Gizmodo: Netbook

AMD Developing Low Power CPU for Tiny Cheap Laptops

matt buchanan — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EDT

The cheap, low power processor space for stuff like lil' notebooks is just about the hottest one around, so AMD would be silly to pass it up, especially when it preached the benefits of efficiency long before Intel came around to that school of thought. (Oh, those were the days.) A leaked slide shows AMD might have one up its sleeves—64-bit, 1GHz, and an 8W thermal power design, which puts in more in range of Via's Nano processors than Intel's Atom, meaning it's not quite ultra-ultraportable appropriate. Course, it could be (and very probably is) just one a family, meaning there might be more sprightly versions. [EeePCNews.de via Electronista]

Dell's Mini Inspiron Laptop Named E and E Slim

Jason Chen — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:25:49 EDT

That upcoming mini laptop from Dell that we got the scoop on last month at All Things D just got a name. Engadget's Dell source coughed up the info that the mini notebook will be called the Dell E, which is an 8.9-inch competitor to the similarly named Asus Eee. Then there's the E Slim, which is a 12.1-inch screen, 0.8-inch thick competitor to the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300.

Dell's further segmenting the notebook with E Classic, E Video and E Video+, which has more RAM, flash storage, webcam and Bluetooth. E Slim will get WiMax shortly after its original release date as well. The smaller Dell E looks to start at $299 in August, whereas the E Slim still has no price, but is supposed to hit August-September. [Engadget]

CTL IL1 Netbook $50 Cheaper Than Eee PC, Has Better Specs

matt buchanan — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Ultraportables or netbooks as Intel is wont to call them, are officially a dime a dozen now, but an upcoming model, the IL1 from CTL (who's making the Classmate 2) looks like it might shake up the market, at least a bit, if being the cheapest thing around is the bottom line. A 1GHz Via processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB SSD or 60GB HDD plus an SD card reader, with Linux or Windows XP. The screen's Eee-sized, an LED-backlit 7-inch LCD, all for "less than $350." It's also got less of a kiddie or toy-look to it than either the Classmate or Eee PC, which might be a selling point for suits. Full stat smatter below.

CPU & PLATFORM Via C7-M 1000MhZ Processor Bios: 1MB Flash Rom Via VX800U Chipset ACPI 2.0 Power Management
MEMORY
1GB SO-DIMM
200 Pin Socketx1
200-pin socket x 1

VIDEO
7" LCD, 800x480
Embedded Graphics
Color LCD TFT, LED Backlight
Dual Display Support through 15 Pin D-Sub out

STORAGE
4GB Solid State Flash Drive
Supports boot from Card Reader and USB
2USB Ports
USB2.0 Interface for external storage

WIRELESS LAN
WI-FI 802.11 B/G
Mini Card form factor, single antenna

AUDIO
Integrated Mono Microphone
Microphone in and Line out
2 integrated 1-watt speakers

I/O Ports
2 USB 2.0 Ports
1x RJ-45 10/100 LAN
56K Modem
1/8" External microphone-in jack
1/8" External headphone jack
3-in-1 SD/MMC Memory Card Reader

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Ready
Supports Linux

Dimensions & Power
Size: 9.6"W x 6.8" x 1.7"
Weight: 2.6 LBS
4-cell Li-Ion Battery
Approx 4.5 Hours Typical Usage

Other
Integrated Camera
30FPS @640x480, .03M
Integrated Microphone

[CTL]

Intel Netbook Actually the 2go PC Made by CTL

matt buchanan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:55:56 EDT

Turns out that even though our specs for Intel's rumored Netbook were on the money—900MHz Celeron, 40GB HDD—the laptop is actually the 2go PC made by CTL. They emailed us with a full spec sheet which reveal a couple new details: The screen is LED-backlit, it's under 3 pounds and it supports mesh networking. While they wouldn't commit to a price, "under $400" is the quote, it streets in about 60 days. Hit the jump for the spec sheet.

Is This the Intel Netbook?

Adrian Covert — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:00:41 EDT

Tech Corner claims these are photos of the upcoming Intel Netbook (not to be confused with its stationary Nettop counterpart) that runs Windows XP Pro "like a champ." The small, low-cost device is said to be Intel's education-centric answer to products like the Asus Eee PC and OLPC. Judging by the photos and Tech Corner's writeup, the laptop is about 10 inches in size with a 9-inch screen, under three pounds, has 512MB RAM, 40GB HDD and standard internet connections. But there are a couple of info bits that don't quite line up with previous reports.

Tech Corner claims the Netbook uses a 900 MHz Celeron processor and would sell for around $400. This contradicts reports that the upcoming Netbooks would be using the Intel Atom Diamondville processor and fall between the $250-$300 price range. However, claims of a June 2008 launch do seem to line up with those same reports.

Looking at its design, there's a handle attached to the back of the device, which looks a bit stupid. But if it's for the classroom, I guess we shouldn't care. And for a budget notebook, it looks pretty decent otherwise. We'll see come mid-year if this really is Intel's Netbook. [Flickr via Tech Corner]