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May 16 2008

Chilean MSI wind gets in-depth hands-on

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If you needed evidence of the popularity of cheap ultraportables in foreign lands, the news leading up to the release of the MSI Wind should be a good indicator. Last month it was a Turkish video of the thing, now it’s a detailed Chilean writeup of a pre-release model. We’re relying on Google Translate to parse out the details here, but from what we can comprehend the article indicates the keyboard to be “sufficiently comfortable,” the LED-backlit screen impressive, and the performance in XP to be quite good. This despite a glitch that left the Intel Atom processor gimped short of its 1600MHz maximum speed, which will surely (hopefully) rectified before the 10-inch model finds release here next month at $549 with XP and a 6-cell battery, or SuSE flavored (and smaller batteried) for just $399.

May 16 2008

Displaced by XP, Sugar Labs goes it alone

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While OLPC tries to wise up to the real demands of the market and build a cheap laptop that people actually want — which means Windows XP for most — Walter Bender, OLPC’s former president of software and content for the project is taking his open source Linux-based Sugar OS and has started up a new non-profit to aid its development. Bender still has the vision of an open source learning OS, and plans to give Sugar full support for other low-cost platforms like the Eee PC. Ooh, burn.

May 16 2008

XtremeNotebooks stuffs quad-core X3360 Xeon CPU in Xtreme 917V

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XtremeNotebooks is taking its quad-core Xtreme 917V up a notch by tossing an Intel X3360 Xeon processor in there. Notably, the company is pushing this as the “first US-distributed” lappie to boast such a chip, but we already saw Eurocom reveal its X3360-based D901C PHANTOM-X earlier this week. Semantics aside, prospective buyers can get this mobile server equipped with a Blu-ray burner, RAID 0/1/5 hard drive arrays, twin NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or Quadro FX GPU setups and up to 4GB of RAM. As of this moment, this particular system isn’t listed on the outfit’s website, but you can probably count on it demanding upwards of three grand — and yes, that’s with the “sweet talking the CSR” discount already factored in.

May 16 2008

Atom-based Eee PC 901 pops June 3rd with Bluetooth for $650

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June’s shaping up to be a pretty special month ’round here. In addition to whatever Apple’s got up its sleeve and all the new gear set to announce at Computex, Asus will be launching its Atom-based Eee PC 901 just like we heard. June 3rd is the date for “a price below” $650. We assume that means $649.99. DigiTimes‘ reliable market channel sources claim the 8.9-inch 901 will also feature Bluetooth for the first time (you know, without a hack) while the rest of the tech specs remain the same. That’s $250 more than the 10-inch, Atom-based, MSI Wind running Linux and launching on the same day. Oh ASUS, what have you done?

Update: To be fair, it could be that the $650 Eee PC 901 model runs XP and the Linux-based Eee PC 901 will sell for (a lot) less — the XP-flavor of the MSI Wind costs between $500 and $549.

May 16 2008

Samsung’s 12.1-inch OLED laptop concept makes us swoon

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Filed under: Displays, Laptops

As much as we would loath typing on that touch-sensitive, rigid keyboard, we’re definitely geek-smitten by this ultra-thin, AMOLED laptop concept from Samsung SDI — Sammy’s display division. 12.1-inches and 1,280 x 768 resolution with infinite contrast? We’ll take two… just as soon as someone can explain the extra panel around back. With Samsung projecting 14- to 15.4-inch OLED laptops in 2009, this might come sooner than you think.

May 16 2008

EeePC keyboards different on black and white models

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Okay, this is pretty much for the crazy keyboard aficionados out there, but the crew over at Laptop says there’s a distinct difference between the keyboards on the black and white Eee PC laptops. They compared the ‘boards on a white 701, black 4G Surf, and white 900, and while the two white Eees had identical keys, the black unit featured different switches with deeper keypresses and more tactile feedback, smaller spaces between the keys, and rougher plastic. (Of course, if you actually use any keyboard for long enough, the plastic eventually wears smooth, so that’s probably not an issue.) We doubt the difference is going to really sway anyone’s purchasing decision — the tiny Eee keyboard isn’t exactly ideal for hardcore typists, after all — but if you’re looking for a tiebreaker between the black and white 700s, well, now you have one that will bore the pants off people at parties.

Continue reading OLPC XO officially gets Windows XP, children of the world to be assimilated

May 16 2008

OLPC XO officially gets Windows XP, children of the world to be assimilated

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It’s been a controversial decision, but it looks like the OLPC XO has completed its transition from revolutionary education project to just another tiny Windows laptop with a useless keyboard — albeit one with a pleasantly whimsical design. Yep, it’s official: Microsoft and OLPC just put out a joint press release saying that XP-loaded XOs will be available starting in August or September, with some countries to get the machines as soon as next month. Users will get all the regular functionality of XP — it’s basically the same build as on the Eee and other ultraportables — but Microsoft’s spent over a year developing specialized drivers for the XO’s various features like e-book mode, the writing pad, and camera. (We’re pretty certain that doesn’t include mesh networking, but WiFi is supported.) XP is too big for the built-in 1GB flash chip, so it’ll come preloaded on a 2GB SD card, leaving just about 1.5GB free total for apps and media. It seems like Microsoft is thrilled about this partnership, but it’s a not going to make NickNeg’s search for new vision at the top any easier. As for Sugar? You’ll still be able to get it, but we have a sinking feeling about its future. Demo video after the break.

May 16 2008

Ask Engadget: Subnote or full-sized laptop for university use?

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We know, the vast majority of you either graduated or got past one more wave of exams this past week, but there’s no better time to buy a lappie for school than when you actually have time to enjoy it, right?

“I’m looking to buy a laptop before I head off to college in a few months. I know there’s too many choices out there in each category to ask for specific recommendations, but I’m wondering how current students feel about their machines. Is a subnote potent enough for university use? Is an ultraportable a better alternative? Or should I get a full-blown 15- to 17-incher as an all-purpose rig? My future GPA is hinging on your responses.”

Let’s hear it, bookworms. Is that CloudBook / Eee / 2133 Mini-Note treating you alright? Or would this poor freshman-to-be be better off with something larger? Toss out your opinions below — friends don’t let friends buy the wrong computer. If you’d like our readers to study a question of yours, send us an inquiry at ask at engadget dawt com, capiche?

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