Hercules eCafe EC-1000W: Unique and OpenSource?
Many netbook fans have seen HP and ASUS netbooks that are available on the market. These companies have multiple models on the market and in general make high quality netbooks. But if you are looking to buy a netbook, you are not limited to those more popular netbooks. There are plenty of hidden gems on the market that give you a bang for your buck and don’t come a premium for their brand. Hercules eCafe EC-1000W is one of those netbooks. It’s a quite unique-looking netbook that you don’t hear about everyday and offers unique value to its owners.
This netbook is not that special if you look at its specifications. It features a N270 ATOM processor, 1 GB RAM, and 300 MB of hybrid storage. That’s pretty standard among netbooks today (except they use next generation N450 processor). But unlike what you get with other netbook on the market, the software packages installed on this machine actually add value. Here is a summary of what you get right out of the box with EC-1000W netbook: (more…)
4 Best Solar Chargers for Netbooks
Netbooks are much more energy efficient than laptops. Most netbooks today give you somewhere in 6-15 hours of battery life on the go. Those are numbers that can’t be easily hit, unless you own a ULV laptop. No matter what kind of laptop you own, it’s always nice to have a way to keep it charged and powered up on the road, especially when you don’t have access to a power outlet. That’s where solar netbook chargers come in. They let you use the power of the sun to power up your laptop and get more done traveling.
If you are looking for a power source to take with you and use to charge your netbook when you are traveling, here are 4 cool solar netbook chargers you should consider:
SolarGorilla Solar Charger: it’s designed to give you power for the go. You can charge it up with the power of the sun and fold it up to take it with you on the go. It works with all kinds of devices.
SunWize Portable Solar 9.9 Watt System for Laptops: a cool solar charger system for your netbook that powers up your device and even shows you the optimum placement for your panel. Features a solar panel, voltage controller, interconnect cables, and storage case. (more…)
5 Essential HP Mini 210 Netbook Accessories
HP Mini 210 is one of the best netbooks one the market today. HP has improved its latest netbook in many areas, including the battery life department. The device can not only give you up to 9.75 hours of battery life for the road, it also weighs less than 3 pounds and is super portable. It’s a bit more pricey than it’s counter parts. But it’s a solid netbook all around. It’s not perfect though. For instance, it doesn’t have an internal DVD player as is the case with other netbooks as well. It features only 1 GB of RAM, which is not ideal. Besides, it’s easy to put a scratch on it if you are abuse it on a daily basis. Thankfully, there are add-ons that you can pick up to address these issues.
If you are looking to get the most out of your HP Mini 210 netbook, here are 5 top Mini 210 accessories you should check out:
HP Mini 210 Series Battery: as mentioned in the introduction, this new HP model is much more energy efficient than its predecessors. If you need a replacement battery or an extra one for the road, this is one to pick up.
Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive: if you need to burn DVDs on your netbook or just want a portable DVD drive for the road, this unit fits the bill.
Crucial 2GB 256Mx64PC2-5300 RAM: while you can still use your laptop with its 1 GB RAM, you do want to upgrade to this one just to make things less painful. It’s beyond me why the majority of netbooks today only have 1 GB RAM on board. (more…)
Apple Executive Bashes Netbooks
Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world, but it certainly is not going to be too kind to companies and products its competing with. We all know how Apple has disabled some of Google’s top apps for iPhone. The company hasn’t been too kind to netbooks either. Now I admit that many netbook manufacturers have shot themselves in the foot by going with software/hardware configurations that don’t give consumers the best computing experience on the road. But to write off what netbooks have accomplished in the past couple of years is a bit too harsh.
Now that Apple has a decent competitor to go against the netbooks, you can expect the company to get even harsher with netbooks. Apple COO Tim Cook certainly doesn’t think too much of netbooks:
I’ve been very clear about my view of netbooks. I think they are an experience most people will not want to continue to have. People were interested in their price, but when they got them home, they said, ‘Why did I buy this?’ So I think when someone looks at the iPad and plays with it and experiences the magic of it and they compare it to a netbook, I find it hard to believe they will buy a netbook
Netbook Ratings: February 2010
Another month, another edition of our netbook ratings series to help you choose the best netbooks for the money. The month of February has been fairly quiet for netbooks. Sure. We have seen innovative devices such as Lenovo S10-3t 0651-37U 10.1-Inch Netbook released to the market. But the next wave of next generation netbooks seem to be in the works for the month of March and beyond. That doesn’t mean there aren’t decent netbooks you can pick up. N450 netbooks are all over the place, and you’ve got a decent number of options to choose from.
NetbookCrunch’s netbook rating system is designed to give you a simple tool to compare netbooks and find the one that fits your lifestyle the best. There are plenty of netbooks that you can compare using the tool. But if you are looking to make a decision quickly, here are 3 top netbooks that are worth a look:
ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-PU17: it’s the most energy efficient ASUS netbook on the market today. It promises to give you up to 14 hours of battery per charge. It is also at the top of the line in many other areas. (more…)
MSI U160-006US: 15 Hours of Battery Life?
I have always wondered whether we will ever see a netbook with 24 hours of battery life. After all, nobody likes to keep charging laptops on the go, whether they are taking a short trip or a long vacation. We are not even close to that mark with netbooks, but you can get half of that on a few netbooks available on the market already. ASUS’ latest netbook promises you 14 hours of battery life per charge. It seems MSI has bested that with MSI U160-006US netbook. The device, which is available for pre-order, is advertised to have 15 hours of battery life per charge. And that’s when you have a 6 cell battery connected to your netbook. (more…)
16 Best Tough Netbook Cases for the Road
You don’t have to be a genius to figure out how fragile netbooks can be. It takes only a bump or drop to damage your netbook and even brick it. The last thing you want to do is leave anything to chance and feel sorry when your netbook is damaged in an accident. By getting a tough case for your netbook, you can protect it against scratches and bumps and lengthen its life.
If you are looking for a shock proof case for your gadget, here are 16 tough netbook cases you should consider:
Premium Memory Foam Pouch Case: Shock absorbing memory foam pouch is not only anti-shock but also water resistant too.
Kroo 11273 Cube Case: it’s a very affordable case that can protect your netbook against dust, water, bumps on the road. It’s very solid all around.
Spynx Premium Case for netbooks: a water resistant and water proof case for your netbooks. It’s good looking as well.
CaseCrown Premium Air Cell Padded Briefcase: an air cell protective case for your netbook that keeps it safe against bumps and accidents.
Lenovo S10-3t 0651-37U Netbook Released
One of the most anticipated netbooks has finally been released to the market. We reported about Lenovo S10-3t Touch Netbook a while back. The device is equipped with the latest netbook features, comes with a long battery life, and gives you the power of the touch on the go. This netbook is not a fully-fledged tablet as it is assumed by many. But it does marry iPad-like features with your netbook. So you can use the power of the touch to control applications on your device.
Here are the some of the features Lenovo S10-3t Netbook 0651-37U has to offer:
- Processor: 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor
- RAM: 1GB 204 Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM Memory
- Hard Drive: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
- Networking: 802.11 b/g/n
- Screen: 10.1″ 1024×600 LED Display (16:9);
- Graphics: Intel GMA 3150 Graphics (more…)
HP Slate To Challenge Netbooks
The whole computer industry has become quite wacky with all the devices that are making their ways into various industries. We have smart-phones that can easily replace mobile laptops. We have netbooks that take advantage of 4G to provide more speed on the go. And then we have devices such as the iPad that can shift the PC paradigm and take the mobile computing business to a whole new level. Tablets seem to be on the rise these days. Apple iPad has generated a lot of buzz, which means there will be other companies that will try to compete with Apple in this market. You can certainly count HP in.
5 Cool DVD Burners for Netbooks
As most netbook owners would tell you, netbooks are super portable and easy to carry. One reason for that is the omission of DVD drives on these laptops. You don’t need a DVD drive to take with you on the go, but if you are planning to burn a DVD at home or office, it’s nice to have a portable drive that you can connect to your netbook to enhance its capabilities. There are many external DVD burners out there on the market, but not all of them are portable. So if you intend to take your DVD burner with you during a trip, those heavy drives can make things a bit convenient. But you can always settle a portable drive for your netbook to keep things simple.
If you are looking for a portable DVD drive to take with you on the go just in case you need it, here are 5 cool ones you should try:
Samsung USB External Slim DVD-W: a very slim and portable DVD burner for your netbook. It’s a USB drive and works with both Windows and Mac (in case you are running Mac OS on your netbook).
NU Slim USB External SuperMulti Drive DVD Burner: it’s a slot loading DVD burner for your netbook that is slim and light-weight. Works with Mac as well
Iomega 34427 SuperSlim DVD Portable Writer: it’s another slim burner that you can fit your briefcase or take with you on the go without too much fuss. You also get Nero burner software to help you burn DVDs more effectively.
ASUS DVDRW External Optical Drive: a dual layer burner that lets you use your USB connection to power it up and start burning those DVDs fast. The max DVD burning speed is 8X, which is pretty decent for a portable drive. It’s very good looking too.
Portable Slim External CD and DVD Burner: one of the slimmest drives on the market. You can even put it in your pocket and take it with you on the go.
Bonus:
Velocity Micro VMbluDrive Blu-ray Disc External Optical Drive: if you want to read your blu-ray disks on your netbook, this is a slim blu-ray reader for your portable laptop.
As you can probably guess, having a portable drive to help you burn DVDs is much more flexible than having one inside your netbook. And with the above DVD burners, you are not taking on too much weight. So whether you are at home or on the go, your DVD burner will be there to let you burn DVDs.
