Dell Adds HD (1366×768) Displays to Inspiron Mini 10

It looks like the 10.1-inch Intel Atom powered Dell Inspiron Mini 10 will be the first of the mainstream Atom-powered netbooks/ultraportables to have a High Definition (HD) display. For $35 over the normal price, you can add the 1366×768 display to your build-to-order Inspiron Mini 10.

I thought the upcoming HD display version of the HP Mini 2140 might beat it, but the preliminary shipping date for the high resolution Inspiron Mini 10 shows April 15, 2009.

$434 USD will get you the following:
- 10.1-inch Anti-Glare 1366×768 Display
- Intel Atom Z520 (1.33GHz)
- 1GB RAM (maybe a limit of 1GB of RAM)
- Obsidian Black or Alpine White
- Windows XP Home SP3
- 160GB 2.5″ SATA HDD
- 802.11g
- 1.3MP Webcam
- 3-Cell Battery
- Intel GMA 500

For $50 more, you can upgrade the CPU to an Intel Atom Z530 (1.6Ghz).

You can pick up the Inspiron Mini 10 with the HD display here:
- Dell Home and Home Office Store

MSI X-Slim X340 Video - The Envelope Test

Remember the demonstration Steve Jobs put on with the MacBook Air at the beginning of last year, where Jobs pulled a 13.3″ MacBook Air out of a manilla envelope.

German website NewGadgets.de has a similar demonstration, with the upcoming MSI X-Slim X340.

The 13″ X340 is based on Intel’s new Ultra Low Voltage platform (CULV), and sports an HDMI connection. As SlashGear points out, it would be interesting to know where NewGadgets.de obtained their X340, and whether they will be publishing more information.

Unfortunately we haven’t heard much information about the X340 since the beginning of the month.

NewGadgets.de (German) (English Translation)
via SlashGear

Western Digital Gets Into SSD Game

If you’ve been wondering when Western Digital would jump into the Solid State Drive (SSD) market, wonder no more. Today, Western Digital announced that they would be buying SiliconSystems, Inc. for $65 million (USD). SiliconSystems, Inc., currently supplies SSDs for embedded systems, including in both 1.8″ and 2.5″ IDE/PATA and Serial ATA (SATA) form factors.

SiliconSystems will become the “WD Solid-State Storage Business Unit”, and WD considers this important in regards to the future of their netbook offerings:

“We are delighted to have the SiliconSystems team join WD,” said John Coyne, president and CEO of WD. “The combination will be modestly accretive to revenue and margins as a result of SiliconSystems’ existing position as a trusted supplier to the well-established $400 million market for embedded solid-state drives. SiliconSystems’ intellectual property and technical expertise will significantly accelerate WD’s solid-state drive development programs for the netbook, client and enterprise markets, providing greater choice for our customers to satisfy all their storage requirements.”

WD is a popular choice in the laptop HDD market, especially for their 320GB and 500GB offerings. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes, since 2009 and 2010 are shaping up to be the year(s) for SSDs to really take off when it comes to size and speed.

Read:
- Press Release (Western Digital)
- Western Digital - Questions and Answers for Investors
- CNET
- Orange County Business Journal

Asus Eee PC 1004DN - It’s Official

It’s official - Asustek issued a press release over the weekend for the upcoming 10-inch Asus Eee PC 1004DN, which will be the first Eee PC to feature an internal optical writer (Super-Multi DVD drive). This follows reports from last week that the 1004DN would be available in April.

It’s powered by the new Intel N280 Atom CPU (1.66GHz) and the Intel GN40 chipset, and features the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine. With the 6-cell 5200 mAh battery, Asustek claims a battery life of up 5.9 hours and a weight of just 1.45kg (3.19 pounds).

It will also feature an ExpressCard slot (which maybe an Eee PC first), while adding the “ASUS Data Security System” (ADSM) which is a fingerprint reader. They mention 720p High Definition playback, but from what I’ve seen, the specifications for the display are 1024×600.

Some sacrifices had to be made to keep the weight and size down, and it looks like the 1004DN features a 1.8″ 4200 RPM PATA hard drive (up to 120GB).

The HDD could be wrong, because for the graphics chipset, the press release states “ICH9Mb (Integrated GMA 4500M graphics core)”. That makes no sense whatsoever, because the 4500M is not available for this form factor/chipset, as far as I know.

Read: Asus.com
Thanks to Tim for the link

Samsung N110 Reviewed, Available for Pre-Order

Update: Available at NewEgg.com
- Samsung N110-12PBK - $469.99 - Intel N270 Atom, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 1.3MP Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR, 6-cell Battery

The next netbook/ultraportable from Samsung that’s available in the US may not be the 12-inch VIA-powered Samsung NC20. Last week, the 10.1-inch Intel Atom-powered Samsung N110 was announced and it’s available for pre-order.

LAPTOP Magazine mentions a release date in the first week of April, but Buy.com seems to be the only retailer currently listing it. Buy.com has a pre-order up for $441.99 (Normally $469 USD):
- Samsung NP-N110-KA01US (Pre-Order)

It’s still based on the Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) instead of the N280, and has a few other features found in the original Samsung netbook, the Samsung NC10, however there are a few other key differences over the NC10:
- Glossy display
- Different chassis (black glossy with a red border)
- Larger touchpad
- Larger/high capacity battery (5900 mAh)

Specifications:
- 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
- 93% Full-size keyboard
- 1GB RAM
- 160GB 5400rpm (2.5″ SATA)
- Windows XP Home
- 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0

Samsung claims a maximum of 1GB of RAM, but it remains to be seen if this is the case, since the NC10 was easily upgradeable as far as memory.

LAPTOP Magazine has published what maybe the first review of the N110, at least in North America. With their LAPTOP Magazine battery test, they were able to get nearly seven and a half hours out of the battery. It was highly rated by LAPTOP Magazine - they gave it their Editor’s Choice award.
via Portable Monkey

Note: If you are curious, you can download the user manual through the Samsung N110 downloads page

Verizon to Offer HP Mini 1000 with Mobile Broadband

Boy Genius Report has information and a screen capture purporting to show that Verizon will be offering the HP Mini 1000 netbook with mobile broadband/data plans.

Earlier this week, Verizon confirmed that they would be selling a netbook through corporate Verizon stores sometime in the second quarter (starting possibly in April).

If the information is correct, this would follow potential plans by AT&T’s to offer the HP Mini 1000 and other netbooks at subsidized prices with data plans. AT&T already offers a plan with the 8.9″ Acer Aspire One through Radio Shack.

Specifications:
- HP Mini 1151NR aka NM123UA#ABA
- Intel Atom 1.6GHz N270
- 1GB RAM
- 4200rpm 80GB HDD (probably 1.8″)
- 10.1″ 1024×576 display
- 802.11b/g Wireless
- Bluetooth
- 3-cell Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery

Verizon already has a working relationship with HP/Compaq - HP ultraportables/laptops such as the Pavilion TouchSmart TX2/TX2Z have optional Verizon wireless mobile broadband/data plans.

Read:
- Boy Genius Report
via CrunchGear
Also: Reuters

NVIDIA to Take Stake in VIA?

There are several news stories floating around that NVIDIA could could be taking a take in VIA Technologies. The numbers mentioned are up to 300 million new shares, with a price of $0.27 - $0.35 USD per share, which is a substantial investment.

VIA confirmed that they have a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 19, 2009, at which time the potential buyers would be announced, while NVIDIA held off.

Back in January, NVIDIA’s CEO commented that NVIDIA would be supporting VIA’s Nano CPUs in a future revision of it’s Ion platform.

Read:
- DigiTimes
- TradingMarkets.com

NEC to Stop Production of Non-Japanese Comptuers

With the tough economic times, it looks like NEC will cease producing PCs and laptops for businesses and buyers outside of Japan. NEC is based out of Tokyo and has apparently told the Japanese media that by the end of this year, it will be focusing solely on Japanese buyers for its computing products. As CrunchGear points out, NEC has been selling PC-based products in Europe for 28 years.

Production may stop for countries outside of Japan as early as July, and in Europe, it will be stopped sometime during the summer.

No word on if this will affect sales/production of LCD displays and projectors, which are more well known in North America than their desktops and laptops.

Read:
- TechRadar UK
- CrunchGear

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