Samsung Targets Ladies with N230 Netbook?
As more netbook challengers to the market, more netbook makers are going after those niche netbook markets. Samsung is doing just that with N230 netbook. Samsung has made N230 light and compact to make it more attractive to younger ladies:
Our main target audience will be young ladies in their twenties or even early thirties… Given its super-light and tiny features, ladies may find it handy to carry this around in their bags,
says a Samsung spokeswoman (courtesy of WSJ). The device has started selling in Europe already and will be coming to the U.S. early July. Samsung N230 is expected to run N470 and offer up to 13.8 hours of battery life. (more…)
HP Sends Confusing Messages with Mini 210
A few days ago, major news sources started reporting that HP was ready to pull the plug on HP Mini 210 product line. The company does have a few similar netbook models, so losing Mini 210 is not going to be a big loss for consumers. HP was still expected to sell HP Mini 210 HD as well as its other netbook models (Mini 110, Mini 311). At the same time, the company has started selling HP Mini 210-1160NR. So Mini 210′s seem to be sticking around for a while.
The new HP Mini 210 takes advantage of N455 and supports DDR3 RAMs. It features GMA 3150 and a 10.1″ diagonal WSVGA HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1024 x 600). 9.75 hours of battery (max) is not bad either (full specs after the break). (more…)
3 New N455 Netbook Models
In case you have not noticed, a few netbook manufacturers have already started transitioning from ATOM N450 to N455 with their netbooks. ATOM N455 is almost identical to N450 but it supports DDR3 memory. The difference in speed is not going to be that much though.
While many of these new N455 netbooks are available for pre-order, these 3 models are already shipping:
Toshiba Mini NB305-N440BL 10.1-Inch Netbook: combines ATOM N450 processor, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, and GMA 3150 graphics to offer you better performance on the road. 8.3 hours of battery life is not too shabby.
Lenovo Ideapad 0647-2BU 10.1-Inch Netbook: it is ultra slim and compact. This Ideapad has 98% full size keyboard with rounded keys. Protects your hard drive against shocks too. (more…)
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 Now Shipping
Toshiba’s latest netbook (NB255-N245) is now shipping on Amazon and other major stores. It’s a budget netbook that takes advantage of the latest ATOM processor and is pretty good in the battery department too. It’s one of the first netbooks that takes advantage of N455 ATOM processor. Let’s not forget that it is an energy star netbook, so you know you are going to get a decent number of hours out of this netbook.
Here is a list of features available in this device:
- 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor
- 160 GB SATA hard drive
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM
- 10.1-inch LED backlit display (more…)
HP Gets in Netbook-for-Kids Business
Credit: ZDNet
ASUS was one of the first companies to offer a netbook for kids in Disney Netpal netbook. It is essentially a 8.9 inch netbook that comes with a bunch of features targeting the young. HP is getting in this business as well. HP Mini 100e Education Edition’s 10.1 inch screen and 92 percent of full size QWERTY keyboard are standard. The fact that it has a regular modem (though you can upgrade to WiFi) is not exactly encouraging.
HP is committed to helping schools adapt to students’ changing needs and to creating solutions that provide better interactivity, connectivity and learning…The HP Mini 100e is an affordable, feature-rich device that helps ensure every student has the tools needed for success in their academic endeavors,
said Dan Forlenza, vice president and general manager, Business Notebooks, Personal Systems Group, HP. This netbook is a tad bit rugged and spill-resistant. It comes with an Atom N455 processor, Intel NM10 Express chipset, and 1 GB DDR3 RAM. It’s pretty standard in that regard.
MSI U230 Light-087: CULV meets Netbook
What do you call a netbook that takes advantage of a ULV processor and has a large enough screen to be used as a regular laptop? There is no specific term for such a device. MSI U230 Light-087 is such a device. It’s an exciting new netbook that has a Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and can be really classified as a notebook. It has 2 GB RAM and takes advantage of Windows 7 64-bit. Its larger 11.6 inch screen does not hurt either.
While the processor could have been faster, it should allow the owners of this netbook to get a decent number of hours from their battery per each charge.
Here is a summary of what’s available in this netbook:
- 11.6 Inch 1366×768 LCD
- AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 1.6GHz 1600MHz 512KB Processor
- ATI Radeon HD3200
- 1.3MP Webcam
- 2GB RAM (more…)
Toshiba Debuts Android AC100 Netbook
Credit: Toshiba
Android netbooks did not take off as well as many experts expected. But there is still a market out there for them. These netbooks will only get better as Android platform improves and packs more power. Toshiba AC100 is the company’s first Android netbook that takes advantage of a NVIDIA® Tegra™ 250 Mobile Processor (1 GHZ) and runs Android 2.1. As you can tell, this netbook is not exactly designed for heavy duty tasks. But it does have enough power to handle regular tasks.
Here are the full specifications (courtesy of Toshiba):
- Processor: NVIDIA® Tegra™ 250 Mobile Processor (1GH, ARM)
- OS: Android 2.1
- RAM: 512 MB DDR2 (333 MHz) (more…)
Tablets To Kill Netbooks?
Experts have been a bit tough on the netbook market since iPad made its debut and Apple rivals announced their plans to challenge the iPad with their own tablets. The iPad was not expected to be a direct competitor to netbooks as it was expected to go for close to $1000. But the starting price of $499 has given people even more reasons to consider picking up an iPad over a netbook. The iPad is not going to be the only killer tablet on the market. Many other companies are expected to introduce their Android tablets to go against the iPad. That means the portable tablet market is expected to grow for years to come.
According to Forrester, tablets are expected to overtake netbooks in sales in just a matter of 2 years. It’s not as if Apple iPad is what people were asking for. But Apple is known for having some of the best marketing plans around. It’s as if the company is teaching people to fall in love with iPad:
Consumers didn’t ask for tablets. In fact, Forrester’s data shows that the top features consumers say they want in a PC are a complete mismatch with the features of the iPad. But Apple is successfully teaching consumers to want this new device.
Eee PC 1201PN-PU17 Netbook: Large Screen & HD Friendly
Netbooks get a lot of flak for having small screens and not being able to handle HD content that well. That is all going to change with Eee PC 1201PN-PU17 by Asus. It is a 12.1 inch netbook that has a WXGA (1366×768) screen and takes advantage of NVIDIA ION 2 platform to handle HD video content more effectively. Unlike the other 12.1 inch ASUS netbook, this netbook does not have a dual-core processor. But it does have N450 which is much faster.
Here is a summary of what’s included in this netbook:
- Nvidia ION 2 graphics platform
- Intel Atom N450 (1.66 GHz)
- 2 GB DDR2 RAM – Max 4 GB RAM (big plus)
- 12-inch WXGA (1366×768) LED screen
- 500 GB Free Web Storage (more…)
Are 3D Netbooks the Future?
Netbooks are not designed to be used as entertainment powerhouses. While the newer models are much more capable of handling HD content, netbooks are mostly used by those who want to get things done on the go (e.g. bloggers, business individuals, …). You do not have to be a genius to realize that 3D is the future. 3D HDTVs, blu-ray players, and gaming devices are all on the way. We even have 3D capable laptops on the market. Considering that netbook makers are working on all kinds of crazy ideas to boost their businesses, there is no reason for them not to consider adding 3D technology to netbooks in the future.
For that to happen, a few things need to be worked out. For starters, netbooks need to get more powerful processors. We have heard about all these dual-core netbooks that are expected to make their debut late this year or early next year. The graphics capabilities of netbooks need to improve significantly as well. One has to wonder whether it’s possible to offer a decent 3D experience on those smaller screens.
