CULV or Intel Atom processor: A Comparison

From the past couple months, we have seen an incredible rise in the usage of the CULV processors in the notebooks, especially the ultra-slim ones from MSI.(MSI X400, MSI X610, HP DM3, Wind U120 and so on)

CULV processors are more powerful than the Intel Atom processors even at lower clock frequencies. However, there is one thing that has stopped most of the manufactures NOT to use it in their netbooks: PRICE.

I feel acutely that once Intel and AMD, reduce the prices of the CULV processors a bit, most of the netbook manufactures will opt for equipping their netbooks with these more powerful CULV processors instead of Intel Atom CPUs.

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NVidia Tegra Smartbooks with Google Chrome OS – Thumbs-up

In starting of September, the rumor blew from China that Lenovo and Acer could be releasing NVidia Tegra based Smartbooks which will run Google Chrome OS. According to the latest news bits, these Tegra based Smartbooks could actually land by the end of this month.

For those who have doubts about the upcoming Tegra platform, it can handle HD playback with ease with power consumption even lower than the Atom processors that are used in wide variety of netbooks right now

Intel Atom processors to get even smaller, more power-frugal in future

Though not detailed, but a brief idea of the master plan for the Intel’s roadmap for it’s Intel Atom processor was unmasked at a presentation at IDF 2009. As it can be clearly seen, the presentation shows the processor getting smaller and smaller and focus being on reducing the power consumption as much as possible.

Could this be the sign of running x86-based hardware in the palm of hands in the coming few years?

Prices of Intel Atom D510 and Atom D410 Nettop Processors declared – NetTops to get expensive

Prices of PineTrail nettop processors, the D510 and D410, have been declared. Atom 330′s successor, D510 is for sale for a price tag of $63 making it $20 costlier than the former. The single-core Atom 230 will be replaced by single-core Atom D41,which will sell for $43 ($14 more than the current Atom 230). Both of the new processors run at 1.66GHz clock speed. The only difference lies in their cache: 1MB on D510 and 512kb on D410.

This means that the future nettops, although will be beefier in terms of specs, but will also make you shell out more money.

HyperSpace: An instant on operating system coming to Nettops

Here is another instant on OS for the nettops: Phoenix’s HyperSpace OS. Interestingly, it will be coming preloaded on nettops powered by the Intel Atom 230 or Atom 330 processors. HyperSpace is one of those most “Instant On” types of OS that are quicker to boot up and shut down than Windows XP. As expected, it comes with only essential apps. The cost varies from $33 – $60 a year depending on what subscription you get.

According to Phoenix Technologies, HyperSpace “delivers instant-on, always-connected access to the Internet and key productivity applications such as HyperSpace Office Suite, Adobe Photoshop, Hulu, McAfee, Real Networks, Yahoo Search, etc.”

Hyperspace is an instant on OS based on Linux kernel. By a curious chance, I know it very well that there is no photoshop available for the Linux operating systems.

Does anyone actually use these instant on operating systems? I instead prefer to put my netbook in sleep mode instead of shutting it down completely.

More info at HyperSpace

Netbook Vendors slashing prices for Atom N270 and Atom N280 netbooks – sadly, not for a good reason

Various netbook manufactures including the likes of BenQ, ASUS, MSI and ACER have reduced the prices of their netbooks that are equipped with N270 or N280 processors. The reason behind this price drop is the fact that vendors are now migrating their core focus from netbook to ultra-slim notebooks.

This is clear sign that most of the major netbook manufactures want higher profit margins. There is no doubt that netbooks are (still) selling like hotcakes from past couple of years, but profit margins are very slim which has forced the netbook vendors to shift their focus to ultra slim notebooks which retail for higher price than netbooks and offer higher profit margins too

Tainell T500 MID

A manufacturer from Shanghai Tainell is set to launch a 5-inch T500 MID in the month of October. The T500 will be available with a wide choice of processors, which include Atom Z510 (1.1GHz), Z520 (1.33GHz) or Z530 (1.6GHz). It has 5-inch display with 1024×600 resolution, 1GB RAM, 32GB SSD storage, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

It has a 4-cell 2400mAh battery and that should give you up to 6 hours of runtime. It weighs a modest 420gm. With it, you can go for Windows XP, Windows 7 or Moblin Linux OS

Price is not known yet

HP 13-inch ultrathins launched – HP ProBook 5310m and HP DM3 – use AMD NEO processor

HP has churned out two new 13-inch thin-and-light notebooks, which are based on Intel’s Core 2 Duo and AMD’s Neo platform. Talking about the HP ProBook 5310m, it mainly targeted to more serious consumers; has a balanced and sophisticated look with black anodized aluminum with a magnesium frame in a soft touch finish. HP is punching it up as ‘the world’s thinnest full-performance notebook‘. It seems that they are right about it as it will be available with a Core 2 Duo (SP9300) CPU. Priced at $899, it may be expensive for some, but then there is no settlement on its performance end. You can also go for $699 version powered by a ULV Celeron processor.

The HP DM3 is a bit cheaper than the former. However, it will be offered with much cheaper AMD Neo processors or Intel CULVs. It is priced at $549 for an AMD dual-core Neo version, while an Intel-based DM3 will set you back $649. Such a price for the metal look which worth for it. HP claims up to 10 hours of battery life on its 6-cell battery.

Presenting Fedora Mini – Lightweight Linux for netbooks

Following the path of Ubuntu, which released Ubuntu NBR few months back, Fedora has also come up with special version customized to netbook environment.

The Fedora Mini SIG is a group of Fedora contributors that are interested in Fedora on small devices. Initially aimed at supporting NetBooks, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), it could over time be expanded to also cover things such as Set Top Boxes (STBs).

Right now, it supports EEE PCs, Aspire One and Dell Mini 9

It is not available for public download at the moment. However, if you are using Fedora 12 (alpha) at the moment, you can test it by typing yum groupinstall “Moblin Desktop Environment” and re-login.

Note: Netbooks with GMA 500 chipset are NOT supported at the moment, although it may be supported in the future, but not for now.

Acer to offer Celeron-based CULV processors for its ultra-thin notebooks

Acer is very soon going to bring few changes in the type of processors being used in its Timeline thin-and-light series. For the low end models, Acer will offer Celeron-based Timelines. Until now we have encountered the 5410T and 3410T, 15.6” and 13.3”  models based on the Celeron 723 at 1.3GHz. The 13-incher is priced [...]