Dell have released their first CULV system in Europe combining netbook design with laptop specs. The Dell Inspiron 11Z is available in the UK for £349. This includes the 11.6 inch display, Intel ULV processor, 160GB HDD and 2GB of RAM. The standard color is black but, like all Dell machines users can customize the netbook. The 11Z supports up to 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. The color of the machine can also be customized for an extra £35. The added color options are red, blue, pink, purple, green or white.
Second tier LCD makers were hoping that demand for 11.6 inch displays would be high, giving them a chance to compete with Samsung, LG Display and AU Optronics, who currently dominate the notebook and netbook panel market. They hoped that demand for 11-13 inch displays would propel them into the competition but it seems the demand for these size displays is actually dropping. Many netbook manufacturers appear to prefer the displays to be 10 inches or smaller. CULV notebooks were also to make use of these display sizes but, it appears many will actually be using displays of 13.3 to 15 inches. The shipment of 11-13 inch displays is expected to drop significantly.
Well, this certainly brings a new meaning to gaming on the go. The recently announced HP Mini 311, which falls into the CULV category, features an NVIDIA ION chipset, which can bring gaming to the netbook world and not just solitaire or similar. As the video below shows, Call of Duty 4, one of the top games of 2007/2008 (and still very popular) runs very smoothly on the CULV netbook. The settings are naturally set to the lowest settings but, considering it packs a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor it certainly impresses.
While there may still be no sign of the MSI Wind U200 in the US, the netbook/CULV PC is making it’s way to a few European websites. We first saw the CULV netbook available for pre-order from Notebook.de a few weeks back. At the time there was no specific release date, apart from an availability of “3-4 weeks”. The website also didn’t provide a definite price, but was estimated at €629.
The MSI Wind U200 is now available to purchase from Notebook.de at a lower price than expected. The netbook is available for €599. The netbook is also available on Amazon.de for €611.22.
For a real bargain though, Blogeee are reporting that LDLC.com have the netbook listed for much less. From LDLC the netbook is more than 100 Euros less at €479.95.
Over at NetbookNews.de one of their lucky readers has received the new Samsung N510 which is not considered a netbook, but rather part of the CULV movement. Specs of the N510 are quite similar to what you would find on a netbook, apart from the screen size and using NVidia ION technology. The Samsung N510 features an 11.6 inch display, along with 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Intel Atom N270 CPU along with built in WiFi, Bluetooth and a web camera. One other small feature you won’t find on many netbooks, is the N510 features one HDMI port as well as three USB ports. With the larger display also brings a larger resolution of 1366 x 768.
Joerg has unboxed the Samsung N510 with photos and shown it in many different angles. But not only that, the N510 has been put along side Samsung’s popular netbook the NC10.
When looking at the two machines while closed, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference, but when the devices are opened up the difference is size is clear. The keyboard spreads out a bit and makes use of the extra chassis size. The trackpad is also considerably bigger than that of the NC10, but still small in comparison to notebooks. You can view the rest of the photos after the jump.
The impressive upgrade to the MSI Wind U100, the U200 will begin shipping in 3 to 4 weeks time. The netbook improves on features found in the U100 and falls into the CULV category. The CULV netbook features a 12 inch display, an impressive 120GB HDD and an even more impressive 4GB of RAM, much more than many laptops on sale. Notebook.de are already listing the U200 for pre-order and is due to ship within the next 3-4 weeks. Pricing is at €629, about $906.
Going back to the basics of a netbook, small, portable, affordable and capable of word processing and web browsing, those are the features consumers first looked for and loved about netbooks. As technology has grown, so have the specs of netbooks and the wants of consumers. High end netbooks, while they feature larger screens, typically 10 inch, can still be too small for some and the lack of an optical drive is an issue for some potential netbook owners especially when the price is on average $600. For the same, or a little bit more, a full notebook with many more specs can be purchased, but losing some of portability factor. CULV could be the next portable notebook craze, which looks set to take on the high end netbook market.
CULVs (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) will run in the same price range as the high end netbooks and up to $1000, but feature a larger display as well as longer battery life. CULVs are also smaller than notebooks, both in display and dimensions. Typically a CULV notebook will feature a 12-13 inch display giving a middle option between netbooks and notebooks. Consumers who want more from their netbooks may well look to CULV notebooks when they arrive in August.
Entries (RSS)