Netbooks, Tablets, and Phones!
InsanelyWind U135 Review
Aug 6th
After Long delay (Yes this is ALL my fault and I do take all responsibility for it, sorry 
) here without further ado is the MSI Wind U135 Review:
When I first emailed MSI A few months ago about getting a review unit MSI Wind, I did not immediately get a response. A month or so later I did get a response from someone who was very willing to send me a Wind. I asked about a U160 which they did not have in stock (Which I will attempt to review later) but I did manage to get a U135, which is second best.
The MSI Wind U135 we got contains an N450 Atom Processor running at 1.66GHZ, and 1GB Onboard RAM. It has a 160GB or 250 GB Seagate HD and it comes preloaded with Windows 7 Starter (More on that later). The first thing you notice when you open the machine is gloss, and by gloss I do mean gloss. The machine is pretty much ALL glossy apart from the bottom case. And as you can imagine, fingerprints begin to occupy the glossy surfaces quite quickly.
The rest is after the jump.
Portable Linux Apps for any Linux Distro
Jul 25th
Portable applications for Windows and Mac have been around for a long time, but are less common in the Linux world. Due to the complexity of Linux dependencies, and the different way different distributions locate these dependencies, the portable Linux application long seemed like a dream.
Until now.
A new website PortableLinuxApps features a number of portable applications, which will work on any Linux distro. Being portable these can run off any drive or folder you choose.
More >
How to find netbooks under $200
Jul 20th
Tired of surfing the Web for those cheap netbooks? Now there’s help for you, a new site does all the work for you and lists all netbooks available below $200.
Apple developing new, smaller MacBook Air and new iPod Touch?
Jul 16th
A few reports around the blogosphere is showing that Apple might be preparing to launch a smaller, 11 inch MacBook Air. Apple have previously stated that they have no intentions of releasing an Apple Netbook ever, but instead released the iPad, a 10 inch tablet.
Digitimes is now reporting that Apple is preparing to launch a smaller, thinner MacBook Air. The reported size is 11 inch, which is 1 inch larger than your average netbook (10 inch). It is also reported to sport a Intel Core-i series CPU, possibly a Core i5.
Rumor is that it will be thinner and lighter then the original, but will also sport a high price tag. This just might end up being the worlds most expensive netbook!
Digitimes also reported that the iPod Touch will get an update, with a 3MP Camera and Apple A4 proccessor, just like its iPhone brother.
Source: Digitimes
Jolicloud 1.0
Jul 16th
Joilcloud, the netbook opearating system that is based off Ubuntu has been in development for over a year is finally shaking its beta status and going final in the next week. Its designed to be fast and simple, with programs being installed with just one click, updates being taken care for you and all your programs, files and settings being synced across all your Jolicloud systems.
The major new feature of the final version is the new HTML5 launcher which replaces the original Netbook Remix launcher. This is a lot better looking and now means that Jolicloud looks a lot less like Netbook Remix. You can also log into this in any browser supporting HTML5 and install apps, reorganise the home screen and check your socila stream. There is now a lot more apps, over 700 all having been made by the Jolicloud team. Most of them are just apps that are in the cloud but there are a few still installed locally such as Chrome, Skype and Gimp. It also has all the latest drivers for most systems including drivers for 3G modems and touchscreens.
Here’s a first look at it by netbooknews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKhsUBJ5ocg
Find out more at: http://www.jolicloud.com/blog/
Top 100 Free Apps for Your Phone 2010
Jul 16th
PCMag.com has made a new list of their Top 100 Free Applications for Smartphones. Their picks contain individual lists for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile, WebOS and Symbian. Each list contains a screenshot and a short description of the application. With several hundred thousand apps for some of the Smartphones these lists might come handy for new users or anyone looking for new apps.
Take a look at the list and if you think they missed a great app, make a topic about it in the Phone Zone of our forum and share it!
More >
Samsung Captivate runs Android 2.1
Jul 9th
The Captivate is one of Samsung’s many Galaxy S smartphones. It features a stunning 4″ Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Samsung’s AMOLED displays are known for their high brightness, wide viewing angles, outdoor visibility, and crisp image quality. The Captivate’s hardware also consists of a 1GHz Hummingbird processor (based on the ARM Cortex A8), 512MB of RAM, accelerometer, gyroscope, a MicroUSB port, and 16GB of internal storage. It’s 5 megapixel camera is capable of capturing 720p HD video at up to 30fps. You can also expect 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and a tri-band 3G connection allowing “AT&T customers to make calls in more than 220 countries and download data in more than 195.” The Captivate will run Android 2.1 and will have a custom TouchWiz 3.0 UI by Samsung, to take advantage of it’s multi-touch capabilities. Samsung promises that the Captivate will receive a Android 2.2 Froyo update later this year, and will support Flash 10.1. It will be available on July 18 for US $199 by the US carrier AT&T. The Captivate may very well be considered the best Android smartphone on AT&T due to it’s thrilling hardware specs and features.
Source: AT&T , Cellphoneinn
Musican MID tablet dual boots Android and WinCE
Jul 7th
A Chinese company named Musican has announced a new tablet. The Musican MID dual boots Android 2.1 and Windows CE 6.0. The most notable feature about this tablet is it’s aluminum outer casing, which makes it both very durable and attractive. The hardware consists of a 720MHz ARM11-based Telechips 8902B processor, 256MB of DDR2 RAM, and 2GB-32GB of internal storage. It also has a 3-axis accelerometer, a USB port, WiFi, and 3G. It’s card reader supports up to 32GB of external storage. The MID also has an HDMI port, which supports full 1080p video playback on an external display. It’s 7″ touch display has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, and is either resistive or capacitive. This tablet has great specs compared to many other announced tablets, and this may be a great choice for anyone looking for an ultraportable tablet computer.
Source: Pocketables , Musican
Five New Tablets from Rover Computers
Jul 7th
Rover Computers, an electronics company in Russia, is preparing 5 new tablets. One of them run Windows CE, and the other four run Google’s Android OS. The following are descriptions of each tablet, from smallest to largest in screen size.
The smallest tablet, with a 5″ resistive touch display, is the RoverPad Go G50. It is based on Android 1.5, due to it’s minimal hardware specifications. The G50 uses a Marvell PXA303 chip, has 128MB of RAM, and 2GB of internal storage. For many people, 2GB is not enough to hold a significant amount of their media. That is where the MicroSD port comes in handy for expandable storage. On top of the MicroSD, there is one USB port, WiFi, 3G, and a GPS module. The display has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, making video playback very enjoyable.
PixelQI LCD now ready for purchase! Will you be the first to put it into the Wind?
Jul 1st
Its been a long wait, but finally PixelQI’s 10.1 inch screen is now up for sale. Its only certified to work with the Samsung N130 and Lenovo S10-2 Netbooks, but I’m sure one of us will get it into a Wind. So whats so speical about these? This is taken from the purchase page:
Out of the box, these screens fit into a variety of 10.1-inch netbooks. These screens look like a standard LCD screen in ordinary room light, but take them outside in the sunlight and see the difference. The Pixel Qi screens are bright and easy to see even in direct sunlight. Like standard LCD displays, Pixel Qi displays show quality full-color images, full-motion video, and high screen brightness.
Each pixel in the Pixel Qi screen is mainly reflective, but still has about the same efficiency as a standard LCD when backlit, enabling the user to experience a crisp image with excellent contrast and *brightness* in any light. The Pixel Qi screens consume about 80% less power in the reflective mode making them a great choice for “green” applications. The screens are also ideally suited for e-reading applications, delivering better contrast ratio and similar reflectance typical of electrophoretic displays currently used by consumer e-reader tablets.
So the challenge is there, who will be the first to install one of these screens?
Source: Engadget
More info and purchase: MakerShed
