Imagine if we all start doing this..

A PC user who just bought a Dell Studio laptop running Windows Vista got himself refunded $115, which is the actual cost of Vista’s license. Here is what he wrote:

“I do not agree to the terms of the Dell Software Licensing Agreement or the Microsoft Windows End User License Agreement.

“I confirm that I have not used any of the software, have not opened or broken the seal on any software packet and have deleted all preloaded or embedded software from my Dell.

“1. How may I promptly return the disks and other software items to you?

“2. How will you refund the cost of the software? I note that Windows Vista Home Premium retails at £133.96, Microsoft Works at £39.99 and Cyberlink PowerDVD at £39.99 today, which means a total refund of £213.94 is due.

However, he did not get the full refund due to the fact that apps like PowerDVD comes pre-installed. In the end, with 14 email exchanges and incredibly calm attitude, he got 70 pounds directly from Dell!

Read full story here

ASUS EEE PC Seashell Range noticed with Windows 7 in Italy’s Online Stores

Looks like very soon ASUS is going to announce Windows 7-based Seashell netbooks. Current Seashell models (1005HA (299 Euros), 1008HA (399 Euros) and 1101HA (399 Euros) ) are being spotted in some online stores.

The EEE 1101HA is complemented with Windows 7 Home Premium instead of Starter Edition like the 1005HA and 1008HA. Reason being the fact that in most of the countries, it is being sold with Windows Vista Home Premium. Also, looks like all of them will be undergoing HDD upgrades too. 160 GB are things of the past now and 250GB HDD will be used as new standard. Also 2GB RAM will come as default instead of 1GB.

Commentary: ASUS Eee PC currently comes with Windows XP and it is nice that ASUS is on toes in rolling out Windows 7 based netbooks. The Seashell netbooks, especially EEE 1008HA and EEE 1005HA, both have enjoyed enormous success and Windows 7 will make things only better.

Also read: EEE 1008HA review

ASUS Eee PC 1101HA Vista Premium Model won’t be launched in Japan

Few months back, ASUS Japan launched the ASUS Eee PC 1101HA and confirmed that it would be released with Windows Vista Home Premium (thus making it freely upgradable to Windows 7 free upgrade). Sadly, that plan has been canceled. The reason behind this could be that ASUS may launching it with Windows 7 after Windows 7 has been officially released to the public.

ASUS EEE 1101HA is the first 11-inch netbook by ASUS that has built-in overclocking capabilities. It has extremely long battery life (8h+).

Dell Insprion 11z gets a price jump from $399 to $449

When Dell Inspiron 11z was launched, it was tagged with price of $399 at the Dell’s website, but now the Dell has increased its price up by $50 and now it’s for $449.

No distinction can be made between the specs of model that costed $399 and the current (and expensive) one. But the Dell official claims that the reason for such jump in price is due to fact that the screen is now LED backlit. The chances are there that the prices might come back to $399 if a lower quality screen becomes available.

Specifications:-

• CPU: 1.2GHz Intel Celeron 723 CULV processor
• Video: Intel GS45 integrated graphics
• Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixels
• OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 250GB, 5400rpm HDD
• WiFi: Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g
• Webcam: 1.3MP
• Connectivity: Ethernet, 3 USB ports, 3-in-1 card reader, HDMI output
• Battery: 28WHr, 3 cell Li-Ion battery
• Dimensions: 11.5″ x 8.4″ x 0.9″
• Weight: 3 pounds

AMD Powered MSI Wind U210 now available for pre-order

The 12-inch AMD powered, Wind U210 by MSI is now there at Amazon.com for pre-order even though Samsung has made it official yet. The MSI U210-006US is priced at $429.99 with free shipping and comes with a 6-cell battery.

Specifications:

• Athlon Neo MV-40 (1.6GHz) processor
• 12-inch display
• 1366 x 768 resolution
• ATi Radeon X1250 GPU
• 250GB HDD
• 2GB RAM
• Wi-Fi (n-draft)
• 1 HDMI port
• 3 USB ports

It comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium OS.

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!

MSI Wind U210 – 12-inch netbook using AMD Neo processor

MSI is soon going to release MSI Wind U210 in Europe. Unlike most of the netbooks, this one comes with an AMD NEO processor which is less power frugal than the Intel Atom CPUs. Here are its full specifications:

• 12.1-inch display
• 1366 x 768 resolution
• AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1250 Graphics
• 1 GB RAM (upto 2GB supported)
• 160 / 250 GB HDD
• Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and Bluetooth
• LAN
• Windows XP Home or Windows Vista Home Premium
• 6-cell battery
• 1.4 kg weight

The Windows XP version will retail at around 399 euros and the Windows Vista version will cost you 449 euros.

We still think that the netbooks with more than 10-inches should not be considered as ‘netbooks’ as they are not as easy to carry around. Also, if you are planning to carry such a big device, why not get a bigger laptop then? After all, the main concept of netbook is to be as portable as possible, but manufactures these days are bent upon releasing netbooks with bigger and bulkier casing.

SONY VAIO P signature collection – A $2000 GLOSSY BLACK VAIO P!

SONY has launched “Signature Collection” for its VAIO P series, which comes with a 1.86GHz Intel Atom CPU, 256GB SSD drive and Windows Vista Home Premium. Price is not at all pocket friendly. This signature VAIO P will cost you $2000, which is way too much for a netbook!  There are only 1000 such units to be made. So, better hurry if you want one of these glorified netbooks.

..and you though that the original VAIO P was expensive?

[Sony Style]

Asus soon to launch U20A – a powerful notebook/netbook with Core 2 Solo processor

If you are into 12-inch mini notebooks/netbooks, but just could not stand the poor performance of the Z520 processor (see our review of the ACER AO751H), then you would absolutely adore the new ASUS U20A. From outside, it looks like a typical 12.1-inch netbook with 1280×800 resolution, but underneath lies the fast Core 2 Solo SU3500 clocked at 1.4GHz, which is all the way faster than the Atom N270/N280 processor.

If that was not enough for you, it comes with 4GB of RAM, which is not at all common for netbooks. With the U20A, you get the massive 320GB HDD, a DVD writer and Intel GS45 Express chipset. It runs Windows Vista Home Premium OS. To power all this, it comes equipped with a lithium-ion battery, which claims to give you 8.3 hours of use (which we highly doubt). It weighs at 1.8kg, which is pretty heavy for netbook, but we cannot complain as it packs in a bigger screen and a DVD burner too. This will be released in Japan in next month. We would love to see it coming to US and in other parts of the world.