According to unnamed industry sources cited by DigiTimes in one of its latest reports, Asus is reportedly considering launching new netbooks and nettops with NVIDIA’s Ion platform for enhanced graphics performance on these low-cost machines. Knowing that there are already several products with the NVIDIA Ion chip either out in the market or currently on the way, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Asus plans such a move to stay competitive. DigiTimes even goes as far as to mention the possible name of the first upcoming Ion-based Asus nettop: the Eee Box B1006. Now, if only this computer doesn’t get crippled with a small-time Atom processor, Asus just might have a winner in their hands. We’ll see if they ever announce this for a possible release in Q3 2009.

Via DigiTimes

While Archos jumped late onto the netbook bandwagon by releasing the 10-inch Archos 10 netbook a couple of months ago, the company looks like it wants to be the first one to come out with a full working Android Internet media tablet. At least that’s what one can gleam from Archos’s latest press invite for an event that is scheduled for June 11th in Paris. The fact that Archos is working on Android should be no surprise, given the popularity the platform has these days from open source software advocates, but it’s interesting how Archos has chosen to work on an Internet media tablet instead of netbooks like many other existing netbook makers. Perhaps they see more success in tablets, or less competition, or bigger profits. There are no clear info on specs right now, except what were announced last February by TI in a press release. We’ll have to wait for an official Archos announcement to get the full list of features.

Pocketables via Slashgear

Rumors of a subsidized 3G-enabled 10-inch Acer Aspire One going on sale through Costco have been floating around weeks ago. Now, we have even more evidence in support of these rumors. By way of leaked internal documents, it has been revealed that Costco employees are currently being trained for an upcoming launch and the reportedly, D-Day will be on May 11th. That is, when the 10-inch netbook will finally be available, not only on Costco’s kiosks, but also on AT&T’s stores. There’s no word yet on a final price, but it shouldn’t be too far from how much the subsidized 3G-enabled 9-inch model is selling these days, which isn’t much, if you don’t count the obligatory 2-year contract.

Via BGR

Whether this is another fake Apple netbook or not, we still can’t say. But it sure is one of the best looking renders we’ve ever seen. This photos was leaked in a Russian magazine and is tentatively called the “Apple MacBook Air Mini,” apparently for taking some design cues from the uber-thin MacBook Air. As you can see, it even lacks (or fails to show) its built-in ports on the side. This could very well be the 10-inch Apple netbook many folks out there have been waiting for.
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In an earlier report, we told you that Apple has placed orders with Taiwan-based WinTek for touchscreen displays that are to be used in the company’s upcoming netbook. At this point, Apple hasn’t issued official confirmation (and not so much as a statement) regarding the matter, but today a new report on Reuters seems to add more evidence to rumors of an upcoming Apple netbook.
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Apparently, some people thought the leaked Acer Hornet nettop was going to be a game console that will be positioned against the Nintendo Wii, so Acer executives were prompted to squash the said rumors and set the record straight about the Acer Hornet. They didn’t give any more information than what was available in the leaked presentation slides, but they did say that the Acer Hornet will be something more than just games console, being an Intel Atom/Nvidia Ion-based nettop PC. Not sure if this will be publicly unveiled during CeBIT, but we’ll be on the lookout to let you know if anything happens.

Via Digitimes

Yesterday, there was a report on the Chinese-language Commercial Times that said Foxconn was stepping into the white-box netbook market in China. Well, today a new report has surfaced and it says Foxconn has denied its supposed move to sell white-box netbooks in China, having filed an announcement of firm denial with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. So much for being the newest entrant into the netbook category.

Via Digitimes

If Russian site Mobile-Review’s editor Eldar is to be believed, we won’t just see ARM’s multi-core Sparrow processor on netbooks by 2011, but also on Nokia’s very first Linux-based MID. Pictured above is a mockup the guys at Unwired View did of the device, which is said to be a multi-slide keyboard and display equipped computer and cellphone hybrid. Its keys are small, diamond shaped and elevated, and they change with every application running on the device’s display. All this is based on info Eldar spewed after he got the chance to play with a prototype in one of Nokia’s closed booths at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona. He also revealed a bit of the juicy stuff, but there’s surely more to know that he just won’t say. It would be interesting to see how Nokia’s final, finished product turns out. We’ll be giving updates on this as we get them, but for now, check out the sites linked below for more info.

Via Electronic Pulp and Unwired View

By now I’m sure you’re already familiar with the Archos 10 netbook. It’s got typical netbook features, including a 10-inch screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM and Windows XP as its OS. Seems adequate, but it could use a little upgrade. Which is why we’re not entirely surprised to find out that Archos may soon intro a new version of this very same netbook, with a few new features and possibly a price reduction for the old model.

According to press release, Archos is preparing to launch the Archos 10s, a netbook encased in a metal shell that’s scheduled to go on sale on April. Among its main selling points are: dual WiFi and 3.5G connectivity, 20mm thickness, 6-cell battery. Expect to learn more about this as more info comes in.

Via Generation MP3

Asus netbooks are among the most popular in the industry. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about its UMPC offerings. With that in mind, the company seems to be planning to offer something slightly better: a UMPC with a full touch display first for input, and a full keyboard underneath it. What’s more, the company will make it so that the display can be tilted and positioned just like a regular notebook display, facing the user. Currently, this upcoming Asus MID/UMPC can be considered to be in the development stage, as only its form factor is revealed in one of the company’s latest patent apps, titled “Portable electronic device.” I don’t know, at least it seems better than the keyboard-less MIDs that they are currently selling. Perhaps, when they release a product like this in the future, we’ll see if the company can get it right.

Via Electronic Pulp