MSI’s Thin & Light X-Slim X320 notebook is now available in the U.S. through outlets like Newegg. In case you’ve forgotten, the MSI X-Slim X320 features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 802.11 n Wi-Fi, built-in Bluetooth, 1.3MP camera, a 4-cell battery and Windows Vista Home Premium. Intel’s GMA 500 graphics come integrated and the 16:9 13-inch display features 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. There’s also a 2-in-1 card reader built-in along with 3 USB ports, an Ethernet port, stereo speakers and a VGA-out port. If you’d rather get this than a netbook, prepare to shell out $599 USD.

Newegg via Laptoping

Announced just a little over a month ago, the Acer AspireRevo is going to be one of the hottest nettops around for quite a while, what with it being the world’s first one rocking NVIDIA Ion graphics on board and all. This small nettop is going to be Acer’s bet against the likes of the Asus EeeBOX, offering advanced graphics and multimedia features that make it a great home theater PC. I kept this in mind while testing the Acer AspireRevo earlier at an Acer event, trying to see if it really delivered on what Acer is promising on paper. Well, what I’ve gathered is very positive so far, that I think I can safely say even Asus won’t be able to offer any competition.
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e-Machine has just launched a new desktop in Japan called the EL1600, and it’s powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N230 processor with the 945GC Express Chipset. If looks could kill, it wouldn’t have any trouble slaughtering its plainly designed competitors, too. It comes with 1GB of RAM, 160GB of HDD, a DVD Super Multi drive, and Windows XP Home. Pricing starts at 35,000 Yen or about $356 USD. Not sure if it will be available outside Japan, though.

Via Akihabara News

While you may be satisfied with what you’re getting in a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor-equipped netbook, did you know that you could have had the same netbook with a slightly better processor that’s clocked at 1.86GHz? Yes, a 1.86GHz Intel Atom processor is available in the form of the Intel Atom Z540, but manufacturers aren’t in a hurry to offer this variant of the Atom in their products. Why? Because it costs more–twice more, to be exact–than the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. Yes, it offers a higher CPU clock speed, but at a 100% increase in price, it’s hard to say it will be worth it, especially since netbooks with 1.6GHz Atoms seem to be doing pretty well in the market. Here’s hoping Intel wakes up to reality and lowers their price for these, so we can, you know, experience using it in future netbooks to see if it’s really any better.

Via Fudzilla

An official statement from Intel regarding their upcoming GN40 chipset for Atom CPUs tells us that we’ll soon be seeing proper 1080P HD video support in netbooks, although Blu-ray is still unfortunately out of the question. Intel’s statement goes: “GN40 is designed to do 1080P HD playback for typical broadband internet content; it is not designed to enable full Blu-ray capability where the bitrates and demands of multi-layer content are significantly higher than that of internet HD content.” So as far as 1080P HD streaming from online sources go, the GN40 chipset won’t have problems. And while there’s still a question of whether features like this will be usable in netbooks in the first place, it will be up to each individual to decide if this is something worth having in his/her netbook or not when it comes out.

Via Fudzilla

AsRock, a Taiwanese subsidiary of Asus, is said to be planning on introducing its very own netbooks to the market some time this year, even if it means competing head to head with its mother company. During CeBIT 2009, the company showcased some Atom-based nettops, featuring N330 dual core processors and based on Intel’s GMA 950 graphics chipset. Currently, not much is known about the company’s upcoming netbook, but it is in the pipeline, and the projected retail price is supposed to be under $300. That alone makes it something worth looking forward to.

Via NetbookNews.de

While there are three different configuration of the Sony Vaio P available all over the world, recently published benchmarks show that these don’t differ much in reality. They’re only remarkable differences, in fact, lie in their disk drives instead of their differently configured Atom processors. You can use the above pictured stats for reference. This was first posted by Pocketables, gathered from users of their forums.

Via Pocketables

This literally slipped past us, but thanks to a mention on Netbook3G, we are now aware of the Compaq CQ2000M, the newest nettop on the block. Compaq didn’t exactly make it big in the netbook space when it launched the Compaq Mini 700 (although HP did), so they’re going to try their luck nettops now. The Compaq CQ2000M actually looks pretty good on paper. Its specs, which include a DVD writer, are:

- Intel Atom N230 processor
- 1GB RAM
- DVD players / recorders
- 160GB HDD
- Ethernet port
- Sound card with 5.1 audio
- 4 USB ports
- Windows XP
- 20 inch screen (bundled monitor)
- Keyboard + optical mouse

No word on a release date or pricing yet, but we’ll be on the lookout for those and will let you know in a future update.

[PDF] Compaq CQ2000M fact sheet Via Netbook3G

Last week we saw the official announcement of Taiwan Mobile’s so-called W101 netbook, and while it looked somewhat interesting on paper, it appears that it looks even better in photos, if its official pictures are to be used as basis. Taiwan Mobile only revealed the full set of W101 netbook photos recently, and from it we can discern that it won’t be just another bland white netbook. It actually looks pretty sleek, and might really be worth the price Taiwan Mobile is asking for it (which is about $421 USD–oh wait, nevermind what I just about the netbook being worth it because of its looks). In any case, it will come with an Intel Atom N270 processor, 10-inch screen, 8GB SSD, 3 USB ports, and built-in 3G. See a gallery full of the Taiwan Mobile W101’s photos after the break.
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Among a group of new notebook models introduced by Gateway recently is this — the Gateway LT1001i — an 8.9-inch netbook that packs an Intel Atom N270 processor and other basic netbook features. It comes with Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed, and has 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Intel’s Mobile 945GSE Express Chipset, built-in Bluetooth, webcam, and card reader. It weighs just 2.2 lbs and costs just quite a bit over $400. This doesn’t have enough to beat the Acer Aspire One, but should be good for those who want to be different. Short gallery of photos after the break.
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