One of the first Asus netbooks to ship with an Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail processor is now available for purchase in the US. The Eee PC X101CH comes with a 10.1 inch display, 1GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive.  With a price tag of $280 or less, it’s also firmly in the budget end of the Asus lineup.

You can see the netook at Newegg in the US for $279.99.

The 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N2600 dual-core Cedar Trail chip should offer slightly better performance than the Pine Trail chips used in earlier Asus netbooks.  It will be one of the first netbooks from the company to be able to handle 1080p HD video playback thanks to Intel’s improvements to the integrated graphics for its Atom chips.  The netbook has an HDMI port and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition and has a VGA webcam above the display.

One of the reasons this netbook is low cost is because it comes with a small 3 cell, 23Whr battery instead of the 6 cell batteries that are more common among netbooks these days. Asus estimates you should get up to 4.5 hours of run time out of the standard battery.

The latest Asus Zenbook UX31 has the  ability to resume from sleep nearly instantly and now Asus is bringing the same feature to its Intel Atom-powered netbooks.  The feature is available on the latest Eee PC 1025C and 1025CE  and also adds a new sleep mode that allows an Eee PC netbook to resume from sleep in just 3 seconds.  Asus says you should also get about 21 days of sleep time while using Instant On, so the sleep mode isn’t exactly a battery killer.

The company is also adding a few other new apps to its latest netbooks including one called Smart Camera and another called Media Sharing, but the quick resume technology is the most impressive, since it’s the type of feature you normally find in significantly more expensive computers.

The Eee PC 1025C  is expected to launch this month for about $299, while the 1025CE with a slightly faster processor is expected to run $319 and up.

ViaJames!

Toshibas’s latest NB510 netbook looks much like Toshiba’s last few netbooks but under the hood it has a shiny new Intel Atom Cedar Trail processor.  That means better video performance, and in that light, there’s also a new HDMI port on the side of the computer along with a VGA port, Ethernet jack, and 3 USB ports.

Toshiba’s netbook will be available with either an Intel Atom N2600 or N2800 processor, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, and 320GB of storage — although the demo model on display at CES has 2GB of RAM, so it looks like the memory should be upgradeable.

Bucking the trend in modern thin and light laptops, the NB510 also seems to have a user replaceable battery.

Toshiba is going to launch a new line of netbooks with 10 inch displays and the new Intel Atom Cedar Trail processors. The folks at Notebook Italia have obtained a few photos and we should have more details once the Consumer Electronics Show is underway next week.  We do know the Toshiba NB510 netbooks will be available with Intel Atom N2600 or Intel N2800 processors, 1GB of RAM, and 320GB hard drives.  The new models will have 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel displays and run Windows 7 Starter Edition.

We also know that the new netbooks will have the usual ports including 3 USB ports, a headphone jack, Ethernet, and VGA ports. But the Toshiba NB510 also adds an HDMI output to take advantage of the new HD video playback capabilities that come with Intel’s latest low-power Atom chips.

Intel’s third-generation Atom chips intended for netbooks have started to ship and the company says products with Cedar Trail chips will debut in early 2012.   The first netbooks are expected from the usual players such as Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba

Prices will remain steady for new netbooks are expected to start at 199 pounds, with higher prices for those netbooks with advanced features such as touchscreen displays.

The new Cedar Trail processors support 1080p HD video playback and use about 20 percent less power which Intel says will allow netbooks with Cedar Trail chips will offer up to 10 hours of battery life.  The new chips also support Intel’s Wireless Display technology and new features to speed up resume from sleep and connect to the internet more quickly.

The Asus Eee PC X101Ch is an updated version of the existing Eee PC X101 netbook which launched this summer.  While still on the budget end of the scale, we’d expect this new model is probably more expensive since it ships with Windows 7 instead of MeeGo Linux.  It’s also a little thicker than the X101 thanks to full-sized VGA, HDMI and Ethernet ports.

On the back there isn’t a RAM or hard drive access pane so you’ll need to disassemble the Eee PC X101CH to replace or update the internal components.  Under the hood is  1GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 3 cell, 28Whr battery. It has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel matte display.

If you stay tuned until the end of the Netbook Live video you can get a look at the out-of-the-box experience with streaming video. The short version: Don’t expect too much from an entry-level netbook.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e is a netbook/laptop with a 11.6 inch display and a rugged case designed for students and schools. It will be available starting December 20th for $469 (US dollars).  The X130E will be available with AMD or Intel processors, but all models weigh less than 4 pounds, provide up to 8.5 hours of run time, and have rugged design elements including a rubber bumper on the top cover, strong corners and hinges, and reinforced and recessed ports.  Intel models will feature the Intel Core i3-2367M processor, while the AMD models are available with AMD E-300 or AMD E-450 processor options.

The laptop comes with 3 cell, 31.2 Whr or 6 cell, 62.4 Whr battery options, up to 8GB of RAM, a 320GB or 500GB hard drive, and a VGA webcam with low light sensitivity.

There are a range of ports including VGA, HDMI, and Gigabit Ethernet, 3 USB 2.0 ports including one powered USB port, and a flash card reader. The laptop has WiFi and Bluetooth and optional mobile broadband.

Asus Eee PC 1011PX - £199.99

1.) Asus Eee PC 1011PX 10.1 inch Netbook - £199.99

2.) Samsung N145 Plus 10.1 inch Netbook – £239.99

3.) Asus EeePC 1001PXD 10.1 inch – £199.99

4.) Samsung NC110 10.1 inch netbook -  £259.99

5.) Acer Aspire One D257 10.1 inch Netbook – £229.99

These days, the iPad has made tablets all the rage, but it’s easy to forget the convertible  laptps and now Gigabyte has just released a new model that takes things to another level.  The Gigabyte Booktop T1132N is a convertible notebook with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel capacitive multitouch display and discreet graphics.

Unlikee most convertible notebooks, the T1132N also turns into a  real desktop computer replacement, thanks to the Booktop docking station.Just close the laptop, stick it in the docking station and connect a mouse, keyboard, or monitor. The docking station also has a built-in DVD burner.

The Booktop can be configured to use 8GB of DDR3 memory, has a 2.5″ hard drive bay, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, and an eSATA/USB combo port as well as HDMI, D-Sub, Ethernet, and audio ports. There’s a flash card reader, 4 speakers including 2 woofers, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and optional 3G.

via Engadget

Remember Crome OS – and the Chromebook?  Well, Samsung does, and they have introduced a new version of the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook priced at just $350 in the States.  That’s a significant saving from the original version offered for $430.  Unlike the Silver and White of the other models, this new Chromebook Series 5 comes in Piano Black.

Like the other models, the laptop has a 12.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, Chrome OS operating system, a 6 hour battery, and the ability to start up in less than 10 seconds.  It’s powered by the 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor,16GB solid state disk, 2 USB ports, a webcam and mic, and SDHC card slot.  So,  aside from the color, it’s exactly the same as the Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks that went on sale this summer.

The new model includes WiFi, but not 3G wireless. Check it out here at Amazon US for $349.99.