Last week Steve Jobs, in that special way he has of tossing out little random nuggets of chaos into the industry, basically said that Apple already had a netbook out there called the iPhone. As a rabid iPhone and netbook user, I called Shenanigans.

Then a series of articles at What's On iPhone made me stop and give it some more thought. The lines between smartphones, iPhone, netbooks, and all the rest grow increasingly fuzzy, so maybe I jumped the gun on my assessment. I spent some time really thinking about how I used each, and decided that the three features of my netbooks that I value the most are:

Portable: I can grab my netbook as I head out the door and don't need a backpack or messenger bag. Sometimes I'll even take it "just in case" I may need it, where I'll only grab my Macbook if I know for a fact I will need it along the way. Here the iPhone meets the criteria just fine. Even better, since I can't fit my Eee PC in my pant's pocket. Passed.

Powerful: I used to have a Windows Mobile phone and used it for basic phone calls, email, and in a pinch maybe getting some information off the internet (which is NOT the same as just web surfing). As I've noted before, I barely use my iPhone for the "phone" part of it at all. I use it for email, games, notes, information, and nearly normal web surfing on occasion. It's a very powerful little device. Passed.

Functional: Here's where the wheels come off. For all the power in my iPhone, I just can't get at like I need to for many things. For example, I type more on my iPhone than I did on my smartphone, but I'm still not writing a big blog post. Nor am I preparing a presentation, reviewing lots of data, or building anything complex. It's both an input (no keyboard) and output (screen size) issue. It's not a bad thing by itself, but it just limits the use cases for which the iPhone is a solution. I can't put typed data in at a reasonable speed, and the zoom and pan of the iPhone just isn't enough for even mildly complicated work I do on a netbook. Significant Fail.

So I stand by my calling of Shenanigans. The iPhone has a lot going for it, but it is not and never will satisfy the needs of netbook users. Personally, I'm hoping Mr. Jobs was just stalling because judging by the number of people out there attempting to get OSX running on existing netbooks, if Apple ever came out with their own netbook (Macbooklette? Macnetbook? Netmac?) I wouldn't be standing in line to buy one all by myself.

Actually, we're not really surprise with the findings of LaptopMag as to how well Windows 7 runs smoothly on the Eee PC 1000H. The fact that Microsoft recently demoed their upcoming OS using a netbook only goes to show the direction that Windows 7 will be going to once it is released next year. When Microsoft decided to demo Windows 7 using a netbook, it only means that the OS will be lightweight and less complex that Windows Vista. Although a bit powerful than Windows XP.

Anyway, going back to the test run done by Laptopmag using a demo copy of Windows 7 handed out during the recently concluded Microsoft PDC event, Joanna Stern has the following observations:

• it took the Eee PC 1000H 58 seconds to booth Windows 7
• Windows feels and looks like Windows Vista
• improved network manager, ideal for netbooks
• smooth video playback
• does not eat up to many system resources when running

Overall it was a pretty successful testing of the Eee PC running on Windows 7. And suffice it to say that it was just a pre-beta version. Hopefully Microsoft programmers would be able to iron out some kinks before Windows 7 is released next year. By then, we might be seeing new netbooks again, with most of them definitely offering the Windows 7 as an OS.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Surprise! Surprise! Windows 7 Runs Well on the Eee PC

Remember my in-tent Samsung Q1 Ultra test? 9hrs battery life on the Samsung Q1 with 25% backlight? An average drain of 6.9 watts. It was impressive and since I blew up the Q1 Ultra doing some solar-charging tests, I've been missing those 5, 6 and 7hr figures. I was just getting over the trauma until I read this article about another Samsung Mobile product with great battery life.

Notebook Magazine have just done a full set of battery life tests on the NC10 Netbook and it looks like Samsung have once again worked their magic. The tests included continuous Wifi-on web browsing in battery saving mode which is a very reasonable test to be doing. Far better than the misleading 2001 Jeita test and much more real-life' than the Battery Eater Pro turn everything and and run it at full-steam' approach. The NC10 returned

• 12% screen brightness: 7hrs 34mins representing an average drain of about 7.6w which is just a little bit more than what I saw on the Q1 Ultra.
• 50% screen brightness, the duration dropped to 6hrs 30mins which is an average 8.7W.
• 100% screen brightness, the test result reduced to 4hrs 38 minutes which is 12.3 watts drain.

More after the break

What it highlights is something I've been saying for years. The CPU power drain is not the most important element in determining a devices overall efficiency. In these 10" screens, even the latest LED technology backlight can take a lot of drain. In this case, nearly 5W at full power which is nearly 50% of the total power drain of the whole PC! Obviously, as screens get smaller, the LED power required drops and when you get to a 4.8" screen, you'll see 1-1.5W average drain. If you were to attache that Samsung battery to the Aigo MID, you would see close to 20 hours battery life under similar conditions as the Wifi-on drain is about 3W.

As we move to lower and lower power processors, screens and other components need to follow and the OEM that has access to the best components and the best engineers is always going to have an advantage. Samsung keep proving that.

So how's the rest of the NC10? I was watching a live session at EeePCnews.de a few evenings ago and it was clear that people are really interested in this one. 3000 people watched Sascha, the lead guy there, do live testing and as the session went on you could almost sense people hitting the buy button as Sascha reported positive comment after positive comment! LaptopMag calls it their netbook of choice' right now. From what I've seen, I have no reason to doubt it.

Samsung NC10 links and info in the product database.

There has been lots of attention around this end of the blogosphere lately about a site launched by Intel and Asus. The site is called WePC, and it hopes to collectively gather the best ideas for a laptop. Users can submit just an idea, or a complete idea of their dream computer. Submissions can be voted on by the community, and the site says that Asus will build the best computer (based on community votes), and Intel will power it.

The idea seems pretty cool and I'm very excited to see what ends up happening with this project. I'm impressed by the site itself and the time that Asus and Intel put into it. The submission form includes a few fields to enter a name and description for your idea or computer, and even a widget to let you draw your computer.

Have an idea? I encourage you all to submit it to the site; this is a great opportunity to give one of the biggest netbook manufacturers some feedback and suggestions, even if you idea doesn't come to fruition. Be sure to check out some of the ideas that have already been submitted.

HP is mulling the idea of offering their latest netbooks, the Mini 1000 bundled with various mobile data plans in the hope of sparking more interests and eventually sales to their netbooks. According to are report by the Wall Street Journal, HP is sort of overwhelmed by the growing popularity of the netbooks that they are looking into the possibility of selling off their Mini Note netbooks together with various data plans. This fits well with the idea of internet mobility in the true sense of the word.

The plan is hot on the heels of the just announced new models of the HP netbook - the HP Mini 1000, HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition and the Mini 700.

If you're not in the loop, some countries in Europe and Asia are fond of doing this kind of marketing strategy to gain market leverage for their netbook. And with the rising cost of prices, it is but natural for consumers to look into great buys and deals before they proceed with the transaction.

So, HP's plans of bundling up their HP Mini Note netbook with mobile carriers' data plans seem to be a logical strategy.

Via WSJ

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

HP Plans to Offer its Netbook via US Mobile Data Plan Bundle

Samsung's recent entry into the US market coincided with their release of their first netbook, the NC10. The NC10 is a 10-inch netbook with a big keyboard and looks to be a nice entry into the market for Samsung. Laptop Magazine has published a review of the NC10 and it looks like they have a new favorite:

Samsung's NC10 is the only product that provides comparableand even improvedfeatures for a lower price. Its comfortable, well-positioned keyboard, speedy and spacious hard drive, and more than 7 hours of endurance make the $499 Samsung NC10 the most well-rounded 10-inch netbook on the market.

Have a look at the review and see if you think the NC10 is the netbook of your dreams.

Like most netbooks with Intel processors, most Eee PC models rely on integrated graphics which are good enough for watching videos or rendering some basic games, but kind of stink if you want to play a Crysis or Call of Duty. Asus does package an NVIDIA 9300M graphics card with the Asus N10 laptop, but the company refused to call that laptop a netbook (even though it has the same screen and keyboard size as a netbook, as well as the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU used in most of the company's netbooks).

Now it looks like Asus could be preparing an Eee PC netbook with a dedicated graphics card. If the rumored netbook is anything like the N10, Asus will offer users the ability to switch between dedicated and integrated graphics. You can use the lower power integrated graphics processor when battery life matters more than GPU performance. And when you want to blow up some aliens, you flip a switch and reboot your system.

No word on pricing, availability, or if this is actually going to happen or if it was just some guy at Asus mouthing off. But if it does come to pass, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Asus will charge more than $399 for an Eee PC with a fancy graphics card.

via Eee PC News

Post from: Liliputing

Sure, Asus may have promised to add the Splashtop instant on interface to every computer with an Asus motherboard. But it looks like Lenovo is going to beat Asus to the punch when it comes to adding Splashtop to netbooks. Today the company announed it's working with DeviceVM, the company behind Splashtop to add the interface to the lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook.

According the press release, the S10e is now shipping. But it looks like this particular model is aimed at educational markets, not consumers. So it's not clear if and when you'll be able to pick up an S10 with Splashtop preloaded.

The IdeaPad S10e is available with Windows XP Home, or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and comes with either a 4GB SSD or a hard drive with up to 160GB of storage.

SplashTop software basically lets you boot a light weight operating system in a matter of seconds which gives you quick access to frequently used applications like Firefox, Skype, and Picasa. If those are the apps you plan to use, you can boot your system in around 5-10 seconds instead of waiting 30-60 seconds for a full Windows or Linux desktop to boot up.

In related news, when I checked the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 order page to see if there was any information about Splashtop (which will actually be called QuickStart on Lenovo machines), I noted that Lenovo has apparently cut the price of the red S10 model by $20. At $409, it's stil $10 more than the white or black models, but it's cheaper than it was last week.

Via Eee PC.net / Image credit: Engadget

Post from: Liliputing

VIA has apparently confirmed that the next generation HP Mini-Note will not use VIA processors. HP is expected to launch a new netbook called the HP Mini 1000 this week (possibly as soon as Wednesday), and from what I can tell, it will have a 10 inch display, a cheap plastic case (unlike the sturdy aluminum case used in earlier models), and it will likely have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, much like almost every other netbook released in the US since this summer.

DigiTimes reports that a VIA official says that the new HP Mini-Note models will not sport VIA chips, but that HP will continue to sell the existing line of HP 2133 Mini-Notes through mid-2009.

That doesn't mean VIA is going to just curl up in a ball and roll away though. The company today announced the launch of a Global Mobility Bazaar program designed to make low cost computers available in the developing world. VIA is working with Microsoft and 15 Chinese PC makers to create an infrastructure for producing mobile computers with 7 to 15 inch screens that will be available for the equivalent of about $400 or less in regions including Eastern Europe, India, South America, and China.

While we may not see a lot of VIA C7-M or VIA Nano-powered computers in the US or western Europe in the near future, this initiative could result in an awful lot of computers in developing nations being powered by VIA chips. And who knows, if the VIA Nano lives up to its promise overseas, perhaps we'll see major western companies like HP take another look at the chip maker's products in the not too distant future.

via UMPC Portal

Post from: Liliputing

The popularity of the Eee PC netbook has reached even those industries which you wouldn't think would be impacted by such a nifty piece of hardware. Latest industry player to join the netbook craze is toy specialist store - Toys R' Us. But wait, we're not saying that the store would be releasing its own branded netbook, but rather starting Nov. 16, the toy specialist would soon be carrying the Eee PC under its Consumer Electronics assortment of products.

News had it that Toys R' Us will be selling four models of the Eee PC 900, with the store hoping to capture the younger market. Toys R believe that the Eee PC is a kid-friendly product, hence the decision to sell the said netbooks to its consumers who are predominantly toy-loving younger consumers.

To kick-off the introduction of the Eee PC to their product offerings, Toys R' Us will be conducting a comprehensive campaign that would include print and active in-store displays.

Via Twice.com

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Toys R' Us to Sell Four Models of the Eee PC