Somewhere in Japa, a company called Dosapara and game animation company Nitro+ has teamed up to release a new netbook inspired by a game called "Yu-pon."  The netbook called  Prime Note Cresion NA Yu-Pon netbook boasts of a Blu-ray disc player plus your usual netbook fare.

The netbook features Intel Atom N330 with Nvidia ION chipset, 2GB of RAM, 320GB of HDD, Wi-Fi b/g/n/, HDMI and a 12.1-inch wide monitor with 1366x768 resolution. It comes preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The netbook goes on sale in Japan this month for around $784.

Via Akihabara News

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

DosPara Launches Limited Edition Yu-pon Netbook with Blu-ray Capability

UK company X2 Computing has just launched a new tablet PC ironically called the iTablet.  And guess what the company's tagline is for their iTablet?

"the iTablet will revolutionize the way that Windows users can access and use data on the move."

Sounds familiar? Just don't mind the allusion to the iPad as I'm pretty sure that specs-wise the iTablet and the iPad are miles apart.

The iTablet features a 10.2-inch widescreen TFT or a 12.1-inch widescreen XGA display. The screen display can have an optional multitouch feature.  Other specs include - 1.6GHz Intel processor which I'm guessing would be the Atom N450, 250GB of HDD, built-in stereo speakers, 3 USB ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.3 MP webcam  and optional HDMI.

In addition the iTablet will support Flash and multitasking, two things which the iPad is not capable of.

The iTablet is scheduled to be launched in April and will be available in various colors - white, grey, pink, blue, red, yellow and black.

Pricing is not yet available though.

Via Pocket-lint

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

iTablet Unveiled in UK, Looks Better than the iPad

Brad has another jam-packed review for us over at liliputing, this time it's the Lenovo Ideapad U150. He previously posted an unboxing which we also covered here. Here is the specification review of this unit.

Lenovo Ideapad U150

• 11.6” 1366 x 768 glossy screen
• 1.30GHz Intel CULV SU7300 Core 2 Duo with GS45 Express + GMA 4500MHD Graphics
• 4GB DDR3 RAM (8GB max)
• 320GB HDD (with APS - active shock protection)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 1.3MP Webcam, Card Reader, 2x USB, 1x USB/eSATA port, HDMI, VGA, LAN, LAN switch
• Multi-touch trackpad
• Dolby Sound Room
• 3- or 6-cell battery (7 Hour battery life)
• Weight: 1.5kg

Some of the pros of the device is the easy access bottom panel for doing upgrades and the free mini PCIe slot and extra RAM slot. The two-tone keyboard is also nice and gives the main letters some focus. It's also quite snappy for regular office app use.

The extra glossy screen is not that great though and might be distracting for some. The keyboard is also a bit noisy and gives some flex when in use. Noticeably absent is the lack of a graphics chip like the NVIDIA Ion which often comes packaged with these CULVs to give an extra graphics boost.

The U150 looks like a decent computer but I've found that Lenovo laptops while high-quality are a bit more expensive than similar devices from other makers.

source liliputing

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Reviewed: Lenovo Ideapad U150

It seems the Alienware mothership has chosen to land in Japan. The highly-anticipated (well anticipated by me at least) netbook is coming in this month to the Land of the Rising Sun. Here's a spec refresher.

• 11.6" 1366 x 768 screen
• Intel CULV Core 2 Duo with switchable NVIDIA GT335M
• 1GB RAM
• WiFi
• VGA Port, Ethernet LAN, HDMI out, mini Firewire port, Displayport output
• 3 x USB, 2 x headphone and 1 x mic port, Multicard Reader
• Backlit customizable keyboard
• 6-cell battery at 6.5 hours battery life for integrated graphics, 2.5 hours max if you use the graphics card.
• Weight: around 4 lbs.
• Colors: Black or Gray.

Even at the hefty US$799 price tag, the power packed by this device will definitely blow any other netbook out of the water and even gives some notebooks a run for their money. As I said before, this will make a decent replacement for a notebook if you care about power but don't want the bulk.

source netbooked

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Alienware M11x soon to beam down to Japan

Asus' new nettop has finally been graced by an unboxing by the folks of Netbooked. It comes with ION graphics and a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse and remote control. The focus seems to be on making this an all-in-one entertainment device with the improved video capability, dvd slot and remote.

Asus Eee Box EB1501

• 1.66GHz Intel Atom 330, dual-core with NVidia ION
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB HDD
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• 6 x USB, HDMI out
• eSATA, audio jacks, S/PDIF, card reader
• DVD Burner
• Wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, remote control

From the unboxing, you will see that it's a hefty package since this new unit now includes peripherals with the purchase. Like other Eee Box models, it can be mounted using an included VESA mount so you can attach it either behind your monitor or a VESA-compatible stand. It also comes with an antenna for expanding its WiFi range.

It has a similar spec base as the Acer Aspire Revo sans the DVD drive. It's a pretty sleek package which will probably find a home beside your LCD TV as a media server. Amazon sells these for US$465 and it comes in black and white models.

source netbooked

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Unboxed: Asus Eee Box EB1501 Nettop

There have been a host of Intel Atom netbooks coming from that odd little place called Shenzhen, China. Now, it seems an enterprising manufacturer of shanzhai machines has come to try out AMD's own mobile processor platform.

Yu Plastic Technology has integrated AMD Yukon CPUs into their line up coupled with ATI Radeon X1270 graphics for 1080p support. Coupled with the 13.3" screen, this should be an excellent choice for watching video.

• 13.3" 1366 x 768 LCD
• AMD Yukon with ATI Radeon X1270 graphics
• 2GB RAM
• up to 500GB HDD
• WiFi-ready
• HDMI out, LAN, VGA
• Weight: 1.77kg

The price is estimated to be at least US$400 though I doubt it if it will be available in places other than China. AMD is often the choice of some manufacturers if they want to have a higher spec'd but cheaper priced machines. While it's not as wildly popular as Intel's processors, it certainly has its place in the market.

source Shanzai.com

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

AMD Yukon now starring in Shenzhen netbooks

One thing I like about netbooks is that is doesn't have a DVD drive, something I don't actually use that often in my main computer as well. It lets manufacturers create a sleeker design for this portable device and also makes it so much lighter to carry around.

Gateway, a subsidiary brand of Acer, went the other direction though and crammed in a DVD burner in its new EC14D notebook. By all the common standards, this isn't a netbook but it's an interesting play to grab those users who still need to create and use DVDs.

Gateway EC14D

• 11.6" 1366 x 768 LCD screen
• 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 CULV with Intel GS45 chipset, GMA 4500MHD
• 4GB DDR2 RAM
• 320GB HDD
• 8x DVD burner
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi, LAN
• 3 x USB, HDMI out, card reader, webcam
• 6-cell 5600mAh battery
• weight: 1.61kg

More pics in the link to Notebook Italia below.

source Notebook Italia via Engadget

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Spotted: Gateway EC14D in Italy

MiniPC of Japan recently did an upgrade of one of their nettops and it now houses the new Intel Atom D510 processor. Here are some specs:

MiniPC ED510

• 1.66GHz Intel Atom D510 dual-core CPU with NM10 Chipset, GMA 3150
• 2 x RAM slots (DIMM)
• 2.5" SATA HDD Bay
• Gigabit LAN
• 6 x USB, RJ45, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, audio jacks
• mini PCIe slot, eSATA port, VGA out
• 5.1 Channel HD Audio port

You can see that it's similar to previous nettop configurations offered by other manufacturer and the only difference seems to be the processor. It only consumes 31W at maximum load which is very energy efficient but probably won't be able to handle processor-intensive tasks like video decoding or high-end games very well. It can run fanless though, according to MiniPC's website, if running on light tasks.

The presence of a mini PCIe is odd though, maybe they want to include a Broadcom Crystal HD decoder in there? There's no ports for DVI and HDMI so don't expect to be able to hook up your living room LCD TV without adapters. Price goes for ¥23620 (US$ 261) for the unit only.

source MiniPC.jp

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

MiniPC introduces Pine Trail nettop

Ever since the Eee Keyboard was announced, people have been eyeing it with interest we haven't seen since the Commodore C64 came out. Asus has kept on delaying its release so Chinese manufacturer Great Wall went ahead and sold their own version.

The Cross PC U150 bundles all the PC components you need into a handy keyboard package. What's interesting is they were even able to squeeze in a touchscreen LCD display on where the numpad should be, making it much more usable. Some specs:

Cross PC U150

• 5" touchscreen embedded
• Intel Atom processor
• NVIDIA Ion graphics
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB HDD
• WiFi
• full-keyboard
• Handwriting recognition
• VGA, HDMI out

It doesn't sport a battery so I'd guess it makes this a nettop of sorts and needs external power to keep on running. Just don't tug on the power cord too often. It also has no support for dual displays so it's either you use the tiny display or plug in a bigger one. That's a bummer since would have been nice to use it for input.

It's now for sale in China for 3888RMB or US$570

source Cloned in China

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Cross PC U150 overtakes Eee Keyboard, now available in China

Another unboxing video here from Brad of liliputing. It's the dual core packing Asus Eee PC 1201N. You might think this is a CULV laptop but it's not - the dual core is an Atom 330 processor, something usually reserved for nettops. The two-core Atom CPU gives a slight speed bump to the perfomance of this notebook.

What really makes this unit special is the NVIDIA Ion graphics chipset included in it which lets users play high-definition video and games. It's also great for outputting video to an external screen via the HDMI port, which is not usually present in netbooks. Here are some specs of this unit.

• 12.1" glossy screen
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 Dual Core
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB HDD
• Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth
• 5-hour battery life
• Weight: 1.45kg

The battery doesn't protrude much from the base, so it gives a sleek profile to the unit. It has the regular Asus keyboard with functions for overclocking/underclocking the processor included. For more on this, check out the video below. Together with the NVIDIA Ion graphics, that would probably give a very nice gaming experience.

source liliputing

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Unboxed: Asus Eee PC 1201N