MEET SKYLIGHT, LENOVO'S FIRST SMARTBOOK

Lenovo has finally introduced its first smartbook, the Qualcomm Snapdragon powered Skylight. The device has more or less the same looks as a netbook. It has a 10 inch display and a keyboard that is nearly full-sized. So is it fair to call this machine a smartbook? Well, aside from the display and the keyboard, its features are similar to those of smartbooks. For instance, it is powered by an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset which allows it to stay connected to the internet all the time. So you will be able to receive emails and other notifications even when the lid is closed. The ARM-based processor also improves the battery life because it consumes very little power. The Skylight is expected to offer up to 10 hours of runtime. Some netbooks also offer all-day battery life, but they are usually powered by an Atom processor and run a version of Windows.

The Lenovo Skylight is shipped with a custom operating system based on Linux. It can’t run Windows. The user interface is built around a series of widgets which would allow you to access web services like Facebook, Twitter and Gmail. There is also a media section for music and movies.

Pricing
The Lenovo Skylight is priced at $499 without a wireless contract. In the US, this smartbook will be available subsidized from AT&T for customers who sign up for a 2 year wireless broadband service.

PINE TRAIL POWERED GATEWAY NETBOOKS AVAILABLE IN CANADA

Two Pine Trail Atom powered Gateway netbooks are now available in Canada. One of the two machines, the Gateway LT2102H, is priced at $299.99 CAD. This model is equipped with a 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. It has an Atom N450 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and GMA 3150 graphics. It runs Windows 7 Starter. The 3-cell battery rated at 2200mAh is expected to provide up to 4 hours of up time.

Another netbook in the same series – the Gateway LT2107H – is also available for $349.99 CAD. This model has more or less the same specs, but it has a larger 250GB hard disk drive and a 6-cell 4400mAh battery. Gateway claims that the battery will last for around 8 hours. Both models appear to be rebranded versions of the newly announced Acer Aspire One 532h.

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR RELEASES A REFERENCE DESIGN FOR A CHEAP TABLET

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced a reference design with which you can build a dirt-cheap ARM based web tablet. The proposed machine will run either Linux or Google Android. Freescale plans to showcase the prototype at CES which begins in a few days. The company is also hunting for hardware makers interested in producing devices based on its design.

Freescale says that companies can produce laptops for as little as $140 using its design. The Freescale prototype has the following specifications:

Display: 7 inch touch-screen display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Battery: Up to 12 hours of battery life
Thickness: less than 0.6 inches
Weight: less than 1 pound
Storage: 4GB/8GB/16GB Flash-based storage
Other features include an SD card slot and WiFi. There is no 3G.

The Freescale tablet is aimed at students and young people in the age group of 15 and 25. Freescale isn’t worried about not having a QWERTY keyboard on its device. The company says that users in its target group are comfortable with onscreen and thump keyboards. More details should emerge at the CES.

ACER ASPIRE 1410 OLYMPIC EDITION NOW AVAILABLE IN JAPAN

The Olympic Edition of the 11.6 inch Acer Aspire 1410 is now available for purchase in Japan. It is priced at 79,800 yen. The netbook was first spotted in October. Unlike the regular edition, the Olympic edition is limited. Only 1500 models are available.

The Limited Edition Aspire 1410 has the same specifications as the regular edition. It has got an Intel SU2300 processor, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive and integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics. The only difference between the regular and the limited edition is that the later has the Olympic rings imprinted on to the screen lid next to the ‘Acer’ logo.

Besides the Aspire 1410, the Olympic Edition is available for 1810T and a couple of bigger notebooks. But these models are yet to pop up.

ASUS EEE PC 1008P-KR

The upcoming Asus Eee PC 1008P runs on an Intel Pine Trail Atom processor. The laptop hasn’t hit the market yet, but some photos have emerged. Besides the standard version, the 1008P will also have designer version designed by Karim Rashid. The designer netbook looks similar to a clutch bag with textured finish.

The Asus Eee PC 1008P is the upgraded version of the 1008HA. While 1008HA has an Intel Atom processor, the 1008P will feature the new Intel Pine Trail processor.
The 1008HA is one of the slimmest Eee PCs around. It has attractive looks and has been extremely popular among netbook users. But it has a major problem: it comes with an integrated battery which cannot be removed. But Asus has remedied this issue. The new 1008P has a removable battery. It also features a chiclet style keyboard.

The netbook will be powered by an Intel Atom N450 (Pine Trail) processor with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. It will have a 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. Other features include WiFi, 1.3MP webcam, and Bluetooth.

The standard version is expected to be out in February in ‘Golden Brown’ and ‘Hot Pink’. The designer version 1008P-KR will soon launch in Graphite Black. The netbooks run Windows 7 Starter.

HACKS: HOW TO UPGRADE ION LE TO FULL ION

Several netbooks sporting NVIDIA’s ION graphics are now available. But most of them feature the Light Edition (LE) of the chip which doesn’t offer full functionality. But now there is a simple solution to the problem, or so it seems.

One member at the MyHPMini Forum has hacked the ION LE on his Mini 311 and effectively upgraded it to the full version. All that he did was to add the device ID of the ION LE into an INF file and then install it. He says that performance has improved ever since.

The only major difference between ION LE and full ION is probably the lack of support for DirectX 10 standard in LE. Windows XP doesn’t support the DirectX 10 standard, but Windows 7 does.

FLEXTRONICS TO BUILD TWO MILLION HP LAPTOPS AT DIRT-CHEAP RATES

Flextronics, the Singapore based design and manufacturing unit, has been producing consumer electronics goods for several years through a network spanning several countries. You may not have heard of the company but in all probability you have used a product they manufactured.

Now Flextronics has made headlines by inking a deal with HP for the production of 2 million netbooks at $45 per unit. Most manufacturers charge around $70 or more per unit. The deal, it seems, will force them into reducing their prices as well.

HP will save around $50 million on this order. But will their netbooks get cheaper? Well, there is no guarantee that HP will pass this savings on to the end user, but it might just happen.