Lenovo Skylight review

Tech correspondent of the Singapore Daily, Darry Kang was lucky enough to get his hands on the impressive Lenovo Skylight Smartbook. According to his initial impressions, the flash is supported by the browser but it is slow as molasses in January. Heck, it could not even playback a YouTube video nicely. This is a shock to us as in our review, the HTC HD2 (also powered by Snapdragon) that we reviewed sometime back did not show any lags when playing back a YouTube video. Let’s hope they fix this bug as-soon-as-possible because this smartbook is all about web-browsing.

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DAWA D7 7-inch multi-touch MID

KexunGuoJi, from Shenzhen is soon going to launch a nice 7-inch MID that boasts a capacitive display with multi-touch support. Under the bonnet, you will find the 720Mhz Telechips 8901 processor, 4GB storage (expandable via microSD card slot) and 256MB RAM. Inside, you will also find a lot of wireless radios – GPS receiver, Wi-Fi and 3G radios. The Dawa MID works perfectly as a PMP too. It plays those 1080p videos like a duck soup. Now, how many MIDs can do that?

Right now, there is no information on its release date or price.

SSDs to become very important in year 2011

According to major memory industry players are of the views that SSDs to become very active in the PC market in 2011. Chipmakers are expected to switch over to new 20nm-class processes by then, and will also bring down its cost which will result in SSDs into important choice for low cost storage. In an event in Taipei, memory makers from Chinese and Taiwanese requested all companies to develop and standardize SSD specifications so that it can be challenged to core technologies currently controlled by major international vendors.

Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PTZ to be launched in Germany

The 11.6-inch Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PTZ tablet convertible was seen on an online store in Germany and is expected to be shipped on 9th of December, which is to be sell for 599 Euros.

It has an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 touch screen display; uses Intel Pentium SU4100 dual-core processor that runs at 1.3GHz clock speed, 4GB RAM, X4500MHD graphics. For storage, you get 320GB hard disk. It has a 6-cell battery that should be good for 8 hours. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

Forget ARM Cortex A8! Meet AMD Super Mobile CPU

Looks like XP is immortal! We thought that the XP would finally meet its fate on Oct 22. After netbooks, it is now turn for the phones to get equipped with XP.

Meet the phone powered by AMD Super Mobile CPU. It has GSM, GPRS, EDGE and 3G too. For storage, you can get upto 64GB of SSD storage which would certainly make the current iPhone 3GS owners a bit angry. You can get 1GB RAM (512MB version is available)

Compared to the fruit-phone, it has bigger display (4.8-inch) which means that it can easily be used as a MID. You get built-in WiFi and WiMax too. GPS is there too so that you don’t get lost.

Commentary: ARM Cortex, the CPU that is being used in iPhone and iPod Touch is, as its name implies, ARM based. Naturally, it is not x86 and thus cannot run Windows OS. However, AMD Super Mobile CPU is fully x86 compatible and runs Windows XP OS without a hitch!

HP ProBook 5310m packs CULV chip – shipping in Europe

This HP new netbook may give you a glimpse of business netbook, but it comes with a CULV chip that is becoming more and more common in the netbooks and ultra-portables these days. However, that has not stopped HP in using those processors in this sleek netbook with aluminium chassis touting a pretty chicklet keyboard.

There are several variants for 5310m. You can go for Celeron SU2300 dual-core or Core 2 Duo SP9300 CULV processor. The RAM capacity ranges from 1GB of memory (SU2300) and 160GB of storage to 4GB of memory (SP9300) and 320GB of storage. The SP9300 model has many other goodies including 3G connectivity. The entry level version comes with FreeDOS and is listed over €500, while for around €1000, you get high end model that comes with SP9300 processor.

Where most CULV notebooks carry a glare/glossy screen, the ProBook 5310m is surely an exception on that list. Several SKUs of HP’s 13-inch ProBook 5310m have already started shipping in Europe.

ENT N97 MID

ENT has launched N97 MID, which has a bright 7-inch TFT display and runs on an ARM processor. ENT is targeting it towards the media-centric people and to those who do browsing on-the-go. It has all the latest radios built-in: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and even packs in 3G!

Its smooth rounded corners will make sure that it feels comfortable in your hands.

ENT says it will give you PC-class Internet experience, which we doubt would be possible on a MID like this that has a Marvell PXA303 ARM processor. It comes with 256MB flash-based storage which can be extended by use of SD cards (upto 16GB supported).

It is powered by a lithium-polymer battery that should give you run time of around 4 hours. Oddly, the type of OS that it runs is not specified anywhere, but we expect it to be running Android OS

Note: This shall not be confused with the symbian-based Nokia N97 phone

A netbook/smartbook for just $73 – by Singworld Windows CE netbook

Boy! These smartbooks are turning out be really cheap. Here is a 7-inch smartbook from Sungworld priced ridiculously low at $73. Of course, at $73, you cannot expect a netbook running XP. It has a ARM processor running at 300MHz clock speed, made by VIA. It has a 7-inch WVGA (800×480) display and comes with 1GB of storage. It runs Windows CE and comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery

Few days back, we mentioned a netbook/smartbook that costs $50 and is able to run Linux. Now, we have a slightly higher priced smartbook by Singworld that runs Windows CE OS. How low can they go?! Anyday, I would choose the one running Linux though over the Windows CE

Lbook T9 – An 8.9-inch tablet that does not costs a bomb

Meet Lbook T9 tablet which has an 8.9 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. It runs on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor and has 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive for storage. It has usual connectivity radios like WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G (optional). It weighs just under 1.5 pounds (0.68kg) and is half an inch thick.

It is expected to ship with Windows 7 that will make its debut at the end of this month. The Lbook T9 tablet will hit the stores next year, around March 2010 and will be priced between $350 and $375.

Eking S515 MID AKA Digicube Z8 MID Phone to hit the market this October

Eking S515, also known as Digicube Z8 MID phone has is going to hit the market this month (October). The S515 is powered by an Intel Atom Z515 processor running at 1.2GHz clock speed. It has support for 3G; has a sweet sliding QWERTY keyboard; a 5-inch WVGA (800×480) display. You get 16GB SSD for storage and 1GB RAM to run apps.

For OS, you can either choose between the good ‘ol Windows XP OS or Linux OS. It has support for China Telecom CDMA2000, China Mobile TD-SCDMA and China Unicom WCDMA 3G network.

Price is not known yet.