MSI's Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

We already caught MSI's upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn't stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we've been cordially invited to feast our eyes upon the unboxing process. Right out of the gate, we have to share the disappointment in the lack of a rear panel for easily accessing the internal RAM and HDD, but at least the Atom N280 is a (minor) step above what we've grown accustomed to. Check the read link for all the pictorial delight.

Gigabyte T1028 netbook / tablet gets the hands-on treatment

We've already seen Gigabyte's T1028 netbook / tablet up close, and even gotten a glimpse of the user manual, but the folks at UMPC Portal have now finally come though with a proper hands-on of the device, which looks to confirm that it does indeed deliver the goods, if not quite justify its $600+ price tag. What's more, as welcome as that swiveling touchscreen is, it looks like it's the little touches that really push this one over the edge, including an all too often omitted ExpressCard slot, built-in 3G, 802.11n WiFi, some actually accessible upgrade options, and an apparently faster than usual 2.5-inch hard drive. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown (including some benchmarks) and, of course, plenty of pics.

Packard Bell's new DOT S and DOT M netbooks for Europe

Acer-owned Packard Bell is taking Acer's latest and greatest netbooks and rebadging them for the European market. The 10.1-inch DOT S swipes most of its specs from the Acer Aspire One D250, while the DOT M (pictured) goes for the 11.6-inch Aspire One's guts. There do seem to be a few aesthetic differences, however, with a fancy textured palm rest, silver touches to the trackpads and a tweaked lid. The DOT S will be available this week for 299 Euros, while the DOT M hits at the end of this month for 399 Euros.

Samsung Q1EX UMPC reviewed, dismissed

Rats. Just when we thought that someone had figured out how to make a winning UMPC configuration for consumers, out comes a review to pan it. While the Samsung Q1EX sounds good on paper with its 7-inch resistive touchpanel with 1,024 x 600 resolution, 1.2GHz VIA Nano processor, 4.5-hour battery, and $775 price tag; Laptop Mag was unimpressed when it came to go-time. Unfortunately, Laptop found text entry to be too much of a chore thanks to the loss of the thumbpad used on previous Q1-series UMPCs and the lack of a digitizer that severely impacts the unit's ability to accurately recognize handwriting under XP Tablet Edition. Boot times were slow and battery life was poor at just two hours compared to the 4.5 hours stated. Sure, you can add a dock with keyboard (pictured) and optional 6-cell battery (bringing the price to $977), but at that point, you'd be wise to look at the latest in wee netbooks offering bigger screens, the same power, and longer battery life at half the price.

Intel Updates Laptop, Desktop Chip Plans

Intel on Tuesday accelerated plans to release two dual-core laptop and desktop processors, tweaking its road map as it juggles manufacturing efforts to cut costs.

The company will ship dual-core processors for mainstream laptops and desktops made using the 32-nanometer process, skipping plans to release similar chips manufactured using the 45-nm process. The chips will ship in the fourth quarter.

The road map update will quickly bring the latest technologies to laptop and desktop chips, company officials said during a press conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. Intel officials could not say when those chips would reach laptops and desktops.

The 32-nm-process chips will be an upgrade over existing 45-nanometer chips that go into current desktops and laptops. The chips will be cheaper to manufacture, work faster and draw less power.

The early shift to the 32-nm process will reduce Intel's manufacturing cost, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates.

The new chips could also bring excitement to a sore laptop market and provide users a reason to upgrade. For essentially the same cost, users will get a jump in performance with the latest technology Intel has to offer, Gold said.

The new dual-core laptop chips code-named Arrandale replace Nehalem-based Auburndale processors, Intel said. Intel will also ship 32-nm dual-core desktop chips code-named Clarkdale, which will replace Nehalem-based Havendale chips.

Arrandale will boost graphics performance while drawing less power than Core 2 processors, said Stephen Smith, vice president and director of group operations at Intel. The new chips will also be more energy-efficient, which could improve laptop battery life.

The clock speeds will be similar to chips used in existing laptops, but offer better performance at a similar power envelope by running more threads via each core.

The new chips will be part of Westmere microarchitecture, which is a shrink of Intel's existing Nehalem microarchitecture. Nehalem, which is used in Intel's Core i7 desktop, integrates a memory controller and provides a faster pipe for the CPU to communicate with system components. It is considered a significant upgrade over Intel's earlier microarchitectures, as it cuts bottlenecks to improve system speed and performance-per-watt. Intel earlier said it would ship dual-core laptops and desktops built around Nehalem in the second half of 2009.

Demand for chips is shrinking, so Intel has to take a drastic step to improve demand for its products, said analyst Gold.

With chip demand slowing, the returns on developing 45-nm laptop chips may also be minimal, Gold said. Intel's shift to the 32-nm process is smooth, which provides an incentive to quickly move to Westmere chips, he said.

"The optimum time to shift is when demand is down and risk is less," Gold said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said the company would spend US$7 billion over the next two years to revamp manufacturing plants.

Intel is prioritizing its move to the new 32-nanometer process technology to lower chip-manufacturing costs and increase production. That will help the company make more chips at lower costs and add efficiencies to the production process, Intel officials said on Tuesday.

The new manufacturing process will also help create tiny integrated chips that can be fit into devices like set-top boxes and TVs, Intel said during its fourth-quarter earnings call in January. That could help Intel enter new markets and add revenue opportunities.

Intel will begin producing chips with 32-nm circuitry in four fabs starting in late 2009. A nanometer equals about a billionth of a meter. In chip manufacturing, the figure refers to the denser features etched on the surface of chips. Chip manufacturers like Intel and AMD are building smaller and smaller transistors into chips to perform quicker and draw less power.

HP netbooks likely to run "at least" three versions of Windows 7

How many versions of Windows 7 can a netbook run? Three, and possibly more, according to HP's Kyle Thornton, who recently attempted to "clarify" the situation in an interview with Computerworld. Those include in the main Professional and Home Premium editions, as well as the low-end Starter edition which, among other things, is limited to running no more than three applications at a time. According to Thornton, HP has also been testing Windows 7 Ultimate on its Mini netbook line, although it apparently isn't saying if it actually intends to offer it on future netbooks or not. But that's not all. Thornton also says that HP "hopes" that it'll be able to continue to offer both Windows XP and Vista Business on its business-oriented netbooks even after Windows 7 ships... and ships, and ships.

Toshiba Tecra A10, M10 laptops now available

Because you can never have too many Tecra laptops in your life, Toshiba's announced that the A10-S3511 and M10-S3411 are currently making their way through retail channels. Both PCs sport a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processors, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB HDD, built-in webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, Toshiba's EasyGuard technology, a Li-on battery that's expected to last just under 3 hours per charge, and Windows Vista Business with media to downgrade it to XP Professional. As for their differences, the A10's has a 15.4-inch screen with WSXGA+ resolution, NVIDIA's Quadro NVS, a 7200rpm disk speed, and a shiny new $1249 price tag,while the M10's got a 14.1-inch TFT LCD with WXGA+ resolution, an Intel GM45 integrated graphics chip, a 5400rpm disk speed, and a $1100 asking price, which is a bit lower than what we heard back in July.

Hands-on with Dell's Latitude XT2 tablet

Official word just arrived this morning of Dell's Latitude XT sucessor, the Latitude XT2, and Laptop Magazine's already spent some quality time with the tablet. They note the XT2's aesthetic similarity to the previous model, but point out a few standout upgrades, most notably the 12.1-inch LED backlit capacitive touch-screen, which they say is significantly brighter than the last iteration, and the up to 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 CPU (with a Montevina chipset). They also point out that the finger navigations are "smooth as butter" -- but hit the read link for full details and video of the tablet in action. The Latitude XT2 is going to have a starting price of $2,399.

ASUS N81Vg: first laptop with NVIDIA's GeForce GT 120M

Not quite an ultraportable, but not quite a behemoth -- the 14-inch ASUS N81Vg fits nicely between the two laptop extremes, and given that it's the first to house NVIDIA's GeForce GT 120M graphics card, even gamers can feel free to sneak a deathmatch or two in between conference calls. The rig itself can be ordered with one of many Core 2 Duo processors, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, upwards of 500GB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray burner, 1.3 megapixel webcam and a battery good for three to four hours. The newfangled 120M GPU features NVIDIA CUDA technology, 32 processing cores, DirecX 10 support, 1080p video playback and 110 gigaflops of computing power. Per usual, ASUS is keeping quiet when it comes to pricing and release details, but it ought not be long now, tiger.

Samsung introduces Lapfit monitors in a fit of insanity

Samsung's Lapfit monitors are here to solve a problem most laptop owners are familiar with: the secondary monitor offset. See, a laptop's integrated display typically sits just a few centimeters above the desktop. That can create an unnatural panning effect when trying to move the mouse or drag a window from your laptop's display to the higher secondary. Samsung's solution is to offer these new low-profile monitors that sit at the same height as your (desktop replacement-sized) laptop's display. The 19- (LD190G) and 22-inch (LD220G) UbiSync Lapfit monitors offer a 10-30 degree tilt, a 1,360 x 768 (16:9 aspect) pixel resolution, 4ms response, and a 20,000:1 dynamic contrast. Great, a physical solution to a problem solved long ago by laptop stands or by your laptop's OS -- way to go Sammy.

Kohjinsha livens up netbook game with shockingly green Gachapin edition

Generally speaking, Kohjinsha is better known for its dabbling in the UMPC / convertible tablet arenas than netbooks, but there's nothing like a retina-searing lime green shell to bring attention to your latest. Reportedly, the outfit has teamed up with famed toy maker Bandai in order to create a Gachapin and Mukku netbook aimed at kids with no sense of style and a simple desire to smile at all times during the day. As for specs, everything's pretty much par for the course, with a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 160GB HDD, 8.9-inch display (1,024 x 600 resolution), WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and 1GB of RAM. We must say, the inclusion of a 1Seg digital TV tuner is a nice touch, and one we're sure your TV-loving youngsters will greatly appreciate. The bad news is that this rig is selling for a whopping ¥79,800 ($866), so you can be certain those fuzzy cartoon characters are getting some serious royalties.

Acer Aspire One D150 with N270 previewed, now available for US pre-order

The 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D150 has found its way onto Amazon and J&R's websites and is now available for pre-order in blue and black color options, respectively. This version's got the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and 6-cell battery, with no word on the 3-cell or 1.66GHz N280 variants. Asking price is three Benjamins and an Ulysses S. Grant, or $350 if you're not into presidential pricing nomenclature. Additionally, the fine folks at netbooknews.de that gave us unboxing photos this week have a video hands-on of the laptop. High expectations from the market leader apparently turned into low marks for the glossy display, small trackpad, and a keyboard that's "separated by universes" -- and not in a good way -- when compared to the Samsung NC10. Further testing is expected later this week, check out the video after the break.

Dell Promise Pink laptops fight breast cancer

It slipped under the radar this past week, but Dell and Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced a partnership that'll see Dell donate $5 to the foundation for every new Promise Pink laptop it sells. Most of Dell's line is available in the new hue, including the various Inspiron Studios and Minis, the XPS m1330 and m1530 -- hell, even the Latitude E4200 for all you trendster suits out there. Dell's committed to raising at least $250,000 through the program, so it apparently thinks these are going to be quite popular -- we'll know for sure if this dude trades up to Promise from Flamingo.

Dell XT2 specs and availability leaked, launching on Weds?

It's been a long, long time since the first information about Dell's update to the venerable XT convertible tablet snuck out of Texas, and while we got some choice morsels of information last month, we were still missing any semblance of a release date (that original November 2008 target proved to be a bit optimistic). Now we have what could be the official spec sheet for the series and a date to boot, confirming much of what we'd heard before, like your choice of 1.2GHz SU9300 or 1.4GHz SU9400 Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, a 12.1-inch multitouch display, up to 5GB of DDR3 memory, and either 80GB worth of platters or 64GB of SSD. Base weight is 3.62 pounds, just over the 3.5 pound target the company had been aiming for, and if this source is correct the machine will be getting an official unveiling on February 11 -- close enough that we'd advise holding off on any other tablet purchases for a few days.

17-inch MacBook Pro delayed two weeks

Bad news for those of you waiting on pins and needles for the 17-inch MacBook Pro -- it's been delayed to at least February 19th. According to an email Apple's sending to pre-order customers, "wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected," and orders won't ship for another two weeks. Guess cramming all that fancy new sealed battery tech in that new unibody enclosure wasn't so easy, now was it? Full text of the email after the break.

10-inch Aspire One does a little government work at the FCC

It looks like Acer's 10-inch Aspire One D150 is getting set for a US debut, as it just popped up in the FCC's all-knowing database. Nothing here we didn't know or couldn't guess -- Acer's own list of changes from the 8.9-inch Aspire One consists of the screen size and a new Bluetooth module -- but it's nice to see Uncle Sam giving this bad boy the once over before it starts beaming its WiFi terror rays into our homes. Or, you know, running XP to browse Facebook, whatever.

Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package

This is true art, friend. The amazing "brotato" (rhymes with potato, in a perfect world) has hacked together netbook components, an ancient keyboard and a 14.2-inch LCD into this classy case, dubbing the project "The Poor Man's Netbook." The box is running Windows XP, but he tested it out with Windows 7 and Mac OS X and it performed beautifully, except for the Bluetooth 2.1 module. The box is based on a Mini-ITX Intel D945GCLF2 Dual Core 1.6Ghz Atom motherboard, with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and 802.11n WiFi -- though you'll have to hunt down an outlet, there's no battery power here. The best news is that he's selling the whole conglomeration on eBay, perfect for completing that piece of horrible cyberpunk fiction you've been slaving over on your boringtop.

MSI Wind U120 hits the review bench, short on thrills

Those obsessives over at Laptop Mag wrangled up a new MSI Wind U120 and did the review thing, and while there's plenty of good here, the wide availability of similarly specced, strongly designed netbooks throws the Wind's flaws into sharper relief. With the same internals and battery of the original, and yet oddly less battery life, the main improvement here is the more "professional" chassis design. Not a ton to get excited about, but at least the $379 pricetag has a decent edge on other higher-end (in looks, anyways) laptops of this ilk.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 tested in every way imaginable

Lenovo's 15.4-inch IdeaPad Y530 has been around the block a time or two, but if you've been putting off a buy as you wait for someone to test this puppy out good-fashion, your day has arrived. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware have abused (in a good way, of course) the Y530 in pretty much every way possible, even straining the Core 2 Duo CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M to see how they fared in gaming scenarios. Critics were particularly wowed by the display's crispness and overall stability of the machine -- not once during the gauntlet of tests did this bugger crash or weep under pressure. Of course, serious gamers should probably look elsewhere, but those scouting a do-it-all laptop at a sub-$1,000 price point should definitely dive into the read link below.

India's $10 laptop coming February 3rd, take that Negroponte

Get ready, India's $10 laptop is set for its first unveiling on February 3rd. Ok, so it's not quite $10... $20 actually, but that's far better than the $100 some were estimating. It's also much better than the $200 per OLPC XO deal that Negroponte wanted to reportedly charge the Indian government more than 2 years ago -- an offer rejected by officials with a promise to young Indians to do it better and for less. According to some reports (we can't find anything official), the laptop will feature 2GB of memory, WiFi, fixed Ethernet, expandable memory, and consume just 2 watts of power. The Devil's in the details, they say, but with any luck, India will be swimming in cheap silicon within the next 6 months if the project can keep to schedule... that's a big IF.