UMPCs are still niche products, and native US or European vendors for them are even rarer, so we’re quietly intrigued by UK startup PsiXpda and their first UMPC. Having broken cover yesterday, SlashGear’s demo unit arrived in this morning’s post and we promptly shot an unboxing video together with a brief hands-on demo. After the cut, two videos with the PsiXpda UMPC and some first impressions.
AOpen have outed their latest nettop, but whereas we’re used to apologetic Atom processors holding us back, the AOpen XC Mini GP7A-HD takes regular Core 2 Duo CPUs instead. The barebones kit also packs NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset, which adds up to Full HD performance and a machine that could actually do a little gaming on your big-screen TV.
Otherwise there’s a DVD burner, two DDR3 memory slots (4GB max, though it’s unclear if that’s per-slot or overall) and a 2.5-inch HDD bay. Connectivity includes HDMI and VGA outputs (which will work simultaneously), together with gigabit ethernet, six USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, audio in/out and a 6-in-1 memory card reader. There’s no standard wireless connection, but two empty PCI Express Mini Card slots inside are enough for both a WiFi b/g/n card and a TV tuner if you should so wish.
I wrote this column on the Nokia Booklet 3G which is, in my opinion, the most luxurious looking netbook on the market. And for its $600 ($299 with a pretty expensive 2 year AT&T contract) it sure as heck should be. The aluminum unibody design feels as solid as a freshly pumped up tire, and its brushed metal palm rest isn’t only minimalistic but is also smooth on the hands. The plastic coated keys are soft to the touch and the higher 1280 by 720 resolution screen is sweet on the eyes. And don’t forget the built in AT&T 3G that kept me connected as I wrote in different coffee shops around New York City.
Aesthetically the Booklet has got the goods, but performance wise not so much. While using the Booklet for the last week or so I had to get used to the netbook taking at least a minute to boot up Windows 7 Starter (thanks to its slow 4,200 rpm hard drive), and stalling at times when trying to open an application or simply loading a Flash video (thanks to its sluggish Atom Z530 processor). The Booklet 3G is like the stereotypical blonde — pretty but slow.
We’ve seen it teased and we’ve seen the first photos, but today Dell is finally giving us the skinny (pun intended) on the thinnest notebook ever – the Dell Adamo XPS. The 9.99 mm thin notebook, which will be shipping in time for the holidays, will inevitably be compared to Apple’s Macbook Air and no doubt it is thinner, but the starting $1,800 price tag won’t make it cheaper.
After the cut: Dell Adamo XPS hands-on impressions, gallery, and video
Given that most netbook press releases look like photocopies of each other, we’re particularly intrigued by the Litl Webbook. Spotted last week whipping through the FCC, the Webbook is described by Litl as “an internet computer for the home” and uses a home-grown always-on OS; it can be used as a standard netbook or, flipped round, as a more passive TV device with an optional remote control and “TV style” control knob.
Gigabyte have always thought a little different with their ultraportables, and their latest model is no different. The Gigabyte Booktop M1305, like the Booktop M1022 we reviewed back in June, comes with a desktop docking station; however, the M1305 is a 13.3-inch 1,366 x 768 machine and uses Intel’s CULV processors, rather than the paltry Atom N270, and squeezes an NVIDIA GeForce GT220 GPU with 1GB of DDR3 memory into the dock for improved graphics performance.
We love a little mystery, especially when that mystery is fuelled by a manufacturer themselves, and Lenovo have done us proud today with a new all-in-one PC. While the company is no stranger to all-in-ones – we reviewed their IdeaCentre C300 back in August – what makes this unnamed model different is that it’s the first in the Lenovo ThinkCentre range, an all-in-one targeted at business users.
The Archos 9 PCtablet has been somewhat overshadowed by its smaller, Android-based sibling, but the French company would like to remind you that, with the debut of Windows 7, the 9-inch touchscreen “future of netbooks” is now available to buy. £449.99 ($748) gets you a resistive touchscreen, Atom Z515 processor and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, all in a device 800g and just 1.7cm thick.
Live Archos 9 hands-on gallery after the cut
Back when we reviewed the ASUS Eee Top ET1602 late last year, we suggested it could be the epitome of a niche product: netbook hardware squeezed into an unusual desktop case. Now all-in-ones are more common, and so ASUS have returned with an updated design, bigger screen and more media-centric intentions. The ASUS Eee Top ET2002-B024C sticks with Intel’s Atom CPU range but now pairs it with NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset for potentially 1080p High-Definition performance. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
Intel’s Pine Trail Atom refresh wasn’t predicted to see any products actually arrive on shelves until Q1 2010, but that wasn’t counting on the motivation of Shanzai producers in China. The first all-in-one nettop using the 1.66GHz dual-core Intel Atom D510 processor has emerged, the KND K1850, with an 18.6-inch display, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard-drive and a DVD drive.
SlashGear Japan
