Dell Mini 10v netbook at $299 – SSD options added

The Dell Mini 10v has made its first appearance in Dell’s May month catalog. The basic model of 10v is just going to cost you $300, which is a pretty decent price for what you get. Its specifications include:

• Intel Atom N270 processor
• 120 GB HDD
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.3MP webcam
• Windows XP Home edition with SP3
• price tag of $299, a $100 less than the base Mini 10

The netbook is anticipated to be available by Mid-May. Also spotted on Dell’s retail site are new 32GB or 64GB SSD options for the current Mini 10 for an extra $75 or $125, respectively.

Asus Eee PC 1002HAE launched in Japan – dressed in Aluminum

Eee PC 1002HAE – the E appearing about ‘HA’ in the model number for the elegance in looks. Asus will be releasing its new netbook by 16th May in Japan. The 1002HAE is a faster version of the 1002HA with a N280 processor. The other striking feature of this netbook is the aluminum skin its been cloaked with to give it an elegant and stylish look. Wow! The other features of the 1002HA have been retained and are:

• 160GB HDD
• 1GB RAM
• 10-inch widescreen
• 1024 x 600 LED backlit display
• 1.3 MP webcamera
• memory card slot
• 3.8-hour Li-Polymer battery
• Wifi
• the weight drops from 1.45kg to 1.2kg

The netbook has been priced at ¥49,800 (about $506), tax inclusive. Its release for international markets is not known as of now. READ THE REVIEW of ASUS EEE 1002HA

Hannspree netbook soon landing in Spain

Hannspree will be releasing its HANNSnote netbook in Spain by the end of this month. It comes bundled up with the usual features and a price tag of about €299 and €399 ($400-$530). Available in black and white colors, its specifications are:

• 10 inch widescreen
• 1024 x 600 resolution LCD display
• Intel Atom N270 processor
• 1GB RAM
• Intel GMA950 graphics card
• 160GB HDD
• WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth
• three USB 2.0 ports
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• split touch-pad

It strikes a close resemblance with the MSI Wind, however by looking at the photos published, it is difficult to say what the Windows Vista and Intel Centrino duo stickers are there for! If the photos are valid, then it will make it the first netbook with Centrino Duo processor.

Foma powered Eee PC 1003HAG launching soon in Japan

Asus will start selling from 16th May, a new Eee PC, the 1003HAG, in Japan. The model features:

• a 3G WAN Module to be used with NTT DoCoMo Data network
• 160 GB HDD
• 1GB RAM
• Intel Atom N280 processor
• Wifi
• Webcam, and other usual Eee PC features

However it comes with a price tag of 550€, which is quite expensive price for a netbook.

Asus Eee PC 1002H now in available Australia

The new Asus Eee PC 1002H netbook is now in stores in Australia. The 10-inch widescreen model is similar to the 1002HA. However, it features a chiclet keyboard and an Intel Atom N280 processor. Thus, supporting a battery life of about 4 to 6 hours. It is coming with a price tag of 769 – 879 AUD.

Kamal reviewed the EEE 1000HE a couple of weeks back and he was not so much pleased with the chiclet keyboard. I’m yet to try one of these though.

Samsung launches 3G netbook N310 in Korea

Samsung launches its stylish, premium, international design award-winner netbook- the N310 in Korea. It features a curved-design finish without LCD display frame. Its specifications are:

• 10.1 inch LCD screen
• Intel Atom processor
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Wifi, HSDPA and WiBRO
• 1.3 MP webcam
• 3 USB ports
• 3-in-1 memory card reader
• Battery life of 5 hours

The Samsung N310 weighs about 1.23kg and is available in Turkey blue and Red orange colors in Korea at a suggested price between 900,000 (KRW) and 1,000,000 (KRW) or $620 to $690.

Velocity Micro Notemagix M10 at $379

Wow! The Velocity Micro’s Notemagix M10 has arrived with a good budget and 6-cell battery. It is the latest from the house of Velocity Micro available for sale online on Velocity Micro’s site. Its specifications are:

• 1GB RAM
• Intel Atom N270 processor
• Webcam
• Wifi
• 160GB hard drive
• 10.2″ widescreen display
• optional DVD Burner
• Media card reader
• Microsoft Windows XP SP3
• 3x USB ports

You can even add a DVD write for $70 to the package, which will give you a netbook with built in DVD writer for a cheap price

Intel Atom N280 versus Intel Atom N270

Intel introduced N280 this year which is set to replace the N270 Intel Atom processor. The N280 is marginally faster (1.66GHz) than the N270 (1.6GHz).

Click on read more to find out who wins.

MSI U123, U123T and U123H netbooks launched

MSI U123 is the successor of now aging U100. The U123 comes with 2GB RAM and uses the N280 Intel Atom processor. The MSI has also launched MSI U123H, which is similar to the U123 except for the fact that it comes with built-in 3.5G. The U123T comes with a built-in TV tuner card, which will let you watch (and record) TV programs on your netbook.

However, it is not a huge upgrade. I was looking forward to higher resolution. 1024 x 600 is nice but 1280 x 800 is something I would have really appreciated.

One piece of information that the MSI is repeatedely mentioning in the news release is the massive capacity of U123, which is 160GB. What? We have been using the 160GB HDD in our netbooks from quite sometime. In fact, it is a standard feature in netbooks these days and there is no need to mention it 4 times in the news release.

Reason why Netbook manufactures are not going to embrace the 1.86Ghz Intel Atom processor (Z540)

The famous N270 Intel Atom processor, which is clocked at 1.6GHz is still selling like hot cakes and the netbook and nettop manufactures are still going in for the N270 processor instead of 1.86GHz processor. Ever wondered why? The reason is simple: COST. The Z540, Intel’s 1.86GHz processor costs more than twice of what N270 retails at.

The Z540 costs $135, whereas the N270 costs just $44. Clearly, OEM simply won’t want to use a processor that costs nearly $100 more than the tried-and-tested N270 processor. Intel needs to keep the costs low for the Atom processor range so that more netbook manufactures embrace the Z540 processor. After all, overall price matters a lot in the netbook field. Also, $100 price difference is huge gap when we are talking about netbooks

[download Intel Official Pricelist]