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December 23, 2009 8:00 AM PST

2009 sales of Netbooks rise, but notebooks fall

by Lance Whitney
  • 31 comments

It's been a hot year for Netbooks, but not so much for the rest of the portable PC market.

Netbook sales are likely to hit $11.4 billion this year, a 72 percent rise from last year, thanks to a 103 percent leap in shipments, according to a new report from DisplaySearch. But notebook revenue overall will be down around 7 percent from last year.

The latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, released Tuesday, found that the surge in Netbook (mini-notebook) sales was not enough to offset declines for ultra-portables and larger laptops. Aside from Netbooks, annual revenue will likely be down in every portable PC category.

Though notebook shipments are expected to grow 5 percent for the year, average selling prices (ASPs) will show a 20 percent drop as vendors have slashed prices throughout the year, DisplaySearch has forecasted . Average prices for Netbooks and 13-inch to 16-inch notebooks will probably be down 15 percent for the year, a significant cut as these two categories make up 85 percent of the overall notebook market.

(Credit: DisplaySearch)

For 2010, notebook shipments will rise by 16 percent, predicts DisplaySearch, thanks to better than average gains in Netbooks and ultra-portables. The CULV (Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage) market will drive growth with an array of new 11.6-inch and 12-inch portables sporting prices under $500. However, sales next year will likely be flat or down for most portable segments, except desktop replacement, which should enjoy growth of 21 percent over 2009.

The popularity of Netbooks may start to fade next year, DisplaySearch said. Shipments could rise 20 percent, but sales will flatten, and then drop in 2011 as prices come down and performance goes up for ultra-portables and larger notebooks.

(Credit: DisplaySearch)

"Our long-term outlook is that the mini-note share of the notebook PC market has stabilized, and will remain at approximately 20 percent through 2011 before starting to erode," said John F. Jacobs, DisplaySearch director of Notebook Market Research, in a statement. "While mini-notes offer lower ASPs and are thinner and lighter than notebook PCs, the performance of larger notebook PCs continues to improve while prices continue to steadily decline, increasing the performance gap while narrowing the price gap."

November 30, 2009 9:51 AM PST

Top-20 tough iPhone cases

by David Carnoy
  • 16 comments

How you choose to protect--or not protect--your iPhone is a matter of personal choice. Sure, plenty of people like to leave their iPhone naked, reasoning that any protective cover diminishes its sleekness. But the majority of iPhone owners realize it's probably a good idea to give your precious device some degree of armor, particularly if you don't like the idea of seeing your iPhone's lovely finish dinged and scratched up over time.

Going rugged isn't always pretty.

But there's protection from cosmetic damage and then there's protection from real damage. I'm talking drops or someone accidentally sitting on your phone (maybe even you) and cracking the screen.

If that's the kind of heavy-duty shielding you're looking for, this is the list for you. Now, we can't guarantee all these cases will protect your iPhone--and particularly its screen--in the event it gets dropped or has a large object fall on it, but at least they give it a better chance of surviving unscathed.

While we tried to pick tough, protective cases that look good and don't make your iPhone too bulky, we should point out that a few of the cases have more extreme designs that aren't intended for everyday use. We should also note that some of the more rugged cases can be a bit of a chore to remove and aren't friendly toward iPod docks. And finally, before slipping your iPhone into any of these case, be sure to wipe your iPhone off carefully because having any bigger dirt particles wedged between your case and the back of your iPhone or the chrome trim can lead to scratches.

Click on any image to begin slideshow.

Note: The top 20 is listed in alphabetical order, not by ranking. If you don't agree with our choices or feel we missed some, please submit a comment, and we'll consider making changes in our next update of the list.

Originally posted at Fully Equipped
November 12, 2009 5:00 AM PST

Review: Newsflash, the Dell U2410 isn't perfect!

by Eric Franklin
  • 12 comments

If not sexy, then...practical.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

I've been looking forward to the Dell UltraSharp U2410 with as much (or more) anticipation as some of our most fervent readers.

I feel a lot of monitor enthusiasts were expecting perfection from this monitor, so I'll get this out of the way right now: It's not perfect.

This may seem more disappointing than with other monitors, but that's mostly because of the super high expectations the U2410 had prerelease.

The monitor includes a H-IPS panel, one of the newer iterations of IPS panel technology and one that I have little hands-on experience with. Some of the problems I encountered with the monitor could be inherent to the technology, but having not dealt with another H-IPS, I can't say for certain.

Still, it earned our editors' choice, so it must have done something right. Right?!

So, the cat's out of the bag. The Dell UltraSharp U2410 isn't perfect; however, that doesn't mean it can't be perfect for you. Read the full review to determine if it is.

As always, new monitor reviews can always be found here.

The following products mentioned are available.

On Sale Now: $599.00 - $799.99
View the latest prices for Dell UltraSharp U2410

October 20, 2009 11:41 AM PDT

NEC's S-PVA monitor shows its true (and accurate) colors

by Eric Franklin
  • Post a comment

See? The black hardly shifts from this angle...

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

You gotta love a good Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA)-based display, don't you? Well, you're obviously not required to love them, but with their deep blacks, good viewing angles, and, for the most part, accurate colors, they certainly make it difficult to dislike them.

Case in point: the NEC MultiSync P221W is a 22-inch, $390 S-PVA display that includes the aforementioned perks of most S-PVAs.

A monitor needs to have more than just great performance, however, to justify its price. Extra features and connection options can work wonders toward a monitor's overall worth. With Dell recently lowering the price of its feature-rich, 24-inch UltraSharp 2408WFP to $450, can the 22-inch NEC be expected to compete?

Check out the review to find out. Also, be sure to take a look at more monitor reviews with new ones added every week.

The following products mentioned are available.

On Sale Now: $440.32 - $549.99
View the latest prices for NEC MultiSync P221W

On Sale Now: $599.99
View the latest prices for Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP

September 8, 2009 2:50 PM PDT

Binary-inspired, thin monitors from Asus

by Eric Franklin
  • 5 comments

Asus' new displays are stylish, if nothing else.

(Credit: Asus)

If Asus is to be believed, its new line of ultraslim monitors, called the Designo MS Series, was inspired by the binary state. Viewing the monitor from the sides leads credence to this, as it looks like a number "1" standing next to smaller "0." Actually, it looks more like an "o" than a zero, but I think I get the point.

The monitor's profile measures a purported short 0.64 inches, which is only slightly thicker than the LED-based Samsung XL2370. Asus' Ergo-Fit Technology allows a user to adjust the tilt of the monitor supposedly with just one finger. Hmmm, now I'm at least intrigued to see how this little feature actually works.

The screen is designed to sit at the user's eye level--unless, of course, the user has an extremely long or short torso--and by acting as a second screen, Asus says the monitors perfectly complement a laptop computer. I think Samsung would have a little something to say about how "perfectly" they do so, though.

Asus will be offering the monitor in the following sizes: 20-inch, 21.5-inch, 22-inch, 23-inch, and 23.6-inch. The monitors range from 16:9 to 16:10 aspect ratios and from 1,680x1,050 to 1,900x1,080 resolutions. Take a look here for tons more details on connections options and other specs.

Unfortunately, there's no word just yet on when these waify monitors will be arriving Stateside.

August 31, 2009 6:01 AM PDT

HP LP3065: 30 inches of pure silicon, with a carrying handle

by Eric Franklin
  • 5 comments

You know, there's just something about 2,560x1,600 pixels that makes everything look great! Even goblins.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Finally, a 30-incher has come back to C...NET. Yes, I'm a "Rock" fan and yes that is a loooong throwback to a bygone era, but it seemed appropriate.

Last week we got in the HP LP3065 30-incher. Now I know it's been out for a while, but I've gotten a few recent requests to review it. After the Samsung 305T, the Gateway XHD3000 and the Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP it's one of the only 30-inchers I haven't reviewed.

Check out the pics and video below to get a glimpse and look for a review of this monstrosity soon.

June 9, 2009 12:55 PM PDT

Is iPhone video recording bad news for YouTube?

by David Carnoy
  • 41 comments

The iPhone's new video capture and sharing may be a double-edged sword for YouTube.

(Credit: Apple)

With the introduction of the the new iPhone 3G S, one of the features iPhone aficionados are most excited about is the addition of video recording. Never mind that this feature has been available in a lot of other cell phones for a while; the point is, it's finally here, and that's a good thing, especially when Apple has taken the pocket camcorder concept to a whole new level with the integration of some basic onboard editing tools, geotagging, and, most importantly, a wireless distribution system that allows you to easily share your iPhone clips via e-mail, MMS, or by uploading them directly to YouTube (and MobileMe) with a touch of a button (see Apple's demo).

On the surface, this would appear to be excellent news for YouTube and should rather frighten Flip Video, which has seen its YouTube-friendly pocket camcorders take a nice chunk of the camcorder market (recent sales figures indicate that digital pocket models like the Flip, the Creative Vado HD, and the Kodak Zx1, have captured over 25 percent of the camcorder market in the U.S.). ... Read more

Originally posted at Fully Equipped
May 27, 2009 11:46 AM PDT

MSI notebook first with Intel's ultra-low voltage processor

by Erica Ogg
  • Post a comment

MSI X340 notebook Intel CULV (Credit: MSI)

The battle over ultrathin, low-voltage laptops has begun in earnest.

MSI announced Wednesday the availability of the X340, the first notebook to hit the market sporting Intel's new CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) processor.

The X340 is the first of many ultrathin notebooks that look a lot like the MacBook Air, but bear significantly lower prices. Intel's CULV processor draws 5.5 watts, or one-sixth the power of other mobile processors, which leads to longer battery life. The X340 has a 13.4-inch screen, and is priced at $900. It weighs 2.86 pounds, measures .78 inches thick and comes with an HDMI port for displaying high-definition video.

There are going to be many more of these cheaper thin and light laptops to come. On Monday, Lenovo announced its U350 notebook, which will also come with the CULV processor, and will be priced at $649. But it won't be available until the end of June. Acer also plans a series to include CULV in its upcoming TimeLine notebooks, which will range from $699 to $899.

May 14, 2009 2:29 PM PDT

Toshiba announces world's first 512GB SSD laptop

by Dong Ngo
  • 9 comments

While it's now easy to get a desktop with a terabyte or more of storage, it's still pretty hard to find a laptop with even 300GB. That's why I am very impressed with the Portege R600-ST4203 laptop that Toshiba announced Thursday.

The Portege R600-ST4203 is one of world's first laptops with 512GB of storage and it's definitely the first with that much storage in the form of a solid-state drive (SSD). Until now, most SSDs for laptops have remained in the 32GB to 128GB capacity range.

A Protege R600 laptop from Toshiba.

(Credit: CNET)

The Portege R600-ST4203 is the newest model in Toshiba's Portege R600 ultraportable series. It weighs just 2.4 pounds and is only 0.77 inch thin, which is about as thin as the Macbook Air. It has a durable, shock-absorbing chassis, and a 12.1-inch wide-screen LED display. The laptop includes Windows Vista Business and is powered by Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo SU94005 processor.

The SSD used in the Portege R600-ST4203 is Toshiba's newest second-generation SSD, which features SATA standard and multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology. The MLC NAND technology helps increase the density of the SSD, thus allowing more storage space. However, this means it is not the fastest SSD you can find. High-speed SSDs normally use single-level cell NANDs, like the Intel X-25E Extreme does. Nonetheless, Toshiba's 512GB SSD will likely be faster than traditional 5400rpm hard drives found in most notebooks.

Toshiba expects the new machine to provide customers with an enhanced level of protection, portability, reliability, and fast data access. The company claims that the adoption of this 512GB solid-state technology enables the user to enjoy shorter boot times, faster application loading, and access times that are 300 percent faster than 128GB or smaller SSDs.

While those claims still need to be verified, one thing is for sure: the new laptop isn't cheap. It's going to be available for purchase early next month exclusively on Toshiba's Web site for an estimated $3,500.

April 29, 2009 9:39 PM PDT

Reviewed: Flip UltraHD and Flip Ultra

by Crave staff
  • 1 comment

While the name of the category is still up for debate--same say "minicamcorders," others say "YouTube camcorders"--everyone agrees that Pure Digital's Flip Mino was the pioneer product in the realm of tiny, low-priced flash-based digital camcorders. Now the company--which has since been bought out by Cisco--is back with two new models: the second-generation Flip Ultra, and the new Flip UltraHD. CNET's got the full review for each, along with hands-on videos.

Read the Flip Ultra review.

Read the Flip Ultra HD review.

Additional coverage from CNET News:
Pure Digital not flipping out over a little competition

Got an opinion on these latest models? Share your thoughts below.

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