We recently reported that the dual booting netbook from Acer should be available to purchase from November. At the time we had no price for the netbook but, the machine is now up for pre-order on Amazon, with a retail price. The Acer Aspire One D250 is available to pre-order for a price of $349.99. No specific release date is listed.

The netbook will dual boot Android and Windows XP. A Windows 7 model should also be available with the release of a Windows 7 model in Japan.

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A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire D250 up for Preorder and priced

The netbook overall receives a verdict of disappointing and feels semi finished, most of which is attributed to Android. The Android Market has been removed from the OS along with the ability to block sideload software, making it a “closed OS”. On the other hand, Acer seem to have also reworked the OS so that it fits the larger screen on the D250, which is a 10 inch display. Windows XP however works as well as expected on the netbook.

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A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Android Acer Aspire One D250 previewed

Lee Mathews recommended an app called WinToFlash to Brad which makes the process much easier. A PC or laptop with a disk drive is required however, so if your netbook is your primary machine, you may need to borrow a friend’s PC. All that needs doing really, is for the Windows CD to be inserted and a 2GB flash drive or larger plugged into the PC then WinToFlash opened. The app will do the rest for you and then all you’ll need to do is plug the USB flash drive into the netbook to install Windows. You’ll also need to set the netbook to boot from USB.

You can download WinToFlash from Softpedia. It’s also noted, not only can XP be installed, but so can Windows Server 2003, 2008, Vista and Windows 7.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

How to install Windows the easy way

It wasn’t long ago, that we reported on MSI discontinuing the hybrid netbook, the MSI Wind U115. Using both an SSD and HDD, Microsoft requested that the company cease production of the netbook, most probably due to Microsoft Windows XP operating limitations. The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is another example, mysteriously removed from the Dell website . When Windows 7 is released, only netbooks with a display of up to 10.2 inches, will be given the cheaper version of Windows 7, while anything above that, while still a netbook, notebook licensing will be charged.

There’s also other netbooks, which due to the licensing limitations from Microsoft are going down and not as successful as they could be. Archos 10 features a 500GB HDD and 2GB, which is above the maximum of 160GB HDD and 1GB of RAM, so the higher spec model is only available with Ubuntu. This is also the case with the Dell Mini 9 with 2GB of RAM, Windows XP can not be run on it, only the 1GB model.

The final netbook which broke Microsoft’s rule, is the Everun Note. From the outside, looks like a typical netbook, 7 inch display. But inside it packs a dual core processor, where as Microsoft view netbooks as having single core CPUs. The netbook is available for $599 but it doesn’t include any operating system, which is where the netbook gets even pricier.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Microsoft crush netbooks with XP limitations

Its keyboard is designed just like keyboards found in many other netbooks, which is to say that it works fairly normal, offers a lot of travel and tactile feedback. But as with all netbook keyboards it is somewhat cramped and some people will no doubt still find it as too small for regular daily use.

As for the expanded multi-touch trackpad, it doesn’t really offer a great deal of difference but the added space is certainly a welcome feature. The shiny mouse buttons easily get smudges on them, which might be enough to bother some people, but also be OK with others. Its multi-touch capabilities give the IdeaPad S10-2’s trackpad added functionality and users will find that using a mouse with this netbook will no longer be as necessary as before.

The patterned external lid is an eye-catcher, not only because the design looks pretty, but also because it catches fingerprints like a fly on flypaper. As you can see above it is not the most welcoming of sights, but a piece of cloth a few seconds of wiping should be able to get rid of the smudges. It also manages to reflect a lot of light, too, and almost looks like a mirror surface in very bright environments.

Overall, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 feels rounder, lighter and somewhat easy to take apart compared to other netbooks. It also appears to be smaller than some other 10-inch netbooks because its screen is lowered and the chassis isn’t wider than it has to be. I’d say it would be pretty easy to carry around, although the bundled 6-cell battery does add some weight to the overall package.

The 6-cell battery is practically the only thing that jumps at you upon seeing the IdeaPad S10-2. As everything else appears to be tightened in and all edges rounded for a non-intimidating appearance, the 6-cell battery quite easily reveals itself openly at the back. It’s almost as if it’s shouting at you, telling you to make sure you notice that it’s a 6-cell battery that will keep the netbook running for hours.

The unit we tried on our hands-on was pre-loaded with Windows XP and a host of Lenovo-relevant bundled software. We weren’t able to use a timer, but booting up took a fairly long time, perhaps more than a minute and a half. We’ll be able to confirm if we get the chance to finish putting this netbook through a full review. Till then, check out a few more photos of it in below’s gallery.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 hands on

From the end of July, MSI will stop producing the U115 by request of Microsoft. Whether any more will be produced before then, Richard Stewart, UK Marketing Manager for MSI didn’t specify, except that production will cease at the end of July. So if you haven’t picked the hybrid netbook up yet and it appeals to you, nows the time before it’s too late and becomes a high priced ebay item.

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A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

MSI UK Stance on XP hybrid ban

Bit-tech.net is reporting that Microsoft does not want netbooks running their Windows XP to have hybrid storage, that is thouse with both SSDs and HDD.

It was not really mentioned why Microsoft is enforcing such ruling, although it is quite obvious that this has something to do with industry competition. We all know that netbooks with dual storage would have option to run both Windows XP and other Open-Source OS.

The good news is, there is only one netbook which was affected by this Microsoft ruling – the MSI Wind U115 which was recently outed with both SSDs and HDD.

Now, MSI was given until the end of June to pull-out the U115 from store shelves.  And MSI has no choice but to follow Microsoft’s ruling to avoid possible issues with Microsoft which could mean their netbooks forever running without Windows XP.

The question is what will happen with those pulled out U115 netbooks? Will MSI re-manufacture them with either SSD or HDD only? Or remove Windows XP to some of them?

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Microsoft Doesn’t Want Netbooks with Hybrid Storage

My reaction upon picking it up for the first time is that it is one “heavy” netbook. Though the fact that my review unit had a 6-cell battery on and a larger screen at 10-inches compared to my 9-inch AAO, I think the biggest reason why it has become somewhat heavier than I expected is Acer’s use of brushed metal on the body. Still, it’s not that hard to carry around, and in a man-purse, it should fit snugly into place.

The Acer Aspire D150’s box contains just the necessary papers (quick guide, warranty card, etc), AC adaptor and the netbook itself. The only thing missing from it is a leather pouch just like the one that came with the 9-inch version when it was released.

I’d say it’s a pretty well built netbook, with a great design to boot. Only problem is, it fails in some areas in terms of quality.

Keyboard, trackpad and connectivity

The power button is placed on the right side, just above the keyboard, while opposite to it is the Bluetooth on/off button and Caps Lock/Num Lock light indicators.

The keyboard Acer used on this model still has the same set of plasticky buttons that feel like they’re going to fall off any minute if you ever do any long haul typing. I enjoyed using the keyboard for the slight increase in size (nearing full size), but I’ve found that typing for long periods of time on it can cause some fingers to hurt a bit. And that’s not a good thing. However, for just typing the occasional Notepad notes and blog posts, I felt the keyboard sufficed. Also, it’s nothing a USB/wireless keyboard can’t fix.

As for the trackpad, Acer did the right thing in ditching the old, side-contained left and right click buttons in favor of a single left/right button positioned directly underneath the touch pad. Unfortunately, it’s a little too narrow to provide any real comfort while pressing and oftentimes it can be hard to even just press it at all. Meanwhile, clicking with the use of the touchpad can be equally hard, because it’s not as responsive as it ought to be. Still, this isn’t that big of a niggle since it can easily be solved by using a USB/wireless mouse. I couldn’t get myself to use the multi-touch functionality so I found it pretty useless.

When it comes to connectivity, the Acer Aspire One D150 has got it all–as far as a netbook goes. It quickly runs out of USB ports (as there are only three), and besides the power jack, it’s got a VGA-out port, audio in/out ports, multi-in-1 card reader, Ethernet jack and a security lock slot on its sides.

There’s built-in Bluetooth, but I only got it to work for a file transfer with my Nokia phone, and failed to do so with another Bluetooth-enabled notebook of mine. There’s no built-in 3G module here, but you can always attach one via a free USB port and the Wi-Fi picks up signals very well.

Using Windows XP

Booting up to Windows XP felt like it took longer than necessary. I reckon it’s probably because of the obligatory “bloatware” that comes pre-installed with it in the form of an antivirus program, Acer-made utilities, and Google Desktop. After waiting for a good 30-45 seconds to get from blank screen to the Desktop, you will be greeted with pop-ups like it’s 2005 on the Internet, telling you to update this, download that, check out this, which, needless to say, got really annoying. I doubt if the average computer user will even do anything other than click the visible “x” marks to close these pop-ups, so they will be pestered with these annoying things until the day they learn to turn them off.

But you can’t blame Acer for subjecting their customers to this kind of annoyance. I guess it’s obligatory stuff to have on machines that come pre-installed with Windows XP Home. After all, it enables them to customize the netbook to their liking to the extent that they think will benefit its users.

That said, I think the performance of this netbook with Windows XP Home Edition is just a little bit over the average level. Its 1GB of RAM and 1.6GHz Atom processor with GMA950 graphics aren’t exactly the best combination for an XP machine, but for light tasks which a typical netbook user would be doing, it is fairly adequate. Every once in a while, an intrusive pop-up would come out to disturb the silent peace of operating the Aspire One D150, but it doesn’t really seem to affect how speedy the netbook runs. It’s definitely faster than the SSD-equipped Acer Aspire One that comes with a 9-inch screen, so it would be a nice upgrade for those who own this particular unit.

Battery Life

One of the Acer Aspire One D150’s strong points is its battery life. For through the use of a 6-cell battery, one can run up to 5 hours of usage on a single full charge. I know I have. I even tested the battery life by using the Aspire One D150 for about 1-2 hours each day just for browsing and sideloading of songs to my phone, and I was able to get 6 days of usage. Soon, I believe the battery life on netbooks will be so good that using them will feel like using cellphones all over again–2-3 hours of “heavy” usage per day and you’ll be able to use it for about 3-4 days. One side-effect of the increased battery life, though, is the lengthened charging time. Since the battery is of a higher capacity, it takes longer to fully charge it. Also, it sticks out like a sore thumb at the back of the unit.

Final Thoughts

Compared to the Acer Aspire One with a 9-inch screen, the Aspire One D150 is a worthy upgrade. With a bigger screen, built-in Bluetooth, longer battery life and better design, it beats the old model over most aspects any day. However, I feel that Acer released this model a little too late, for those same features were already found in offerings of its competitors back when the 9-inch model was their only available netbook. For the price, this is still worth it, though, and anyone who still doesn’t have a 10-inch netbook will do good to put this one on their “netbooks to be considered” list.

Acer aspire one D150 is available at Amazon.com for $329.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire One D150 review

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A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Asus Eee PC T91 gets snapped again, shown in gallery

In fact, Asustek has already deployed some of its engineers to develop the said Android-powered Eee PC although there is no concrete plan yet as to whether this will be finalized and released to the market.

But Microsoft remains confident that users will still prefer to buy Windows-powered notebooks despite the affordability of an Android-based netbook.

Gartner analyst Leslie Fiering believe otherwise though. According to Fiering, Android-based netbooks have better chance of succeeding since it may operate faster than Windows-based ones.

The key here is the fact that Android like the Linux OS are very lean and very open platform.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Asustek to Launch Android-Powered Eee PC’s Soon