Photo: JSFauxtaugraphy / Flickr

How do you own 80 per cent of the desktop CPU market and still concoct being in a position where you’re one of the tech industry’s biggest whipping bags at present? As crazy as that sounds, that’s exactly the position Intel is in.

Microsoft Nokia. FML.

In the wake of the great Microsoft Nokia hookup that you’ve no doubt read about a trillion times already, the biggest loser is without question Intel. Even though Nokia has committed to pressing on with MeeGo for a little bit still, there’s no sane app developer on the planet who will support a platform that will arrive in the world still-born.

This means the early stages of the Intel CPU smartphone play have been hobbled, since Intel’s biggest partner isn’t that focused on that partnership anymore. And, given the decline of netbook sales world over, it puts the entire Intel Atom chipset’s future at risk.

ARM. FML.

Incidentally, the Microsoft Nokia hookup has had the added effect of further slowing Intel’s long overdue charge for the mobile devices processing space now firmly in British-based ARM Holdings’ hands. And given that smartphone sales surpassed PC sales in a calendar year for the first time ever in 2010, with that gap looking likely to widen dramatically in coming years, it isn’t completely ridiculous to say Intel’s leadership in microprocessing technology could one day be under threat. Nothing necessitate Intel CPUs will always be the biggest sellers.

Sandy Bridge. FML.

However, with mobile processing technology, we’re talking Intel’s future. On the heels of Intel’s major Sandy Bridge recall, the tech giant’s present isn’t looking so rosy either. It was a financially costly mistake that also dented consumer, investor and partner confidence in the company and is an episode the microprocessing giant wants to put behind it.

Still, Microsoft Nokia aside, ARM aside, and even the Sandy Bridge snafu aside, owning 80 per cent of the desktop CPU market is enough Kleenex comfort for even the most bruised companies. Intel CPUs are still considered the best on the planet, and the company will invariably bounce back. Still, if ever a company had an FML moment, this period is certainly that for Intel.

Photo: CES 2011 / T3

Even with all the hate Windows 7 as a tablet PC mobile OS gets, manufacturers across the spectrum are backing the company and experimenting with the tech, if CES 2011 is anything to go by. Samsung is one such company with its TX100 slider PC effectively being a Samsung tablet PC meets a regular notebook.

What is it?

The Samsung TX100 is a 10.1-inch Windows 7 touchscreen tablet PC that has a slide-out keyboard and trackpad for using as a regular notebook. Though details on specs for this hybrid Samsung tablet PC are limited, processing is provided by Intel’s Atom chipset, and the displays resolution is (an unusually high for tablet PCs) 1366×768.

Requisite gushing

Accompanying the reveal of the tech at CES 2011 was the required press release saying how it will change your life. The Korean company claims that it is ‘the perfect fit for creating consumer content, whatever your digital lifestyle.’ As to the benefits of using Windows 7 as the mobile OS platform, the Korean company says that ‘the Samsung TX100 maximises the benefits of a tablet PC with its compact, light, and easy to go design, as well as features that provide easy typing and enhanced productivity and performance.’

Microsoft’ Steve Guggenheimer, who is the Corporate Vice President of the company’s OEM division, said that: ‘The Samsung TX100 is a great example of the deep collaboration between Microsoft and Samsung, from engineering to marketing.’

This might be interesting

What will be interesting about the Samsung TX100 after prolonged use is whether one uses it more as a tablet PC or more as a notebook. As long as it sells many units, Samsung doesn’t really care what consumers’ bias is, but for Windows 7 as a viable mobile OS platform, customer usage will be very telling. Surely this is a Samsung tablet PC first and a notebook second, but if consumers treat it otherwise, it could reaffirm suspicions that Windows’ OS isn’t built for tablets.

Our CES 2011 coverage will continue over the next few days as we see what other surprises tech companies have in store for us.

Photo: IntelFreePress / Flickr

Dell steps up to the plate once again with a brand new invention that is sure to satisfy more than a few hungry tech geeks. The new Dell Inspiron Duo, soon to be released, combines all advantages of a netbook computer with the luxury of a tablet very similar to the Apple iPad. The Inspiron Duo caters perfectly for entertainment as well as work purposes. Apple may have to step up their game once the Inspiron is released as it’s sure to be a winner.

Features

The Dell Inspiron is set to be released sometime early next year. It has a 10-inch screen and neatly folds closed to fit into your bag. Barely the size of a C-format book, this little gizmo is something a little different. The Inspiron offers all the benefits of a tablet computer like the iPad, and the Inspiron is a great little machine for watching movies, playing games, listening to music and is also perfectly optimized for surfing the web.

Issues

The main discrepancy that many people had with the Apple iPad and other tablets was that they don’t offer a suitable keyboard platform. Touchscreen keyboards can work for simple tasks but tend to be more of a hindrance when handling larger documents. The Inspiron changes all that by being able to convert from a netbook to a touch screen tablet with ease.

The answers

It opens up pretty much like an ordinary netbook from where working while you’re mobile becomes a cinch with the classic QWERTY keyboard. When you want to browse the web or just sit back and enjoy some entertainment, you can flip the screen around and use the Inspiron like a tablet. This is a simple, yet fantastic innovation, making mobile computing a whole lot friendlier.

The Dell Inspiron will contain an Intel dual-core Atom N550 processor which is really powerful for a little device like this. It will also run Windows 7 Home Premium. It is still being debated whether this will perform better than other Android tablets soon to be released, but by the sounds of it, Dell is pretty confident the Inpspiron Duo is going to be the forerunner in this division.

Photo: Asus

Asus is the grandfather of the netbook, and as such, every time the company releases new netbooks, everybody puts it under scrutiny since it is expected to lead the way. The aluminium clad Asus Eee PC 1018p is the flagship device of Asus’ new range, and we examine whether it can shoulder the burden of being the best PC in the whole category.

Tech specs

The base configuration of the Asus Eee PC 1018p has a capable 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, a 250GB 5400rpm Seagate hard drive. A simple Intel Graphics Media Accelerator does the graphics work – meaning you won’t do much gaming on it – and it retains the rapidly standardised netbook size of 10.1-inches. The WSVGA display has an aspect ratio of 16:9, with resolution of 1024×600 – it’s still a netbook, folks, so hopes of 720p HD graphics are unreasonable. The screen’s glossy, so expect finger prints galore!

Aesthetics

Without mincing words, this computer looks amazing, especially for a netbook! At first we couldn’t quite put our finger on what we found so striking about it, but after much deliberation, we realised that the Asus Eee PC 1018p is notable for ditching the plastic, almost toy-like look found in so many netbooks, instead opting for a more mature, sleek black, silver aluminum and grey look. It’s very reminiscent of the current unibody Macbook Pros, and that is a compliment of the highest order.

Input device

Chiclet keyboards! Can I get a ‘Yes, please’? Using nearly the full width of the netbook, Asus manages to sidestep the problem that dogs so many netbooks: cramped, uncomfortable keyboards. Instead you’ve got room to maneuver on a very responsive device. The keys are wonderfully sized, but here’s the kicker: the shift key is too small. Silly oversight, which means you’ll be making typos way more often than you’d like to be.

The touchpad

The touchpad is a work of the highest engineering quality, with a clean, sophisticated layout. The touch pad has a slightly darker surface than the wrist-rest area, making it super simple to notice, and use. While I’m not a fan of the dedicated scroll area, it has one to the right, which works very well. It’s multi-touch, too, as expected, so pinch, swipe and drag all you want. It’s very responsive with the right balance of resistance and smoothness for natural-feeling swiping. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the keys have fantastic feel to them, making this the best netbook touchpad available anywhere today.

Performance

It’s a netbook, so to expect it to do big things is unreasonable. Having said that, the Asus Eee PC’s Intel Atom N455, coupled with the DDR3 RAM puts in work. It runs Windows 7 starter quite comfortably, too, which is a relief, so for performance, all in all, it’s up there with the most you can expect from a netbook. Where we cried many tears with the Asus Eee PC 1018p was with the glossy screen. Reflections are shocking, bordering on unworkable at worst out in direct sunlight, and oh, how it loves collecting grime and fingerprints.

Verdict

It’s really frustrating, then, that the Asus Eee PC 1018p regressed from the R101 and 1015P’s matte screens. But beyond that, I can think of very few reasons to not recommend this netbook. Sure the shift key thing is an oversight, but you’ll acclimatise. The rest of the package, though, is that business, making the Asus Eee PC 1018p my favourite netbook. But only just. It would have been perfect if the screen weren’t grime happy.

Photo: Acer

Acer’s flagship range – the Acer Aspire laptop range – runs the gamut from netbooks right up to Acer’s high end laptops. It’s a good move for brand identity but it can make life a little difficult for a newcomer who doesn’t understand the product differentiation.

Product differentiation explained

‘Aspire’ is a general name Acer use for some of its laptops, much like Apple’s ‘Macbook’ monicker. Now, ‘Aspire One’ represents the company’s notebook range, Timeline represents a specific line of highly efficient laptops Acer makes, while the numbered range (ala Acer Aspire 7745G) represents the general laptops Acer ships. Confusion averted? Good, so now let’s look at what they offer.

The Acer Aspire products

The Acer Aspire One are among the most popular netbooks on the market today, and for good reason. With their Intel Atom N450, N45 and N75 processor configurations, they’re easily the most capable netbooks on the market. Each shipping with a 1GB of RAM and 250GB of storage space, Acer doesn’t skim on capability – something that can’t be said for most netbooks on the market.

Acer Timeline and numbered range

Photo: Acer

One thing we have found with the Acer Aspire laptop range, in general, is that while they’re priced well and are very capable relative to what you pay, Acer doesn’t always work hard enough on ensuring great build quality. An example of this is the Acer Aspire 7745G, which we reviewed recently – fantastic laptop with questionable design build.
And this theme holds through to the award winning, ultra-thin, long battery life Acer Timeline series of laptops. They work great, are priced great, and have admirable features, but on the rare occasion miss a beat with how the physical product is engineered.

Verdict

Acer has long made very good laptops, trading off the need to be a premium brand by moving massive volumes of product at an attractive price. The Acer Aspire One netbooks are easily my favourites of their device category, matched only by the Asus Eee PC. The Timelines are great pieces of kit if efficiency is your game, while the numbered laptops are a mixed bag, wherein you should review each one in isolation.

Photo: Intel

The car stereo gets little attention in tech publications, particularly outside of satellite radio. But the reality is many people in the developed world spend an inordinate amount of time in their motor vehicles. A motor industry-meets-technology alliance, Genivi, has selected MeeGo – and, by extension, Intel Atom CPUs – to power their upcoming in-car stereo system.

Car alliance wants MeeGo

The folks over at Cnet Crave ran a story about Genivi, a motor industry-meets-technology alliance that includes the BMW group, PSA Peugeot Citroen and GM, having selected the MeeGo OS – which runs on Intel Atom CPUs, of course – as the framework for the group’s upcoming IVI system – the obtusely named in-vehicle infotainment system.

What else is known

Beyond the fact that MeeGo and Intel Atom chips are making their way into vehicles, few specifics are known. Which vehicles will get them, how they will work, how they will be priced, etc., are as yet undisclosed.

Worrying about the wrong things?

Photo: anw.fr / Flickr

When Nokia and Intel first announced MeeGo, the companies went to great pains to explain that this platform would go beyond mobile phones and netbooks. True to form, word of a MeeGo tablet emerged and this unexpected MeeGo-powered digital car stereo is yet another example of this.

But, even then, we still fear Intel and Nokia are worrying about the wrong things. Nokia clearly need to get back to basics with its mobile phones business, as well as invest in engineering talent to get its smartphones to a comparable level to market leaders. Intel, on the other hand, are performing extremely well – better than ever, in fact – but he company still does not have a clear roadmap in the high-growth smartphones and smart devices market. And with ARM doing as well as it is, this could over time turn into a two-horse race.

Or we could be dead wrong, and considering how many vehicles are on the roads today, this alliance could see Intel Atom chips regain a foothold against ARM processors, as well as MeeGo getting invaluable face time. We won’t lie, Intel Atom powered digital car stereos is a very interesting prospect.

Photo: Asus

While we still consider the Asus Eee PC 1005PE a current gen netbook stalwart, we’ve been impatiently waiting for the next batch of Eee PCs to ship since making their debut in March. Good news is they’re scheduled to ship in August in the US, with some shipping today already.

Model differences

The Asus Eee PC 1018p is said to have a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 doing the processing, a 250GB SATA hard drive, 1GB of RAM and will help usher in USB 3.0 technology on netbooks through the three USB ports on the computer.

The Asus Eee PC 1016p is a slight step up with the same 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor and the three USB 3.0 ports setup, but with a bump up in both RAM and hard drive capacity. The Asus Eee PC 1016p has 2GB RAM and a more spacious 320GB SATA hard drive.

The Asus Eee PC 1015p was initially scheduled to arrive later than the 1016P and 1018p but is already shipping from Best Buy’s site for US customers (along with the 1018p). According to Best Buy’s site (Asus has no official info up itself yet) it has an Intel Atom N450 processor (as opposed to the Intel Atom N455 processor in the other two), 1GB of RAM, and a 250GB SATA hard drive, too. And, unlike its beefier siblings, it sports USB 2.0 as opposed to USB 3.0 slots (which seems odd, so take that with a pinch of salt).

The push back

Considering all the talk about tablet computers threatening netbooks, if there is any company that is capable of re-establishing the netbooks place in personal computing’s product verticals, one would trust Asus, the grandfather of this sub-genre of laptops, to do this.

UK release dates are as yet unconfirmed, but expect them to follow soon. Do you think Asus can repeat the unrivalled success it had with its original netbook with this new range? Sound off in the comments.

It doesn’t matter if you call it a netbook, sub-notebook or a minilaptop these are actually small and low costing computers. These are equipped with a number of features which makes it very efficient and useful product. The all new Toshiba NB200-12N (PLL23E-00500DEN) is a recent development of the company and is installed with a number of advanced features. It is a product of the well-known Toshiba NB200 series. The Intel Atom N280 processor provides the actual power to this Toshiba netbook. It is installed with a 1026 MB RAM which can be further extended up to 2 GB. To support all sorts of high resolution programmes this device is fitted with an Intel GMA 950 graphics card.

The clock speed of this netbook is around 1660 MHz which is quite high than normal. The hard disk memory of 250 GB allows you to store all sorts of songs, videos and other data. The 10.1 inch display of this device offers high quality pictures that will simply take your breath away. The Toshiba NB200-12N (PLL23E-00500DEN) is also installed with Bluetooth that will enable you to connect with a number of other Bluetooth enabled devices. It supports networking through various mediums such as Wireless-LAN, Bluetooth and LAN 10/100.

The Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system installed in this device is best suited for a netbook. The built in webcam helps you to click pictures whenever you want to. It provides an amazing battery back up of 9 hours at a single stretch which is quite spectacular.

The Dell Inspiron Mini has produced a number of quality netbooks and the all new Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is one of them. This device is custom made for all those who want something out of the ordinary. The shiny black colour of the device gives it a sophisticated and stylish look. This device is installed with a relatively powerful Intel Atom N270 processor which enhances the overall performance of the device. This device provides a clock speed of 1600 MHz which is more than enough for a netbook.

The 1024 MB of RAM installed in this device enhances the functionality speed of the netbook. The 10.1 inch display fitted in this device offers superior quality images that will take your breath away. The resolution of the display of this netbook is around 1024 X 576. The Intel GMA 950 graphics card fixed in this device allows you to run all high resolution programmes. This device supports networking through Wireless-LAN and LAN 10/100. It is installed with a Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition that further improves the overall performance of the device. The 1.3 megapixel webcam fitted in the netbook enables you to video chat without connecting any external device.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v weighs around 1.3 kg and can be easily carried and stored. This device is also provided in custom configuration. Furthermore, the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook is also provided with a number of accessories which further enhances the overall performance. The superb quality rechargeable battery installed in this device offers a long battery back up.

Hewlett-Packard is engaged in manufacturing some of the best laptops which are in great demand all over the world. The HP Compaq Mini 311c-1010SA is a recently launched product and is in great demand as well. It is a product of the very famous HP Mini series. It is fitted with all latest features as well. It is equipped with an amazing rechargeable battery that offers a long battery back up and a hassle free performance. This device is pretty compact and can be easily carried and stored.

The HP Compaq Mini 311c-1010SA is fitted with an Intel Atom N270 processor which enhances the overall performance of the device. The clock speed of the device is around 1600 MHz which is more than enough. It is fitted with 1024 MB of RAM which enhances the functionality speed of the device. The hard disk memory of the device is around 160 GB which allows you to store all sorts of audio, video and various other files without any hassle. The HP Compaq Mini 311c-1010SA is fixed with an 11.6 inch screen which provides crystal clear pictures. The resolution of the display is around 1366 X 768. Networking is done through Bluetooth, Wireless-LAN and LAN 10/100.

The HP Compaq Mini 311c-1010SA is installed with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition operating system which enhances the overall performance. It is also fitted with a 5 in1 card reader which enables you to connect all sorts of memory cards with it. This is one of the most compact and high performing laptops that are available in the market.