Intel has launched a new solid state disks that are a mere 1/8th the size (measuring 2″ x 1.2″ x 0.2″) of their current X25 SSDs while offering similar or better performance. The new Intel SSD 310 is a small form factor solid state disk ( it looks like mini PCI Express card), but actually uses a mSATA interface.

The new SSD supports read speeds up to 200 MB/s and write speeds up to 70 MB/s and comes in 40GB and 80GB capacities, with the 80GB model offering those top speeds. The 40Gb model is a bit slower, but it’s also cheaper at just $99. The 80GB model runs $179 in the US.

Intel is targeting computer makers looking to build dual disk notebooks, single-disk netbooks and tablets, or low power embedded systems.

Tired of the tinny sound of your netbook’s speakers?   Well check out Logitech’s Speaker Lapdesk N700 and come back to tell us the difference between the two. The Logitech N550i s a two-speaker, heat-shielded pad that not only shields your thighs (and other bits) from heat, but at the same time pumps up the audio from your probably lacking netbook.

The press rlease indicates that N550 is designed for laptops with screens sizes up to 14.1 inches as well as you netbook.  Expect to see it on the shelves in January 2011 release for £50.

Update: Looks like the Americans will see it in October for $59.99

Plextor has been showing off their external bluray drive – the Plextor PX-B120U.  At just $99 (in the US), it’s the cheapest price we’ve seen on an external bluray drive, and the fact that it  is powered over USB means that you won’t have to carry around an annoying power brick, or have to look for another outlet.

On the downside, this is just a BD-ROM drive, which means you can watch videos, but you can’t burn them.  Also, do’t bother if your netbook or nettop has basic Intel integrated graphics.  You won’t be able to watch bluray unles you have Nvidia Ion, or another upgraded graphics solution.

We checked, but couldn’t find it for sale in the UK yet, but we’re sure it’s coming soon.

via Engadget

Ikea DIY netbook stand

Despite the plethora of netbook accessories out there – mostly in the form of cases and covers, there isn’t much in the way of stands for your netbook.  Well,  Kathleen Henri at Instructables has you covered for less than £10 and a fun DIY project to boot.  She’s posted d a tutorial at Instructables for building a nice looking netbook stand (7″-10″ screens only) using some uncoventional parts to be found at your local Ikea (Ikea hacking anyone?).

The finished product looks pretty good, and sturdy and you certainly can’t beat the price.

via Liliputer and Liliputing

Picostick USB TV Tuner

Want to watch television on your netbook?  Well, PCTV’s latest offering is perfect for you.  The picoStick, launched at PlayBite 2009 in London today, is being billed as the world’s smallest DVB-T tuner, requires no antenna, costs £59 (about  and should be available from Amazon.co.uk next week.  It’s a device that’s clearly aimed at netbook users, with the Atom processor listed in the recommended system requirements.

The stick can handle MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 H.264, and DivX formats and is available now at Amazon UK for£59.

Century Netbook Stand

For all of you netbook owners that had a particularly hard time giving up your DVD burner, here is the solution.   A company called Century has come up with a netbook stand that includes as a DVD super multi drive.

The, until now, Japan only device supports DVD±R/+RW (8x), DVD±R DL/-RW (6x), DVD-RAM (5x) and CD-R/-RW (24x).   It is sized at 260×190×19mm, it weighs 524g and comes with two USB ports. The Panasonic multi drive is compatible to Windows XP and Vista only.

The netbook stand will be available in Japan from this Friday for $100.

It was then that I realized my netbook wasn’t just a nicely lightweight tool for out-of-the-office computing — it was a statement of my relationship with technology. (A slightly different statement than, say, a MacBook Air, but still. …) As such, it behooved me to protect my device with something a bit more worthy than the simple black foam sleeve it came with.

But that presented a difficulty — there aren’t that many protective cases out there for notebooks with displays smaller than 12 inches. And you don’t want your new netbook to bounce around in a too-large backpack, or get scratched up by the other devices in your messenger bag. You want something that can really protect it — and show it off at the same time.

What follows is a sampling of six cases that are now available for smaller systems. We’ve arranged them in price order, from about $25 (for sleeves that offer protection and perhaps some space for a couple of accessories, but not much more) to $120 (for bags that offer space for your netbook, your media player, your wallet, your extra drive, your water bottle and whatever else you need to carry along).