Intel Reported to Postpone Menlow Atom CPUs
March 23, 2009
DigiTimes is reporting that Intel will be temporarily postponing two of its upcoming Menlow-based Atom CPUs to sometime in mid-April.
These are primarily intended for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), however they could find their way into other devices such as netbooks. The CPUs affected are:
Intel Atom Z550
- 1.2GHz
- Supports Intel US15W chipset
- Features Burst Performance Technology (BPT) which can automatically adjust core frequency depending on performance and can reduce power consumption.
Intel Atom Z515
- 2.0GHz
- Supports Intel US15W chipset
- Also supports Intel UL11L chipset (a low-power/ultra-low-power chipset)
Both CPUs are listed as having an average power consumption of 0.22W, with a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 2.4W. Intel would not comment on the release dates.
Read: DigiTimes
Ars Technica: The State of the Netbook, Part II
February 25, 2009
Earlier this month Ars Technica published the first part of their “State of the Netbook” series. The first part covered around 15-20 years prior to 2008/2009.
Yesterday they published part two, aptly named “The State of the Netbook, Part II: The Inevitable Eeeruption” which covers Asustek kick-starting things with their Asus Eee PC line as well the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Classmate projects, which spurred Asustek into action, along with the Nanobook concepts and Intel’s platforms. The HP 2133 was mentioned for its role in getting VIA into the game.
Ars Technica believes the netbook is here to stay, and their view mirrors that of the great Wired article that gets into how netbooks are something that people want, not something they are necessarily being told they need, and the technology is finally delivering:
Is it possible that, after all this sound and fury, the netbook trend may yet turn out to be a tale told by an idiot?
It seems unlikely. This attempt has escalated into a Greek epic of coordinated technological and economic effort by a huge variety of players. From dedicated processors and chipsets from multiple vendors, to cheap LCD screens and memory to tiny hard disks (and SSDs) capacious and fast enough to store and deliver the media users demand, the technology has arrived, and it is being delivered in a dedicated form, engineered for this wave of devices. This is finally it.
Part III will cover the Intel Atom and how it’s both helped and hurt the PC market in general.
Read: Ars Technica
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Hands-On (Engadget)
January 10, 2009
Yesterday’s announcement of the 10″ Dell Inspiron Mini 10 left a lot of people wondering, including myself.
Would the 10 relegate the Function-keys to an alternet row, like the 8.9″ Inspiron Mini 9?
What’s the resolution, given that Dell was touting an “Edge-to-Edge” 16:9 720p display?
Just what will be optional - are the TV tunner and built-in GPS going to be a part of every Mini 10, or will they be paid options?
Some of these questions have been answered - Engadget has posted a gallery showing the the Inspiron Mini 10 gets a dedicated Function-key row back, that was missing with the Inspiron Mini 9. They also discussed the Mini 10’s multi-touch trackpad. The buttons are located in the corners, and besides the usuals (zooming/scrolling), you can put three fingers on the touchpad and it brings up a launcher aplication. They’ve also posted a gallery that compares the Mini 10 size-wise to the Mini 9, the 12″ Inspiron Mini 12, and the 13.3″ Apple MacBook Air.
Read: - Engadget
Dell Announces Inspiron Mini 10, Mentions Adamo
January 9, 2009
At a press event today, Dell unveiled the Inspiron Mini 10, a slightly larger version of the Inspirin Mini 9. It’s got a 10″ display with a 16:9 aspect ration, and Dell claims it can play 720P HD video - whether this means the display is 1280×720 (or 1366x???) is unknown. Update: I would err on the side of caution and say it will probably do 1280×720.
The Inspiron Mini 10 has some interesting features, in addition to the 16:9 display:
- “Edge-to-Edge” Keyboard
- Built-in TV Tuner
- Mobile Broadband (maybe optional)
- Built-in GPS
- Multi-touch and gesture touchpad (gestures for home screen, scrolls, favorites)
Also included in the presentation, the Dell 3G Inspiron Mini 9, which represents a partnership between Dell and AT&T to include 3G mobile broadband connectivity in the Inspirin Mini 9.
The Dell presentation put an emphasis on how important they believe touch-enabled devices (either touchpads or touchscreens) will become, even before Windows 7 is in wide release, and that Windows 7 will eventually help with that.
As far as the Dell Adamo, Dell wouldn’t say much at this time. Engadget mentions that it’s really thin and light, and that it will be the new luxury franchise/flagship in the Dell laptop lineup.
Read: Engadget
Sony VAIO P Series - US Models, Ship Dates
January 8, 2009
The 8″ Sony VAIO P-Series is now available for pre-order, at least in the US, through the Sony Style Store.
Everything at the Sony Style store matches what we saw on Dyanism earlier - Intel GMA 500 (Menlow/Poulsbo), 533MHz Frontside Bus, 2GB of RAM, and a couple of the model numbers.
Sony has released pricing and options for 8 models so far (listed below). There should be several more to come, especially in Emerald Green and Garnet Red.
- VGN-P530H/G: $899.99, Emerald Green, 60GB HDD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Basic
- VGN-P530H/Q: $899.99, Onyx Black, 60GB HDD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Basic
- VGN-P530H/R: $899.99, Garnet Red, 60GB HDD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Basic
- VGN-P530H/W: $899.99, Crystal White, 60GB HDD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Basic
- VGN-P588E/Q: $1,199.99 Onyx Black, 64GB SSD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Premium
- VGN-P588E/R: $1,199.99 Garnet Red, 64GB SSD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Premium
- VGN-P598E/Q: $1,499.99 Onyx Black, 128GB SSD, 1.33GHz, Vista Home Premium
All of these are listed as shipping on February 3rd, 2009 from the Sony Style Store.
Sony P Series - Photo From CES
January 6, 2009
We already know from some accidental leaks and product launch material that the Sony VAIO P-Series is going to have a unique form factor.
We saw some information on a PCG-1P1L and 1P2L at the FCC and saw a weird form factor - 9.5″ x 4.5″ (estimated).
Engadget has now posted a photo from a display monitor at CES.
It definitely matches what we’ve seen of the Intel Atom-powered device, and it matches an 8″ display (with a potential 1600×768 resolution). They’ve done away with the touchpad that other devices in this range use, and instead went with a trackpoint/stick type of mouse pointing.
Note: This is not a photo of a display model. It’s a photo of a device on a computer display.
With a price of nearly $1000 USD, it’s hard to say where it fits in. Some might consider it a high-end netbook, others a low-end ultraportable (competing with the likes of Fujitsu’s 10″ offerings). Sony was able to keep it small due to the Atom CPU (and probable Menlow/Poulsbo platform), and at the same time that helps to keep it from eating into the 11.1″ TZ2 series.
MSI Wind U115 Hybrid Officially Announced
January 5, 2009
Last week, MSI officially announced the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid (we caught a glimpse of it back in November of last year). No surprises, we knew that MSI would be talking about it leading up to CES this week (and during CES). With few platform changes in the immediate future, it falls upon netbook makers to offer new features with existing lines, and the U115 definitely fits the bill in that aspect.
What makes the U115 unique is it features two methods of long-term storage. It features both a conventional/mechanical hard drive, as well as a Solid State Drive (SSD). You have a 120GB or 160GB 2.5″ Serial ATA (SATA) HDD, along with an 8GB or 16GB SSD (depending on model). It can access both simultaneously. The HDD is used for offloading programs and data while the SSD contains the operating system (Windows XP Home).
Given that most of the commonly accessed files will probably be located on the SSD, it should provide some advantages when it comes to battery life.
There is also a special “ECO on Mode” that actually disconnects the HDD system, so that you are only running off of the SSD (makes the U115 more shock/drop resistant as well as efficient).
Along with the hybrid system, comes a move towards Intel’s Menlow platform - combining a 1.6GHz Intel Atom along with Intel’s Poulsbo US15W chipset and GMA 500 graphics. The GMA 500 graphics are based on a PowerVR SGX core. That should also boost the battery quite a bit, but we won’t know until they are out in the wild.
Read: MSI Press Release
Thanks to Tim for the heads-up.
