MSI Wind L1300 L1350 netbook now available for purchase
A few days ago MSI added a few new mini-laptops to its lineup. And while I’m still having a tough time figureing out how the L1300, L1350, and L2300 are different from the MSI Wind U130, U135, and U230, one thing seems to be clear: You can now go ahead and order several of the new models.
You can grab an MSI Wind L1300 for $280 from Amazon
There are also several versions of the MSI Wind L1350 available for order, with prices ranging from $300 to $330
The Wind L2300 doesn’t appear to be available yet.
Apple iPad internal photos hit the FCC
The Apple iPad may not hit the streets until tomorrow morning. But we don’t need to wait for some crazy enthusiast to take one apart to see what it looks like beneath glossy screen. That’s because you can already check out a series of internal photos courtesy of the FCC web site.
You can’t see everything that’s inside the case from the photos. But you can see a rather large 24.8Whr battery, which we already know should be good for 10 hours or more of run time. Since the FCC is most concerned with wireless components, there are also a number of closeups of the WiFi and Bluetooth modules. What you don’t get a good look at is the case with the battery removed — so you can’t see the A4 chip in its natural environment. It’s also tough to see whether there’s room for hackers to add anything crazy like a USB port. For that, I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow.
Closer look at iPad WePad prototype
Sure, the iPad is the tablet of the moment. But it’s hardly the only touchscreen tablet coming out in the near future. One of the more interesting models I’ve seen is the WePad, an 11.6 inch tablet from German company Neofonie. But while the Apple iPad is in the hands of reviewers and ready to ship this weekend, the WePad is a bit… further behind.
According to German site Haz, there are only two prototypes at the moment — and they have cases that are made out of wood, although the finished product will have a magnesium-aluminum case.The demo unit has a resistive touchscreen display while the final version will have a capacitive multitouch display. And there’s no
Unfortunately the company still isn’t showing off a working prototype on video, but we do now know that the WePad’s Linux user interface was developed by a company called 4tiitoo (pronounced, forty-two), which is accepting applications for a beta testing program.
If you happen to speak German, you can also hit up the Haz web site for a video interview with the CEO of Neofonie. He says the tablet should be available this summer.VGP-BPS8 VGP-BPS8A VGP-BPS8B VGP-BPS9 VGP-BPS9/B VGP-BPS9/S
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ECS to unveil Pine Trail laptop
Elite Computer Systems is one of those companies you don’t hear too much about because they make systems that are typically rebadged and sold under different brand names. But the company’s G10IL netbook was a fairly popular design last year, and DigiTimes reports that the company shipped 1.6 million netbooks in 2009.
Now ECS is getting ready to show off a new netbook called the E11IS2. The new model will feature an Intel Atom Pine Trail processor, 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel anti-glare display, and run Windows 7. The netbook will be available with wireless broadband support, including WiMAX or HSUPA 3G cards.
ECS will be showing off the E11IS2 at the Intel Solution Summit in Dubai in April.
Yet another concept netbook with a folding keyboard
Want a netbook that’s small and light enough to throw in your back but which has a full sized keyboard that’s actually comfortable to type on — and might even have room for a numeric keypard? Designer Yang Yongchang thinks he knows how to do it: Just build a folding keyboard into your netbook.
Yanko Design has a gallery of Yongchang’s netbook concept, which packs a ThinkPad-like pointing stick into the middle of the keyboard in lieu of a touchpad. The idea is that you could have the benefits of a small netbook with a full sized (albeit kind of funny looking) keyboard.this particular concept is for a device with a 6.5 inch touchscreen display, which is almost pocketable.
And while it might be nice to also have an expandable display, like some people have suggested, a folding keyboard is probably much cheaper to implement. After all, companies have been pumping out folding keyboards for use with PDAs and smartphones for years. How hard could it be to build one into a laptop?
Netbook Navigator Nav 9 tablet to ship soon for $599 and up
The folks at Netbook Navigator have dropped the base price of their 9 inch touchscreen tablet. Now you can place an order for the Nav 9 for as little as $599. That’s still a good $100 more thna you’ll pay for the cheapest version of Apple’s iPad, but here’s what you get with the Nav 9:
- Display: 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel, multitouch
- CPU: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N270
- Memory: 2GB
- Storage: 16GB solid state disk (with support for up to 128GB)
- Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, 3 USB ports, 1 SD card slot, 1 SIM card slot and optional 3G
- Battery: 3 cell, 2200mAh
- Dimensions: 10″ x 6.6″ x 0.8″
- Weight: 2.0″
I got a note from the Netbook Navigator folks this weekend letting me know that the first batch of the tablets had some problems with the multitouch panel — but that the manufacturer is building a new batch with more responsive screens. I should be getting a review unit soon, so I’ll have more details to share with you then. In the meantime, you can check out a few new pictures of the Nav 9 tablet after the break.
MSI Wind U250 notebook wiht dual core AMD Neo processor
Energy Star MSI has been cranking out 12 inch thin, light, and low power notebooks since last year. Typically they sport Intel CULV or AMD Neo processors. But the MSI Wind U250 may be the first I’ve seen with a dual core AMD Neo processor. And by seen, I mean there’s a listing for the product on the Energy Star web site, but no pictures and not many details.
Here’s what I could glean from the Energy Star page. The MSI U250 will have a 1.3GHz AMD Athlon II Neo dual core K325 CPU, also known as the AMD Geneva K325 processor. The computer will run Windows 7, have 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a video card with 512MB of dedicated video memory. I’m assuming that means it has the usual ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics.We also know that it uses about 30.7kWh of electricity per year and consumes about 10.6 watts when idle.
While the Energy Star page lists the U250 as a notebook/tablet, I wouldn’t spend too much time hoping that this model is a convertible tablet style notebook. Energy Star describes a number of existing MSI notebooks as notebook/tablet, even though those models are already on the streets and quite clearly ship without a touchscreen.
thank Max!
60,000 Australian students getting Lenovo ThinkPad Mini netbooks
Lenovo hasn’t officially introduced a 10 inch ThinkPad netbook in the US, and the company may never do so. But they are being rolled out in other parts of the globe. The NSW public schools in Australia are deploying about 60,000 ThinkPad Mini 10 netbooks to students. The laptops will be outfitted an Intel Atom processor, Windows 7, a high resolution screen, and a spill-resistant keyboard. Netbook News spotted a news report which clearly shows something we’d already suspected: While the Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 has an Atom processor and 10 inch display, the chassis is the same as the one used for the ThinkPad X100e thin and light laptop. The X100e has a more powerful AMD processor and a larger 11.6 inch display.
PeeWee Kit Software package to make any netbook friendly for kids
I’m always a little skeptical when I hear about kid-friendly PCs. I’ve seen plenty of five year olds who are more adept than adults at using a computer to surf the web, find Flash-based video games, and pull up YouTube videos of their favorite songs.
Of course, that same facility with computers is what will probably make it easy for kids to get into the shadier areas of the interwebs where parents would rather not see them go, which is probably why there’s a market for “kid-friendly” software which also happens to be parent-friendly thanks to security settings that let you block certain web sites or keep track of what your children are doing with a notebook.
With that in mind, PeeWee PC, a company which offers laptop and desktop computers aimed at kids, has now launched the PeeWee Kit, a software suite aimed at kids. The software comes on a 4GB USB stick, and it’s particularly targeted at users that want to make a low cost netbook into a kid (and parent) friendly machine.
The PeeWee Kit includes educational games and software, as well as a suite of security software which lets parents control how and when the laptop by limiting the amount of time a kid can use the computer and blocking access to certain sites. Parents can also remotely control the computer, view browsing history, and take screen shots. Nobody tell the folks at the Lower Merion School district about this.
The PeeWee Kit is available on a 4GB USB flash drive for $30. A CD-ROM version will sell for $20.here are versions for Pre-K, early elementary, and upper elementary students, covering ages 3 through 12. The software requires Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7.
ZaReason Teo’s netbook with an Ubuntu Linux twist
Linux system builder ZaReason appears to have launched a new Linux netbook. While there’s no information about the new Teo netbook on the ZaReason web site, you can already order one from Amazon for $460
The Teo bears a more than passing resemblance to the original MSI Wind U100 10 inch netbook, and I wouldn’t be surprised if ZaReason was working with MSI to supply the chassis and possibly some other components. Spec-wise, the netbook has a 10 inch. 1024 x 600 non-glare display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor and 160GB hard drive.Amazon says it should get 8 hours of battery life.
But the first clue that this isn’t your typical Windows netbook is the fact that it comes with 2GB of RAM. Most Windows netbook ship with just 1GB. The second clue is the fact that ZaReason doesn’t sell Windows computers. The third is the fact that the product image clearly shows a Linux sticker and another sticker marked Ubuntu.
ZaReason’s last Linux netbook was the Terra A20, which was introduced last year with an Intel Atom N270 processor and a lower $349 price tag. That model appears to have been discontinued.