Asus Partnering Disney To Release Princess Pink Netbook

Great news.. Asus is partnering with Disney to create the cute Disney Netpal Netbook -- a mini notebook designed specially for kids. And yes, it will be available in floral “Princess Pink” color that will definitely appeal to any little budding princess!


Also known as Asus MK90 and MK90H, the Netpal will have an 8.9-inch LED-backlit screen with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, and runs on an Intel Atom N270 CPU, with 1GB of DDR2 RAM. While the specs are pretty similar to the adult netbook, netpal does come with some kids friendly features such as the spill-proof keyboard, ShockShield protection that will save data in a fall, the Magic desktop kid friendly gadget tray which has a 2D menu visibly showing Disney email, a Disney browser (set to a Jones Brother and Hannah Montana littered homepage no less), and the Disney Magic software that allows parents to restrict kids from getting into the full XP operating system, control usage time and block Web sites.


According toLaptop Magazine, the Netpal looks very much like the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook, but has been given a kiddy makeover complete with pink swirls. Also, it has a Mikey Mouse shaped webcam on the top bezel which makes it looks really cute. The netbook will be released in summer for a price of $350 at Toys ‘R’ Us and The Disney Store.

SAMSUNG N130 AND N140 GET WINDOWS 7 UPGRADE

Samsung’s existing netbooks the N130 and N140 has received a minor update. The computers will now ship with Windows 7 Starter Edition. The updated N130 will be called N135. The N140 hasn’t even undergone a name change.

Except for the OS, the N135 has the same specifications as the N130: the netbook has an Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1 GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. While the N130 runs Windows XP, the N135 runs Windows 7 Starter. The Samsung N140 is also now available
with Windows 7 Starter.

Windows 7 is fast replacing Windows XP as the preferred OS for netbooks. While the new OS runs just as well as Windows XP on netbooks, the Windows 7 Starter Edition has many limitations. For instance, you can’t even change the background image.

PANASONIC CF-W7 REVIEW

Notebooks are famous throughout the globe, whereas toughbooks are gaining more and more appreciation from many sides. It is the sleek and compact look that gives the toughbooks a higher degree of attention. Panasonic laptops generally targets constructions workers, but are soon becoming popular among young chaps. The latest Panasonic Toughbook CF-W7 will be available in the market by end of February at around £1,500, which is highly intended on business people

Design
The case itself speaks for the design and the quality. The big display hinge along with the battery is the dominant feature in the design. The look is very decent and the speakers that are present on the either side below the screen are indeed different and they look decent. The Toughbook CF-W7 tips the scales at a Kylie-esque 1.2Kg. After you open a lid you'll find a comfortable Qwerty keyboard that is spill resistant. The mouse is far smaller than one you'd get on any ordinarly laptops, so you need to use more finger strokes than you may actually use on laptops with larger trackpad surfaces. The DVD rewriter drive is accessible to the right side of the mouse, and is a rather bizarre flip-up model, which is reminiscent of a car bonnet.

Performance
The Panasonic CF-W7 is as sluggish as weekday morning full rush hour traffic. Its low-end CPU and the questionable RAM space may hep it stutter to an underwhelming PCMark05 of 908 in total. 3DMark06 returned a score of 112 that is more analytic of an asthmatic than any usual laptop. The outcome of such slow processing power is long battery life. The CF-W7 kept gulping away for about 308 minutes in our BatteryEater test that is actually over five hours. With extremely restrained usage and least screen brightness, we would estimate this laptop could last for couple of hours more.

Conclusion
Panasonic Toughbook CF-W7 is a great and packed in device for household, family and small office purposes.

Pros
+ Attractive Design
+ Sturdy

Cons
- Expensive
- Poor performance quality

TOUGHBOOK CF-Y5 IS THE NEWEST ENTRY IN BUSINESS LAPTOP FOR PANASONIC - REVIEW

The Toughbook CF-Y5 is Panasonic's newest launch into the business rugged-notebook market where businesses may not mind investing a little bit more for something that will last and worth spending.

Design
The primary things we notice in this notebook is its weight. Including the power supply unit the laptop weighs just about 1.95kg, which is superb for a 14.1 inch LCD based laptop with a build in DVD writer. The CF-Y5 is also splash-resistant andPanasonic just stamps authority with this kind of feature laded onto the system. The laptop can also be dropped from an elevation of 30cm, although this isn't spectacular by any sense where in most casesnotebook falls are likely to be from a desk more than double the height specified.

Performance
At the notebook's heart lies a low-voltage Core Duo L2400 processor pumping at 1.66GHz with 2MB L2 memory cache. Although this dual core chip may appear obsolete next to Core 2 Duo processors with 4MB memory cache, low-voltage Core 2 Duo chips have just recently started to appear public so it's no shock to see the CF-Y5 shipping with this CPU. Performance is ample for the majority of system tasks. The laptop scored a real disappointing score of 2,547 in PCmark05.
Despite its tough-guy gestures, the CF-Y5 is a very attractive laptop. As on the CF W5, the circular mouse pad is small but it performs really well. The 14.1 inch LCD screen has a native resolution of 1,400x1, 050 pixels giving a bigger desktop real-estate for documents. Unlike the CF-W5 and other tough books the backlight bleed, which results in an apparent gradient of color near the foot of a screen, is barely seen on this model.

The screen is powered by Intel GMA950 graphics chip set that dynamically propels with up to 224MB of system memory. The abounding 512MB of DDR2 553MHz Ram is parsimonious and we'd prefer 2GB at this price range; an upgrade to at minimum1GB is definitely recommended. A 60GB shock resistant hard disk drive is also added, while just a single slot is provided for PC card and SD cards.

The keyboard is inspiring for a notebook of this size. An in built 3G HSDPA slot for mobile broadband can be included, but the price then hikes to a heart-jabbing £2,260.

Overall
Panasonic CF-Y5 seems to be a costly effort. The pricing is too high; we would have loved to see the notebook be facilitated more for this demanding price. With decent display, and very minimal gaming features possible, this leaves very little to be admired about.

Pros
+ Design
+ Less weight of jusT 1.95kg
+ Inspiring Keyboard

Cons
- Too pricey
- 512 MB Ram never a great performance statement
- Least connectivity options

TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES TOUCH SCREEN NOTEBOOKS SATELLITE M505 AND U505

Toshiba has announced the launch of two touch screen notebooks. These devices will run on Windows 7.

The new touch screen notebooks will be called Satellite M505 and Satellite U505. Both notebooks will feature the Toshiba LifeSpace software package which provides users with a ‘Bulletin Board’ full of ‘touch’ features. Another useful feature is the ‘ReelTime’ software which gives a visual history with which users can find files based on when they were opened.

The M505 comes with a 14 inch display. It is due to be released on October 22nd. It will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz processor, integrated 4500MHD graphics, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. The U505 is due to be released on November 1. It will have a 13.3 inch display with similar specifications.

The M505 is expected to cost around $949.99, while the U505 will sell for $1,049.99.

TOSHIBA NB305 NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA

These days almost every netbook maker is busy slipping out their Pine Trail powered netbooks. Toshiba is no different. The company has sent some units of its NB305 to a Canadian online retailer. There is no official press release though.

The Toshiba NB305 is available in a blue and brown color design. In design it isn’t much different from the NB205. Specs are as follows:

Processor: Intel Atom N450 clocking at 1.66 GHz
Graphics: GMA 3150 graphics
Display: 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Memory: 1 GB of RAM
Storage: 250 GB HDD spinning at 5400
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet 10/100, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

There are 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, SDHC reader, 0.3 mega pixel webcam, headphone and microphone jacks. The 6 cell battery is expected to provide up to 11 hours of uptime. The netbook runs Windows 7 Starter.

MSI ANNOUNCES WIND NETBOOKS WITH PINE TRAIL CHIPS

MSI is making a comeback in the netbook scene. The company has announced a range of netbooks based on the Pine Trail chips. Not much information regarding the specifications is available now, but one or two models are expected to be powered by CULV processors.

The upcoming range of netbooks includes the MSI Wind U130, Wind U135, Wind U140 and Wind U160. The U130, U135 and U140 will have 10 inch displays. In design the U130 and the U135 will be similar to the U100. The U140 will have the same chassis as the U123. As for the U160, the only available information is that it will have an ultra-thin chassis.

MSI WIND U135 PRODUCT PAGE GOES LIVE

The MSI Wind U135 product page has gone live. The notebook is yet to hit the market, but it made the review rounds in the US before Christmas.

The Wind U135 looks similar to the original MSI Wind. But it has a larger trackpad and a chiclet style keyboard. The netbook delivers good performance, and at just $329, it is cheaper than its competitors from the Asus and Samsung stable. 6-cell battery gives around 5.5 hours of up time.

The official MSI Wind U135 specs are as follows:

Display: 10 inch with 1024 x 600 pixels
Processor: 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor
Chipset: Intel NM10
Graphics: GMA 3150 graphics
Memory: 1 GB of RAM
Storage: 160 GB hard drive
Weight: 1.2 kg

Other features include VGA, 3 USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks, LAN, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, 1.3 Mega pixel webcam, Windows 7 Starter.