From July up to this month, the Eee PC phenomeno surges on although it quite down a bit from November to December.

Top Eee PC Related News of 2008 (July-Dec) Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t got round to purchasing a netbook yet, or are looking for a newer one but don’t know which to choose, Your Netbook Reviews may be able to help you decide. As the name suggests, the site allows you to read reviews on netbooks written by netbook owners. Perfect if you’re looking for more than a proffessional journalists or bloggers review on a certain netbook.

Users who submit reviews can not only write about the netbook, but can also give the netbook a rating based on various aspects. A rating can be given for value, features, usability and design. As the site is relatively new, there aren’t that many reviews on it just yet, but you can expect it to grow.

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Some China-based whitebox netbook makers are reportedly planning to release a toned-down versions of the Atom-based netbooks and are expected to be released in January or February 2009.

Said ARM-based netbooks will come in a 7-inch and 10-inch netbooks and would have the Windows CE for their operating systems. Both these ARM-based netbooks will be capable of fulfilling various office tasks such as email and Internet browsing but won’t be powerful enough for 3D gaming as well as supporting Windows XP or Vista.

The 7-inch ARM-based netbooks would be utilizing the 300MHz ARM9 Core Processor, which may not be as Powerful as the Atom or NVIDIA processors but certainly has longer battery life.

The 7-inch netbook will be sold for around $146 when it comes out next year.

Via

Following on from 10 ways to tweak your netbook, Gigaom have posted up a list of seven applications that will make your Windows XP based netbook “shine”. While some are obvious choices for all Windows users, such as Windows Movie Maker and Foxit PDF Reader, the other applications listed will be useful for many a netbook owner, myself included.

To get the most out of your netbook sized screen, Tweak UI, Xplorer2 and Virtual Desktop Manager are recommended. Virtual Desktop Manager, as the name suggests, gives you up to four virtual desktops which you can use for various tasks, with email on one and web browser in another as an example. Switching between the desktops is also easy and quick to do. Tweak UI on the other hand allows customization of how XP looks on the small screen with the ability of making the boxes within the Windows bar bigger. For those who move files to and from different folders frequently, Xplorer2 allows you to drag and drop the files from different folders in one window.

The other two mention applications are SyncToy, which allows you to keep two folders sync, meaning that your important files, can always be with you, and SharpKeys. SharpKeys allows you to remap the keys on your netbook.

While many netbook manufacturers are increasing the specifications of their netbooks, making them a great alternative to a laptop, Belco have taken us back to basics. The Alpha 400 features a 7 inch display, 128MB of RAM, 400 MHz MIPS processor and 1GB flash memory. Memory can be increased by using the built in SD card reader which supports up to 32GB.

Belco’s Alpha 400 uses Linux for it’s operating system, with Windows XP not being possible to run. The basic features of the netbook, gives it it’s low price of $190 from Geeks.com.

Via: jkOnTheRun

If you’re considering getting a netbook for yourself or as a Christmas present but are unsure, Gigaom have posted up a list of five things to consider before purchasing a netbook. Some of the points you may have already considered, as being the most obvious, such as how much screen size you need and what size keyboard is usuable.

Another question poised, is what you will be using the netbook for, whether it be for the occasianal web browsing and reading emails or using it instead of a laptop or PC. Gigaom discribe it as perhaps the most important question and I would agree. The other things to consider seem to be dependant on what you want to use it for.

Originally most netbooks launched with Linux and so giving up Windows was often a factor to consider, and still is, but fortunately if Linux isn’t for you, many netbooks have a Windows model. The other factor, again dependant on what and where you’ll use your netbook, is whether or not you’ll need the extended battery.

If you’re unfortunate enough to have bought, or be buying, an MSI Wind after they’ve changed the touchpad from Synaptics to Sentilic, the MSI Wind forums have a solution. The Sentilic touchpad, is generally viewed as inferior to that of the Synaptics as it has less functionality and less support.

dxmiller from the MSI Wind forums though, has found a solution to this problem, and the best bit, it will only cost you $12. It’s possible to purchase a Synaptics touchpad from Asus for $8 plus shipping and replace the Sentilic one. All it requires is a little wiggling to swap the touchpads over. Some solvents might be needed to remove the pad though, but apart from that, the connections and dimensions are the same.

Via: Wired

We recently reported that Carphone Warehouse had recalled their Linux webbook, as customers prefer a Windows OS over Linux.

When it comes to Eee PCs though, the return rate for Linux and Windows are similar explains Jerry Shen, Asus CEO. In Europe customers are more inclined to purchase the Linux netbook model. Overall Eee PCs have a low return rate.

Jerry Shen also shed details about a touch screen Eee PC in 2009 as well as Windows 7 coming to the Eee PCs. He explained that Eee PCs will skip Vista and instead use Windows 7 as it’s next operating system, making only Windows XP, Linux and Windows 7 being the only OS’s installed.

Easy Mode Windows XP will also be released in the Q4 of 2008. Easy Mode is for novice computer users providing a simple interface with the ability to use the full operating system.

Via: OSnews

As we have reported before, Amazon.com starts today to sell the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child).

There is two ways to buy the laptop, in Give 1 Get 1, people pay US$399 for two XO laptops, one sent to a child in a developing country and the other sent to the donor.

Those who don’t want an XO OPLC laptop can also simply give as many laptops as they want at $199 each.

Here is the specifications:

• Rugged, low-power, low-cost, wifi capable
• 7.5″ High resolution, Dual mode - 1200×900 B&W, grey scale, sunlight readable reflective mode; 800×600 color with backlight
• Built-in camera (640 x 480 resolution at 30 FPS), touchpad, gamepad, 3 USB ports, SD card
• 1GB NAND Flash, Linux-Based OS included, 256MB DDR RAM Memory
• AMD 433MhZ Processor, Wireless 802.11b/g, 802.11S
• Size (LWH): 9.65 inches, 9 inches, 1.2 inches
• Weight: 3.2 pounds

Read more at Amazon.com

Apparently, Asus have indicated that they intend to create a 12 inch netbook in the near future. It is destined to be an ‘ultra thin model’ according to Digitimes but, the question is - when does a netbook become too big to be classed as a ‘netbook’?

Asus created the netbook and once upon a time the netbook was a 7inch, highly portable unit that wasn’t truly a notebook and the netbook tag fitted the product perfectly. Now, netbooks have bulked themselves out and we see 10.2″ models, for example the ‘top of the range’ S101 Eee PC from Asus themselves. 10.2″ is ok, we’re used to that but, 12 inch…..that’s a notebook isn’t it?  Well, yes, that’s what Asustek have decided, their new 12″ model will not be tagged as a netbook - Asus are adding to the notebook range in their collection of ‘books’ and the notebook tag fits this model a little better, it’s all very well clinging on to the netbook tag, netbooks are incredibly and increasingly popular so it’s understandable why any company would tag their products as a netbook if they can get away with it but, Asus seem happy to move their bigger model into the ‘notebook’ range, although the tie-in to the Eee PC range should keep that netbook tag working for the company regardless of the size of screen.

The 12″ netbook, will be a part of the ZX series and will be of similar specification to the S101. With specs like that and the inclusion of a larger screen with 16:10 aspect ratio, Asustek could be onto a winner, again. Digitimes’ sources have predicted the unit will cost below NT$30,000.

To clarify where the netbook line stopped and the notebook line started, Asus president Jerry Shen stated: “that any device with display larger than 10.x-inches is not a netbook. Related devices with 11-inch or larger displays will be part of the company’s Asus brand”. So thats clear then, 12″ is a notebook, the man said so.