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Toshiba Satellite T135-S1300: single-core CPU inside.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

We have a bit of a beef with a trend that's currently happening in full-size (by that we mean 13-inch and above) thin-and-light laptops, the machines that as of late have shaved thickness at the expense of optical drives and often processor power. While the battery life on thin-and-lights generally exceeds expectations, the compromise that's often been used is incorporating a single-core ultra-low-voltage processor, which provides marginally better performance than the Atom processor on any Netbook.

Unfortunately, thin-and-lights are more expensive than Netbooks--often by several hundred dollars at the least--and other than increased screen size, they run the risk of not showing much extra value when going single-core. Even worse, it's hard for consumers to tell when their thin-and-light has a single-core or dual-core CPU inside. Thin-and-light laptops may look similar, but they're not all made the same. It's a deceptive world out there, especially since many thin-and-lights trade performance for a stylishly thin chassis, all while marketing a mainstream look that suggests performance equal to other notebooks.

The $599 Toshiba T135-S1300 is part of Toshiba's new T100 line of optical-drive-free thin-and-lights, losing thickness in exchange for a portable design competitive with products such as the Asus UL30A-A1 and the Acer Timeline 3810T. It's set to debut on October 22, when Windows 7 launches its way onto retail shelves and into PCs everywhere.

Unfortunately, while the design tries hard, it simply doesn't provide the power that its Windows 7-running, HDMI-port-toting countenance suggests. This is not a multimedia machine on a budget: rather, it's a slim but underpowered single-core 13.3-inch laptop.

That's not to say we aren't excited about Toshiba's long-term decision to slim down its laptops and enter the world of thin-and-lights, and in other configurations, the T100 series could provide better value. But right now, we were left a little in the cold.

Read the rest of our review of the Toshiba Satellite T135-S1300.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Whether CULV thin-and-light laptops will ever fully find a spot between the Netbook world and the full-featured laptop world, they are most definitely a category that's growing every day. Dropping an optical drive and throwing a low-voltage processor alongside a long-lasting battery is the trend of 2009, although the low-voltage laptops we've seen so far have often sacrificed either build quality, performance, or value-for-dollar.

It's relieving to say, therefore, that the 13-inch Asus UL30A-A1 is a thin-and-light that we'd gladly carry around in our bag for a long time to come. With a sturdy frame, a decently-performing new Core 2 Duo CULV processor as opposed to the disappointing single-core Core 2 Solo CULVs we've seen, and really good battery life, it's close to a complete package for a sub-$1,000 laptop that doesn't resort to an Atom processor.

While we've seen similar-looking products here before, including the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 and the MSI X340, we liked the overall performance on the UL30A-A1 better.

And as far as its closest competitor goes, the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T, the Asus UL30A-A1 had equal or better performance, better battery life, and costs $100 less than the 3810T did at launch. This is a thin-and-light that does everything we had hoped thin-and-lights would do, and it costs nowhere near what a MacBook Air or a Dell Adamo does.

Read the full review of the Asus UL30A-A1.

Does including an external drive make it a better deal?

(Credit: MSI)

Despite many Netbooks and thin-and-lights ditching optical drives in favor of more compact computers, corporate folks are apparently still concerned and looking out for us suddenly-DVD-free folk. MSI has announced availability of a new thin-and-light ULV (ultra-low voltage) notebook, the MSI X600, which comes with its own external DVD/CD drive right in the box.

For $899, the X600 comes with a 1.4GHz Intel SU3500 ULV processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, ATI HD 4330 graphics, and a 15.6-inch 1366x768 screen. It includes a six-cell battery, an improvement on the X340, which had a somewhat disappointing battery life. It also packs HDMI-out and Bluetooth while being a hair under an inch thin.

This all sounds good, with two exceptions. One: its processor is a single-core ULV. Two: this "thin-and-light" weighs 5.5 pounds. That's a serious chunking up from the X340's 2.9-pound frame.

Will a Core 2 Solo processor--the same that's in the X340--be enough for a 15.6-inch laptop? Time will tell. Until our review, we invite you to check out some images of the external drive, which at least stylishly matches the big sibling it comes packed with. The MSI X600 comes in black and silver.

MSI X600

Can we all agree on something? There's no longer a difference between a Netbook and a notebook. Thanks to Netbooks' move to more features and larger-size screens, the distinction between the two can now be considered little more than marketing speak.

We recently wrote about the fall's coming battle between Netbooks--a category now 2 years old--and thin and light notebooks with consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) processors. In theory, the value of a Netbook--with its small keyboard, small screen, and lack of an optical drive--vs. an ultralight laptop with a long battery life and a full-size keyboard for roughly the same price was very low.

But now that we're actually seeing how PC makers are packaging and selling CULV notebooks (take Dell's recent introduction of its Inspiron 11z notebook) it's obvious: Netbooks are nothing more than smaller, cheaper notebooks.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook

(Credit: Dell)

The distinction made some sense early on. The first Netbooks were very small, around 7 or 8 inches, and were used for little more than getting online. They were marketed by smaller brands such as Asus and MSI as super portable, inexpensive notebooks that ran Linux, cutting out much of the cost tacked on with a Windows license. But they didn't really take off until Microsoft began offering Windows XP specifically for Netbooks, long after it was no longer available on new laptops and desktops.

The big PC makers, understandably, wanted a piece of the action too, but not at the expense of cannibalizing their budget-conscious traditional notebook lines. So Netbooks were sold as a "companion device." As in, if you keep some of your data "in the cloud" as with e-mail on Yahoo or Gmail or pictures on Facebook or Picasa, and you stream music on a service like Pandora or Last.fm, you can use your regular notebook at home and use something smaller on the road that still affords access to a lot of your stuff.

(Credit: Gizmodo.com)

We popped by to see our pals at Dell earlier and get a behind-closed-doors sneak peek at some interesting upcoming holiday systems. Coincidentally, the folks over at Gizmodo say they've stumbled across some new upcoming Dell products for the holiday season, and have posted some pics and details about the Inspiron Z series of laptops, of which they say: "It's the "thin and light" take on Dell's budget Inspiron line using Intel ULV chips."

The Gizmodo post specifically mentions a system called the 11z, which is described as looking, "more like a follow-up to Dell's Inspiron Mini Netbooks." Perhaps that's why Dell recently pulled its 12-inch Mini Netbook.

See the original Gizmodo post, and more pictures, here .

(Credit: Gizmodo.com)

Asus Eee 1005HA: as good as it gets till 2010?

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

If you're looking for a Netbook this holiday season, perhaps this is an indication that today's selection might be as good as it gets for a short while: Acer and Asus, two of the biggest powerhouses and instigators in the Netbook movement, are apparently waiting until 2010 before releasing any new Netbooks. This is according to a report from Digitimes, which claims that both companies are holding off for Intel's newest Atom processor, the N450. This dovetails with an announcement that Acer's Android Netbook is also on hold, perhaps for the same reason.

A representative from Asus wouldn't comment other than to say that its 11-inch Netbook is the only new Netbook announced for now. From our perspective, this makes sense. For months and months, we've noted that Netbooks have all been using N270 (and occasionally N280) processors with fixed RAM and hard-drive capacities, almost to the point of becoming spec-frozen. Increased screen and keyboard sizes, thinner and lighter bodies, and better battery life have been the only significant refinements, along with dropping prices. In such a market, a 5-month-old Netbook doesn't conceivably lose a lot to current models. Asus and Acer might be looking to sell through their existing inventory in advance of a brand-new Windows 7-running Netbook platform next year.

In the meantime, though, plenty of other compact laptops should see the light of day from both companies. CULV processors in thin-and-light notebooks are on the rise, and with the handful of products we've seen so far like the MSI X-340 and the Acer Timeline 3810T, it's been a promising direction for highly portable computers.

Should this make you Netbook-purchase-adverse? Not really. Prices have never been better, and to be honest, most people don't buy Netbooks for their high-tech components. Netbooks are still compact, affordable, and will get much of your basic Web-browsing and home office needs accomplished just fine. Also, newer Pine Trail-M Netbooks will likely sell at higher prices. Considering that many current Netbooks are able to run Windows 7, there's not much reason to wait unless you're hungering for greater HD-video and graphics capabilities.

When Windows 7 debuts this October, Netbooks will no doubt begin to come preinstalled with the new OS instead of Windows XP. But, if these reports are true, don't expect those Netbooks to be significantly different from the ones you see right now.

(Digitimes via Engadget)

Cheaper or faster?

That's going to be the burning question for computer shoppers perusing the aisles of electronics retail stores this fall. That's when the new line of notebooks powered by consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) chips will start appearing in force. They'll be sitting right next to the trendiest offering in portable computing, Netbooks. Netbooks have come to be viewed as the best way to get cheap, portable computing, but CULV notebooks could change that.

CULV-based notebooks are poised to give Netbooks a run for their money.

(Credit: Macles)

Netbooks are mini-notebooks with screens between 9 and 11 inches, that have lower-power processors, and fewer features, but very attractive price points. CULV-based notebooks are ultrathin notebooks. They come with a more traditional 12- or 13-inch screen, but are also very low-power, so they have great battery life. Starting at $600 to $1,000, they'll occupy the price range just a step above Netbooks, which run between $200 and $500.

That's where the choice comes in. Will consumers go for a Netbook, which is less expensive, sometimes harder to use, but very portable? Or a sleek-looking notebook with great battery life and a slightly higher price? Just a bit more money could mean a far more fully featured computer. Who would still go for a Netbook?

Some analysts suggest many won't.

For its part, the provider of these ultra-low voltage chips, Intel, would prefer to steer people toward CULVs. Sure, Intel is also responsible for the Netbook phenomenon, but those devices carry much lower profit margins. Intel CEO Paul Otellini on Tuesday talked up CULV notebooks and their advantages over Netbooks, saying, "Now, if you want a thin and light notebook, you don't have to just pick a Netbook. You can pick an affordable notebook that has more functionality."

... Read more

Apple's entire laptop line gets revamped.

(Credit: CNET)

Not to be left out, the MacBook's been updated too, and it's no longer just a MacBook. Following in the wake of the 15-inch MacBook Pro updates, the 13-inchers will also be called MacBook Pros (because as Phil Schiller noted onstage, "At what point isn't this just a MacBook Pro?") The mid-range unibody aluminum laptops launched last October now have upgraded color screens, SD card slots, FireWire 800 ports, and backlit keyboards across the board. Prices start at $1,199, $100 less than before for the low-end aluminum MacBook, for an upgraded 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo with 2 GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, and a 160 GB HDD. $1,499 gets you a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of DDR3, and a 250 GB hard drive. RAM can now be expanded up to 8 GB, and hard drives can be upgraded up to 500 GB.

They will also have non-removable 7-hour batteries. This makes the entire Apple laptop line a family of sealed-in batteries, except for the lowest-end white MacBook, whose specs were bumped last week.

Also updated, to some applause, was the MacBook Air, upgrading the processor speed to 2.14 GHz and lowering the price range, now $1,499 to $1,799. That's required in light of CULV Windows laptops that are emerging at very competitive price points. It's available in two configurations: $1,199 for a 1.86 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, and 120 GB HDD, or $1,799 with a 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo and 128 GB SSD. For the SSD model, the cost is $700 less than before.

Smartbooks: a different beast than Netbooks? (conceptual design from Freescale)

(Credit: Freescale Semiconductor)

While many eyes are on E3, Taiwan's Computex conference is more quietly generating some interesting news on the future of Netbooks and laptops that will eventually make their way stateside. For a peek into the crystal ball of mobile computing, let's take a look at what's been announced in Taipei, Taiwan, this week.

Mobile-phone-based Netbooks are growing: "Smartbooks," as they're being called by companies like Qualcomm, seem to be this year's Netbook. It's mostly a naming convention shift: ARM processors based on smartphone chips, like Qualcomm's Snapdragon, were demoed on Asus Eee PC Netbooks--running Android, no less. While Snapdragon competitor Freescale Semiconductor, who makes an ARM-based iMX515 processor, predicts hybrid Smartbooks that will look like tablets, others see them being even more portable Netbooks.

Regardless of the processor, companies are finally announcing the release of honest-to-goodness Android Netbooks, running a laptop-based version of the Google-created smartphone OS, later this year. Acer took the leap by confirming their release of Android Netbooks by the third quarter of this year, suddenly accelerating the "Android on Netbooks" argument we've been having on CNET. Is Android really a better OS solution? The point may be moot for laptop manufacturers such as Acer who are also entering the smartphone space, and are mostly likely interested in targeting Google for an across-the-board mobile OS option on their future devices. According to Acer, "a majority" of their Netbooks will run Android as an alternative to Windows. ... Read more