Seems the world and his friend has launched a UMPC netbook and now Samsung has given the word that it too is joining the bandwagon - with the Samsung NC10.
The 10.2in laptop gets the usual 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB RAM, 1.3MP webcam, memory card reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Windows XP as standard. Samsung hasn't skimped on the power with a six-cell battery promising up to eight hours of use.
Vodafone has announced that it's won the race to offer the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (aka the Dell E) on contract. Starting from mid-October it'll be giving away Dell's 8.9in Eee PC rival for free to those who sign up for a two-year contract.
It'll still be a costly way of buying a laptop long-term, with price plans rumoured to start at £25 a month (total cost for two years' mobile broadband and the Dell: £600). At least the Inspiron Mini 9 does have the advantage of having HSDPA built-in, with a slot for the Vodafone SIM and Vodafone's own software pre-loaded.
Those hungry to sign up for one can register their interest at www.vodafone.co.uk/netbooks for info as it's released. Click on for the full press release.
PC World's Advent 4211 has been something of a UMPC bargain-hunters' favourite for offering what is essentially an MSI Wind at a cut-down price.
Now its back with a second model, the Advent 4213 but, unfortunately all 'second Wind' puns have been ruined by the fact it doesn't share the MSI rebadge chassis of its predecessor.
What it does share is an identical 10in screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1Gb RAM and 80Gb hard disk. But there is one important addition - a SIM card slot for the the built-in HSDPA modem.
Unfortunately, this incremental upgrade also means an upgrade in price too, from an attractive £279.99 for the 4211, to a less wallet-friendly £349.99 for the 4213. Sorry penny-pinchers.
What's this? Someone's done a strip down of the Mini 9 - aka Dell E - already? Actually, turns out it's Dell itself, with its handy Service Manual revealing the tiny Inspiron's innermost workings - and plenty of opportunities for modders to exploit.
Fancy swapping out the SSD for something larger or faster? Dell shows you how. Or how about replacing that screen - Dell's diagrams show plenty of room for a nice touchscreen number.
It's here! Yes, after months of rumours, leaks and elastic launch dates, the Inspiron Mini 9 - let us use its correct title with certainty for the first time - has landed.
Officially announced today, the laptop formerly known as the Dell E and the Inspiron 910 is Dell's first foray into the UMPC market. Going head to head with the Asus Eee PC and MSI Wind it sports a 'glossy' 8.9in LED screen and weighs in at a mite over 1kg. Read on for more.
Now you can pick up a MSI WindAdvent 4211 Medion Akoya Mini E1210 with your spuds. Aldi's offering the UMPC rebadge job, which is actually a carbon copy of PC World's Advent 4211 Netbook.
It has the exact same 1.6GHz (or "16 GB" as Aldi interestingly
describes it) Intel Atom N270 processor, 10.2in screen, 1GB RAM and
80Gb hard drive as the Advent 4211 (and, of course, the MSI Wind U100). It also comes loaded with identical
Windows XP Home. Even the price is the same: £279.99.
But there is one teeny
difference, as well as PC World's black and silver, you'll also be able
to put a white Akoya in your trolley.
It'll be in Aldi stores from 10am on Sunday - and no doubt sold-out by 10.01am if Aldi's usual specials are anything to go by.
Retro gamers will have been following the rebirth of Commodore as a PC-gaming slash Wi-Fi multimedia player brand with interest but now the never-say-die name is branching out once more with its own UMPC (heck, why not?) called the UMMD 8010/F Netbook. Insert tape and type LOAD for more.
We've had more than a few false starts on Dell's Eee PC 901 rival, the laptop formerly known as the Dell E. Now variously called the Inspiron 910, Inspiron Mini or Inspiron Mini 9, it was rumoured to be set for launch on 22nd August. That date came and went without a murmur. Now, though, Dell itself has confirmed to Information Week that it will be arriving this week - giving impatient Dell fans a three day window to choose from.
There's new Wind blowing - in the shape of fresh updates to MSI's baby UMPC laptop.
First up is a new Linux variant of the 8.9in U90. The U90X-007UK is identical to the standard 80GB U90 Wind but now runs SUSE Linux. It'll sell for £269.
The original 10in U100 also gets a refresh with the U100-054UK, a Windows XP Wind in a new shade: pink. It gets a new price too, now cut-down to £319.
If the lower price doesn't grab you then the current U100 range will also now be available with a larger 100GB hard drive for the old £329 price. Our cup floweth over.
Not content with churning out endless numbers of Eee PC variants, Asus has now come up with a second UMPC brand - the Asus N-Series.
Freshly leaked images show the 10.2in model, the N10, looking very much like a madeover Eee, and also sporting Altec Lansing speakers and an HDMI port, suggesting a multimedia-friendly hardware boost. More details and pictures after the jump.
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