Tegra Based Netbooks Are Coming

If you have gone over the list of netbooks available on the market, you have probably seen that most netbooks come with the Intel ATOM processor. But ATOM is not the only processor that is capable of powering up netbooks. Nano CPUs are also powerful and can provide you with a decent computing performance. And now you can enjoy Tegra CPUs on your netbooks. Tegra based netbooks provide you with a better performance that some ATOM processors. ATOM CPUs are not designed to handle heavy duty graphics. If you have owned a netbook, you have probably realized the limitations with these CPUs. Tegra-based netbooks have less of those limitations, and they don’t empty your battery either. (more…)

Netbook Buying Guide: Important Factors

Buying a netbook is not as big a decision as, let’s say, buying a Mac. While you are spending a decent amount of money, it’s not anything as drastic as the amount you would have to spend on a more expensive laptop. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to compare netbooks to find out which one works for you the best. The tendency in the laptop market is to go with the speed and the CPU. With netbooks, you don’t really get that many options. You can choose N270, N280, or some other Nano CPU for your netbook, but as far as the speed is concerned, you don’t have too many options.

Another major factor when buying a laptop is its RAM. The more the better, right? In the netbook market, you don’t really have too many choices. There are only a few netbooks that come with a 2GB RAM. So it’s not too easy to choose the right netbook these days. There are many similar units on the market, and the differences are not too easy to point out. So while you have less options, making the right choice is much more difficult.

Netbook Buying Factors:

If you are looking to buy a netbook, here are a few factors that you should pay extra attention to (in addition to CPU speed and RAM of course):

• Weight: why would you want to buy a heavy netbook if you intend to take it with you on the go. This should not be the only factor you pay attention to, but it’s one of the more important ones.
• Battery Life: getting hours of battery life per charge is a must these days. If you are taking your netbook with you during your trips, the last thing you want to do is keep worrying about charging it on the go.
• Graphics: older netbooks weren’t that great in handling HD graphics. The new models are getting much better. Make sure you do your research before getting one.
• Keyboard: there are a few netbooks that come with extremely small keyboards. Those are really tough to work with if you type fast. 92% size keyboards are not too difficult to handle if you intend to type fast on your device.
• Networking: many netbooks do not support wireless N connectivity. But those that do let you get fast connections that enable you to download and upload files fast.
• Connectivity: having enough USB ports and other connectivity ports certainly does help. You do want to be able to connect additional devices to your netbook. Can’t do that if you have few ports.

Price could also be a factor here. Some netbooks cost only in the $200s whereas some others can cost you as much as $500. The gap is huge, so if you have a specific budget, price will also play a role here.

Buying a netbook doesn’t have to be difficult. It does take some research, but by comparing netbooks, reading online revies, and testing them in person, you’ve got a better chance in finding the best netbook for you.

Your take: in your opinion, what’s the most important netbook buying factor?

HP Vivienne Tam Netbook 2G Coming

Credit: Gizmodo

A lot of netbook manufacturers spend a lot of time working on their devices’ power and performance. But HP seems to have find its niche Vivienne Tam Netbooks. Many people use their netbooks as an ultra portable laptop to get their work done on the go. But with a tiny, shiny device such as a netbook, the opportunity is always there to give it a fashion angle. While the first generation Vivienne HP netbook was too expensive, it did look attractive, and maybe that’s why the sales results were more than what HP expected. (more…)

Is Apple Hypocritical On Netbooks?

Apple has been awfully vocal about devices that could pose any threat to it in the past few months. Amazon Kindle and netbooks are devices that can take some market-share away from Apple. Now if you are Apple, you probably still get to sell your iPhone to people who own a Kindle or a netbook, but you’d have a more difficult time selling them your Macbook Air or Macbook Pro as those devices are very expensive in comparison.

Let’s not forget that Apple has been working on an iTablet for a few months now. While we still haven’t heard anything about the iPad and its potential release date, it’s not too hard to assume that something is in the works. So in a few months, we are going to see a device from Apple that will go head to head against netbooks and e-book readers. No wonder Apple is attacking them ahead of time. Here is what Apple COO, Phill Schiller, had to say about this: (more…)

Apple Not Killing Netbooks Yet, Will ULVs?

Apple’s latest event generated a lot of buzz and still managed to disappoint many netbook fans. We have been waiting for Apple to announce its plans as far as its tablet is concerned, but Steve Jobs and Co. certainly know how to keep a secret. Apple conveniently announced its plans to dominate the mobile gaming and video market. The PSP and the Flip have been put on notice by Apple. But the netbook market seems to be spared for now. That doesn’t mean Apple won’t come after netbooks once it has conquered its now goals.

When it comes developing a netbook killer, there seems to be two camps involved. One camp believes that you can beat netbooks by offering similar devices with more features. The other camp (which Apple seems to be in) considers netbooks as fad and rather focus on long-term profits than market-share. ULV laptops have already proved that companies can compete with netbooks by offering power and portability in one package.

ULV laptops are not only energy efficient and slim, but they are also very portable. So you get the best of netbooks with the power of fully-fledged laptops. It’s true that some of these ULV laptops are heavier than netbooks but the weight can be negligible. At this point, CULV laptops are not as mainstream as netbooks per se. Apple MacBook Air is technically a CULV laptop, but it’s too pricey for most folks. But with prices dropping and the netbooks improving in features, the lines will get blurry. So in the end, it’ll be all about power vs. portability vs. energy efficiency, and consumers will be the true winners.

ATOM N470 1.88 Ghz CPU Coming to Netbooks

We have been giving the netbook manufacturers a tough time for not picking up faster CPUs in the past. The reality of it is it’s not all that simple. Many netbooks come with N270 as their CPU. While it’s a wonderful CPU and fast enough to get the job done, it could all be a bit better. N280 is finally gaining some traction in the netbook market, but it’s still not where it need to be. Besides, N280 is not too much faster than N270. Starting next year, we are going to see those faster CPUs (N450 and N470) used in top netbooks. You can always talk about netbooks weight, features, and portability, but at the end of the day performance matters as well. You can’t expect to get heavy duty things done on those slow CPUs, so the new ATOM N470 certainly is a step in the right direction.

Those of you who have been waiting for a dual core Intel CPU for netbooks are going to be disappointed with N470. It’s still a single-core CPU but the clock is a bit faster at 1.88 Ghz. It’s still not known how this CPU will work with the ION technology. It’s also not clear how much price increase we will see in netbooks that take advantage of this CPU. Whatever the case, it’s still a move in the right direction. Netbooks need more powerful CPUs, and N470 seems to be one powerful one.

HP Mini 311 Netbook: Hello Nvidia ION

Netbooks get a lot of flak for not being able to handle HD content too well. These devices are too tiny, but they do pack a punch. Nevertheless, their purpose was never to be a mobile HD entertainment device. But it seems manufacturers have finally figured out a way to make it easier for netbook owners to watch HD content on their netbooks when they are on the go. Many new netbook models will sport Nvidia ION technology which will make watching HD videos on a netbook much easier.

HP is one of the few manufacturers that are jumping on the chance on bring HD videos to netbooks. HP is planning to introduce Mini 311 netbook with Nvidia ION to the market soon. The device will come with a 11.6″ screen, making it one of the largest netbooks on the market. While the graphics capabilities of HP Mini 311 have excited many netbook fans, it is the battery life that will be interesting to watch when it comes to testing this device. HP netbooks are known for not having too long of a battery life, and that could always be a hassle if you are on the road and don’t want to spend your time charging and recharging your netbook at all times. It’s also disappointing that HP did not decide to go with N280 CPU and wireless N support on Mini 311.

Mini 311 Netbook is interesting to watch, but perhaps more interesting is the wave of ION-based netbooks that are coming in the upcoming months. Just as you think the netbook market is maturing, the manufacturers find a new way to excite netbook fans.

[via Engadget]

ASUS’ Next Big Device: Eee E-book Reader?

Credit Engadget

ASUS is one of the most innovative companies around the world. It was a big part of the netbook movement, and it has kept its position as one of the best netbook manufacturers around in the past few months, and its devices are getting better and more powerful. But we have known for a while that the company is in need of new markets to explore to grow its business and compete with its larger competitors. ASUS all in one desktops are certainly interesting, but they are not catching fire like netbooks. So ASUS has decided to try its hand in a whole new market that is booming and growing fast – ebook reader market.

Amazon has single-handedly revolutionized the e-book market with the release of Amazon Kindle. The wireless capable device has allowed many people to take their books with them on the go while having access to Amazon store at all times. While Sony was one of the pioneers in this market, Amazon stole its thunder with Kindle and has managed to keep its position as the top e-book reader maker for the past 2 years. But ASUS plans to change all that.

ASUS is known for developing budget but innovative products. That seems to be the case with Eee reader as well. The company plans to introduce a dual screen e-book reader that makes it easier for people to multi-task with their device. You should be able to read your book on one screen and browse the Internet on the other. You’ll also have a web cam and a microphone to share your musings with the world. (more…)

5 Lightest Netbooks Around

Netbooks are in general lightweight. Most of them weight under 3 pounds, so most of them are super portable and compact, allowing you to take them with you on the road. But like any other gadget, people are interested to know what the lightest netbook around is. While I don’t believe focusing on weight is the best way to choose a netbook, but some people do like to go after those lightest netbooks. If that is you, here are 5 lightest netbooks money can buy:

Sony VAIO VGN-P530H/Q Lifestyle PC: one tiny netbook for the road. It’s very compact and weighs only 1.5 pounds.

Sylvania GNET13001 G-Netbook: not the most advanced netbook around, but the focus is always on portability and low-weight. It only weighs 1.87 lbs and comes with Linux.

Acer Aspire One AOA150-1447 Netbook: it’s your typical netbook with all those standard features, except it only weighs 2.1 lbs. The screen size is 8.9″ which is larger than the above two. (more…)

Another 11-Hour Battery Netbook?

The netbook market is moving towards having crazy long battery life on new netbook models. In the past, netbooks used to get a lot of flak for not lasting too long as far as their battery life was concerned. Think about it. You spend $300-$500 on a netbook, hoping to take it with you on the road without having to charge them all the time. The consumers asked and netbook makers listened. Now we have many laptops that last more than 8 hours. The next step for top netbook makers seem to be getting half a day of work per charge on their new netbook models. Asus has come close to that on ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK Netbook. Eee 1005HA gives you 10.5 hours of battery life per each charge. That’s great, but it could be even better.

Samsung is now claiming that its N140 netbook will give you 11 hours of work per charge. Samsung does have some of the best netbooks on the market, but their battery life is nowhere near 11 hours. It seems Samsung, too, has understood that people are willing to pay a bit more to get much more battery life on their mini-netbooks. We have been giving Sony a lot of grief over its decision to introduce a netbook that only gives you 3 hours of work per charge. So it’s exciting to see other companies step up and come up with more energy efficient netbooks. Since we haven’t tested N140, it’s tough to say whether it can last that long but if it gets even close to that, it must be considered a win for netbook fans. N140 is certainly worth looking forward to.