MeeGo is a new Linux-based operating system that was formed after the merger of the Maemo and Moblin linux projects. The full release of the MeeGo Operating system is scheduled for May, but if you are eager to check out the first look of the new operating system,you can do it now itself. The folks at MeeGo have released the first pre-release builds of the OS. Versions are now available for

Intel Atom-based netbooks
Intel Atom Moorestown handsets
The ARM-based Nokia N900 internet device

You can download the pre-release build from the MeeGo website and then run it from a USB drive. At this point the OS is going to have some imperfections, but you should still be able to get a taste of the things to come.

In an interview with Forbes Magazine Asus Chairman Jonney Shih has confirmed his company's decision to launch two tablets later this year. One of these tablets will run Windows. The other will run either Google Android or Google Chrome.

Windows tablets have an edge over Android or Chrome tablets simply because they are capable of running all desktop applications as well as those apps designed for tablets. You can even connect a USB keyboard or other peripherals to a Windows tablet. There is one problem though. Windows applications aren't necessarily built for launching with a stylus or finger. It is true Windows 7 does have some touch-friendly features, but those are not available in the Starter Edition of the OS.

An Android tablet will offer a smartphone-like user interface. It can run thousands of third-party Android applications, but unlike a netbook it can't run desktop apps.The Chrome OS is built around the Chrome web browser. Most of the applications that can be run on a Chrome tablet will be web-based applications.

Apple iPad is set to go on sale this weekend. A number of news outlets have already published reviews of the tablet PC. Apple's tablet has invoked mixed reactions, but the majority of reviewers seem to agree that it is quite usable.

Sun Times calls iPad the first true tablet. The reviewer is mighty pleased with the device and claims that every other tablet on the market is merely a laptop with the keyboard removed. New York Times doesn't seem that much impressed with the tablet,which according to the reviewer is merely a big iPod Touch with a bad on-screen keyboard. According to TechBlog,iPad is not a PC replacement; it is an entirely new class of device with a decent on-screen keyboard. And Wall Street Journal says what some bloggers have been saying for a while. The iPad is good for surfing the web and consuming media. It can't be used for creating large documents.

Interestingly, while some reviewers found the on-screen keyboard comfortable,others simply hated it.

The iPad is powered by an A4 processor which is reportedly quite snappy making the tablet feel very responsive. And while Apple claims that the tablet will get around 10 hours of runtime, several reviewers managed to get 11 or 12 hours while playing video. But what about Flash? iPad doesn't support Flash which means that websites using Flash will not load properly on the device. But this is going to change. Many video sites have already started working on HTML5 video players that will work perfectly on iPad - no Flash required.

The specsheets for a number of new and existing Asus notebooks have been unearthed by a forum member at Notebook Review. One of the new models, the UL20AT, seems to be an update to the UL20A-A1 already available on the market.

There isn't much difference between the UL20AT and the current UL20A-A1 models. Both new and existing models appear to be of the same size and weight and sport 12.1 inch displays with 1366 x 768 pixels. But while the UL20A has DDR2 memory, the UL20AT seems to have up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.

The Asus UL20AT will be available with a choice of processors including a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron 743, a dual core SU2300 processor or a 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor. The hard drive comes in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities. All models in the series ship with integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics.

Besides the UL20AT, Asus has also introduced a 13.3 inch notebook called UL30JT. This model will be available with Core i5 or Core i7 processors.

iBuyPower has updated its 15 inch touchscreen gaming notebook. The new model dubbed Battalion Touch CZ-11 is an update to the previous Battalion Touch CZ-10.

The Battalion Touch CZ-11 is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, DirectX 11 capable ATI Radeon HD 5650 discrete graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Other specifications include WiFi b/g/n and optional Blu-ray. The 15.6 inch multi-touch display has 1920 x 1080 pixels. A gaming-ready configuration starts at $1,299, but iBuyPower says that buyers can customize the notebook for as little as $1,100.

The iBuyPower Battalion Touch notebooks are the only multi-touch gaming notebooks currently available.

The Dell Latitude E6510 has just showed up on Dell’s UK website. The Latitude E6510 is equipped with a 15.6 inch display. It is available with a choice of Core i7 or Core i5 processors. Detailed specifications are given below:

Processor: Intel Core i7-820QM (1.73GHz) / Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) / Intel Core i7-620M (2.66GHz) / Intel Core i5-540M (2.53GHz)

Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium / Professional / Ultimate with downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional / XP Ultimate) / Windows Vista Business / Vista Home Basic

Chipset: Mobile Intel QM57 Express Chipset

Displays: 15.6" Anti-Glare LED backlit display with 1920 x 1080 pixels / 15.6" HD+ Wide View Anti-Glare LED backlit display with 1600 x 900 pixels / 15.6" HD Anti-Glare LED backlit display with 1366 x 768 pixels

Memory: up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM

Storage: Up to 500GB hard drive spinning at 7200 RPM / Up to 250GB encrypted hard drive spinning at 7200 rpm / up to 256GB Solid State Drive

Graphics: NVIDIA NVS 3100M with 512MB of dedicated video memory

Other features include DVD / Blu-ray drive, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiMax, Bluetooth (optional) and Mobile broadband. The Dell Latitude E6510 starts at £749 ($1,128). No info on pricing or availability in the US yet.

The Acer Aspire One 532 is now available in Germany with a matte display. The netbook with the matte display option has showed up on Amazon Germany.It sells for 298 Euros, or about $400 in Germany.

Most netbooks have glossy displays which look great under normal lighting conditions. But take the netbook outdoors and the display will turn into a mirror due to reflections. Matte displays, on the other hand, are readable in bright surroundings simply because they do not reflect the light. But sadly few netbooks on the market sport a matte display. Now it looks like at least one version of the Acer Aspire One 532 will be available with a matte display.

The Acer Aspire One 532 is a 10.1 inch netbook with a 1024 x 600 pixels display. It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. Other specifications include Windows 7 Starter Edition and a 6-cell battery rated at 4400mAh.

Acer hasn't specified when this model will be available in other parts of the world.

Netbook Navigator has dropped the price of its 9 inch touchscreen tablet called Nav 9. The tablet is now available for as little as $599. At that price, Nav 9 is pricier than the base model of iPad by a good $100. So what do you get for your money? Here are the specs:

Display: 8.9 inch multitouch display with 1024 x 600 pixels
CPU: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N270 processor
Memory: 2GB of RAM
Storage: 16 GB solid state disk (with support for up to 128GB)
Operating system: Windows 7

Nav 9 ships with a 3 cell battery rated at 2200mAh. The supported connectivity options include WiFi, Bluetooth and optional 3G. There are 3 USB ports, 1 SD card slot, a 1.3MP webcam and 1 SIM card slot.

The tablet measures 0.8 inch in thickness and weighs 2 pounds. It will start shipping soon.

Over the last few months, we have heard about tablets of all kinds. There are Windows tablets, Android tablets and Linux tablets, but very few of them are offered with a choice of operating systems. The Italian Ekoore ET10TA is one such tablet. It is available with a choice of Windows or Ubuntu Linux.

The Ekoore ET10TA has a 10 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor. The tablet is available with a trial version of Windows 7 or Ubuntu Linux and both models sell for the same price in Italy: €479, or about $638 US. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g, Ethernet, VGA output, a flash card reader, headphone, mic jacks and 3 USB ports.

The tablet ships with a 3500mAh battery and weighs around 2.2 pounds.

MSI’s 12 inch notebooks usually have an Intel CULV or AMD Neo single core processors. But now it looks like you can purchase the 12 inch Wind U250 with a dual core AMD Athlon processor. Energy Star page listing of the notebook reveals that it will have the following specifications.

Processor: 1.3 GHz AMD Athlon II Neo dual core K325 processor a.k.a AMD Geneva K325 processor
Operating system: Windows 7
Memory: 4GB of RAM
Storage: 320GB hard drive
The product listing also mentions a 512MB of dedicated video memory which probably means that it has ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics. The MSI Wind U250 will consume about 30.7kWh of electricity a year. When idle it will consume about 10.6 watts.

The Energy Star page list the U250 as a notebook/tablet, but it is not clear whether it will have a touch screen.

Toshiba’s newly announced MK7559GSXP is the world’s highest capacity 2.5 inch hard drive with a standard 9.5 mm height. The Toshiba MK7559GSXP offers 750GB storage space. It is a two-platter drive with a SATA II interface and spins at 5400 rpm. Detailed specifications are given below:

Capacity: 750 GB
Interface: SATA II
Number of Platters: 2
Number of Data Heads: 4
Track-to-Track Seek: 2 ms
Average Seek Time: 12 ms
Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM
Average Latency: 5.5 ms
Buffer Size: 8 MB
Spin Up Power: 4.5 watts
Seek Power: 1.85 watts
Read / Write Power: 1.5 watts
Low Power Idle: 0.55 watts
Standby Power: 0.18 watts
Sleep Power: 0.15 watts
Dimensions: 69.85 mm x 100.00 mm x 9.5 mm
Weight: 102 g

Toshiba also announced its MKxx59GSM series hard drives with 750 GB and 1 TB capacities. These are also 2.5 inch drives but have a higher 12.5 mm height, which means that they cannot be used in all notebooks.

The Toshiba MK7559GSXP hard drives are expected to ship in the third quarter of this year. The MKxx59GSM drives are expected to ship during this quarter itself.

In Sweden, the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is now available with a dual core processor. The ThinkPad X100e is a thin and light notebook aimed at businesses. It has been available for a while with a single core AMD Neo MV-40 processor.

The dual-core model of the notebook has a 1.6GHz dual core AMD Turion X2 L625 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and an integrated HSDPA/HSUPA 3G modem.
Other specifications include an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixels, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and Windows 7 Professional. The dual core model is pricey though. It costs around 7,494 Swedish Krona (about $1032 US).

The Samsung N210 probably isn’t the thinnest or lightest netbook on the market. It’s specs aren’t particularly impressive either. Still, the N210 has a few features that set it apart from other netbooks. For example, it has great looks, a gorgeous display and a decent keyboard. It also sports a finger print resistant case. So if you are in the market for an affordable netbook with decent features, the N210 is definitely worth considering.

Samsung N210 specs
Processor: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor
Memory: 1GB of RAM
Storage: 250GB hard drive
Display: 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Operating system: Windows 7 Starter
Battery: 6-cell, 48Whr battery

Price as configured: $379.99

Keyboard and TouchPad
The Samsung N210 has a chiclet-style keyboard with flat keys. There is a decent amount of space between each key. The keyboard is quite usable but you may take a little longer to get used to it because the keys appear to be a little too small and the distance between them a little too large. The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures such as pinching to zoom. It has a single button below the touch surface with a rocker in the middle. The touchpad offers decent sensitivity, but it could have been a bit wider.

Display
The display is simply great. Unlike most netbooks on the market, the Samsung N210 has a matte, non-glossy display which is quite viewable in bright settings. Viewing angles are also great. Glossy displays look better than matte displays, but you can’t use them outdoors or in well-lit office surroundings because reflections will turn the displays into mirrors. A matte display, on the other hand, doesn’t cause reflections and is quite usable in all surroundings.

Performance
The Samsung N210 has regular netbook parts. It is snappy for a netbook and has no problem handling most day to day tasks. You can even watch some low-resolution Flash videos. You may also perform some light image editing. But gaming is out of question. You won’t be able to watch 720p or higher resolution Flash videos either.

The Samsung N210 comes pre-loaded with the Phoenix HyperSpace quick boot software. HyperSpace boots in about 10 seconds allowing you to get online and perform a handful of other tasks without having to wait for Windows to boot.

Battery
The Samsung N210 gets around 7 hours of runtime during normal usage. Watching videos or playing games will easily reduce the battery life. While 7 hours isn’t very bad, many netbooks with similar price points and specs offer nearly twice as long.

Verdict
Netbooks have never really been performance machines and the Samsung N210 is no different. It has enough power to handle day to day tasks, but if gaming is your priority, you need to look elsewhere.

Another problem is the $379 price tag. At that price, the N210 is costlier than competing netbooks from Asus, Acer and MSI. But if Samsung can reduce the price a bit, you have no reason not to consider this netbook.

Pros
Great display
Attractive looks
Nice keyboard
Snappy for a netbook

Cons
Pricey
Average battery life

NVIDIA has officially unveiled its GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 high-end graphics cards. Both GPU’s are part of NVIDIA’s next-generation GPU architecture codenamed Fermi or GF 100. The GeForce GTX 480 has the following specs: 480 CUDA cores, 700 MHz graphics and 1,401MHz processor clock speeds, plus 1.5GB of onboard GDDR5 memory running at 1,848MHz (for a 3.7GHz effective data rate). The GTX 470 is the liter version with a humbler 1.2GB of memory plus 607MHz, 1,215MHz and 1,674MHz clocks.

The GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 are NVIDIA’s first cards to support the DirectX 11 standard. They are supposed to compete with ATI’s Radeon HD 5870 and HD 5850 and deliver higher frame rates than their competitors in some in-game benchmarks.

Asus is the company that sparked the netbook revolution. Apparently, Asus is keen of sparking the USB 3.0 revolution as well.

The USB 3.0 standard offers up to 10 times faster data transfer speeds than the 480Mb/s you get with the USB 2.0 standard. You would probably think that these superspeed ports willl be first available on high-end computers, but that isn’t quite the case. Asus will soon update its budget line of Eee PC netbook and Eee Box nettop with the USB 3.0.

And since these ports offer data transfer speeds up to 5Gbps, they will probably be the fastest part of your computer. But does that help? Well, not really. In fact, you are unlikely to get the full benefit of USB 3.0 if yours is a cheap netbook with an Intel Atom or ARM based processor, simply because the other components can’t handle that kind of speed.

Fusion Garage has finally started shipping its JooJoo tablet. This is the same machine that used to be called Crunchpad until a few months ago. The folks at Fusion Garage says that buyers who have already placed their orders should start getting their tablets by March 29th.

The Fusion Garage JooJoo has a 12.1 inch display. It runs a custom operating system built around a web browser and some web-based applications. But since it is powered by an Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA ION graphics, you can install any OS of your choice on the tablet. And the NVIDIA ION will give the machine enough power to handle HD video playback.

At $499, the JooJoo has the same price as the base model of Apple iPad. It also happens to have a bigger display. But do these factors justify buying this tablet over iPad? We can’t say, until we get to read some real reviews of JooJoo.

Sources claim that Asus will finally start shipping its Eee PC T101MT in April. The Eee PC T101MT is a convertible netbook style tablet PC with a 10.1 inch display. The capacitive touchscreen display supports multi-touch gestures and can be folded down over the keyboard for using the device in the tablet mode.

The Italian model of the Eee PC T101MT will have a starting price of 499 Euros. It has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and a 0.3 mega pixel webcam. The battery is expected to provide around 6 hours of runtime. Other features include 3 USB ports, an SDHC card reader and VGA.

The US model of the netbook apparently has lower-end specs including Windows 7 Starter Edition,160GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM. This model will have a starting price of $499.

Samsung’s R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops have started shipping. These machines were unveiled at CES early this year. They are now available for purchase from Best Buy. Prices range from $629.99 to $829.99.

The Samsung R430 is the cheapest in the series and is powered by a Core 2 Duo T6600 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. It has a 14 inch display and starts at $629.99. The Samsung NP-R480 has a Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive and a 14 inch display. It has a starting price of $729.99.

The Samsung NP-R780 and R580 are powered by Intel Core i5-430 processors, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 500GB hard drive. While the R780 has a 17.3 inch widescreen display, the R580 is equipped with a 15.6 inch display. All models in the series run Windows 7 Home Premium.

Acer has just unveiled a new line of entertainment notebooks called the Acer Aspire Ethos series. The two models that have been announced include the Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G and the Acer Aspire Ethos 5943G. Both notebooks are available with a choice of Core i5 or i7 processors and ATI Mobility Radeon HD5000 discrete graphics.

The Aspire Ethos 8943G is the bigger model with an 18 inch 1920 x 1080 pixels display. The Aspire Ethos 5943G has a smaller 15.6 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixels. The dual hard drives offer up to 1.28TB of storage. Other features include DVD / Blu-ray, eSATA, USB, HDMI, VGA, FireWire, webcam, fingerprint reader, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1 and Dolby Home Theater surround sound. No word on pricing or availability at the moment, but you don’t have to try too hard to figure out that these are going to be pricey.

Haleron says that its iLet HAL 7 inch tablet PC is now shipping. The Haleron iLet HAL has a 600MHz VIA ARM-based processor, an 800 x 480 pixel display, 2GB of storage, 128MB of RAM, WiFi 802.11b/g and an SDHC card slot for additional storage of up to 32GB.

The tablet apparently comes in two sizes – you can pick up a model with a 7 inch or an 8 inch display. The 8 inch model is expected to be available in May. Both models run Google Android. The 8-inch model also seems to have a SIM card slot for an optional 3G modem.

The 7-inch iLet HAL is now up for order for $229. You can bring the price down to $199 per tablet by ordering 5 or more tablets.

A word of caution
Some bloggers have pointed out the possibility of Haleron being a scam. Haleron says that it has released several netbooks and smartbooks in the past year or two, but surprisingly nobody has posted a single review of a Haleron product so far. If the products are real, shouldn’t there be at least one review? So place your orders with caution.

Samsung has introduced a new colorful version of its N150 netbook in Europe. The netbook has also acquired some Corby branding. The new, Samsung Corby N150 is available in Flamingo Pink, Bermuda Blue and Caribbean Yellow. The keyboard and underside of the netbook will sport white color. Samsung, we are told, also plans to offer mobile phones with matching colors.

Bloggers who got to check out the new Corby version of the N150 says that the netbook looks quite distinctive from the regular N150. Aside from the colorful lids, the Samsung Corby N150 has the same specs as the regular N150 available in the US. The netbook is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Windows 7 Starter and 6-cell battery. The 10.1 inch anti-glare display has 1024 x 600 pixels.

The Samsung Corby N150 is not available in the US at the moment and Samsung hasn’t revealed any plans to make it available in the future either.

The HP EliteBook 8740w is the most powerful mobile workstation ever built by HP. The EliteBook 8740w is available with your choice of a Core i5 or i7 processor, a 1GB NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePro discrete gPU, 7200rpm hard drive and up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM. Other specifications include 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2MP webcam, eSATA, VGA, RJ45, DisplayPort, mobile broadband with GPS and Firewire. Surprisingly, there is no HDMI port.

The major highlight of the notebook is the 1920 x 1080 DreamColor LED-backlit screen that features HP’s Dreamcolor technology for professional color reproduction. But it comes at a price. In fact, even the fully decked-up $3,899 model doesn’t come standard with the Dreamcolor display.

The Elitebook 8740w is quite rugged and meets the military standards for high temperature, humidity, vibration, dust and altitude.

The HP EliteBook 8740w will start shipping in early April. Prices start at $1,999.

HP’s recently unveiled EliteBook 2540p is probably the smallest and lightest EliteBook ever. It weighs just 3.38lbs and measures 1.1 inches in thickness.
The HP EliteBook 2540p has a 12.1 inch LED-backlit LCD display. The notebook offers two configuration options. If speed and performance is what you seek, you can configure the notebook with a standard Core i5 or i7 processor and a 7200 rpm hard drive. This model does not have an optical drive. If endurance is what you are after you may opt for a low voltage processor and a 5400 rpm hard drive. This model may be slightly slower, but it will get decent battery life. It has also got an optical drive.

Other specifications that are common to both models include up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, integrated Intel graphics, and Display port. The HP EliteBook 2540p runs Windows 7. An optional degrade to Windows XP is also available. The notebook ships with multiple battery options that include 3-cell (4 hours), 6-cell (8.5 hours) and 9-cell (12.5 hours).

The EliteBook 2540p is rugged, too and has a spill resistant keyboard. It also meets the military standards for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature.

Two US-based wireless carriers plan to offer the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook at subsidized prices to customers who sign up for a long term broadband plan. Starting tomorrow, the Inspiron Mini 10 with integrated 3G modem will be available from T-mobile for $199 if you sign up for a 2-year contract. This offer is only available in Chicago, Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles.

Starting April 1st, Clear also plans to start offering the netbook with integrated 4G WiMAX modem for $250 if you buy a service plan. The Clear 4G plans offer unlimited data transfer with download speeds reaching as high as 6Mbps. The T-Mobile 3G plan has a monthly data transfer limit of 5GB and offer speeds up to 7.2Mbps.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is a 10 inch netbook with a 1024 x 600 pixel display. It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and runs Windows 7 Starter Edition. The base model without a 3G or 4G modem costs $299.

Sony has refreshed its VAIO E series. The new additions feature 14 inch and 17 inch displays, and much like the other notebooks in the VAIO E series, these machines are also available in a range of colors.

The 14 inch Sony VAIO VPCEA1S1E has a 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5145 graphics. The display has 1600 x 900 pixels.

The 17 inch model has a 1920 x 1080 pixels display and sports better specs including a Core i5-430M processor, 1TB of storage and ATI Radeon HD 5650 graphics. While the 14 incher has a DVD drive, the 17 inch model sports a Blu-ray drive. Other specifications that are common to both models include Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and HDMI output.
No word on pricing or availability at the moment.

The Asus Eee PC 1001PX is only slightly different from the Eee PC 1001P which has been around for a while. The new model is expected to begin shipping in Europe soon.
Both Eee PC 1001PX and 1001P have pretty similar specs. But while the 1001PX is available with a choice of Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, the 1001P is only available with Windows 7 Starter.

The Windows XP model of the 1001PX has a 160GB hard drive and a 3-cell battery. The Windows 7 model has a 6-cell battery and a 250GB hard drive. Other specifications that are common to both models include a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor, GMA 3150 graphics and 1GB of RAM.

The Windows XP model will sell of about 241 Euros (about $325), while the Windows 7 model has a price tag of about 300 Euros ($405). Interestingly, in the US you can buy the Eee PC 1001P for as little as $288.

Dealers in the US have started stocking the newest budget friendly netbook from Sony. The machine is called Sony Vaio M in Europe, but in the US it appears to be a part of the Sony Vaio W series and sports the model number Sony VPCM111AX/W. This model has a starting price of $380. It is equipped with a 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels.

TigerDirect has the Sony Vaio VPCM111AX/W in stock for $379.99. J&R also has got a pre-order page for the netbook and will sell it for $379. The J&R sales page, however, claims that the netbook has an HD display with 1366 x 768 pixels. But this is probably a mistake.

Interestingly, the Sony Vaio M has a starting price of $450 and sports an HD display with 1366 x 768 pixels.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad Edge notebooks are aimed at small and medium businesses. These are affordable versions of the standard ThinkPads that have been around for a while in the business world.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge series has three notebooks with 13 inch, 14 inch and 15.6 inch displays. The ThinkPad Edge 13 is already available and now Lenovo has started shipping the 14 and 15 inch models as well.

In layout and design the ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 look more modern than old ThinkPad notebooks. Both models sport backlit, spill resistant keyboards. Other features include VoIP features, optional Blu-ray, HD LED display, VGA / HDMI and 7-in-1 card reader. The supported connectivity options include WiFi, optional Bluetooth, 3G and 4G.
The base models have Celeron processors. Higher-end configurations with Core i3 and Core i5 processors are also available. Prices start at $599.

MSI’s newly unveiled 15.6 inch P600 is aimed at businesses. It is powered by a Core i5 processor and integrated GAM graphics. Detailed specifications are given below:

Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor: Intel Core i5 processor
Chipset: HM55
Graphics: Intel GAM HD
Memory: Up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM
Display: 15.6 inch HD display with 1366 x 768 pixels

The notebook weighs 2.41kg with the 8-cell battery which is expected to provide around 8 hours of run time. Other features include 2-in-1 card reader, VGA, HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 eSATA/USB combo port, optical drive, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1.3 mega pixel webcam. There is also a biometric finger print reader for making your data safe while on the go.

No word on pricing or availability at the moment.

VIA is known for its line of low power processors. The company’s newest platform combines a VIA Nano processor with a VIA VX900 GPU to enable HD video playback on low power devices.

VIA has also released a test system with a 1.2GHz Nano U3100 processor and VX900 graphics chipset with HD Chromation 2.0.This chipset can play 1080p HD video out of the box. An Atom chipset, on the other hand, requires a Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator or a separate graphics card like NVIDIA’s ION to perform the same task. The VX900 chipset can play HD content both locally and via internet. Systems using the new chipset are expected to be available in June.

Best Buy will start stocking 5 Viliv tablets/netbooks starting March 22nd. These include a few 5” and 7” tablets and two versions of the 7 inch Viliv S7 netbook.

The Viliv S7 is a convertible tablet PC with a touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for using the device in the tablet mode. It is available with Windows XP, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, and a 60GB hard drive/ 32GB Solid State Drive for storage. Both models are powered by a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor. The Viliv S5 and X7 tablets have similar specs, but they lack a physical keyboard.

Korean PC maker Viliv has produced an impressive range of portable computing devices including touchscreen tablets and convertible netbooks. But the company doesn’t sell its products directly in the US. So if you happen to live in the US, you don’t really get a chance to try the device before you buy it. Best Buy’s decision to stock Viliv products will change the situation.

The 15.6 inch Asus K52 notebook is now available for purchase in the US. The Asus K52 is available in two models – the K52JR-A1 and K52F-A1. While the K52F-A1 has a Core i3 processor and integrated Intel GMA graphics, the K52JR-A1 boasts of a Core i5-430M processor and 1GB ATI Radeon HD5470 processor. This model also comes with 500GB of hard disk space. The K52F-A1 has a smaller 320GB hard drive. Both notebooks are available with 4GB of RAM, optical drive and HDMI. The 15.6 inch display features 1366 x 768 pixels.

The Asus K52 notebooks weigh 5.8lbs and run Windows 7 Home Premium. Other features include 0.3 mega pixel webcam, WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, 3 USB ports, HDMI, VGA and multi-in-one media card reader. The notebooks ship with a 6-cell battery.
The K52JR-A1 starts at $869.59 whereas the K52F-A1 costs $700.99.

Fujitsu has made a new addition to its LifeBook ProGreen series. The new laptop called LifeBook E780 is powered by a Core i7 processor with vPro technology.

The LifeBook E780 is equipped with a 15.6 inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixels. For graphics there is the NVIDIA GeForce 310M discrete GPU with 1GB video memory. Other features include WiFi, Bluetooth (optional), 3G (optional), Blu-ray disc drive and multi-format card reader. There are 4 USB ports. Up to 8GB of RAM can be installed. For storage either a 500GB, 5400 rpm hard drive or a 128GB Solid State Drive is available.

The LifeBook E780 is Energy Star 5.0 certified and gets excellent battery life. It features an advanced theft protection security module and an eco button which would disable power hungry background programs. No word on pricing or availability at the moment.

Lenovo has started shipping its ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 notebooks. The notebooks are now available from retailers, but if you want to buy them from Lenovo’s own webstore, you will have to wait until April.

The ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 have the same design as the ThinkPad Edge 13, but sport better specs. While the base models which start at $599 are available with Intel Celeron processors, higher-end configurations with Core i3 and Core i5 processors are also possible. Other features include spill resistant chiclet keyboards, 5,400 rpm/7,200 rpm hard drives, Blu-ray and mobile broadband options.

The ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 are available in glossy black or red. A black matte option is also available. Prices start at $599.

Acer has officially unveiled three new notebooks in the Aspire TimelineX series. The laptops dubbed TimelineX 3820T, 4820T and 5820T are equipped with 13.3 inch, 14 inch and 15.6 inch displays respectively.

All three models are available with Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processors. The notebooks ship with 4GB of DDR3 RAM (expandable to 8GB) and a 640GB hard drive. The supported connectivity options include WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (optional) and 3G (optional).

The Aspire TimelineX series is available with the integrated Intel GMA HD graphics or the discrete ATI Radeon HD5650/HD5470 graphics. All three models ship with a 6-cell battery which is expected to provide around 8 hours of runtime. The Aspire TimelineX 5820T is also available with an optional 9-cell battery.

No word on pricing at the moment, but Acer plans to release these notebooks by the end of this month.

One of the most anticipated iPad rivals of the year, the HP Slate PC will reportedly be launched in June. It is expected to be available in Europe before September and will sell for €400 (about $546 US).

Spanish website Clipset reports that the HP Slate will have an Atom processor. It is still unclear which Atom processor HP will use. The tablet will run Windows 7 which gives it the ability to handle multi-tasking and Flash video playback. Other specifications include USB ports, a memory card reader and a back-mounted webcam.

HP hasn’t announced a firm US release date or pricing. It is still too early to predict whether HP Slate is better than Apple iPad. But one thing is certain: the tablets are different in many respects. The biggest strength of iPad is the 1,50,000 iPhone applications it can run out of the box. The HP Slate, on the other hand, is capable of running all Windows applications. It will also be able to run those applications specifically designed for tablets.

Suzuki Neutron has released two new netbooks with Intel Atom N450 processor. The company already has a 10 inch model with an Atom N270 processor and a 7 inch convertible tablet with an Atom Z520 processor.

The new Suzuki Neutron 1002 QNi sports a 10.2 inch display. It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1.3MP webcam. The battery is expected to provide around 5 hours of runtime.

The other model the Suzuki Neutron 1003 QNi has slightly better specs. It comes with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive.

We don’t know what operating system the netbooks will have. But the Neutron 1002 QNi is likely to run Windows 7 Starter. The other model may have Windows 7 Home Premium or another OS because Microsoft doesn’t encourage installing Windows 7 Starter on netbooks with 2GB of RAM.
No word on pricing or availability.

Acer hasn’t started shipping its Aspire 1820PT and 1820PTZ tablets yet. Nevertheless, the company has announced updated versions of these 11.6 inch tablet style notebooks.
The new models will reportedly be called Acer Aspire 1825PT and 1825PTZ. Both tablets will have 11.6 inch capacitive touchscreen displays. Of the two models, the Aspire 1825PT will have slightly better specs including 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor.

The Aspire 1820PTZ will have a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 processor, 250GB hard drive an 3GB of RAM. Both notebooks will run Windows 7 Home Premium. No word on pricing or availability. It is also not clear how these machines will be different from the Aspire 1820PT/1820PTZ models.

Chip maker Marvell has announced a $99 tablet for use in education. The company has just unveiled its ‘Moby’ prototype with an ARM-based processor. The device will be able to handle 1080p HD video, Adobe Flash and 3D graphics. The low power Marvell ARMADA 600 chipset also offers always-on internet connectivity. Despite its HD video capabilities, the Moby is not supposed to be an entertainment device. Rather, it is an educational tool that may be used as an eBook reader or a textbook replacement device. And as Marvell points out text books can be regularly updated on an electronic device without having to spend money on buying new editions.

The Armada 600 chipset also supports WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and FM radio. While Marvell’s idea is to develop a $100 tablet, it may not be available for that price at retail. Educational institutions will, however, be able to get good deals if they place large orders.

Like pretty much every other PC maker on the planet, Samsung is also building a tablet PC. The company hasn’t divulged a lot of details at the moment, but will reportedly release the tablet in the second half of 2010. Samsung prefers to call the device ‘Slate’ and it will have ‘PC grade processing power and connectivity’. Samsung had previously criticized iPad for possessing little processing power and fewer connectivity options.

The company, nevertheless, stopped short of revealing the specs or other details, but chances are the machine will have an Intel Atom processor. The question is, ‘should we expect a lot of processing power from a device powered by a processor known for its lack of muscles?’

Chinese PC maker Giada is known for making super-slim nettops. The company also makes netbooks, and showed off one of them - the Giada VIVA-NE200 - at CeBIT earlier this month.

The VIVA-NE200 doesn’t have anything particularly impressive about it. It has the regular netbook specs including a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and GMA 3150 graphics. Other specifications include 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. The netbook weighs 2.5 pounds. The touchpad buttons are located on the sides and not below the touch surface.

If there is one distinguishing feature it is the colorful lid with a swirly white design in a glossy pink background. No word on pricing or availability.

Archos plans to launch an updated version of its Archos 13 laptop. With its 13.3 inch display the Archos 13 is larger than a netbook; still it sports an Intel Atom processor. But unlike regular netbooks which have an Atom N450, the Archos 13 will have an Atom D510 Pine Trail processor. The Atom D510 is Intel’s latest desktop version of the Atom processor. It is a dual core processor and comes with integrated GMA 3150 graphics.

The updated Archos 13 is expected to be available in April. It will reportedly run Windows 7 Home Premium. No other details are available at the moment.

The newly unveiled MSI GE700 is a gaming and entertainment laptop aimed at, well, those like gaming and entertainment. The notebook sports a 17.3 inch display which makes it larger than the previously announced GE600.

The MSI GE700 will have an Intel Core i5 processor and ATI Radeon HD 5730 discrete GPU with 1GB DDR3 VRAM. Other specifications include two 500GB hard drives, up to 9-cell battery and a 720p HD webcam. There will be two cinema-class speakers and a sub woofer to enhance the multimedia theme of this notebook.

MSI hasn’t specified what resolution display the notebook will have. The keyboard will have luminescent touch hot keys that would act as shortcut keys to activate features such as GPU Boost, Multimedia control and Cinema Pro. The notebook will run Windows 7 Home Premium and will weigh 3.2kg. No word on pricing.

The HP Mini 5102 is the latest mini-laptop from HP aimed at businesses and education. At a starting price of $399, it is pricier than most netbooks on the market, but it does have some features you wouldn’t find else where.

Unlike most other netbooks, the HP Mini 5102 sports an all-metal chassis with anodized aluminum and light weight magnesium alloy. For storage there is a 7200 rpm hard drive. Alternatively you can opt for a high speed SSD. Other premium features include accelerometer and HP Drive Guard software that would shut off the hard drive in the event of a fall. The keyboard is spill resistant. There is also a 2 MP webcam. You can open the RAM access panel without a screwdriver.

The base model also comes with facial recognition software, quick start software, and an application that would help you synchronize data with your primary PC.
Optional features include a handle, touchscreen display, HD display, Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, and 3G modem. The netbook supports a range of operating systems including FreeDOS, SUSE Linux, Windows XP Home/Professional, or Windows 7 Starter/Home/Professional.

Acer has unveiled its Aspire TimelineX 1830T thin and light laptop with a Core i5 processor. The notebook will reportedly have an 11.6 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixels. It will be powered by an Intel Core i5- 520UM processor clocking at speeds between 1.06GHz and 1.86GHz.

The graphics core should be able to handle HD video playback. It has a clock speed of 166MHz to 500MHz; still the laptop may not be able to play some games with 3D graphics. Other specifications include WiFi 802.11b/g/n, HDMI, SPDIF, 3 USB ports, and optional Bluetooth and 3G modems. The battery should get around 8 hours of runtime.

No word on pricing but Acer is expected to make an official announcement in late March. If Acer can manage to sell it for $700 or less the company will certainly have a winner on its hands.

Laptop Magazine has posted a detailed review of the Archos 9 tablet and doesn’t seem impressed with the machine or its price tag.

The Archos 9 Internet tablet is a device meant primarily for surfing the web. It weighs around 1.8 pounds. You can use it to browse the web and chat over Skype. And since the machine supports Flash, you can even watch Flash video.

The Archos 9 internet tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z515 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 60GB hard drive. The 8.9 inch display features 1024 x 600 pixels. The tablet runs Windows 7 Starter Edition which lacks many of the touch friendly features available in Windows 7 Home Premium. Other features include WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth. There is also a front-facing 1.3MP web camera. The tablet sells for $549.

The reviewer found the touchscreen unresponsive, the on-screen keyboard not-so-good and heat levels uncomfortably high. The overall performance also seemed sluggish. Worse still, the battery lasted for just 4 hours. In terms of endurance, the machine is only slightly better than the Hanvon BC10C tablet, but it is way behind its competitors including the upcoming Apple iPad which claims to offer up to 10 hours of up time.

Taiwanese OEM Quanta is known for making laptops for big names such as HP and Apple. The company has just filed documents with FCC related to a netbook called QW6. This machine is unlikely to hit the market under the same name, because Quanta doesn’t sell its PCs directly to customers.

FCC documents reveal that the netbook will have an HDMI port, VGA, 3 USB ports and a 1.3 mega pixel webcam. The touchpad doesn’t seem to have separate left and right buttons. No further information is available at the moment, but the presence of the HDMI port indicates that the netbook will have NVIDIA ION. The CPU will most likely be an Atom N450 or N470.

The Hanvon TouchPad BC10C is a decent touchscreen tablet with a 10 inch display. It has better specs than a netbook and runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Hanvon TouchPad is powered by a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron ULV 743 processor with GMA 4500 graphics. Up to 2GB of RAM can be installed. The hard drive is available in two sizes – 250GB and 320GB. At around $877, the TouchPad BC10C is pricier than most tablets, but the specs more than make up for the huge price tag. The tablet can easily decode 1080p HD video, but it doesn’t get very impressive battery life.

The Hanvon TouchPad BC10C releases in China on March 25th. No word on pricing or availability in the US and Europe.

The Dell Vostro V13 is a 13.3 inch notebook aimed at small and medium businesses. It is very stylish and sturdy but gets only around 4.5 hours of battery life.

Design
The Dell Vostro V13 is incredibly thin. It measures only 0.7 inches in thickness and weighs 3.4 pounds. The brushed aluminum lid lends the notebook a classy look. The inside of the notebook is made of matte black plastic. Build quality is excellent. The notebook looks and feels solid in your hands.

Review laptop configuration
Processor: 1.3-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (32-bit) OS
Memory: 4GB of RAM
Storage: 500GB hard drive spinning at 7,200 rpm
Display: 13.3 inches display with 1366 x 768 pixels
Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics

Price as configured: $991

The base model of Dell Vostro V13 sells for $449. It will get you a 1.3-GHz Intel Celeron M ULV 743 processor, Ubuntu Linux version 9.04, 2GB of RAM, a 5,400 rpm, 250GB hard drive, and WiFi 802.11b/g.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard is full-sized; the keys are large and provide decent tactile feedback, but they tend to produce a lot of noise while typing. The touchpad is large for a notebook of this size. It provides the right amount of sensitivity and resistance.

Display and Audio
The display is good with bright colors and contrast. Viewing angles are also good. The speakers produce loud and crisp audio.

Ports and Webcam
Owing to its thinness, the Vostro V13 houses few ports. There is one USB port, an eSATA/USB combo port, VGA, Ethernet, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot, 1.3 mega pixel webcam, headphone and mic jacks.

Performance
The Dell Vostro V13 is powered by a 1.3 GHz Intel U7300 processor with 4GB of RAM. The notebook can perform most day-to-day tasks with little difficulty. Browsing with multiple tabs open also doesn’t offer any problem.

The Vostro V13 doesn’t have discrete graphics; the integrated GMA 4500 it does have don’t help the situation much either. 3D gaming is out of question, so is heavy duty video editing. But since this is a business oriented notebook these are minor drawbacks.

Battery Life
Vostro V13 has an integrated battery which isn’t user replaceable. Battery life isn’t very impressive. Continuous web browsing over WiFi will fully deplete the battery in about 4.5 hours. In fact similar notebooks like the ThinkPad Edge 13 get over 6 hours of endurance.

Pros
Attractive looks
Excellent build quality
Thin and light
Audible speakers

Cons
Not so impressive battery life
Higher-end configurations are price
Noisy keyboard

Haleron’s Swordfish Mini Windows CE smartbook is neither better nor worse than similar mini-laptops running Windows CE. The company has just released a short video showing the device handling various tasks. The smartbook can run Microsoft’s mobile office suite, the latest mobile version of Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. But since the video has been edited you don’t know how long it takes to launch or close applications.

While Haleron Swordfish Mini isn’t the finest smartbook out there, it is better than some of the Android devices in many respects. For one thing, you can play You Tube videos on the Swordfish Mini because Windows CE already supports Flash Lite. But since Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for Android and WebOS are expected anytime soon, Haleron can’t really market the device on the basis of this feature.

The Haleron Swordfish Mini is a 7 inch smartbook. It is now available for $199. But if you place an order for 101 units, you will be able to buy the smartbooks at the price of $139 per unit.

NVIDIA’s Tegra platform has a low power ARM-based processor and NVIDIA’s high performance graphics. It enables HD video playback and 3D acceleration on low power devices such as tablets, smartbooks and portable media players. NVIDIA recently introduced its Tegra 2 platform and it seems better than the previous generation of Tegra chips. The company has also released some software demos to show off the 3D gaming capabilities of its Tegra chipsets.

The videos show how good the Tegra chips are at handling 3D games. You will probably not play high end 3D games on a Tegra powered machine any time soon, but one thing is certain. Next-gen Tegra chips aren’t inferior to the kind of chips Apple uses in its devices like iPad and iPod Touch.

Active Media has released a 1.8 inch solid state drive. The company is already a well known maker of SSDs, but most of these are either 2.5” disks or PCIe cards. But the latest product, the ActiveMedia SaberTooth ZT Turbo ZIF SSD measures only 1.8 inch and can fit into MP3 players or tiny netbooks such as the Asus Eee PC T91 or HP Mini 1000.
The ActiveMedia SaberTooth ZT Turbo ZIF SSD is just 0.2 inches in thickness and uses a ZIF connector. Bigger SSDs usually use the SATA connector.

The SaberTooth ZT Turbo is available in 32GB or 64GB capacities. It can reach read speeds up to 100MB/s and write speeds up to 85MB/s. But premium features always come at a premium price. The 64GB model has a price tag of $290, and the 32GB model sells for $170.

Intel’s low power Atom chips reign supreme in the netbook space. While AMD is Intel’s nearest rival in the desktop and high-end laptop space, it doesn’t have a line of dedicated processors for use in the thin and light segment. But the popularity of netbooks has forced AMD to reconsider its decision. The company is all set to launch a new chip as part of its Fusion line. And AMD wants this chip to compete with Intel’s Atom chips.

Like the Intel Atom Pine Trail processor, the AMD processor will also have graphics and processing functions integrated onto the same chipset. It will consume slightly more power than the Intel Atom processors, still it is more efficient than other AMD processors. On the upside, AMD’s integrated graphics will be nearly as powerful as dedicated graphics cards. As a result of this netbooks powered by AMD’s upcoming chip will be able to decode 1080p HD video out of the box. Intel Atom netbooks require a Broadcom Video Accelerator or NVIDIA ION to accomplish this feat.

Installing a zero cost operating system on your netbook wouldn’t necessarily bring the price down, especially if you are planning to use Google’s upcoming Chrome OS. It is true there is no license fee associated with Chrome OS, but Google’s strict hardware requirements may make Chrome netbooks costlier than Windows netbooks.

While there is no official announcement from Google, we are heard that the company expects Chrome OS netbooks to have HD displays which aren’t very cheap. Google, we are also told, is working on its own netbook with 64GB SSD and 3G modem. These kinds of hardware don’t come cheap. And other Google hardware requirements may include ‘high performance graphics, accelerometers and other sensors’.

A pricey Chrome OS netbook certainly isn’t a bright idea. In fact, it spoils the whole point of installing an open source OS. While a Windows netbook can run tens of thousands of Windows based applications and all the web-based application that Chrome can run, a Chrome powered netbook can’t run Windows applications. But Google may have certain tricks up its sleeve too. For instance, the company may enter into partnership with wireless carriers and sell the device at subsidized rates.

Suddenly tablets are everywhere. No, they haven’t started shipping yet, but they will in the coming months. And Toshiba, like every other PC maker, wants a piece of the action. The company has announced its plans to launch a whole line of slate PCs.

The netbook revolution began when Asus launched a series of consumer-oriented low cost mini-laptops in the latter half of 2007. HP followed suit six months later and soon every main stream PC maker was building netbooks.

So if 2008 and 2009 were the years of netbooks, 2010, it seems, is going to be the year of tablets. Apple’s iPad certainly is the most interesting of these devices but other companies like HP, MSI, Lenovo and Asus have also announced plans to releases tablets. Now Toshiba has joined the fray. In fact, Toshiba isn’t releasing one or two tablets but a whole line later this year or early next year. The company hasn’t revealed a lot of details, but these could be x86 based tablets running Windows or OS X and ARM based tablets running Linux, Chrome or Android.