Nokia introduces Atom based "Booklet 3G" with 3.5G, a-gps and HD screen

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Nokia has announced a netbook based on the US15W-chipset. That means it will have an Intel Atom Z530 processor. The netbook will be capable of HD playback and sports a 10 inch, high resolution (HD) screen.

It is impressive to see the amount of netbooks emerging capable of HD playback. It seems like Tegra netbook producers are facing some fierce competition in the future. The Nokia netbook is expected in December and it is rumored to ship with Windows 7, meaning that Nokia is not counting on Maemo for a netbook breakthrough.

I think this netbook can be very interesting, however I am a bit disappointed that it doesn't have a touchscreen, which would have been quite interesting with Windows 7 installed.

Press release

The Ultraportable MSI Wind12 U200, World's first Penryn ULV/GMA4500MHD netbook

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MSI has released a 12,1 inch beauty of a netbook. This little powermachine sports up to 4GB of RAM controlled by the new Intel Penryn SFF ULV processor. Now if that is not unique enough for a netbook: The new MSI prodigy comes with the Intel GMA4500MHD chipset which supports 1080p playback. The screen has a 1366 by 768 resolution which is really good and will let you enjoy HD playback for what it's supposed to. Of course 1080p will be scaled down, but hey, what netbook out there lets you watch HD at all? The only let down is the lack of an SSD. But then again, HDD will give you more space at a lower cost, so with HD playback in mind, this is a reasonable choice.

The price range of this tiny monster is set between 500 and 700 euros. Boy, I am getting really excited to see netbook technology progress this fast. This might in fact be a serious competitor to the new Tegra based netbooks. Of course, the MSI U200 will have to make a bit of a price drop in order to become a true threat to cheap low power Tegra netbooks, but it's a start!

Press release

Acer to bring three touchscreen netbooks to market

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According to Digitimes, an Acer project manager has stated that Acer will deliver three Windows 7 powered Touchscreen Netbooks. The interesting thing about this is that Acer is looking into in-cell touch technology. In-cell touch technology builds directly on TFT-LCD panels and is cheaper than regular touch solutions.

It is expected that in-cell touch panels will go into mass production second half of 2009. With Windows 7 coming up it is likey that netbook manufacturers will turn to touchscreen functionality en masse. Competetion will most likeley focus on price, since specs are limited by Microsoft. In-cell touch technology may very well deliver an excellent price quality ratio. Of course other netbooks, like the Tegra powered ones, will not be bound by Microsoft per se and thus come up with even better performance, especially in terms of HD playback.

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SSD comparison Super Talent Ultra Drive ME SSD big winner

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Sascha at Netbooknews.de has tested four SSD drives and the graphs leave no doubt. Super Talent's Ultra Drive ME is super fast with 125/122 R/W speeds. Sascha installed Windows 7 RC1 in only 15 minutes on this little monster. Second came the Runcore Pro IV, third PhotoFast Monster V3 and fourth A-Data S592. Head out to the article for the test.

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Dell discontinues Mini 12 inch. Progress setback?

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As netbooks are in favour with so many because of their portability, according to chief blogger Lionel Menchaca Dell decided to discontinue its Mini 12 inch series.

I own a 10 inch EEE PC and I have to say it's large enough to read from and small enough to actually carry around. In that sense I think focusing on the less sizable displays is a good thing. But at the same time I do feel that manufacturers need to continue to improve display quality, whether it be working on OLED displays or readable high resolution screens.

Some have criticized netbooks for limiting the advance of technology by being low budget. People supposedly now long for cheap netbooks and no longer desire high tech computer parts, thus innovation would suffer.

I personally don't believe this to be true. As a netbook user I don't want to see innovation drop, I want manufacturers to make more out of little and to keep the price as low as possible. As low as possible doesn't mean for free, but it means that manufacturers will be forced to work more efficiently while keeping up quality work.

Sure I replaced my 15,4 inch notebook with my EEE PC, but that doesn't mean that I don't need my netbook to operate faster, have a better screen etc.

Let's hope Dell's decision to discontinue the 12 inch Mini means shifting focus to the progression of netbooks, and not degradation.

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Chiclet keyboard for Asus 1000H and Asus S101

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Check out this video by netbooknews.com. It shows you an all new chiclet keyboard for these feisty little netbooks.

Watch the video..

Google labels for smaller screens

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Gmail's labels can be tweaked for netbooks and mobile phones. Check out Liliputing for a quick overview on how to do this.

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