By Anthony Caruana   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

With Apple's iPad capturing so much attention it's no surprise that others aren't trying to beat Apple to the punch with their own tablets. Australian manufacturer Kogan showed us a prototype of a tablet he currently has in development. Based on a model that's being created for the Chinese market, the as yet unnamed tablet, that we're assured won't be called the k-pad, is expected to hit the market at an amazing $200AUD.

The specs are still under wraps but we do know that it runs a 800 by 480 display and an ARM processor. Incredibly, the tablet gives a choice between three different operating systems on boot; Linux, Android and Windows CE. However, Ruslan Kogan, the founder of Kogan, told us that Windows CE won't be on the Aussie release as "it adds to the cost". This is in keeping with Kogan's commitment to open source (or more accurately for his business model, free) software.

While there's clearly still a lot work to be done on the interface if Kogan can deliver a $200 tablet then he'll be on a winner.

By Anthony Caruana   Fri, Feb 26, 2010

Crumpler's Quarfie [Affiliate Link], a small messenger bag, is not designed to be a netbook or sub-notebook carrier. It lacks a dedicated internal pocket and the padding you'd expect in a netbook bag. However, it's close to the perfect size for carrying a netbook and a few other accessories.

One of the things you notice about Crumpler's bags is that they're solid. The stitching feels robust, the latches are firm and the zips aren't flimsy. With the Quarfie, the entire construction felt like it would make a good home for some cockroaches after a nuclear war. In other words, we suspect that this is a bag that will outlast your netbook.

The internal space of the Quarfie is surprisingly generous given the external footprint. At the very front of the bag is zipped section that could easily accomodate the power supply for our test netbook, a Dell Inspiron Mini 10. There are three smaller pockets behind that where we could store cables, a compact digital camera and a few other bits and pieces. In the main section we held the netbook, a Kindle, a Moleskine notebook and a few papers. Even with all that packed, the Quarfie wasn't bulging.

The front of the bag closes with a single latch. It felt very solid but even if it was to ever break, Crumpler offers a lifetime warranty on its bags. That's impressive when you think of what punishment most bags sustain through their life.

Our chief criticism of the Quarfie is the shoulder strap. There's no padding and with about 2kg of gear in it, it became uncomfortable during a long commute spent standing on a train. However, there's plenty of room for adjusting the length. If anything, the strap may be too long and you may find that you need to cut the end of the strap off and melt it to prevent fraying.

The one thing we'd suggest, should you choose a Crumpler Quarfie for carrying your netbook, is to put some soft of padding in the base. If you're like us and in the habit of plonking your bag down rather than gently placing it then it's likely that your netbook will meet with some percussive impact.

The Quarfie retails for $95AUD and comes in brown, red and black.

By Anthony Caruana   Sat, Feb 20, 2010

Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 is a very promising netbook. It's part of the new generation with an Intel N450 processor. One of the biggest selling features of this processor/chipset combination is improved battery life of the older N270/280 CPU and the Mini 10 does deliver excellent battery life in real world testing.

The Mini 10 can be ordered in six different colours. We tested the glossy black version and the first thing we noticed was that the shiny finish showed fingerprints at the slightest touch. The same can be said for the bezel around the 10 inch display.
One of the things that separates the Mini 10 from other netbooks is the unusual body. The screen section is smaller than the main body giving it a distinctive profile when the lid is closed.

Ports and Connections

The USB ports are positioned sensibly. The two ports on the left side are far enough apart to allow chunky memory sticks or USB 3G modems to be used without blocking the adjacent port. The VGA D-SUB port is also on the left side.
A third USB port is on the right side along with a pair of 3.5mm sockets for a microphone and headphones or external speakers. The ethernet port rounds off the wired connectivity options.
Wireless is covered with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth. Windows 7 makes establishing connections easy enough although we were surprised with WIndows 7 warning us that our Bluetooth wasn't discoverable. Typically, Bluetooth is kept "invisible" for security reasons.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The Mini 10's keyboard was comfortable to use although the keys weren't as "clicky" as we like. However, that's a persoanl preference. We always recommend trying before buying of possible as keyboard feel is objective.

On the other hand, the touchpad is definitely poor. While others bemoan the lack of distinct buttons on the trackpad, this isn't a big deal for us. We just found that it was imprecise and it was very easy to accidentally tap the touchpad while typing causing the cursor to jump.

Display

The Mini 10 we tested came with a glossy 1020 by 600 screen. However, Dell is planning an optional upgrade to 1366 by 768. In other words, it'll be able to handle 720p HD video without any scaling.

Like the rest of the casing, the Mini 10's screen retained fingerprints at the slightest touch.

Real World Test

Windows 7 Starter Edition is a good choice for netbooks as it's able to work well with the 1GB of memory that the Mini 10 ships with. Boot up time from a cold start didn't leave us waiting for long. It also handles suspend/resume smoothly so we didn't have to go through the entire reboot cycle every time.

Once we were up and running applications launched swiftly. The Mini 10 ships with Microsoft Works - the Seattle Motheership's entry level productivity suite. While the apps look like their Office equivalents from a generation or two ago, they support the latest Office file formats. Although they aren't feature equivalent with their Office 2007 brothers, they're good enough for reading and editing most documents.

Battery life was impressive. After a couple of hours of typing, web browsing and email retrieval over WiFi, the battery meter recorded a loss of a mere 30% of the total battery life. Even after four hours, the Mini 10 boasted that there would be sill five more hours of charge. A full battery rundown, playing a video back in fullscreen with WiFi and Bluetooth on and the display at maximum brightness ran for 5 hours. That's an outstanding result and indicates that a day of browsing, email and other regular work will be well within the Mini 10's capability.

Video playback from YouTube performed as expected. Standard definition movies were fine but HD movies were unwatchable. However, locally stored HD movies in Micosoft's WMV format played back without any hassles. We had samples in both 720p and 1080p and we watched both without any stutters or other hassles.

Specifications

• New Intel Atom N450 processor at 1.66 GHz
• 10.1-inch display with standard (1024x600) or High Definition (1366x768) option
• Built-in speakers with available SRS Surround sound
• HDTV tuner and location-aware GPS configurations options 
• Bundles with Broadcom Crystal HD for smooth HD playback coming in Q1
• Built-in 802.11 b/g wireless with available Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband
• 1GB DDR2 memory at 800MHz
• 160GB or 250GB hard disk drive storage
• Choice of 3 or 6-cell integrated battery with up to 9.5 hours of battery life (Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle only). 
• Choice of Windows 7 Starter, Windows XP Home or Ubuntu operating system options
• Lightweight: Starting at about 2.75 - 3.1 pounds with a 3-cell battery

By Anthony Caruana   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

One of the great things about the netbook platform is that you can take a lot of computing power with you just about anywhere. However, in order to keep your kit light, that means looking for small, lightweight peripherals. That's why the Flip MinoHD is so attractive. This camera is pocket-sized - about the same size and weight as a compact mobile phone and weighs just 94 grams and delivers 1280 x 720 video from its 1/4.5" HD CMOS Sensor.

We tested the Flip MinoHD (there's a non HD version as well but with YouTube now doing HD we're not sure we'd bother considering it) on an Asus Eee Box with an Intel N270, 1GB RAM and 80GB HDD. Installation was dead easy as the FlipShare app installs automatically from the Flip's own storage. The internal storage on our test unit could hold upto 60 minutes of 720p video but there's also a 120 minute version. We needed to reboot ourr system after initial install.

Shooting movides was a snap. Simply aim the lens and hit the big red button. However, there's no optical zoom and the 2x digital zoom wasn't really worth bothering with. There's no image stabilisation so a steady hand is needed. Once we'd shot some footage, we connected the Flip MinoHD to our test system using the flip-out USB connector. While connected, the camera is also recharged. Videos stored as MP4 natively - an easy format for playback but not natively supported by Movie Maker if you're using it on a WIndows XP.

Editing with FlipShare was limited to basic sequencing, titles and credits. If you're planning to do any more than that you'll need to look for some more sophisticated software or export to a Movie Maker friendly format. Sharing movies using FlipShare was very straightforward. There are options to burn movies to DVD (if you have an external buriner for your netbook) or, with just a few clicks sent to You Tube, MySpace or to a lower res format for upload to other websites. Flip also have their own video sharing if you don't want to use YouTube or MySpace.

For the time we had the Flip MinoHD for review it was never far away. We used it to quickly film speeches at weddings, performances at school concerts and other random life events. That's its great promise - a camera that is quick to start, easy to use and doesn't make downloading and editing footage a drag. For those on holidays, it a cheap and convenient way to carry a video camera that takes a decent shot. Sure, it's a little limited as it misses on full 1080p and image stabilisation but it's not intended to be a high-end camera. It's designed to be a step up from a camera phone.

Product	Flip MinoHD
Online	www.theflip.com
Price	$140USD to $199USD
Buy from	Amazon [Affiliate Link]
The Good	Easy to use, light, no software required
The Bad	LCD is small, No image stabilisation
The Ugly	No optical zoom
Mojo Rating	4

By Anthony Caruana   Tue, Feb 09, 2010

Everyone's got a few web sites they like to regularly visit. These are the first places I go when I want to know what's happening in the netbook universe. They're not in any particular order.

Yugatech

Netbook Choice

My Netbook World

Netbook Choice

Eee PC-blog

Liliputing

Netbook Reviews

Netbook News

Netbook Files

Naturally, there are a few others like Gizmodo, Engadget and the like but they're really generaiist blog/news sites so they're usually my second port of call.

By Stephen Withers   Sat, Feb 06, 2010

HP Officejet H470

You'd need a largish bag to carry the HP OfficeJet H470 Mobile Printer as it measures 34 x 16 x 8cm excluding the battery, which is easily removed for transport. And at 2.25kg (including the battery), it's a substantial addition to your hand luggage. Both Qantas and Virgin Blue only permit 7kg of carry-on, so that's a third of your allowance gone - though Virgin explicitly allows you to carry a computer in addition to a bag, and Jetstar has a more generous 10kg allowance on most routes.

The review unit had obviously been around the traps and some scuffing was apparent on the matte surfaces, but it worked properly so I'd take that as a sign it doesn't require cotton-wool handling.

HP offers an optional Bluetooth adaptor, but the H470 worked with my generic Bluetooth dongle plugged into the PictBridge USB socket. The other USB socket is deeply recessed to suit HP's adaptor, but mine wasn't quite the right shape to fit.

Netbooks generally don't have optical drives, but I don't recommend downloading the drivers and other software from HP's web site, as that resulted in several 'file not found' issues after I took that route. Copying the entire contents of the CD onto a thumb drive or other USB storage device is a much more satisfactory procedure. That problem overcome, setting up the H470 for use via USB or Bluetooth was straightforward and successful.

The battery is said to be good for up to 480 prints per charge, but I wasn't prepared to waste that much paper to find out whether HP is telling the truth.

Nominal speeds are up 22ppm black, 18ppm colour, and 49 seconds for a 4 x 6in borderless photo print. It took 38 seconds to print a page of a document containing a mix of text and graphics, using the 'everyday general printing' preset. Printing the same page as the second page of a print job took just 5 seconds less. That's less than 2ppm, which isn't within cooee of 18ppm.

The H470 sacrifices little quality for portability. Black text is dark and clear (just the way I like it), and the graphic elements were on a par with many of the desktop printers I've tested recently. 

The story was similar - though not as extreme - with photos: 2 minutes 32 seconds for the 4 x 6 print using the 'borderless photo' preset.

An optional photo cartridge adds light cyan and light magenta to the mix. The print time was practically unchanged, and - at least on my usual test image - so were the results. The photo cartridge took a little of the red out of the various skin tones (not that they were excessively pink to start with), leaving the faces looking slightly green around the gills. That effect was absent when I printed other shots, and I think carrying a third cartridge around would be more trouble than it is worth.

Canon iP100

The Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer is a similar size to the H470, measuring a little under 33cm wide, 18cm deep and 6cm high.

The battery pack increases the depth to the best part of 21cm. The battery itself is fairly compact, but the plastic cover that keeps it in place is bulky and does nothing for the appearance of the printer. Apart from anything else, it's moulded in grey plastic rather than the silver finish used for most of the case.

A pair of screws secures the cover to the rear of the printer's case, and Canon has the sense to provide slots to suit a small coin (a five cent piece, if you're in Australia). However, the battery socket has a small blanking plate that could be easily lost. 

Like the H470, the iP100 weighs in at 2.25kg including battery, so it's a significant addition to your luggage 

There's a USB interface for connecting to a computer, a second one for a Bluetooth dongle (our generic one worked just fine) or a PictBridge camera, and an infra-red interface (not as important as it used to be, but sometimes useful - perhaps for printing from an older phone camera).

Again, the software ships on a CD, so one of the simplest ways of transferring it to the iP100 is via a thumb drive. It would be handy if either the installer or part of the software itself were able to check Canon's web site for updates.

As usual, the print speed was significantly slower than the notional 14ppm for colour (20ppm black). Our mixed document took 42 seconds for the first page and 28 seconds for run-on, making the iP100 slightly faster than the HP portable - but not enough to make much difference on the relatively short jobs that are the bread-and-butter work for such devices.

Text quality was completely acceptable, but lacked the dense black look I noted with the H470. Yet solid areas of black seemed equally dark with both printers. Using a magnifying glass revealed that the iP100 had slightly finer text, but the outlines weren't quite as smoothly formed as those from the H470. My test document includes a © symbol in a small point size, which is a pretty stern test of an inkjet printer.

When it comes to graphics, Canon's reds were a little less vivid than HP's, while the blues seemed slightly lighter. While the results are different, I can't really say either is better than the other on this criterion.

I confess to a general liking for photos produced on Canon printers. While iP100 output had the even gloss of a 'real' photo and very smooth colour tones, there was a noticeable red tinge, especially in skin tones. Regardless of how fair or dark a person's skin is, a little extra red looks better than too much green. So while we slightly prefer the iP100 to the H470 in this respect, otherwise there's not much between them - except that the Canon is somewhat quicker at 2 minutes 11 seconds for a 4 by 6in print.

Conclusion

There's not that much to choose between these two printers. In terms of portability, they're the same weight. While the Canon is a little smaller in terms of volume, that's negated once the bulky battery cover is fitted. HP's external battery is less obtrusive and more easily removed.

The iP100 is faster than the H470 - not by much, but sitting waiting for a printer isn't one of my favourite ways of passing time. The Canon comes out ahead for photo quality, but I have a slight preference for the HP output when it comes to non-photo prints.

So leaving aside the question of whether you prefer a black or silver finish (or perhaps which looks best with your netbook), it largely comes down to price. $A100 is $A100, and we can't see $A100 worth of difference at RRP, and almost as much at street prices. So I'm inclined to the iP100 unless you can make good use of the H470's optional Wi-Fi interface. But that will set you back another $A95 at list price, so you could buy the iP100 plus a Wi-Fi enabled printer for your office or home for the same price as an H470 with Wi-Fi.

By Anthony Caruana   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

NetComm will be releasing a new 3G WiFi router that will easily slip into a pocket. With a slot for a SIM card, the router looks to be a perfect travel companion. While full specs weren't available, we'd expect the connection to be limited to 802.11g as there doesn't seem to be the room for the required antennas.

By Anthony Caruana   Sun, Feb 28, 2010

Samsung's latest netbooks, the N150 and N210 look pretty good out of the box.

By Anthony Caruana   Thu, Feb 25, 2010

Netbooks aren't meant to be replacements for main computers. Their purpose is to complement the main system you work with. They're meant to be portable. However, for some reason we can't seem to let go of our deep seated desire to keep all the bits and pieces we expect in a full notebook in a netbook.

Look at the side of your netbook. Most of the thickness comes from the need to accommodate the VGA, or D-SUB, video port and the ethernet port. Drop those and the side profile can be almost halved. Not only does this aid your netbook's portablity but it also looks a lot better.

I can already hear the naysayers. "But we might need an ethernet port one day". Bah... the point of the netbook is portable computing. A wired ethernet port is not needed and if it is there are plenty of cheap USB-ethernet adapters.

The VGA port is a little more problematic as many of us use our netbooks for giving presentations. However, the new DisplayPort and MiniDisplay port connectors are far slimmer and adapters to VGA are readily available. In fact, there are DisplayPort to HDMI converters out there meaning that almost any modern TV becomes a presentation screen.

What do you think? Is it time to ditch the ethernet and VGA ports? Register at Netbook Mojo and leave a comment.

By Anthony Caruana   Wed, Feb 24, 2010

Liliputing gives us a First Look and Unboxing of the new Lenovo S10-3. They seem pretty impressed.

Specifications:

Processor: Intel ATOM Processor N450 ( 1.66GHz 667MHz 512KB )

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Starter

Display: 10.1 " SD 1024x600

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150

Memory: 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz 

Storage: 160GB 5400

Current pricing is around $370USD as there's a $50USD discount at the moment. 

By Press Release   Wed, Feb 24, 2010

LG Display Co announced today that the company has obtained Microsoft's ‘Windows 7 Touch Logo' certification for its touch screen panels.

Windows 7 Touch Logo certification is a program at Microsoft that validates the quality of multi-touch digitizers for use with Windows 7 and the panel's compatibility. In order to be certified, products have to undergo tests at Microsoft's Windows Touch Test Lab (WTTL). LG Display became the world's first to achieve the Windows 7 Touch Logo Certification with in-cell touch panels.

The certified product is a 13.3-inch Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch LCD Panel for notebook PCs with multi-touch functions that enable simultaneous recognition of two touch points. Unlike the conventional touch screen products where generally films for touch screen function are applied to the standard display, the product has touch sensors built into the display.

Fully internalized within the display, the in-cell touch sensor has many benefits over the films additionally attached to the products. It preserves picture quality and maintains the display's original thickness. In particular, the panel is appropriate for notebook PCs that are frequently used outdoors, as it prevents light reflection and brightness declines that films generally cause.

LG Display's CTO and executive vice president, Dr. In-Jae Chung noted, "LG Display has successfully applied the Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch technology to large sized LCDs for notebook PCs. Until now, the technology had limited use in smaller devices like mobile phones. We believe Microsoft certification is a testament to the product's excellence. We will continue to apply superior touch functions to larger IT products like notebooks and monitors to lead consumer and market trends."

LG Display had unveiled the world's largest 13.3-inch Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch screen panel at FPD (Flat Panel Display) International Japan 2009. The company plans to launch mass production of the panel in the second half of 2010.

The market survey firm DisplayBank projected the touch panel market to more than double from USD 2.1 billion in 2008 to USD 5.4 billion in 2011. In particular, the touch panel market is expected to be USD 300 million in 2008 to USD 800 million in 2011.

By Anthony Caruana   Sun, Feb 21, 2010

The Associated Press reports that students in a Pennsylvania school district have been issued with laptops and that the school, in a supposed attempt to track down stolen computers, have activated the webcams. Students have been told that they've been recorded doing "inappropriate things" in their own bedrooms and there's concern that students doing innocent things like getting dressed might have been recorded as their laptops were open at the time.

I'm all for tracking down stolen gear but if the allegations are substantiated then the school authorities involved have been been, at the very least, clumsy or, at worst, incompetent.

You can watch the video on You Tube

By Anthony Caruana   Sun, Feb 21, 2010

Jeff Li of Pioneer Computers Australia tells us that the M81 10-inch netbook that's received plent of recent attention will be replaced in March with the all new 11-inch DreamBook Lite U11a.

The spec sheet is pretty much run-of-the-mill with the choice of either an Intel N450 1.66GHz or Intel N470 1.83GHz processor. There's one RAM slot that comes standard with 1GB of DDR2 memory although you can go to 2GB - a good idea as it comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition. There's no word on the capacity of the 2.5-inch hard disk but there are options for Bluetooth, a 1.3MP camera and 3G.

Wireless comms include 802.11b/g/n with wired covered by a regular RJ45 ethernet port. Accompanying the usual complement of VGA and three USB ports is a HDMI output.

Full specs

By Press Release   Sat, Feb 20, 2010

HP has introduced five point-and-shoot digital cameras and three camcorders with features such as LCD displays, up to 5X optical zoom and fashionable colors.

The cameras and camcorders come in slim, lightweight designs at prices ranging from $99USD to $199USD. They are expected to be available this [northern] spring at select retailers.

Adding to its growing portfolio of touch-enabled notebooks and desktops, HP now features LCD touchscreen displays on select cameras and camcorders. In addition, select models feature a new intuitive user interface that makes them a snap to use. Interface improvements include a high color contrast to help ensure better visibility of menus and a choice of more than 25 scene modes to help ensure photos are of the highest quality.

When choosing a scene mode, the display shows two images - how the photo will look in auto mode and how it will look in the selected scene mode. For example, choosing "snow" mode during a ski trip can transform overly bright, washed-out photos into vibrant depictions of the snowcapped mountains.

"HP is giving consumers a better way to interact with point-and-shoot cameras by offering models with advanced features at a great value," said Mark Ostendorf, manager, Business Development, Personal Systems Group, HP. "Entry-level consumers will love the HP CW series while customers who want a premium experience will enjoy the touch interface of the HP CW450t or PW460t and two of our new camcorders."

Touch the future - memories at users' fingertips

The premium HP CW450t and HP PW460t point-and-shoot digital cameras feature 2.7-inch and 3-inch LCD touchscreen displays, respectively, and a newly designed touch interface for viewing photos with the simple swipe of a finger. Both have 4X optical zoom and support up to 32-gigabyte (GB) SD/SDHC memory. They power up rapidly and minimize the time between taking shots.

The CW450t is available in two colors - blue and merlot - and priced at $109USD. The PW460t is available in pink and charcoal gray and priced at $149USD.

The latest HP touchscreen digital camcorders - the V5061u and V5560u - feature large 3-inch LCD touchscreen displays, 1,080p high-definition (HD) recording and motion-detection capabilities. Additionally, the V5560u features 5X optical zoom and a lithium-ion battery. The V5061u provides a dual SD/SDHC memory card for plenty of room to record, and an option to install AA batteries if the lithium-ion battery is not charged. The V5560u and V5061u are priced at $199 and $169,(1) respectively.

Capture the moment - outstanding price, performance and style

• Ideal for on-the-go amateur photographers, the HP CW450 point-and-shoot digital camera features a 2.7-inch LCD display with 4X optical zoom. Slim and lightweight, it fits comfortably in the user's hand. Available in black or red, it is priced at $99.(1)
• With a lithium-ion battery making it slim enough to fit easily into a shirt pocket, the HP SW450 point-and-shoot digital camera features a 2.7-inch LCD display and 4X optical zoom. It comes in turquoise or red and is priced at $129.(1)
• The HP PW550z point-and-shoot digital camera features 5X optical zoom and a wide-angle lens in addition to a 2.7-inch LCD display and lithium-ion battery. It is available in black or plum and priced at $149.(1)
• The HP V1020h digital camcorder features 720p HD recording and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, all packaged in a lightweight, slim design. It also includes a USB connector for easy video uploading to social networking and video sites via a notebook or desktop PC. The HP V1020h is priced at $109(1) and expected to be available this summer at select retailers.

For more information and to see the latest lineup of HP digital cameras and camcorders, visit HP in booth 3120 at the PMA tradeshow, Feb. 21-23 in Anaheim. More information also is available at www.hp.com/personalagain.

By Anthony Caruana   Sat, Feb 20, 2010

There's no way one site can possibly review every product or break every single news story. So, I'll be doing a regular catchup and link to  bunch of stories that I come by.

Liliputing Review of the Asus Eee PC 1001P

Over at Liliputing, they've got a review of the Asus Eee PC 1001P - what they're calling the "Cheapest netbook with an 8 hour battery". 

Liliputing reports that:

"This model comes with 802.11b/g WiFi, but no 802.11n. It lacks Bluetooth. And it has a lower capacity battery than the Eee PC 1005PE. But it does have a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display. It runs Windows 7 Starter and Asus says it can run for up to 11 hours on a charge."

Their testing suggests that 11 hours is a tad ambitious.

At just $299 from Amazon [Affiliate Link], this looks to a steal.

HD video on a Netbook

PCPro reports that it's possible to play HD movies on a netbook of you follow their instructions. You'll need to stump up $10 for some software but that's cheaper than a new netbook with an ION2 controller.

Near Perfect Netbook Bag?

We'e been trying to get a review sample of the Skooba netbook satchel to no avail. However, Jason Dunn of Thoughts Media has reviewed one over at Digital Home Thoughts.

He reports that:

"The Skooba Design Netbook Messenger is an extremely well designed netbook bag, with well thought out features and a reasonable price tag. If I could change one thing about it, it would be to either allow the shoulder strap to be removable (so I could add a Skooba Superbungee to it), or to add some rubber grip to the underside of the shoulder strap to prevent slippage."

If you're interested in this bag, the article includes a discount code for a 20% discount on purchases of $50USD or more.

By Anthony Caruana   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

For the first time ever, Barbie® asked the world to help her select her next career. The winner of the popular vote is Computer Engineer. Computer Engineer Barbie®, debuting in Winter 2010, inspires a new generation of girls to explore this important high-tech industry, which continues to grow and need future female leaders.

The great news is that she uses a netbook! Not just any netbook - she's got one a hot pink device that seems to have an impressive screen size. Perhaps it's in keeping with her other "disproportionate attributes".

"All the girls who imagine their futures through Barbie will learn that engineers - like girls - are free to explore infinite possibilities, limited only by their imagination," says Nora Lin, President, Society of Women Engineers. "As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can turn their ideas into realities that have a direct and positive impact on people's everyday lives in this exciting and rewarding career."

To create an authentic look, Barbie® designers worked closely with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to develop the wardrobe and accessories for Computer Engineer Barbie®. Wearing a binary code patterned tee and equipped with all the latest gadgets including a smart phone, Bluetooth headset, and laptop travel bag, Computer Engineer Barbie® is geek chic.

By Anthony Caruana   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 netbook gets a fresh new look and longer battery life to go along with technology enhancements and easy connectivity capabilities. Updates to the Mini 10 include optional high definition entertainment bundles that deliver rich, smooth playback of streaming HD video in addition to Web surfing, email, listening to music and sharing user-generated content in real time.

The new design with 10.1-inch display includes a textured, smudge-resistant palm rest, sculpted keys and, for the Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle, extended-life battery offering up to 9.5 hours1 of operation. The Mini 10 can be personalized with a broad range of optional colors or hundreds of optional custom artwork designs available in the Dell Design Studio.

The Inspiron Mini 10 will be offered with options including HD display, Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator, surround sound capability, built in HDTV tuner, or built-in Wi-Fi location enabled GPS that provides people with real time information to nearby restaurants, landmarks, maps and entertainment.

Built-in wireless connectivity provides easy, quick access to the Internet and e-mail. Some models feature Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband communications.

Highlights

• New Intel Atom N450 processor at 1.66 GHz
• 10.1-inch display with standard (1024x600) or High Definition (1366x768) display available in coming weeks
• Built-in speakers with available SRS Surround sound
• HDTV tuner and location-aware GPS configurations available in coming weeks 
• Bundles with Broadcom Crystal HD for smooth HD playback coming in Q1
• Built-in 802.11 b/g wireless with available Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband
• 1GB4 DDR2 memory at 800MHz
• 160GB5 or 250GB hard disk drive storage
• Choice of 3 or 6-cell integrated battery with up to 9.5 hours1 of battery life (Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle only). 
• Choice of Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home, Ubuntu operating system option available in the coming weeks
• Lightweight: Starting at about 2.75 - 3.1 pounds6 with a 3-cell battery

Prices start at $299USD or $499AUD.