I’m going to let you in on the inside story as to why Netbooks and the Netbook category was first created and why they will exist no longer. Nothing I am saying here is truly secret however it doesn’t get talked about much. My goal in doing this is purely educational and so that we can talk more intelligently about what a Netbook is and perhaps wrestle together with whether or not it still makes sense to use the term.
Intel has announced manufacturer partners intending to produce 35 Atom-based tablets in 2011, with systems running Windows, Android and MeeGo all on the cards. CEO Paul Otellini confirmed the news at a tech conference this week, describing the two versions of Atom - Oak Trail and Moorestown - as targeted at Windows and Android/MeeGo tablets respectively. However, Intel has also been modifying its slide-deck since the presentation, removing mention of Dell from the Android-on-Atom column.
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A few tablet tidbits seeping out of Taipei today, with reports that Inventec is on track to secure a deal with HP for a Palm webOS tablet in Q1 2011. According to DigiTimes' industry sources, HP plans to order 6-7 million Inventec-made webOS tablets; it's unclear whether this is a different model to the webOS tablet Foxconn was tipped to be producing, or if HP has switched its OEM allegiances. Meanwhile, Intel-based ASUS, Acer, Dell, Samsung and Toshiba tablets - including high-end Core i5 machines - are also tipped as incoming, potentially as early as the end of this year.
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Toshiba has outed a pair of new netbooks, the NB500 and the NB520, each toting Intel's latest dual-core Atom N550 1.5GHz processor. Each machine gets 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard-drive - shock-protected on the NB520 - and WiFi, but the NB520 also throws in Harman/Kardon Speakers which, thanks to a "sleep audio" function, can be used with an external PMP source even when the netbook is turned off.
Video demos after the cut
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ASUS' 8-inch Eee Note EA800 ereader/tablet hybrid will launch in December with a roughly $261 to $293 price tag in Taiwan, and be followed by a larger, 12-inch version hitting the market in January 2011. The 12-inch Eee Note - which will be officially announced next month, DigiTimes claims - will presumably also use a grayscale LCD display and have an active digitizer and camera for digital notetaking.
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Intel has apparently begun mass production of its Oak Trail platform, targeting tablet PCs. According to DigiTimes' industry sources, the platform - which combines an Atom Z670 processor and SM35 chipset - will sell for around $25 with MeeGo to OEMs; if they want Windows 7, they'll have to shell out more.
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Dell’s Inspiron Duo convertible hybrid netbook/tablet made waves back at IDF 2010 in September, and is fast approaching for an early December launch in the US and Europe. We caught up with Dell today to grab some hands-on time and see whether it’s possible to deliver the portability of a tablet with the usability of a netbook, all with Windows 7.
Video demo after the cut
The LG E-Note H1000B tablet spotted crossing the FCC earlier this month has made its official debut in Korea. Fronted by a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 resistive touchscreen (complete with a stylus), the H1000B runs Windows 7 Starter Edition on an Intel Atom 1.1GHz Z510 or 1.6GHz Z530 processor, paired with 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD and optional WiMAX (sadly not integrated, but bundled as a separate modem).
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Dell has come clean on the Dell Inspiron Duo convertible hybrid netbook/tablet, which will begin shipping in the first week of December 2010. The 10.1-inch tablet will kick off at $549, which gets you Intel's dual-core Atom N550 processor paired with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard-drive and Broadcom's Crystal HD video accelerator; the display, meanwhile, is a 1,366 x 768 capacitive touchscreen.
Video demo after the cut
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We're gradually piecing the details together about Jolicloud's netbook launch; according to yesterday's news, the Jolibook - which is based on an Intel dual-core 1.5GHz Atom N550 CPU but runs a custom Linux-based OS rather than Windows 7 - will drop in the UK tomorrow, and now we know for how much. NetbookNews has discovered the Jolibook will be £279 ($444) when it arrives on UK shelves.
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Onkyo blasts out its latest Windows 7 Tablet, the TW317A7, powered by an ATOM CPU. This model is actually a TW317A5 loaded with KDDI 3G module letting you access the internet wherever you may roam, and includes a 11.6" screen with 1366×768 resolution, Atom N450, 32GB of SSD, and 1GB of RAM. It also has a magically tiny 0.3 megapixel web camera. Fun!
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Dell's Inspiron Duo screen-flipping tablet could launch as early as next week, if CNET's sources are to be believed, though hard specifications for the 10-inch hybrid netbook are still unclear. Powered by a dual-core Intel Atom processor, and running Windows 7, the Inspiron Duo's eye-catching trick is its rotating screen: the netbook can be opened and used with a regular laptop form-factor, or the multitouch panel swivelled around and the lid closed, turning it into a slate.
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