ASUS churns out ION Powered Eee Box EB1012 – NetTop capable of doing 1080p videos!

ASUS has launched their first ION powered nettop, the ASUS Eee Box EB1012, which makes it the most powerful nettop by ASUS till date. This Vista running little thing packs in a dual core Atom processor together with the powerful ION chipset.

Let’s take a glance at its specifications first, shall we?

• dual core Atom N330 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB HDD
• WiFi (b/g/n) and LAN
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Bluetooth (optional)
• 6 USB ports
• HDMI and VGA ports (!)
• eSATA port

This ION nettop, which is seemingly looking nice has some distinguishing features that make it better than the Acer Aspire Revo as it has an Wi-Fi antenna for better signal reception and dual core Atom N330 processor.

The RAM can also be upgraded to 4GB, which is great if you plan to install Windows 7 in future on this little nettop. It is available in two colors, Black and White.

Oh and in case, if you have forgotten, this is an ION-powered nettop and it will be able to do 1080p video easily!

Kohjinsha Japan churns out the Kohjinsha EX series

Kohjinsha Japan has released an 11.6-inch tablet netbook, the Kohjinsha EX series. Following their tradition of incorporating optical drives in their UMPCs, this Kohjinsha too is packed with rare features not found in netbooks/UMPCs: an optical drive and ExpressCard slot. It even features an 3.0MP Webcam with auto-focus. There is also an additional 0.3MP webcam on the exterior part coupled with a fingerprint reader.

Kohjinsha claims that the EX would give you around 4.5 hours of runtime. Specifications:

• Intel Atom N270 processor @1.6GHz
• 11.6-inch display
• 1366 x 768 resolution
• 160GB HDD , 1GB RAM
• Intel 945GSE chipset
• Windows XP Home
• 2 USB ports
• Wi-Fi (b/g/n)

It is listed for 69, 800 yen ($740) and will be available at the end of this month. The only downside that we see is its weight: 1.7kg. So, although it is pretty much packed with features, it is not the lightest ultra-portable to carry around.

Suzuki Neutron 1021 NNI – Just another 10 inch netbook

Here is another netbook by Suzuki, this time an 10-inch netbook. However, it is not as interesting as its little cousin (Suzuki Neutron 701 MNI touchscreen netbook), which has a swivel touchscreen. Anyway, here are its specs:

• Atom N270 processor
• 10.2-inch display
• 1024×600 resolution
• 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• 3 USB ports
• 1.3MP Webcam
• 4-Cell Battery
• ExpressCard slot

The only thing to talk about it is that it includes an Expresscard slot. Other than that, there is nothing that interests us in this netbook.

Starling NB1000 netbook – err, where is the TouchPad?

Hong Kong manufacturer, Starling has unveiled NB1000 netbook. It comes with an 10-inch screen and an Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD. Also included are three USB ports, Ethernet and VGA ports. It is touchpad flushed with the palm rest beneath the keyboard. Unfortunately, it is being sold in Hong Kong only. It is available at a fair price of HK$2,498 (about $322).

Flushed touchpad does not makes it ‘cool’. We call it BAD DESIGN

ASUS Disney Netpal for sale now at Toys R US at 349 dollars

Remember the Disney Netpal netbook that we mentioned a couple of months back? Well, you can now buy your kid the ‘Disney Netpal’ netbook (made by ASUS) from the US store Toys “R” Us. Although from inside it is just like any other netbook in the market, a lot of parents will be interested in gifting it to their little ones. Available in two cool colors: blue and pink, this kid friendly netbook comes installed with powerful parental control system combined with a Disney wallpapers and themes, which small children should really appreciate.

It is being retailed at $349.99. Here is a quick glance at its specs:

• 8.9-inch screen
• Intel Atom N270 CPU
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB SSD
• WiFi
• 3 USB ports
• 0.3 MP webcam

Unifying Receiver by Logitech – Great for netbooks

If you have Bluetooth in your netbook, you can plug-in a number of wireless devices including keyboards, mice, headphones etc to your little gadget. But you may be squabbled many times to make the Bluetooth software w0rk correctly on your netbook/notebook.

Although wireless USB is expected to shake things up any day now, Logitech has alternative option for you, a Unifying Receiver: a small USB dongle that you can insert into your notebook, netbook, desktop, or whatever that has USB port. It can detect a number of Logitech peripherals, including several mouse and keyboard models.

The keyboards expected to be available in the US and Europe next month. Everyone must be pondering over this that why the industry not making Bluetooth STANDARD on all devices.

Click on read more to see the full press release!

ViewSonic launches two new Netbooks – VNB100 and VNB101

ViewSonic, popular for its monitors has introduced new two netbooks – VNB100 and VNB101. Both netbook are very different in term of design. The VNB100 is available in a variety of colors like – black, white, yellow, and hot lady color, pink. The VBN101 will available in black, red and champagne and will carry a special coating that protects it from spills and wear and tear.

VNB100 will come with an 10.2-inch screen, an Intel Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, 1.3MP webcam, WiFi, 3 USB ports and ExpressCard 34 slot. The VNB101 will be a little more costly than VNB100 because of its luxury netbook feel (like ASUS EEE S101). The VNB101 boasts of these specs – Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 10.2-inch display, 0.3 webcam, memory card reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2 USB ports and a Li-Polymer battery. Both of these netbooks will be launched at the end of this month in Asia-Pacific region and later this year in the European market with price tag of £256 for the VNB100 and £293 for the VNB101.

MiniPC Japan launches Atom-Powered Desktop – GF27

MiniPC has unveiled their new Atom-powered desktop, GF27, which used Intel Atom N270 processor. You have the option to get one with one 3.5-inch HDD or two 2.5-inch HDDs, Dual-LAN and DVI. It has 4 USB ports (2 in the front and 2 at the back). Strangely,earphone and microphone ports are placed at the back of the it, which may not liked by a lot of people.

It is odd that MiniPC used N270 Atom processor in GF27, which is meant to be used in netbooks. They could have easily used Atom 230/330 which are considered more suitable for desktop hardware.

Point of View Mobii ION 230 Netbook – ION inside!

Point of view has rolled out its own netbook, Mobii ION 230. Oddly, unlike most netbooks, it comes with an Intel Atom 230 processor that is used in Atom powered desktops. As its name suggests, it comes with the powerful ION chipset and an HDMI port for HD video playback.

Specifications:-

• 10.2-inch display
• NVIDIA ION GPU
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Wi-Fi
• HDMI output
• Headphone, microphone ports
• 1.3 MP camera
• 2 USB ports
• 3/6 cell battery 2200/4400 with up to 2/4 hours usage time

The Mobii ION 230 netbook is available in black, red and white and should be released in a few weeks. The price is not yet known.

BenQ Joybook Lite 121 Eco to be launched in China and Thailand

BenQ is going to launch an 11.6-inch mini notebook, Joybook Lite 121 Eco. Right now, BenQ has plans to launch it in only China and Thailand. What makes the Lite 121 Eco different from other netbooks is that it comes with 532GB of space (500GB HDD+32GB SSD). It comes with a 6-cell battery, which BenQ claims to give you 9.5 hours of juice. The Joybook comes with an Intel Atom Z520 CPU, which is very power frugal, a 1366 x 768 pixel display and 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1.3MP webcam, VGA output, and 3 USB ports. It has a starting price of around $525.