the OpenComputer up on their site which you can see here.

Dell Shows Off PC With Bamboo Case

Michael Dell recently gave a speech at the Fortune Green conference where he showed off a “never before seen” eco friendly computer with a bamboo casing. Now Dell didn’t give a product name yet and didn’t mention any specs but did say that it would be coming out later this year for $500-$700.

The small computer is 81% smaller than a standard desktop and uses 70% less power than a standard desktop.

If you have any questions about the just how environmentally friendly this computer is Dell said that it is filled with recycled materials like old bottles, detergent cases, and milk jugs.

This is the second of (what I hope to be) many more good designs from Dell, the first being the crystal LCD monitor, which I think would go great with this bamboo box. I am worried about the fact that we haven’t heard specs yet. I think that if this isn’t just another low powered computer with a fancy case but actually has some good storage, an optical drive, and a decent CPU then this thing will sell really well.

More pictures of the Dell Bamboo computer can be found at earth2tech.