jkOntheRun reviews the recently refreshed Lenovo ThinkPad x200, and deems it the ‘best tablet PC‘ that he has ever used(!)
This new x200 sports an Intel Core 2 Duo L9600, 2.13 GHz running Win 7 Pro with 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. It remains a 12.1 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1280×800.
The x200 now supports four finger multi-touch, and when combined with the new touch features of Windows 7, make the x200 “a joy to use in slate mode”…at least according to the reviewer.
Sizes to 295 × 228 x 26.5 mm (11.61 ×8.97 × 1.04 inches) and 1.58 kg (3.5 lbs).
The accompanying video shows Lenovo’s implementation of some touch features:
Korean MID manufacturer Viliv introduced their S7 netbook a while ago, and it’s beginning to get some reviews. Some dislike the price, which is a high $800 for netbook, and others dispair of the small keyboard and the useless touchpad, while still others disparage the resistive touch screen.
Other reviewers look beyond the concerns noted above and describe the S7 as a “potent little portable “, with a long battery life. Let’s call the reviews ‘mixed‘.
Spec-wise, the S7 has an Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of SSD (or 60GB of HDD), GPS, and a 7 inch 1025×600 LCD display. Dimensions are 210 x 117 x 26 mm (8.2×4.6×1 inch)with the weight at an even 800 grams (1.76 lbs) … it is indeed a wee PC.
Sony introduces the Vaio X Series, a line of thin (14mm) and light (700 gr) 11.1 inch notebook computers based on the Atom processor. The Sony promo video below describes the X as “thin to the limit” (27% thinner than the Macbook Air), with a “weightless feel” (thanks to the carbon fiber exterior), and “endless endurance” battery life. No price announced, but it’s certain to be overpriced.
Rescuecom reports that for 2Q09, they provided repair or support services for 11,560 personal computers. That number included 69 Asus computers, 254 Apples and 150 Lenovos. Dividing out each manufacturers market share by their repair share, Rescuecom determined that AsusTek is now the most reliable brand with a score of 416. Apple machines are about 6% less reliable than Asus, with Lenovo about 25% lower. This is all somewhat suspect because of the low volumes involved, and also somewhat curious because Asus supplies parts to just about everyone else on the list.
Market leader Dell might be in trouble, as not only did their market share fall by 19% (2Q08 vs 2Q09) to 26.3%, but also they did not make the top 5 in reliability, meaning their product is at least 66% lower in quality than Asus.
DigiTimes reports that Asus moved 700,000 Eee PCs in September of this year. Thats a lot of netbooks, and management must be happy. There are about a dozen different variations of the Eee PC theme ranging from 7 to 10 inch screens, with more models on the way, such as the ASUS Eee PC 904HA.
In the current economic climate namely ” It’s really scary what’s going on out there“, with the S&P 500 Index closing at 1,056.89 down 28% YTD, it’s probably safe to say that while PC sales will be below expectations, netbooks, with their low prices, will almost certainly gain market share.
LG announces their 10-inch mini-notebook called the X-Note Mini.
Atom-based CPU, 10-inch screen, comes in white, pink or black … not much to distinguish it from the many other netbooks out there, aside from the logo & choice of models.
The year’s not even over yet, and Stuff Mag has declared the Asus Eee PC 901 to be the top gadget of 2008. The Eee netbook thus beats out the Apple iPhone 3G, and similar lesser gadgets…go figure.
But then again, the Asus Eee PC has been garnering praise since it first appeared late last year. Another recent convert to the Eee PC is Dave Winer of Scripting News. Dave says the Eee has cross-country battery life, that the Eee is a better reporting notebook than his trusty MacBook Pro and describes how it’s even replacing (parts of) his iPhone.
The Ultra-Mobile PC or UMPC was first introduced back in May 2006 to moderate fanfare, and in case you’re wondering how they are doing now, 2.3 years later, the answer seems to be ‘not so good’.
DeviceGuru in fact declares the UMPC form factor to be dead, having been replaced by the netbook, while no one was looking. Why?..the author attributes the demise of the UMPC to feature creep, and thus price, and the unpopularity of its cousin the MID to competition from the smartphone.
The netbook is doing so well that Gartner estimates that the category will ship 50 million units annually by 2012, and some worry that netbook sales will cannibalize the traditional notebook.
Samsung announces their new NC10 netbook computer.
Specs include: 10.2 inch LED-backlit screen at 1024×600, Intel Atom processor 1.6GHz, 1GB memory, 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g WiFi & Bluetooth. Weight is 1.3Kg.
The NC10 is fairly similar to the MSI Wind and the ASUS EE PC, distinguished largely by its coating of antibacterial nano silver partcles on the keyboard, and its larger keyboard. The NC10’s keyboard width and key pitch are 252 mm & 17.7 mm respectively versus 210 mm & 16 mm for the ASUS.
Ok looking notebook, the new HP EliteBook 2730p. LED-backlit 1280×800 LCD screen. 80/120 GB 5400 rpm 1.8″ SATA II Hard Drive. ‘Business Rugged’ meets Mil-Std-810F. Specs are at this link. $1670.
