Epson, Onkyo, Viewsonic as well as other smaller companies have reportedly contracted Taiwanese laptop makers to build ultrathin notebooks for them, which could help drop the initial prices to $599(456 EUR).

According to unnamed sources, the companies mentioned have contracted Pegatron Technology and Elitegroup Computer Systems(ECS) to build their Ultrabooks. Pegatron, in particular, plans to begin mass production of no less than five Ultrabooks in April and May this year, while ECS is said to start shipping two such ultraportable machines until the end of the second quarter.

For now, no details were released about the actual specifications of these Ultrabooks, but there are reports that their prices will be between $599 and $649 US(456 to 494 EUR). The cheapest Ultrabook on the market today is the Toshiba Portege Z835, which sells for $799.99 (594 EUR). This, however, is only a Best Buy exclusive deal, as its regular retail price is actually set at $929 (689 EUR).

Intel has developed Ultrabooks in order to counter the ever-increasing popularity of tablets, which are eating away into the PC market. However, the high costs associated with both manufacturing and the hardware needed for such ultrathin laptops have kept Ultrabooks from becoming as widespread as Intel has hoped for.

via softpedia

Epson & Other Computer Peripheral Manufacturers to Build Cheaper Ultrabooks is a post from: Eee PC

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At the Ultrabook corner of IDF, Pegatron (Asus siter company) displayed two Ultrabook references and both carries Ivybridge processors. These ultrabooks are unnamed but they have differing features from one another. The first ultrabook has matte screen pm a 1366×768 resolution. It has the usual Ethernet connector, HDMI out, card reader, USB 2.0 and 3.0 as well as a kensignton lock.

The second ultrabook, disappointingly, has glossy display. This is not usual for the ultraportables that Asus has been producing. The electronic company has committed using matte display across all of their devices. However, this could mean that the design is built for internal development for the category. This is also thicker because of the optical drive and Pegatron added VGA port since it’s thick already.

Source: Netbooknews

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Don’t you think it’s about time that notebook power supplies became standardized? Some Taiwan notebook makers including Acer, Asus, Quanta, Compal and Pegatron think so. This is according to sources from Taiwan’s computer industry being cited in a recent report by DigiTimes. The report notes that the notebook makers have indicated support for the standardization of power supply units for notebook PCs (which include netbooks), after the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) recently established a dedicated team for the initiative.

PSU standardization for notebooks will be beneficial in several ways, not the least of which is that consumers will no longer need to buy or rely on new power supplies every time to purchase a new netbook or notebook PC. They can just use their old PSUs from older netbooks, as is possible with cellphones that come from the same manufacturer. But this PSU standardization is going to apply to the whole market if it becomes successful, and not just one brand, so it will be even better.

Via DigiTimes

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Taiwan-based netbook maker Asus and one of its subsidiaries, Pegatron, are currently undergoing their third business structure reorganization according to a report by DigiTimes citing sources from notebook makers. I would imagine that a reorg would be quite stressful especially since Asus is busy with so many things these days, so I wouldn’t find it surprising if this third one would cause Asus R&D technicians and project managers to resign or transfer to work for Pegatron, as being noted by the same DigiTimes report. How this reorg will affect operations in both companies, as well as what type of new products we might expect from “the new teams” still remains to be seen. However, it is likely that operations will still carry on as normal as if nothing had happened. But you never know…

Via DigiTimes

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Asus chief Jonney Shih said together with the announcement of the spin-off of manufacturing arm Pegatron that they are going to launch a “killer product“this June. The CEO is keeping mum as to what the product actually is but the blogosphere buzz points to the Eee Pad, a concept tablet device Asus showed off during CES early this year.

If it really is a slate tablet, we’ll see Asus clashing with Apple’s iPad in the near future. With Asustek spinning off Pegatron, which is rumored to be helping make the new iPhone models, they would be free to pursue this opportunity.

What I’m wondering is if this is true, how will Asus approach this market seeing that Apple already delivered a very affordable product themselves. Asus Eee PCs are known to be very tough, low-cost machines but don’t look as sophisticated as Apple’s own devices. I guess we’ll have to sit until June or wait for Asus to spill more info our way.

source Digitimes

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Asus isn’t limiting its options in the mobile computing space with Windows and Intel Pinetrail Atom processors. Showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is this Pegatron-branded lightweight pseudo-laptop called the Neo, and it runs Android with an NVIDIA Tegra 2 driving the display for high-definition media enjoyment. The outer appearance pretty much screams “netbook” but it’s been deemed as “spectacularly thin and light.” In addition, it runs on the open-source mobile OS created by Google, Android. It still might seem peculiar to some, seeing a mobile OS on something that’s not a smartphone, but it’s something that grows on you. It’s going to be much faster than Windows anyway, and much less of a battery hog. Pricing and availability hasn’t been revealed at the moment, but you can count on the Neo being available later this year.

Via Engadget

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Pegatron are to release a smartbook before the end of 2009. The smartbook will feature an 8.9 inch display, but opts for an ARM processor instead of the traditional Intel Atom netbook processor. While the ARM processor may not be as powerful as Intel processors, the CPU will actually use less power. Standard specs of the smartbook includes a 2 cell battery, which seems pretty disappointing, but it’s said to last for about 8 hours due to the ARM 800MHz processor.

As the ARM processor isn’t supported by Windows XP, Vista or 7, the smartbook will most probably run Linux, but it could also possibly come with Google Android or Windows CE. When the smartbook is released, it should retail for around $120.

IT Pro Portal have previewed the smartbook and compared it for size up against the Asus Eee PC 1005HA.

via

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