Perhaps the better question is, "Who isn't getting into mini-notebooks these days?"
The latest rumor floating around is that Korean electronics giant LG has asked MSI to build for it a tiny notebook based on Intel's Netbook reference design containing an Atom processor.
This one was started by Digitimes, and it says that MSI will make a Windows XP-based mini-notebook with an 8.9-inch screen, 2GB of memory, and a 120GB hard drive.
The Mini-Note from HP is a full-featured notebook in a tiny package.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)Those specs are closer to Hewlett-Packard's mini-notebook, the 2133 Mini-Note, released this spring, than MSI's much-talked about Netbook, the Wind. (MSI and LG couldn't be reached for comment, but we'll update if we hear back.)
HP's machine has a 9-inch screen, 2GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive or 64GB SSD, and comes with the option of Windows XP or Vista. It's also got a pretty hefty price tag--it starts at $499 and can get above $1,000 depending on the configuration.
The Digitimes report pegs the price for an LG Netbook in the same range, from $625 to $790. If true, this would fit in with the idea mentioned in April with the launch of the Mini-Note that there's a fork developing in the tiny-notebook segment.
Acer Aspire One is a low-cost, Linux-based Web companion.
(Credit: Acer)Asus has pretty much got the low-cost notebook market covered with its Eee PC. They're small, cheap, run Linux, and basically are good for surfing the Web and checking e-mail. There are mainstream PC makers already playing in that realm too, like Acer's Aspire One.
The Mini-Note and the description of LG's potential entry in the category have greater ambitions: they're really just full-featured Windows notebooks cut down to size. Though HP has defined its market (it says the Mini-Note is for mobile executives and the education market), it's unclear who LG would be targeting with such a notebook.
PC industry analysts continue to say there's limited appeal with these types of devices because the mainstream consumer can't use it as a primary computer. And PC makers are more or less unenthused since all they do is drive down prices on full-size notebooks. But most are jumping in anyway. With margins thinning out on PCs, even the big guys like HP and Dell--which will release a mini-notebook next month--can ill afford to leave any potential revenue on the table.
(Credit:
Crave UK)
Earlier we brought you details on the Aspire One--Acer's rival to the Eee PC 900. While you've been reading that, we've been hanging with our chums at Acer, getting a proper hands-on, and taking pictures. Lots of pictures.
Feel free to click through to the images now, but you might want to stick around for some details. Specs-wise, Acer's supplying both Linux and Windows XP versions of the One. Both models will use an 8.9-inch 1,024x600-pixel screen, the same 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom CPU that you'll find in the MSI Wind, and a 0.3-megapixel Webcam. Take a tour of our gallery here.
(Source: Crave UK)
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
Qualcomm has introduced a mini-notebook made by Taiwan-based Inventec that costs around $299 and is equipped with 3G connectivity, according to IDG News Service.
Unlike the ASUS Eee PC, which comes in both Linux and Windows XP operating systems, Qualcomm's mini-notebook will initially run on Linux, though the company is also looking at using Windows Mobile 7 with its Snapdragon chipsets.
All these are still on the drawing board, but "similar products could be out by the end of this year," said Luis Pineda, senior vice president at Qualcomm. The company hopes to make a big bang with Snapdragon-based devices at next year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
(Source: Crave Asia)
After months as the subject of speculation in the media, Acer will introduce its own low-cost mini-notebook PC at the Computex trade show in Taipei on Tuesday.
The device will be called the Acer Aspire One, as expected. It will come with an Intel Atom processor, and run Linpus Linux Lite, with Acer's own user interface. Other specs include: an 8GB solid-state drive, 512MB of RAM, 802.11 b/g WiFi, an 8.9-inch screen, and a standard 3-hour battery.
Acer Aspire One will begin at $379.
(Credit: Acer)The Aspire One will be available beginning July 2 for $379. Later that month, a version running Windows XP Home Edition with an 80GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM will be available, though the pricing details on that have yet to be ironed out.
As this niche of computing begins to become more crowded, the specs are beginning to look more or less the same. Price and little details like keyboard and exterior design are going to be the most distinguishing factors.
At $379, the Aspire One is cheaper than the runaway hit Eee PC from Asus, whose 9-inch version begins at $549 for the Linux version, and the $499 Linux-based Hewlett-Packard Mini-Note. (CNET has not yet reviewed the Aspire One, but stay tuned.)
Besides pearl white, Acer also plans to offer a bright blue version, and eventually pink and brown. The keyboard isn't quite as large as the Mini-Note's 92 percent keyboard, coming in at 89 percent of the standard size keyboard for a 14-inch notebook.
But just like its direct competitors, Acer sees two distinct customers for the Aspire One: school kids and the highly mobile tech-savvy set.
Acer's plan it seems is to use its Aspire One as sort of a gateway-PC (No pun intended.) for the uninitiated PC user.
"It's a great device that is a stepping stool to a first-time notebook user," said Sumit Agnihotry, director of notebook product management for Acer America. That way kids can "bypass the desktop completely (and move) to a notebook in less than 18 months."
And if there's something Acer's gotten good at lately, it's moving notebooks. It sells more notebooks than every other computer maker except for HP.
Acer says it sees the mini-notebook as a third device for geeked-out consumers after a smartphone and a standard notebook PC, claiming that "it's much more a single application with an Internet-centric focus," Agnihotry said.
But is it more devices we're after? Or fewer? The genius of the smartphone is how much it can do. With the $379 price point not all that far removed from some of Acer's more inexpensive full-size notebooks, is selling someone on the lack of features of the Aspire One really the way to win customers?
It's clearly not for the mainstream PC users, who generally expect the best features and latest-generation processors when purchasing a new PC. But the company doesn't seem to see any overlap between those customers, saying it doesn't expect this will "cannibalize" its current notebook business at all.
Chip designer Via Technologies unveiled its OpenBook Mini-Note reference design on Monday, in a move that throws some open source into its core business of developing chips for mobile devices.
The OpenBook design aims to aid PC makers in creating ultra-small notebooks based on Via's Ultra Mobility Platform. Last year, the company trotted out its Via NanoBook reference design, a prototype designed to compete against rivals in the small-computer market but at a lower cost.
"By making the CAD files of the external panels for the OpenBook available for download, Via has simplified design customization. You can now download these open-source files from the (Via) Web site and individualize the look and feel of your OpenBook devices," Via states.
Via, in providing the source files for download, aims to deliver local Wi-Fi, long-range WiMax, and speedy data delivery via 3G mobile connectivity.
With its Via OpenBook design, the Taiwanese company is hoping to ride potential growth in the mini-notebook market, which currently ranks in the small niche category. But as 3G becomes more pervasive and users become more adept using smaller devices to carryout computing and communications functions, demand for mini-notebooks may rise.
The MSI Wind comes in white, black, and, pink.
(Credit: Expansys)MSI put out a vague news release today that details some, but not all, of the specifications of its upcoming and unfortunately named Wind mininotebook. At the top of the release, it states the 10-inch notebook will "feature the new Intel Processor," but it fails to explain what that processor might be. An Intel Atom processor is a safe bet; the chips are expected to be released this summer.
The only mention of pricing in the release states that MSI Wind configurations will start at less than $500 in early June. The MSI Wind is available, however, for preorder at Expansys, which lists a $560 price for a Linux-based model and a $605 price for a Windows model (and a ship date of June 24--decidedly late June). Expansys lists the processor as a 1.6GHz Intel processor. I'd hazard a guess that the Wind will use the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 chip. Available colors for the models on Expansys are white, black, and pink.
The MSI Wind news release does reveal that there will be two configurations, one based on Novell Linux and another based on Windows XP Home. Both models will feature a 10-inch, LED-backlit screen with a 1024x600-pixel resolution, the Intel 945GMS chipset, and an 80GB hard drive. Common features also include three USB ports, a card reader, an integrated Webcam, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.
The Linux version serves up 512MB of RAM and a three-cell battery, which MSI estimates will run for 2.5 hours. The Windows version doubles the memory to 1GB and the battery to a six-cell unit, which it equates to 5.5 hours of running time. The Windows version also adds Bluetooth. With its smaller battery, the Linux-based MSI Wind weighs 2.3 pounds to the Windows version's 2.6-pound weight.
Asus offers the both versions of its Eee PC 900 at the same $549 price, but it supplies a larger hard drive in the Linux version--your bonus for skipping the fee for the Windows license. MSI is taking a different approach, outfitting the Windows version with better specifications and more features, which means the sub-$500 price it quotes will almost certainly apply to only the Linux model.
Perhaps the most interesting detail included in the release was how MSI arrived at the Wind moniker. Wind = Wi-Fi Network Device.
We've seen a lot of activity lately around the concept of low-cost laptops powered by Intel's upcoming Centrino 2 and Atom CPUs, which promise decent performance and small sizes. Now DigiTimes is reporting that the CPUs to power these systems will be priced very aggressively by Intel, which means we should see these new systems at a fraction of the prices we're seeing in the current $2,000-plus UMPC market.
According to the DigiTimes report, "The CPUs include the Celeron 585 with a core frequency of 2.16GHz priced at US$107 in thousand-unit tray quantities, and Celeron 575 at 2GHz and US$86...Intel has also set the price for its Atom N270 notebook CPU (Diamondville) which forms part of the company's Basic Mobile Platform at US$44."
Earlier today, Matt Elliott told us about the just-announced Atom-powered ECS G10IL mininotebook, and we snuck a peek at some leaked shots of Intel's NetBook yesterday--which looked suspiciously like Intel's Classmate PC (although we now hear the Classmate itself will be available to retailers in the near-future). All these systems, including some not-yet-announced mininotebooks from major PC makers, should fall somewhere in the $300-to-$900 range.
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