Earlier in the month we heard that Atom N270 based netbooks and nettops would be unlikely candidates for inclusion in the Windows 7 Upgrade Program, and that’s looking to indeed be the case. ASUS have announced details of their program, including which models will be eligible, and only two of the company’s sprawling Eee PC netbook line are included: the 1101HA and the 1005HA.
Updated with comment from ASUS after the cut
After telling us – and then telling us again – that the Eee Keyboard would arrive this month, ASUS are now promising their nettop-in-a-keyboard will actually drop in August 2009. Rather than blaming manufacturing delays or last-minute firmware tweaks, ASUS claim the Eee Keyboard – which squeezes in an HD capable nettop and 5-inch touchscreen – was in fact held back while they attempted to define a niche for it to sit in.
Shuttle have announced a barebone version of their X50 all-in-one PC, offering buyers the choice to install the storage and memory they prefer. The X50 – announced officially back in March - has a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 16:9 resistive touchscreen and Intel’s Atom 330 dual-core processor; in its barebone form it comes devoid of RAM or hard-drive.
After Wednesday’s news that Intel would be launching their new netbook Atom processor, the N450, come October 2009, we’ve now got word that the company’s replacement to their nettop Atom CPUs will also get their launch that same month. The Intel Atom D410 and D510 will replace the existing Atom 230 and 330 processors.
The first examples of nettops based on Pegatron’s UltraSlim design are showing up, and it’s Ruvo with their Mini Cap 7 that’s the first to reach reviewers. UMPC Tips have a photo unboxing of the Intel Atom 230-based mini-desktop, and while it’s too early for a full review the initial hands-on feedback is tentatively warm.
NVIDIA’s Tegra may be stealing MID-lover’s hearts at Computex 2009, but that doesn’t mean the company is forgetting about their Ion GPU. Taking to the stage with news of a full 21 Ion-based devices - including the ASUS Eee Top ET2002 all-in-one, ASRock ION 330 and MSI Wind Top AE2201 – NVIDIA revealed a mixture of mainboards, all-in-one desktops, netbooks, nettops and notebooks based on the 1080p-capable chipset.
As you might expect, Computex brings with it not only official news but plenty of rumor, and the first netbook whispers suggest that the segment is growing increasingly competitive. ASUS – when they’re not slapping Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets into Eee PCs – are tipped to be evaluating NVIDIA’s Ion GPU for future products, according to industry sources, while they also suggest that the Eee Box B1006 nettop spotted on Friday will use Ion when it launches in Q3 2009.
Acer netbook rumors after the cut
Hot on the heels of ASUS’ new Eee Box nettops comes rival MSI’s new Wind Box DE200. Sporting a new tapered design that reminds me of a Cylon’s helmet, the Wind Box DE200 pairs Intel’s Atom 230 1.6GHz processor with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 GPU and HDMI output.
Two new ASUS Eee Box nettops are in the works, according to listings on the Energy Star website. The ASUS Eee Box EB1002 and Eee Box EB1006 both use Intel’s Atom 1.66GHz processor, with the former having integrated graphics and the latter an unspecified discrete video card with 128MB of memory.
VIA and Shuttle have put together the latter’s first SSF (small form factor) PC based on the former’s Nano processor. The Shuttle XS29F pairs the Nano U1700 CPU with VIA’s VX800 media system processor, meaning that unlike many nettops the XS29F has both VGA and DVI Dual video outputs.
Video demo after the cut
SlashGear Japan
