Tag: OS

HP Mini 210 Specifications

The HP Mini 210 targets consumers who surf the web, check e-mail, listen to music and need access to friends, family or information while on the go. The netbook includes built-in Wi-Fi, 1.3-megapixel Webcam, microphone and a nearly full-sized island-style keyboard. As mentioned above, the HP Mini 210 also supports the single-core Intel Atom N455 and N475 processors as well as the new dual-core N550 processor, all of which support DDR3 memory.

Less than 1-inch thick and weighing 3.1 pounds, the HP Mini 210 comes standard with an inline six-cell battery that promises up to 10.75 hours of battery life and fits flush, complementing the overall design. The Mini 210 is available in a choice of five HP Imprint finishes: charcoal, crimson red, lavender frost, luminous rose and ocean drive.

An optional 10.1-inch diagonal HD display and optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator is promised to enable smooth 720p and 1080p HD playback and video streaming from popular Websites. The netbook also offers Dolby Advanced Audio.

The HP Mini 210 comes pre-loaded with HP Media Suite (organize, store and play multimedia content such as music, photos and videos) and Evernote (note-tasking software that allows users to quickly capture and search for notes).

Additionally, courtesy of HP QuickSync the HP Mini 210 automatically synchronizes files with a home PC over a wireless connection. HP QuickWeb allows users to access the Web in seconds without booting up the netbook. HP Navigator, included with the optional GPS, provides general mapping, route planning, points of interest and voice-guided navigation.

If you’re looking for more functionality than your iPad offers, but more portability than a MacBook provides, Sena Cases’ new Keyboard Folio might be just the middle ground you’re looking for. The slick, book-style leather case with integrated Bluetooth keyboard brings your iPad within a hair’s breadth of netbook status while sparing you the indignity of purchasing a real netbook.

The Keyboard Folio is made of European leather and features a side -olding design with cutouts that let you to access your iPad’s ports while its in the case, and an integrated collapsible back stand that positions your iPad at a comfortable viewing angle while you type.

The case features a soft velvet protective lining to keep your iPad scratch-free, and also provides multiple pockets for cards, IDs, or checkbooks. When closed, the case secures with a strap and snap closure, giving you complete front and back protection of your iPad when it’s not in use.

The case’s built-in Bluetooth keyboard features function and sound/music control buttons and the company says its ithium battery should provide 45 hours of use, or 55 hours of standby time, before needing to be replaced.

The Folio Keyboard case, which begins shipping on October 7, is listed at $150, but is available for pre-order now for $130.

Chrome OS Tablet or Netbook – Analysis
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There have long been rumours regarding the possibility of Google releasing a Chrome OS powered tablet device. These rumours have arguably been spurred on by leaked tablet mock-ups and more so, wishful thinking; buoyed by an emerging tablet craze.

It is easy to understand why the market craves a Chrome OS powered tablet. After all Apple has sold millions of Ipads unabated for the last few months. Hence it is more than natural for consumers to dream of viable and cheaper alternatives to the Ipad.

Benefits of introducing a Chrome OS powered tablet

The benefits of introducing a Chrome OS tablet to the market are foreseeable. Due to the explosive growth of this market it is feasible that Google could get an early foothold. This can then enable exponential growth in the usage of it’s upcoming operating system.

It may also be in Google’s interest to not only piggy back on the growth of the tablet market but ‘ride the crest of the wave’ as they are doing with Android OS in smart phones until the eventual maturity of this market.

Toshiba is putting the finishing touches to the UK launch of the Toshiba AC100 netbook. Toshiba UK made the announcement via its Twitter link. Could this be the start of a whole new wave of interest for the netbook? Read on to find out about the Toshiba AC100 Android netbook and what it has to offer…

The Toshiba AC100 is an ultra-thin mobile computing device that runs the Android operating system. Although more usually found on mobile phones like theHTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S, Android is a flexible operating system that is more than capable of running on a netbook.

The AC100 weighs just 899g and is just 14mm thick. It has a 10.1 inch TruBrite display with graphics courtesy of an nVidia Tegra 250 processor. As befits a mobile device, the AC100 comes with 3G networking built in as well as WiFi so you can be up and surfing anywhere.

The standout feature of the AC100 is the battery life, however. Toshiba are claiming an amazing 180 hours of standby time and 8 hours of constant use making this a real contender if you need to take a lightweight web device on holiday or for long business trips.

Google is expected to launch its Chrome Operating System for netbooks and other mobile devices later this year. Chrome OS is based on the Google Chrome web browser, and it’s designed to blur the lines between a desktop operating system and web-based apps. Want to write a document, watch a movie, chat with friends, or do just about anything else? There’s a web app for that.

While Google initially pitched Chrome OS as a netbook operating system, a lot of things have changed since the OS was first announced last year. The biggest change is that while in 2009 netbooks were still the hottest thing in affordable portable computing, tablets are all the rage this year — even if Apple is still the only company with a runaway success story in the tablet space.

So maybe it’s not that surprising that Google is optimizing Chrome OS to run on tablets as well as netbooks. And Download Squad received a tip from a reliable source suggesting that Google is going to kick things off by launching a Google-branded tablet on November 26th.

The tablet will be built by HTC (much like the Google Nexus One Android Smartphone), and it will be sold through Verizon, with the wireless carrier offering the tablet for a subsidized price to customers that sign up for long term service contracts.

There’s no official word on what the tablet will look like or what specs it will have, but a multitouch display is pretty much a given, with Download Squad’s Lee Mathews guessing it will also have a 1280 x 720 pixel or higher resolution screen.

Buying a netbook has always been a hard decision for many on the grounds that this type of device is still new on the market and has encountered lots of resistance from the skeptics’ side. It is questionable if the pros outweigh the cons in this case as to make buying a netbook a good decision but which are the things one should keep in mind when considering the acquisition of this type of device?

To begin with, the mini laptop has in target mobility. It is made to be small and versatile with components that can give one a fair enough amount of computing power while still having in mind a device that can go 5+ hours without a single charge. Thus, it is normal to score less in benchmarks than laptops but one has to understand that when turning to such a device he/she wants more battery life rather than more performance.

Furthermore, the components that are fitted inside the netbook are usually the same or vary a little depending on manufacturer for over 90% of mini notebooks have the Intel Atom CPU. This processor is clocked at around 1.60GHz, a good frequency to run every-day applications but rather slow in the case of big and demanding software. The new generation of Intel processors has gone a step up with the introduction of multi-cores but with high prices on new hardware it will be some time until many of us can touch those.

The video card is in the best case a NVIDIA ION (or ION 2) that can easily handle HD but is rather slow at intensive gaming, this not to mention the integrated video cards that tend to choke at more than solitaire. The memory is 1GB usually with the possibility of expansion to 2GB, which makes video editing or heavier software slower as it needs to grab RAM out of the HDD to cope with the extra demands.

Hyped about the Chrome OS? Give this OS a spin as well!

Jolicloud is the Internet OS for the netbook generation. Its mission is to accelerate the accessibility of ultra-low-cost, cloud-based computing to everyone around the world. Through an elegant interface Jolicloud provides free and easy access to the Web s best applications and technologies.
Jolicloud is based on Ubuntu Linux, but is tweaked for netbooks and other computers with limited disk storage, memory, and screen size.

Jolicloud was designed for easy installation, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G modem support all included. The operating system supports all the major netbooks, including models from Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, MSI, Samsung and Sony. Jolicloud claims the OS supports 98% of netbooks with out-of-the-box compatibility.

Version 1.0 of the operating system incorporates a user interface built with HTML5 that includes an application launcher, a library of compatible applications with one-click installation and removal, a display of all machines associated with user account, and a social activity stream that enables users to compare installed applications

Netbooks, small in stature and big in portability. These pint-sized PCs are perfect for a checking your email or browsing the web on the go, but a machine for hardcore gaming they certainly are not. Well, that was until gaming PC specialist Alienware turned its attention to the portable powerhouses…

The 11.6in screen drops the M11x into the heart of netbook territory, but at 2kg it’s carrying around about 60 per cent more weight than most mini-laptops, despite the lack of an optical drive. That’s because its well-crafted, intimidating shell houses enough graphics grunt to get through the latest games.

The M11x has two graphics processors under the hood, one for gaming and the other for general use. You can switch between the two without powering off, and get six and a half hours of battery life when you use the conservative chip.

Compared to Atom-powered netbooks, the M11x chews through everyday jobs (from web browsing to video coding) at a far greater pace. Its dual-core system gives it grunt when its needed, and battery life when it doesn’t. The power comes from Intel’s Core i5 and i7 CPUs, while the more conservative chipset is powered by Intel’s CULV.

The screen resolution is sharp enough for the size, but the picture quality is a tad disappointing. It’s faded and unexciting, and there’s not enough dynamic range for picture editing. But once a game is up and running however, you won’t notice. When we docked the baby Alienware with an external monitor (in an attempt to get some serious HD gaming done) frame rates fluctuated quite radically. Still, there’s no other ultralight that handles gaming on the go like this.

As we said, build quality is superb. There’s little to fault, and the M11x is one of the most well-built portables we’ve ever seen. The styling won’t suit everyone though and it’s a hefty beast compared to its rivals. But as with desktop PCs, that’s the price you pag for the latest tech.

The basic M11x sells for around US$1,200, but the configuration we’ve looked at here is a good US$650 more than that. For the same price, you could get yourself four decent netbooks, but you still wouldn’t be able to play StarCraft II. And anyway, who needs four netbooks? Exactly.

Choosing a netbook can feel like an exercise in compromise. We want the system we carry to be portable and affordable, but we also want it to offer solid performance and a load of features. Maybe this is why so many netbooks are equipped so similarly, with vendors having apparently decided that a near-perfect balance has been found. But while most netbooks differ in only the most minor of ways, a few seem to represent their manufacturers’ ongoing quests to find a new sweet spot or set a new standard.

Take, for example, Acer’s Aspire One AO721-3574 ($430). Here we have a netbook that is looking to slug it out with ultraportable notebooks, like a lightweight boxer trying to make it in the welterweight division.

It sports a faster processor, more memory and storage, a better graphics adapter, and a larger screen and keyboard than one might typically find in a netbook, all at just 3.1 pounds (including the 6-cell battery). But does the Acer walk the walk as well as it talks the talk? Let’s take a look and find out.
AMD Inside

At the heart of the AO721 is a 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K125 processor. While not a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination, it offers a bit more bang for the buck than you’ll get out of an Intel Atom-powered netbook. In PCMark Vantage, the Acer posted a score of 1,918; in Cinebench 11.5, it rendered the sample scene in just under 15 minutes. This is nowhere near on par with a full-sized notebook, needless to say. But it is a fair bit better than most netbooks can manage.

Also noteworthy is the inclusion of 2GB of DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 4GB) and a 250GB hard drive, both of which are generous for a netbook. And while it will come as no surprise that there’s no optical drive included, the built-in “multi-in-one” card reader should do the trick for many users, with external USB drives meeting the needs of others.

SAMSUNG Electronics Co., Ltd., a market leader in consumer electronics and world leader in IT technology, is launching a series of notebooks and netbooks for the first time in Egypt. With the introduction of the netbooks to the Egyptian market, Samsung now truly offers a complete and comprehensive consumer technology product line up with innovative designs and advanced technology.
“Samsung has been selling notebooks in Korea since 1995 and has achieved great success,” said Mr. Duke Park, General Manager of Samsung Egypt. “With this depth of experience, Samsung is confident in these new products and is thrilled to be launching them in the Egyptian market.”
Samsung is one of the fastest growing PC vendors in the world, reporting year-on-year growth of over 130% in the mobile PC market as of Q4/2009, a more than two-fold increase over its closest competitor. Annual shipments of Samsung PCs worldwide have grown nearly 50% in just 3 years (2006-2009) to reach a total of 675 million units sold in 2009. Netbooks outpaced the rest with approximately 275m units sold followed by notebooks at 250m units, while desktops round out the total with about 100m units sold worldwide.
The popularity of Samsung notebooks and netbooks is largely due to its reputation for quality. Up to 75% of Samsung components are world’s top class including the world number one LCD screen, DRAM and the world number 2 in battery and ODD. Samsung invests heavily in its unique in-house research and development to ensure best knowledge of every single component and it has a stable material supply to keep prices stable despite market fluctuations.
All Samsung mobile PCs are environmentally committed and developed to meet the highest standard of international certifications. In fact, Samsung was awarded as the only Computer Manufacturer with the ENERGY STAR Excellence Award, an international standard for energy efficient consumer products. Every single Samsung Notebook has ENERGY STAR logo. The launch of notebooks complements Samsung Electronics diverse and comprehensive portfolio of products, thereby enhancing the company’s offering to consumers in Egypt.
Samsung’s N150, R540 and R580 netbook and notebooks are not only built by a reliable brand, they offer the latest technology and innovation. The computers feature Extended Battery Life (EBL), fast start-up, and the ability to share multimedia between all Samsung Electronic devices. They also showcase the latest in design and like all Samsung products, come with full customer service follow-up. The new netbook and notebooks are nothing less than what has come to be expected from Samsung.