Tag: hitachi

The Toshiba NB550D comes with a 10.1-inch glossy display, but instead of running an Intel Atom CPU, like a typical netbook, the NB550D is based on the AMD C-50 CPU (1GHz) with ATI Radeon HD 6250 graphics. It also comes with a 250GB HDD & 1GB of RAM (it supports up to 4GB, but you’ll have up upgrade to a 64-bit OS).

That’s the point Engadget is making, unhelpfully calling the new, better breed of netbooks “notbooks”, as in “not netbooks”, even though they’re netbooks, but better. But the point remains: these days, you can spend between $300 and $500 for a computer that will do most of what a laptop does, but will still be cheaper, smaller and more portable.

Originally cut-down notebook PCs designed for maximum portability and battery life, netbooks have evolved into serious computing devices in their own right. Some of the specs make it difficult to decide where the netbook category ends and notebooks begin. Still, some things remain relatively constant. Most have a 10.1in screen, a small keyboard and a lightweight low-power processor. They struggle with heavy computing tasks, but are good for web and email access, word processing and simple spreadsheets.

Motorola had a pretty busy CES this year as it rolled out a couple of pretty substantial products. The first of these was the new Atrix handset, which the developers believe could take convergence to a whole new level.

On the outside, the phone looks like a fairly standard Android device – albeit quite a handsome one. However, it’ll be powered by a currently unnamed dual-core 1GHz ARM processor, which gave it more than enough horsepower to slice through version 2.2 of the OS – although a move to Gingerbread could be on the cards by the time it launches.

Brad Graff, director of gaming platforms for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)’s Ultra Mobility Group said, “The Intel Atom processor, combined with Razer’s expertise in bringing gaming solutions to market, will help make it possible for consumers to have a powerful gaming experience in mobile devices.”

Opera Software, the maker of desktop Opera browser for Windows, Mac OS X and other devices, announced on Monday plans to create an entirely new browser from scratch optimized for web surfing on tablets.

The new browser will be based on and promises “the smoothest tablet and netbook experience on the market.”

Their chief of development Christen Krogh, explained in a written statement why Opera for tablets will be a fully featured release:

In 2011, tablets are a new must-have. Opera is creating waves with the first public preview of Opera for tablets. Opera for tablets brings the same trusted Internet experience to tablets and netbook PCs as users have come to love on their mobile phones and desktops.

How quickly the world of tech turns. One year ago, the iPad was still a far-flung rumor, the original Motorola Droid represented the pinnacle of Android technology, and using a Groupon deal first meant explaining what the hell Groupon was to your dining counterpart. Fortunately, things get better with every revolution, and this year has been no exception. From set-top streamers to ultra-light laptops and brilliant LED-lit TVs, here are the remarkable gadgets and consumer technology products that made 2010 a great year for geeks.

For the students in Hannah Estey and Rebecca Zavadil’s fifth-grade classes, Christmas came a bit early this year.

On Thursday, the Bristol Elementary School fifth-graders all received new Dell netbooks to use at school and at home through the end of the school year as part of the education portion of the “e-Vermont” grant awarded to the town earlier this year.

In May, Bristol was one of 12 towns to receive a portion of a $3.8 million grant meant to boost community access to Internet resources. e-Vermont goals for Bristol include improving the town’s web site, creating public wireless hotspots and developing programming related to the new resources.

The grant also provided the 40-plus netbooks to the elementary school, along with training for both students and teachers by representatives of e-Vermont’s partner, Digital Wish. Digital Wish is a Manchester-based nonprofit whose goal is to get technology into schools and enable students to enter “tomorrow’s workforce.”

The machine has a smallish 8.9-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1024 x 600. It also has a webcam for recording video, runs Windows 7, and has a 7.4V battery with 3000mAh of power. The little netbook also uses 1GB of RAM and has a 20GB HDD.
The brain of the machine is an Intel Atom N450 CPU. The hardware should add up to an average netbook computing experience with a screen that swivels for tablet use. The name of the netbook is the Netvertible. Other features include dual USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks for private listening, VGA out, and a SD card reader. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

The Dell Inspiron Duo is getting a lot of attention these days — not because it’s the first laptop that turns into a tablet when you tilt the screen. It’s because of how you tilt the screen. There’s no swivel letting you tilt the screen left to right like you’ll find on most convertible tablets. Instead, the screen flips inside the the lid, so you can close the lid like normal, but with the screen facing outward.

The folks at NewPad have found a Chinese computer that also has a screen that flips back to let you convert from laptop to tablet mode, but it’s not exactly a Dell Duo clone, because the whole lid flips, not just the display.

This isn’t a completely new idea. In fact, the Chinese notebook looks more like a Vadem Clio than a Dell Inspiron Duo. But it’s been years since I’ve seen anyone use this distinctive design.