the company is one that can sell anything–from phones that cannot MMS or even copy and paste to MP3 players that can transfer songs only from one computer. Though there has been speculation that the Cupertino, Calif., company is in the process of producing a minilaptop, we feel a Mac OS X-based Netbook will probably never happen
One of the key selling points of a Mac lies in its usability, and a Netbook will not be able to deliver the full Mac experience with its small screen and slow single-core processor. Moreover, an Apple minilaptop will be unlikely to compete in price cuts and may cost as much as another premium Atom machine, the Sony Vaio P.
Does this mean a no-go for a subportable Apple PC? One possibility is that instead of Mac OS X, the company may create a Netbook based on theiPhone interface. This makes a lot of sense, as not only will a mobile platform require less processing power and battery drawn than the full PC operating system, it will also provide access to the App Store and possess instant-on features.
Such a machine will likely come with 3G access for mobile broadband, since the code is already available in the iPhone 3G. With Android-based Netbooks soon to hit store shelves, an iPhone OS-based minilaptop doesn’t seem all that far off.
Perhaps things might change when the Intel GN45 and dual-core Atom processors hit the scene. For now, this is what we expect to happen should Apple announce a minilaptop in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
Multitouch Touchpad:You can use various gestures like moving your fingers apart at the same times will trigger zoom in in a webpage or image and bringing your fingers together will zoom out. In a web browser, you can use two fingers to scroll up and down. Three finger tap to a right click.
SDHC: compatible meaning that it can read/write all those high-capacity SD cards in the market. The capacity of these cards go upto 32GB.
Eee Storage:service is complimentary for the first 18 months. Please register account information for 6 months extension (depend on country)
Didn’t want to have to use a dongle or other external GPS device? with Dell E Mini 9
started by tearing the Mini down and seeing if it was even possible. Dell’s service manuals for the Mini 9 are pretty decent and are all you need to take the system apart. You can view them here. Luckily, there’s a bit of space around where the Bluetooth adapter is located. It wasn’t much, but it looked like enough, so I ordered the smallest USB GPS receiver I could find. It’s a nice unit with a SkyTraQ chipset and support for AGPS. Once I used the included utility to download an AGPS update into the unit, it gets a location fix in about five seconds after a reset.
Once I made sure the GPS receiver worked, I immediately took it apart to see just how small it could get. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how small it really is. Here’s a picture of the GPS unit, the Bluetooth adapter, and a quarter for scale comparison.
**when you try something like this, you could break your computer. If that is something you could not live with, do not even attempt it. Also, it helps to have electronics and soldering experience.
About half a year ago, Intel introduced its Atom CPU series, and performance in some tasks was quite a disappointment for us. Intel made a step in the right direction introducing its first dual-core Atom CPU, as this one might actually have what it takes to get the right performance in this ultra-cheap market segment.
A year ago Intel had a huge stock of 945G chipset and thought: “What can we do with this junk?” – Atom was born. It is still laughable that Atom consumes up to 4W, while the chipset needs much more than that. Even the dual-core Atom 330 with its 8W TDP is still better than any 945G.
Concurrently, Intel decided to limit the feature-set on these boards, so there won’t be any board with PCIe slots, which would enable any user to put a decent graphics-cards in the machine. Intel naturally doesn’t like to compete with itself and Atom 330 is a desktop-only CPU that should make it to the cheapest, low-end machines. Intel won’t let anyone use Dual-core Atom 330 in netbooks, which is a shame as a notebook with dual-core Atom would definitely be a great idea, but it would probably hurt Intel’s existing dual-core notebook sales.
Atom 330 comes with the new Intel board is called D945GCLF2, which is the most basic board you can imagine. Intel still is in the year 1996, as the board features legacy ports such as COM and LPT, and they still did not manage to put a DVI connector on the board.
The most ridiculous decision Intel made is to put a 5500RPM fan on the Northbridge cooler. If you thought you can have a quiet machine because the CPU is passively cooled, you will be very disappointed. The system fan connector is badly placed, because there are many ITX cases which feature a fan on the right side, so there is a chance the fan-cable gets into the fan. Don’t get confused because there is an ATX 2.2 power connector, it’s not needed, any 20-pin ITX power-supply will just run fine, if it features a P4 CPU-power connector or if you have a HDD to CPU-power cable. A 60W ITX power-supply will suffice.
The backpanel is pretty standard, no suprises here.
Let’s look at the new CPU:
As you can see, two dies of Atom N270s give you one Atom 330. So, Intel did not do something fancy like doing a real dual-core die. Just two dies stitched on the same socket. They did not improve the design at any level, still 32kB L1 instruction cache and 24kB L1 data cache with 512kB L2 cache but this CPU is suppose to be energy efficient, and it does a great job there.
The FPU is still slow and even a dual-core can’t match a single-core Celeron 220. The Atom 330 is clocked at 1.60GHz and the total TDP of both cores are 8W, with a typical consumption of about 5W. The downside besides slow execution is the bundled 945GC chipset, which has a TDP of 22W and 3W for the ICH7 sSuthbridge.
Power supply:
ITX 80W external/internal power supply
Hard disk:
Seagate Barraczda 7200.9 80GB (provided by Seagate)
DVD-Drive:
Optiarc AD-7543A
Benchmarks:
As you can imagine, two Atom N270 cores can’t provide us with any performance miracles, but if you use software which can utilize two or four cores, the CPU will suffice for standard working environments.
Celeron 220:
Atom 330:
No surprises here, the Atom FPU/SSE Unit is still lame.
Celeron 220:
Atom 330:
SuperPI runs only in one thread.
Sandra shows better results, because it utilizes all cores of any CPU::
Here we see, the Atom 330 scales well, but it’s no match for a cheap desktop CPU such as the old E4000 series. But at least the new Atom 330 can leave the Celeron 220 way behind, at least when using two cores/four threads.
Power Consumption:
We used lamemt and in case of the Atom 330 a 720p movie. A normal resolution movie will yield the same results as with the N270.
Atom 330 is doing well despite the fact the Northbridge/Southbridge is taking about 25W.
Conclusion:
Again, we tested if the new Atom 330 can play 720p stuff, at least when it plays from the hard drive. Atom 330 doesn’t have any problems to play 720P and we suspect it can do 1080p. It’s recommended to use ffdshow with classic media player to do so, because it utilizes dual cores and is much more efficient compared to any Microsoft or Apple codec. You can find the latest version here: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=173941
To do a screenshot of a player you need to render with DX9 renderer, but DX output is much more CPU-intensive. If you have problems with playback we suggest you set your player to “overlay mixer”.
Atom 330 is a good step forward. It will do all your office work, you can surf the Internet and even play HD content as long as you don’t try that with a Blu-ray drive. The Northbridge/Southbridge combination is still disappointing. The Intel board, in particular, is quite boring and Intel has limited the feature-set to an absolute minimum. Besides that, the northbridge cooler makes working in a quiet environment impossible. There is some hope, because other vendors will do better boards and at least give us a proper DVI connector and a passively solution. You can clearly see that Intel’s board around Atom 330 was the way to save as much money as possible.
The good: Strikes optimal Netbook balance between portability and usability; polished look; fair price.
The bad: Wimpy three-cell battery is only option at the moment; no 802.11n Wi-Fi or WWAN; no option for solid-state hard drive.
The bottom line: The MSI Wind U100 makes a positive first impression with its polished design and roomy (for a Netbook) display and keyboard, but it’s missing a handful of features–bigger battery, solid-state hard drive, and WWAN–that would turn it from a very good to a great on-the-go mini-laptop.
Hewlett-Packard and world-renowned Asian fashion designer Vivienne Tam have been working together to create the HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition notebook. However, anyone attending Tam’s fashion show during New York’s Fashion Week at Bryant Park Tuesday has probably already seen it.
The special-edition notebook–which looks to be an HP mini-note, except it’s sporting a 10-inch screen–debuted with the usual fanfare a fashion show receives at Fashion Week, but with a high-tech twist.
Models sashayed onto the catwalk workin’ the designer notebook as a clutch purse, while looking fierce in Tam’s clothing.
The HPs 10-inch screen seems to be a reflective one.
(Credit: Laptopmag)
The notebook is gleaming red and bursting with peony flowers–a signature staple of Tam’s collection–on the lid. The peony design is then meticulously carried inside the notebook, under the keypad. The laptop also features a extra special enter key that bears the Chinese symbol for double happiness. The design was inspired by Tam’s “China Chic” style, which is recognized from the runways in Milan to the Olympics in Beijing and represents her personal mantra to live well and be beautiful. The notebook also features a complimentary embroidered storage sleeve that helps keep the exterior protected while being carried as a clutch.
The “digital clutch” represents the first time a computer company has partnered with a fashion designer to create a notebook PC as well as have it debut at a fashion show. In addition to the design of the notebook, Tam worked with HP to design its accessories and packaging.
Last month, Polo Ralph Lauren unveiled special downloadable software for camera phones that allows users to scan codes–placed in print ads, mailings, and store windows–and be directed to a phone-friendly version of a Ralph Lauren Web site, where you can shop.
Other design houses, including Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, and Zac Posen, are now using technology offered by Fashion GPS, which uses global positioning technology to keep track of inventory and samples by using either bar codes or radio-frequency identification tags to organize a fashion closet and check items in and out. It lets designers put together a look book for editors to browse online.
The laptop sports a glossy red design with peony flower detail.
(Credit: Laptopmag)
And DKNY also used bar code technology for invitations and seating for its fashion show, asking guests to RSVP online and then scan their invites at the show.
HP also launched a way to help fashionistas around the globe find design inspiration online, called the “Tech Chic” virtual experience. HP went all out creating a virtual catwalk, a designer tour hosted by Tam, and a “design bot” gadget inspiring users to dress up their computers with Tam-designed wallpaper, screensaver, and icons–all of which are available now in the United States and in early October worldwide.
The HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition notebook is expected to be available early next year. No pricing is available, however, and specs are pretty non-existent (Intel Atom CPU?), but coming from a high-end fashion designer like Vivienne Tam, we can expect it’ll cost some cha-ching.
If netbooks are following the traditional product cycle, they must be nearing the peak in Europe this week as two major budget supermarket chains push out the devices to their mainstream customer base. Aldi, the supermarket chain that sold 10’s of thousands of Medion Akoya Minis in the summer, is about to push the device out through its 300 UK shops. Expect at least 6 pieces per store for something like 2000 sales on the 7th of September. Then, in Germany, watch out for Plus who, with their 2700 shops started offering the Zen-ID (like the Akoya Mini, the same as the MSI Wind.) At an average of 6 per shop, that’s another 16000+. Add on the discount electrical stores and office stores and you’re at well over 20000, in just a few weeks, in Germany. Lets have some fun with these figures now and play Gartner because I think we’ve got enough data points to start estimating global netbook sales.
We’ll start with the above figures and call it 30000 netbooks sold in one month in Germany and lets say that its been happening since the first supermarket offering in July. That’s about 100,000 netbooks sold in three months which I have no doubt will extend to 400000 in 12 months. Due to competition, price reductions, marketing and new features, I even feel confident to say 0.5 Million in 1 year. A penetration rate in Germany of about 0.75%
For fun, lets multiply that across Europe with the UK, France, Holland, Italy and Spain collectively being about 3 times the size of Germany and having a similar customer base. That’s another 1.5 million sales in 12 months. The rest of Europe is not so small either, a total of over 700 million people [the EU totals 500 million. Europe itself is about 700 million] I wouldn’t expect the penetration to be the same in the rest of Europe but if we take an average of 0.3 times the German netbook penetration rate, we reach a grand total of:
Europe: 2.7 million netbook sales.
(12 months from July 2008)
That’s an average Europe-wide penetration rate of 0.38 of one percent. One in every 260 people across a mixed, but relatively rich, demographic.
Lets assume the same penetration rate in the top non-European, but relatively rich countries I see on my Google analytics results for UMPCPortal. U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan. Their total population is about 500 million.
* US, CN, AU, HK, JP = 500 Million people @ 0.0038 = 1.9 million sales
Other top countries that need to be considered are: China, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia which have much less buying power on average. Lets say 0.1 times the average European rate. One in 2600 people.
* CN, TW, SN, ID = 1500 Million people @ 0.00038 = 0.57 million
That’s 5.2 million sales across 2.7 billion people. We now need to add in the other people that live here with us. India and Africa and a bunch of smaller countries where I’d estimate the penetration rate to be somewhat less than in China. Again, lets say 0.1 of the penetration rate of China. 0.000038 (one sale per 26,000 people)
ASUS’ latest netbook has been revealed, the N10, and just like the S101 launched earlier this month it won’t be carrying the Eee brand. It’s a step in the luxury direction for the company’s netbooks, competing more with HP’s Mini-Note 2133, with a classier casing, 10.2-inch display running at 1024 x 768 and speakers courtesy of Altec Lansing.
Other specifications are generally unknown, though it’s likely that the N10 will use an Atom CPU; it could even take advantage of the upcoming dual-core Atom 330, which is apparently back on track for launch in September. ASUS have already pledged to launch dual-core netbooks by the end of the year. However the N10 does have a HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, what looks to be an ExpressCard slot and an SDHC slot.
Connectivity, going by the switches and LEDs, will include Bluetooth and WiFi; there’s also a built-in webcam and fingerprint reader. DigiTimes are predicting the N10 will retail between $446 to $595, which seems on the low side compared to the Eee PC 1000-series.
Acer has announced an ultra-mobile PC which it calls a ‘netbook’ rather than a laptop in an attempt to revive flagging sales in the computer market.
The Aspire One is a low cost computer designed to compete with the Asus Eee PC and the OLPC.
The sub-1Kg device runs Linux, and offers Wi-Fi and an 8GB solid state drive. It will be in the shops by 10 July.
Aspire One is designed to open a new front in the computer industry with a low-spec laptop aimed at internet users who do not generate their own content but view internet sites from home or on the move.
“These devices are more for consuming content than creating it,” said Graham Palmer, UK general manager at Intel. “If you are into photo and video editing then these devices are not for you.”
The Aspire One will launch with Linux but will also be available using 3G or WiMax as separate models by the end of the year.
3G versions are expected to be sold by mobile operators while the WiMax versions will be available once the spectrum is available later this year.
Acer is planning versions of the Aspire One using Linux and the solid state hard drive to be available for £199, with a version running Windows XP and using an 80GB platter hard drive going on sale for £249 later in the year.
The company said that PC sales are flat and, while laptop sales are growing, this could not continue for ever.
While it is anticipated that laptops will become the main computer in most households, ‘netbooks’ will act as usable mobile devices.
“The handheld market is now bigger than the laptop market,” said David Drummond, managing director of Acer UK.
“It will be bigger than the entire PC market by 2011, growing most rapidly in the EU and the US.”
Drummond claimed that Acer has already sold its entire first quarter’s production to its retail and channel partners, and would ramp up production if it could get more Intel Atom processors to power the device.
Link:itweek.co.uk
