Notebook Sleuth » netbook

The Gaming Netbook: The AlienWare M11X

Derek — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:40:29 +0000

Laptops aren’t usually designed to be big-time gaming devices; they’re mostly for business and portable office application, but the Alienware M11x may change that. They’re a company that has produced high-end systems and laptops for years now, and their latest announcement will shake up what traditional ‘netbooks’ can do.

This one starts with a high-res 11″ display and can play all games and media in HD at 720p, unusual for any kind of netbook.

The annoying thing: Alienware has not released full specs on the M11x. They did say that you can connect it to your HDTV for maximum carnage visibility, and a six+ hour battery will be included. The Alienware M11x will sell for around the sub-$1,000 mark, a real steal for any system from this company. Look for it at retail around summer time or so.

A Shot Across the Netbook Waters: The Gateway LT2102H

Derek — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:04:31 +0000

Gateway joined the mass market netbook parade officially with the release of their new model, the LT2102H, only in Canada for now. It’s assumed it will go elsewhere if it does well. It’s available at Future Shop, a vendor in Canada.

It is scheduled to start at the $299.99 mark, this entry-level ultra-portable laptop will features a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED screen, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, a Intel GMA 3150 graphics card built-in, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, webcam, WiFi, a 3-cell battery and Windows 7 Starter OS.

It’s slick but fairly basic, but the price tag is very suitable for most any budget, a welcome cry for Gateway fans across Canadian waters.

Wal-Mart’s Big Gamble?: The Mirius Netbook

Derek — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:12:34 +0000

Yes, Wal-Mart is a large company that has conquered the globe with their ultra low prices, but their own netbooks? Apparently, they may be giving it a shot with their new line of netbooks designed for bargain prices and basic usage being released soon.

The line is called the Mirius, and here’s the basic specs: A 10.2″ LCD display, 1GB RAM, and a decent sized 120GB hard drive, along with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, a 3-cell battery, and Microsoft Windows XP, three USB ports, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a VGA output, and an SD card slot.

Not bad for its suggested $248 price tag, we’d say. Time will tell if it proves to be a popular line with consumers, with extreme power being so inexpensive these days.

Power + Small Size = Acer Aspire One 751

Derek — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:06:40 +0000

Usually smaller netbooks are pretty underpowered, but Acer wants to change those traditional rules with their new release, the Aspire One 751, soon to be released and available for pre-order now at Amazon.

It starts with a sharp 11.6-inch display with 1366 x 768 res, a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor (one of the higher end Atom processors), a Intel GMA500 graphics adapter (not really for high-end games), 2GB RAM (double the usual amount), a 250GB Hard Drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, a webcam and includes Windows Vista OS.

You can pre-order this netbook for $399.99 (3-cell battery) and $449.99 (the longer life 6-cell version).

Acer is positioning themselves quite well in the netbook market with this release.

Better Late Than Never: HP releases Mini Netbooks

Derek — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:01:02 +0000

HP has just now realized what a cash cow netbooks can be these days, and they’ve finally gotten off the horse and released a few of their own, and they sound pretty solid.

HP released three new netbooks in its HP Mini line: the 1101, 110 XP, and 110 Mi.

All of these feature a 10.1-inch widescreen display, autosync stuff built in to sync files with your primary PC easily, and a fairly solid 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 / 1.66GHz N280 processor with GMA 950 graphics, 3 or 6 cell batteries (6 cell recommended, believe us), and Wi-Fi built in too.

The Mini 110 XP model comes with 1GB RAM, an important choice of 160GB HDD or 32GB SSD, and a Broadcom HD Enhanced Video Accelerator, which is good for 1080p video playback, if you’re into that sort of thing on a laptop.

You can also choose the interesting Linux-powered Mini 110 Mi that comes with a very solid 250GB HDD and 2GB memory (more memory for Linux, not known as a system hog, is a rather curious decision).

We know: you’re waiting for the prices. The 1101 will for $329 in simple gloss black, and the “black swirl” design Mini 110 XP and Mini 110 Mi will retail for $329.99 and $279.99, respectively and be released in mid-June. The HP Mini 110 XP will be released in pink chic or white swirl designs (they’re late to the “design” parade as well, but now they’re trying) will be released in early July.