Netbook Crazy

Over at the Insanely Wind forums, one forum member has turned his netbook into a tablet and plans to add a sliding keyboard. The netbook he’s used is the Advent 4211c, which is the MSI Wind U100 rebadged. So far, c0ff33 has manged to flip the display, allowing it to rest on the keyboard and be used like a tablet, with a touch screen display added. The netbook is also dual bootable with Windows 7 and OS X 10.6.2.

While this is an impressive mod in it’s self, c0ff33 hasn’t finished the project yet. He hopes to add a mechanism which will allow the screen to slid up and the keyboard down. The mechanism will work like the keyboard on a slide out phone, such as the Sony Ericsson C905.

Over at IBTimes, they’ve posted up the specs of the upcoming Google netbook. Until we hear from Google officially, these are classed as rumored specs but, if they are true, this could set the Google netbook apart from other netbooks currently on the market.

Of course, the netbook will come with Google’s OS Chrome. Apart from that, it’s also said to have a 10.1 inch display which is multi touch and supports HD. Other specs include 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD and an Nvidia Tegra ARM CPU. It’ll also have the other features you’d find on netbooks including Wi-Fi, bluetooth, a web cam and 3G support.

Along with the features, there’s also speculation that the netbook will be out by the next holiday season, 2010. A price of under $300 has also been suggested for a subsidized netbook, meaning Google may partner with a network carrier to offer a 3G bundle plan.

Other stores have followed suite regarding the price of the Samsung NC10. The netbook could be found from many retailers, such as PC World and Currys for £329.99. Argos previously had the best price of £249.99 but now even Argos have reduced the price. All three of these retailers are now selling the netbook for £239.99.

Again, this is just the black model the prices apply to. From Argos you can just pick the netbook up for £239.99 but from PC World and Currys, there’s a £70 saving from them and a £20 redemption from Samsung.

Update: Argos have now started selling the NC10 for £249.99. The lower price was part of a weekly offer.

UK retailer PC World is no longer stocking the Sony Vaio W netbook but it could be due to the fact that a new model will be released on the 10th November. The Vaio W11S1E is no longer on PC World’s website but is still available to purchase online from Amazon. Also on Amazon is the VAIO W12S1E. The Vaio W12S1E comes with the same size screen and other specs. The only differences between the two, is the newer model features a 250GB hard drive instead of a 160GB hard drive. The newer model also comes with Windows 7 starter pre-installed, where as the current VAIO W uses Windows XP. Likewise, the W12S1E also isn’t available from the PC World website yet but, bets are on that once it’s released it’ll show up. The VAIO W12S1E is on the pricer side however, retailing for £399 in white, tan or pink, instead of white, brown or pink for £332.

If you’re in the UK and looking for a netbook, whether as a first time machine, or to replace your exisiting model, it’s worth remembering, that other stores apart from the obvious PC World and Currys, also sell netbooks. Argos sell a few netbook models, which can be bought online or bought in store. They’re cheapest netbook is the Freedom, which has everything you’d expect from a base netbook. While the price of that is good at £199.99 what’s even better, is the price of the Samsung NC10. Argos are selling the netbook for £279.99, or £249.99 if they don’t have any 3G USB sticks in stock, which in my local store, they didn’t. This is an £80 saving over PC World and Currys who are both selling the netbook for £329.99. I also haven’t been able to find the netbook cheaper anywhere online.

Also, for a limited time only, Argos are giving away £10 gift vouchers for purchases over £100, effectively making the netbook £239.99. Only the black model is available for this price.

Two companies have released one of the netbook models in a pink variant to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. Both Sony and HP have created a netbook bundle pack for the cause and will donate money to the cause.

Sony have released their Vaio W netbook in pink along with a matching carry case and wireless mouse. The company will donate $110,000 to the cause. HP likewise are also offering a netbook up in pink with a USB mouse and matching carry case. HP will donate $1 per sale to the cause. The HP Mini Pink Chic is the Mini 10, so naturally features a 10.1 inch display and 1GB of RAM. The HP bundle is available for $379.99 from Best Buy.

We’ve heard the rumours that Microsoft may be releasing a version of Windows 7 specifically for netbooks that removes some of the basic features found in the Starter version. However Microsoft have confirmed that this is not the case and the OS won’t be “dumbed down” for netbooks. That said, OEM vendors may remove certain features, in which case they are to blame not Microsoft.

A spokesperson for Microsoft UK had this to say:

OEMs and ODMs have the choice to install any version of Windows on a netbook but, Starter is an entry version and doesn’t have many of the consumer or business features. The three application limit isn’t there any more.

Source

I’ve been considering upgrading my Virgin Media package to include Mobile broadband, which means renewing my contract for another 24 months, but also gaining a Virgin Media exclusive netbook. The Freedom netbook features a 10.2 inch display, 120GB HDD, 1GB of RAM and the other usual netbook specs. Out of curiosity I took a look on eBay to see how much they were going for on there, to only find the previous 8.9 inch display model available. I however also found a very stylish women’s netbook tote bag. After researching it more, I’ve found the bag isn’t only for the Freedom netbook but, any netbook with a display of up to 10.2 inches. Unlike other netbook cases, I find this one to be discreet in being what it is, along with being stylish. From the outside it looks like a regular handbag but, inside it has enough room to fit a netbook and extra pockets for other “girlie” stuff. One of my main issues with some netbook and laptop bags, is that, that’s what they clearly are and are more of a target which is one of the reasons this tote bag from Ultimate Addons stood out to me. The listings on eBay that I could find list the bag at £21.99 with free postage. The bag is also available from Ultimate-netbook for £19.99, plus £2.60 postage. From the website however, the bag is available in a choice of brown or black.

A netbook almost identical to the Samsung NC10 has been spotted in China by Netbook News. Externally the netbook looks the same, apart from the model number, which is listed as the ND10. Both netbooks feature a 10.2 inch display and the Intel Atom N270 processor. The ND10 however, is $50 cheaper due to one factor. The ND10 doesn’t come with an operating system installed leaving it up to consumers to grab XP, or a free operating system such as Ubuntu.

Netbook News were also able to grab a video of the ND10 which you can view after the jump.
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Gameloft, who produce and sell many, many games for mobile phones have expanded their line even further. As well as for mobiles, Gameloft also provides games for iPods and the iPhone. But they haven’t stopped their portability gaming line there. While there isn’t many at the moment, Gameloft have four games that can be downloaded and are made specifically for netbooks. The games run on Windows XP and support 1024×600 screen resolutions. The following games are currently available with pricing starting at $2.99.

• Bubble Bash ($2.99)
• Chess Classics ($2.99)
• Brain Challenge ($4.99)
• Block Breaker Deluxe 2 ($2.99)