Lenovo has officially announced their ThinkPad L Series. The greenest and most recycled laptop as stated by Lenovo.

Quick overview

Lenovo’s ThinkPad L Series:

• 14-inch L412 and 15-inch L512 models
• powered by Intel Celeron, Core i3 and Core i5 processors.

With the Edge models replacing SL in the small business realm, this “new” L Series will be replacing the R Series for entry-level corporate models. These are intended to provide comparable functionality to the more expensive T Series, but with a lower cost design and some feature de-contenting to reduce cost. Lenovo will also sell these to the education market, serving primary and secondary schools.

Differences between L and T Series

• Wider choice in processors, including Celeron, Core i3, Core i5; no Core i7
• Optional ATI graphics on L, NVIDIA graphics on T
• No SSD option on L
• Both have ExpressCard/34, 4 USB 2.0 ports, multi-card reader, VGA & DisplayPort (w/audio); no Firewire on L
• L has USB/eSATA combo port, T410 has separate eSATA
• No ThinkLight, roll cage or swappable bay drive on L Series
• ABS plastic on L; HEPC plastic on top, carbon fiber reinforced plastic on bottom of T410
• 6-row (non-chiclet) keyboard on L; standard 7-row on T
• 16:9 LCD on L, 16:10 on T410, 16:9 on T510

Differences between L and SL Series

• Update to newest Intel processors on L
• SL series have HDMI output, L Series have DisplayPort (w/audio output too)
• Combo headphone/mic jack on L
• L gets TPM chip, upgraded to Gobi 2000 WWAN

HP is working on a slate PC with an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor. We’ve known that much for ages. What we haven’t really known is how the Windows 7 tablet will stack up against the competition, because all we’ve seen to date is the information HP wants us to see. But the folks at Conecti.ca got their hands on a real, pre-production model and the verdict is… that it’s alright, but nothing too special.

I have to say, I’m disappointed but not surprised. I’ve spent some time with a number of convertible tablets with Intel Atom processors and various versions of Windows, and they tend to suffer from a couple of problems. The operating system just isn’t that easy to navigate using touch-only controls — even with Windows 7 Home Premium’s advanced multitouch gesture support. And they tend to feel sluggish when performing some tasks, such as auto-rotating the display. I suspect this is at least partially due to the low power processor.

What is interesting is that the Spanish site conecti.ca has removed their early review of the HP Slate from their site by a direct request of Hewlett Packard Mexico. What this could mean is lets hope HP will do a little more work to improve the performance of the Slate. It turns out in the end that close cooperation between Software and Hardware producers is vital for delivering a good product in the end(as is the case with Apple and the iPad).

The Viliv S10 tablet netbook series, originally slated for an April 22 release late this month has been pushed forward to various dates listed below, as seen on Dynamism. One customer who ordered a Viliv S10 received an email with the reason “delayed by the factory”. This might also explain why it hasn’t shown up at Best Buy like other Viliv products have.

Atom Z530 CPU, 64GB SSD models -> April 27
Atom Z530 CPU, 32GB SSD models -> May 5
Atom Z530 CPU, 60GB HDD model -> May 7
Atom Z550 CPU models -> May 10

A little more time to save up those pennies for the $1,000+ Atom Z550 / 64GB SSD / 3G / Windows 7 HP model!

Source: Engadget, SlashGear

There are netbooks and then there’s the HP Mini 5102. Or at least that’s always been our impression of the 10-inch business and education targeted laptop, since it isn’t every day that you see what’s supposed to be a secondary system with a 7,200rpm hard drive, durable aluminum chassis, spill resistant keyboard and capacitive touchscreen options. Or you know, a $415 starting price. The Mini 5102 doesn’t fall into the same class as those $299 netbooks — considering our review unit rings up at $668 and all — but does the extra dough really pay off in a noticeably better shrunken computing experience? We’ve been on a mission to find out just that over the last few days, so hit the break for our full review.

for the entire review pls visit engadget.com

Gateway’s limited edition VR46 Valentino Rossi branded notebook, previously getting action in the UK and Europe, has just launched in Australia, priced at $1,200 AUD.

Gateway VR46 series

• 11.6” 1366 x 768 display
• Intel Pentium SU4100 processor
• Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics
• 4GB RAM DDR3 (8GB max)
• 500GB HDD
• Gigabit LAN, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 6-cell battery (8 hours)
• HDMI, VGA out
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 1.4kg / 22.1mm thick

see the video at netbooked.net

Netvertible is a term that defines a convertible tablet PC with netbook hardware inside. It’s not an official term, but this also happens with touch tablets, which don’t have really an official naming yet. A netvertible is the best choice when it comes to buying a tablet PC shaped computer with the advantages that derive from the netbook specifications: size, battery life and price. To be frank with you there are also downsides to a netbook tablet PC and the biggest is performance, or the lack of it.

If you think netbooks are slow wait till you get your hands on a netvertible, which is even slower because of all the software that needs to run in background consuming precious CPU time just to detect and translate user touch in cursor coordinates (and sometimes levels of pressure). This doesn’t mean that it’s not usable, but it’s not what you would call a seamless user experience. In this article I’m going to make a list of the best convertible netbook tablet PCs on market today and list their pros and cons. At the end of the article you’ll also find a list of the upcoming netvertibles. So without further due, let’s jump directly into the fire with the first contender.

ASUS EEE PC T91MT – 434$

This is probably one of the oldest netvertibles on market today, but it’s got what it takes to be one of the most portable out there. There are actually two models,one that sells for 434$ and comes with Windows XP and a 16GB SSD + 16 GB SD Card bundle and one that sells for a little bit more, at 479$, and brings Windows 7 and a 32 GB SSD Drive.

Main specs:

• 8.9 inch screen with multitouch and 1024 x 600 pixels resolution and 256 levels of pressure detection
• Intel Atom Z520(1.33GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, FSB 533MHz
• 1GB RAM (max capacity is 2 GB)
• 32GB SSD or 16 GB SSD + 16 GB SD Card slot options are available
• two SD card slots for further expansion
• 8.86 inches, 6.46 inches, 0.99 inches and 2.12 pounds wight
• WLAN 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz, Bluetooth2.1 + EDR
• Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows XP Home Edition options
• 4.5 to 5 hours typical battery life
• black and white colors are available

ASUS EEE PC T91MT has the advantage of very low wight which is always great when dealing with tablets that you’re supposed to hold in hand all day long. At a little bit over two pounds you’ll hardly feel the need to hold it with two hands. The Atom Z CPU is a little slow by today’s netbook standards but it gets the job done rather nice thanks to the low power consumption and is helped by the speedy SSD drive. Overall this is one of the most quiet netvertibles out there, another thing you’ll appreciate.

ASUS EEE PC T91MT can be used with both finger or stylus, so you can write on it and interacting with the OS by flipping your fingers all over. A customized ASUS touch optimized interface is available on demand. You can read more about ASUS EEE PC T91MT here on the official site or watch our video review.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t – 499$

Moving on to larger screens we get the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t with a 10.1 inch multitouch screen, capacitive model. This essentially means very sensitive touch inputs can be detected accurately by the S10-3t. Also this will increase power consumption a bit over classic resistive touchscreens and overall weight went up to 3.31 lbs, not much more than the ASUS EEE PC T91MT, but enough to realize it’s heavier to hold in hand for prolonged periods of time. Amazon lists only one model, at 499$ but more expensive models are down the pipe and will bring a slightly faster CPU (@1.83GHz) and 2 GB RAM.

Main specs:

• 10.1 inch LED capacitive multitouch display with 1024×600 pixels resolution
• Intel Pinetrail Atom N450 CPU at 1.66GHz
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
• 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• Intel GMA 3150 with shared graphics memory
• Windows 7 Starter
• 8 cell battery for up to 10 hours battey life
• 6.9 inches, 11 inches, 0.59 inches and 3.31 lbs
• 802.11b/g/nBluetooth, 1.3 megapixel webcam

On paper and in real life the Lenovo S10-3t is faster than the ASUS EEE PC T91MT, but it’s also heavier and noisier, two things you might want to consider when buying a netbook tablet if mobility and noise is what you seek for. If you want to read more about the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t you can do so here, where we’ve wrote more about it. We also have a comparison article with the ASUS EEE PC T101MT.

ASUS EEE PC T101MT – 499$

This is one of the most mediated convertible netbook today as it was announced a while ago and just surfaced in some online stores. Reviews are positive now, as the problems we’ve signaled in the first preview and hands on of T101MT were solved. If you get one now expect the same build quality and performance you get from the Lenovo S10-3t. Your choice comes down to price and whether you need to use a stylus (possible on the T101MT resistive screen).

Main specs:

• 10.1 inch LED resistive multitouch display with 1024×600 pixels resolution (multitouch needs Windows 7 Home Premium)
• Intel Pinetrail Atom N450 CPU at 1.66GHz
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• 35W/h polymer battery rated for up to 6.5 hours of use
• WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth
• 0.3 megapixel Webcam
• Windows 7 Starter
• 10.39 inches, 7.13 inches, 1.22 inches and 2.86 pounds

Compared to Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, the ASUS EEE PC T101MT is lighter, supports stylus handwriting, but has a lower battery life. The screen responsiveness is worse, but not by much, as you can see in the video demo from our second review of T101MT.

Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 – 538$

This is one of the most interesting convertible netbook tablets around, from my point of view, as it features a 720p resolution screen with a 10.1 inch diagonal (but not multi-touch). This means that you can be quite productive on the go with the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028, if you’re patient with the old generation ATOM CPU and your have eagle eye vision.

Main specs:

• 10.1″ Touch TFT-LCD WSVGA, 1366×768 with LED back-lighting
• Intel AtomTM Processor N280 1.66GHz
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
• 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• 92% full-sized keyboard
• WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 3.5G Module HSDPA support + optional 802.16 WiMAX
• Battery Li-ion 6 cells ~4500mAh
• 10.4 inches, 8,4 inches, 1.61 inches and 3.26 pounds
• Windows XP Home Edition

Even if initially the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 was pretty expensive, things have changed and they’ve aligned the pricing with competing products, so now the only reasons not to get the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 is the Windows XP antiquated OS (which can be replaced by the way), the older generation ATOM CPU which is not so power effective as the new Pinetrail models and the lack of multitouch function. Anyway, you read more about it here.

Viliv S10 Blade – 1127$

Wow, an 1000$+ netbook tablet? Yes, but it’s the king of all netvertibles and comes in many versions you can choose from (some cheaper of course). For this kind of money you get a 2.0 GHz Atom CPU, a 64 GB SSD drive, a 720p display with multitouch and Windows 7 Home Premium OS, all in an amazing 2.67 lbs package.

Main specs for the whole series:

• Intel Atom Z CPU (Z530@1.6GHz or Z550@2GHz)
• 1 GB RAM
• 60 GB HDD or 32/64 GB SSD
• WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, optional HSPA modem
• 10.1 inch resistive Multitouch screen with 1366 x 768 pixels resolution
• 42 Wh battery that will last up to 10 hours of continuous use and 7 hours movie playback
• Windows XP or Windows 7 Home Premium
• 2.67 lbs (1.21 kg) weight
• stylus and 3G antenna for better signal reception

Even if the Viliv S10 Blade is pretty expensive, starting  at 699$ (see list of models here), which is at least 200$ more than other 10.1 inch competitors, you get more performance and high build quality. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the money. If you want to know more about Viliv’s S10 Blade take a look here at this preview article.

What comes next?

Haven’t decided yet? Well, there are a few models of convertible netbook tablets down the road expected to hit stores in a few months and here’s a list with some of them (actually only one for now):

• Gigabyte T1000 series – will come in two models: T1000P and T1000X, with the more expensive one featuring multi-touch vs single touch and a bigger 6 cell battery (vs 4 cells)

It looks like the 3D fad that has made it’s way to TVs and some notebooks might be making its way to netbooks, too thanks to Sharp, who introduced a new 10.6” widescreen 3D display last week that does not require special glasses and can work with a touchscreen. In addition to netbooks it is also suitable for e-book readers and tablets.

Whether we actually see such products with 3D displays remains to be seen. Browse the web in 3D? Sounds headache inducing….

Source: IT Media, Akihabara News via Netbook Choice

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

A few months ago, some videos leaked from Microsoft showed a book-like device with two touch screens and a stylus. The user is seen researching, creating and designing content in a manner that looks both intuitive and innovative. Called Courier, the product doesn’t (yet) exist beyond the conceptual videos, but it shows Microsoft is thinking in some new ways. Ross Rubin discussed Courier’s role for creative professionals last week but I think there’s even more at stake here — I think the concept shows computing models are evolving. Here’s what Courier represents to the market:

The pen isn’t dead. The pen’s been searching for a place in computing for more than a decade. We’ve seen experiments in all different types of pen computing from the PC to the PDA and the phone. They’ve all pretty much failed, and today’s hot commodity is capacitive touch. Microsoft’s Courier video shows how the pen can play a prominent role in the evolution of computing interfaces. While fingers are great for many things, there are tasks better served by the ability to manipulate at the pixel level. Handwriting and the ability to take written notes is one of them. Content creation and painting is another. It’s clear Microsoft knows all this — in addition to Courier, there’s the Deskterity project that melds pen and touch on Surface.

Microsoft can move beyond Windows. It wasn’t that long ago that Microsoft thought the UI for other devices and platforms needed to mimic Windows. Windows CE devices all had tiny start menus and task bars which were totally unusable in a small form factor. The result were clunky devices trying to replicate a desktop experience designed for a large screen with input from a mouse and keyboard. One of the reasons that Windows 7 slate PCs look so un-interesting is that Windows 7 just wasn’t designed with those devices in mind. The net result is that Microsoft appears to be designing and optimizing for the form factor. We’ve seen this before with Surface and the beginnings of a new design with Windows Phone 7. If Microsoft can make the Courier experience familiar enough that consumers can embrace it while optimizing for the dual displays and pen we could see a nice breakthrough in next generation UI.

Tablets aren’t just about content consumption. The Courier UI shows a lot of interaction between the user and the device for content creation. While designers are the example shown, Courier appears optimized for researching, note taking, journaling and other tasks that might require a combination of different media types interacting. As appliance computing becomes more common, users will need both the ability to consume as well as create and interact. Courier shows some new thought and how we might evolve beyond mouse and keyboard while still able to create and design.

The Courier video is impressive not only for technology it showcases but the thinking behind it. UI enhancements such as the “book spine” that holds content placed on the clipboard and the integration of connected content show some out-of-the-box thinking that’s refreshing to see from Redmond — it’s cool that Microsoft is thinking about life beyond Windows and what it might look like. I’m personally hoping that there’s more than just some conceptual animation and Microsoft is able to turn this set of ideas into a real product offering.

In a quiet recognition of the new Lenovo ThinkPad L Series we’ve heard about before, details of the new L412 and L512 notebooks have been made public. But wait: why do these look exactly like the existing ThinkPad SL410 and SL510? Ladies and Gentleman: meet the refreshed SL Series, aka the “new” ThinkPad L Series.

While we have received no official comments from Lenovo, the facts don’t lie: the images appear identical, the specs are near identical and with the introduction of the Edge lineup, Lenovo’s model strategy is finally becoming apparent. What we have here is a rehash of the existing SL Series with a new name and running on the new Intel platform. You’ll find Core i5 processors in the L Series to start with, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see Core i3 show up at a later date.

If you carefully compare the specs of the L412 to the SL410 and L512 to the SL510, you’ll find the port layout and overall features are the same. Dimensions are identical within a tenth of an inch. The main variance is in system weight, but this is typically a convoluted number in the first place and fluctuates a surprising amount based on what options are installed in the system.

We don’t expect these to show up for sale on Lenovo.com for some time, but it is interesting to note that the initial configurations are rather well loaded with Win7 Pro, 2GB or more of RAM, 7200rpm hard drives, and Gobi 2000 WWAN. The biggest change from the SL to the L Series is the loss of HDMI output, instead relying on the “business standard” DisplayPort. This is not a big surprise, considering the “SMB” Edge models get HDMI.

There are no details on pricing or availability at this point, but expect base model configurations to be in-line with or slightly above the $499 prices of the existing SL410/SL510. Well configured models, like those listed in the PSREF doc today, will likely run in the $800 range.

Lenovo ThinkPad L412 images

Lenovo ThinkPad L512 images

Source: [Lenovo PSREF]

Lenovo has announced another new netbook with the IdeaPad S10-3s. It is pretty much identical to the current IdeaPad S10-3 model except the S10-3s has the option for an Atom N470 processor, SSDs and higher resolution 1280 x 720 display on the hardware side and a few tweaks on the cosmetic side of things – rounder curves on the lid and newly designed buttons on the screen bezel (round instead of square). We’re back to 100% glossy here and it looks cheaper than the S10-3 (check photos from my IdeaPad S10-3 review).

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3s Specs

• 10.1” 1024 x 600 or 1280 x 720 display
• Intel Atom N450 or N470 processor
• 1 / 2 GB RAM
• 160 / 250 / 320 GB HDD
• 16 / 32GB SSD
• Dolby Headphone
• APS protection
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• WWAN / 3G
• Windows 7 Starter
• Quick Start (Instant On OS)
• 3 or 6-Cell Battery
• 2.76 pounds (6-cell battery)

The IdeaPad S10-3s will start shipping in mid-April with prices starting at $379.99. It’ll be available in black, white or “spring flowers”.

Press shots below:

Source: Engadget, Liliputing

We won’t detail our murderous wrath for glossy netbooks, but we will tell you that ASUS is on our good side today by striking the shiny lid on its newest 10-inch Eee PC 1001PX in exchange for a carbon fiber-like replacement. The little guy boasts the same specs as the budget Eee PC 1001P — an Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive — and will be available in the US in May. And if you had any doubt that ASUS is after Acer’s throat in pricing, we’re told that the Windows 7 Starter model will be priced at an aggressive $299, while the XP version will only set you back a cool $279. In typical ASUS form, we’re hearing word of an Eee PC 1001PG that will fall into this same line, but will be equipped with 4G in most markets and possibly 3G and 4G stateside. Now, if only we had as much information about those brewing Eee Pads…

ASUS Eee PC 1001PX press shots

The guys at netbooked.net got their hands on the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t tablet convertible netbook. Their model came with an Atom N450 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium and a 8-cell battery.

Read on the rest of their review…

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t

• 10.1” 1024 x 600 display
• capacitive multi touch display
• Intel Atom N450 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 250GB HDD
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• 8-Cell battery
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• APS protection, Dolby Headphone
• 1.54 kg / 3.4 pounds

First impressions are that it is extremely heavy for a 10 inch netbook (surpasses the the 12-inch UL20A in weight) and the keyboard and touchpad feel a little flimsy and cheap, though usable. Haven’t played around with the touchscreen much yet as I will run through my battery tests first. No accelerometer but there’s at least a button on the screen bezel for rotating the screen. Capacitive multi touch screen seems to be responsive to very light touches as you’d expect.

Unboxing video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltsMwhJ-xk4

Some pics below:

review source - netbooked.net

The ASUS Eee PC T101MT has already appeared in store listings in Europe and has just been announced in Italy where it’ll be priced at 499 Euros and be available in April. Same goes for the US – It’ll be available early April for around $499 though this model is likely to have 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter, which won’t work the multi-touch capabilities.

You can see that some stores like OnSale and Amazon have started to list a T101MT-EU17-BK model for around that price mark.

The specs: 10.1” 1024 x 600 resistive multi-touch display, Atom N450 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 0.3MP webcam, 6.5 hour battery (35Wh, li-poly) and Windows 7 Starter.

Source: Liliputing alltouchtablet.com netbooked.net

On which netbooks you can install Mac’s OS X – read on..

When it came to OS X on netbooks the only chart I knew about was the Boing Boing OS X compability chart. It hasn’t been updated in ages though and the list of netbooks are old-ish and small in number.

Now there’s a new OS X compatibility chart on the block over at mymacnetbook.com.  Well actually apart from the ASUS Eee PC 1201 (which doesn’t support Wi-Fi and LAN with OS X it seems) all the other netbooks are old-ish.

The new blog seems like it’ll be a good place to keep up with the latest OS X happenings on netbooks, outside of forums.

Source: Liliputing

Why carry around a netbook and a smartphone when you can have a netbook / smartphone? Why indeed. Especially when you can have something as sensible as the BPhone, which is now finally available for the completely reasonable price of $569.99 (unlocked, of course). That will get you a not-quite-pocketable convertible device with a 5-inch touchscreen, along with a 624MHz Marvell CPU, ARM Linux 2.6 for an OS, 256GB of flash storage, built-in Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS, and quad-band GSM connectivity on the “phone” side of the equation. Sound like just the thing you’ve been looking for? Hit up the link below to get your order in.

[Thanks, BrianB]

Anxious to find out more of the rumored and soon to be launched 11.6 inch Acer 1825PT/1825PTZ convertible netbooks?

Well, the guys at Newgadgets.de have a 10 minutes video presentation of this new series and if you weren’t craving for one of them before, you definitely will after watching this clip. Check it out below.

All in all, it seem that this new Acer line will finally be able to bring a proper touch-experience in a mini laptop (unlike the Asus T101MT which was kind of sluggish), thanks to the ULV hardware inside and capacitive display. And since these 1825PT/1825PTZ devices are Acers, they’ll hopefully come with a proper price too.

Stay tuned for more info on them in the following days.

Viliv S7 convertible tablet. It’s not in the same league as the Asus EEE PC T101MT and Lenovo S10-3t, mainly because it features a smaller 7 inch screen with the same number of pixels (1024 x 600) as the two mentioned before. Hardware specs are somehow at the same level of performance because of the Intel Atom CPU.
If portability is what you seek, then you can’t get something better and cheaper than the 799 grams Viliv S7 that offers up to 9.5 hours of typical battery life and 7 hours video playback (I suppose DivX Video, not HD). Smaller size also means smaller keyboard but if you ever used one of the first netbook on market, the ASUS EEE PC 701 then you’ll be OK with this one, plus you can always use your fingers for typing.

Another inconvenient of the Viliv S7 is the OS, Windows XP in this case, but you’ll always be able to upgrade to Windows 7 Starter of Home Premium if you feel constrained by the old Microsoft OS. Alternatively you can buy the Viliv S7 Premium that adds Windows 7 Starter and a 32 GB SSD (versus the 60 GB HDD or 16 GB SSD on the base model) but that adds almost 300$ to the base 549 $ price.

Now let’s see the specs of the Viliv S7 convertible tablet:

• Intel Atom 1.33GHz (Z520)
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• 16, 32 GB SSD or 60 GB ‘classic’ HDD
• 7″ WSVGA (1024 x 600) with Swiveling Touch Screen
• 34Wh battery
• 9.05(w) x 5.6(h) x 1.02(t) inches
• 800 ~ 830g (with battery) / 1.76~1.82lb (with battery)
• Built in HSPA modem (optional on the S7 Premium model), WLAN 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• SDHC, Audio, USBx2, USB (link), Multi I/O, VGA, Mic, 1.3M pixel Webcam
• Shuffle UI special designed finger friendly interface on top of Windows XP

Don’t expect too much performance thanks to the Atom Z CPU, but basic tasks will be no problem for this small convertible tablet. I would definitely see it as a choice for my third computer (after my desktop and laptop) that I would take away with me while on vacation and don’t plan to do too much office work. It’s definitely a better alternative to the other 9-10 inch convertible tablets and doesn’t cost more either.

Here’s a video preview hands on with the Viliv S7:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TSuco9vNGU

From the video above I can draw some conclusions: device is pretty well built (not Vaio X levels of course), speakers are strong, the Shuffle UI is better than on other convertible tablets and is quite useful in this small netbook tablet, the touchscreen accuracy is very nice, the trackpad positioned on the right top side of the keyboard is good enough but size is the real problem here, the keyboard bends a little while typing but nothing out of the ordinary, screen pivoting happens very fast which is always good when switching modes.

About construction I can tell you that the hinge seems pretty solid, but reliability is not something you test in two or three hours so we’ll have to wait and see what customers who bought the Viliv S7 will tell us in a few months.

So here are the prices on Amazon for the three babies:

• Viliv S7 Express – 549$
• Viliv S7 60 GB  – 579$
• Viliv S7 Premium 3G – 827$

Read on entire article and see the photo gallery of the Viliv S7 at alltouchtablet.com

Fujitsu Japan has taken their new Pinetrail MH380 netbook in red, and instead of making more palatable black or white models available, they’ve gone in the other direction and made a pink model available.. with hearts! Way to gross me out. Well that’s what you get when you let a fashion model design your netbook.

Specs don’t differ from the standard model: An Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB RAM, 250B HDD, 10.1” 1366 x 768 display, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Windows 7 Starter. Usual array of ports. As this is Japan, all MH380 (Loox M) models come with WiMAX.

See the pink Fujitsu MH380 product page.

Source: PC Watch

Previously we saw the 11.6” DreamBook Lite U11a and heard it was coming with ION 2 graphics. That model is now available with ION 2 graphics (GT218M) for a $59 upgrade and an upgrade to an Atom N470 processor costs $29 which brings the base price up to $537 AUD ($491). Looks of other cool customizable options but it’s a shame in only comes in Red / Black.

Then there’s the 12.1” DreamBook Lite U12 ION 2. Same deal with an Atom N Pinetrail processor except this one comes with a color combination more easy on the eyes: Black on the inside and brown on the outside. The Atom N470 upgrade is $29 and the base price prior to that upgrade is $549 AUD ($502) which includes ION 2 by default.

DreamBook Lite U12 ION2

Some features are optional and not included in the base price above

• 12.1” 1366 x 768 display
• Intel Atom N450 / N470 processor
• Intel NM10 chipset
• Nvidia ION 2 graphics
• 1x RAM slot (2GB max)
• 2.5” SATA storage
• Card reader, VGA, audio jacks, LAN, 3x USB, HDMI
• 4-cell Li-poly battery (7.2V / 4600 mAh) OR
• 6-cell Li-poly battery (7.2V / 6900 mAh) no mention of battery life
• 1.3M webcam
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 3G module + antennas
• Windows XP / Vista / 7 / Ubuntu 9.10 Linux
• 1.45 kg / 3.2 pounds

Source:SlashGear