Fujitsu hits Netbook market with M1010

Fujitsu's first foray into the UMPC market is, to date, the smallest convertible tablet PC the world has ever seen. But at the same time, most users balk at having to fork out close to two grand for a device with limited power and a painfully small screen. With laptop prices dropping, the same amount can probably get you a gaming machine from Taiwanese manufacturers like BenQ or Acer.

Though Netbooks have been sprouting up faster than Shitake mushrooms, we were still a little surprised to see a low-cost laptop companion popping up in a premium brand's catalog. The latest M1010 comes ready for some cheap mobile action with the following components:

Intel Atom processor

8.9-inch display

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios

1.3-megapixel Webcam

1kg

But what sets this Netbook apart is that, possibly for the first time, clip-on covers are available to personalize and protect your portable. Price details are not available yet, but units should start shipping come Q4 2008.

Dell's new low-cost PCs for emerging markets

As promised, Dell unveiled several new computers Wednesday made specifically for emerging PC markets like China and India.

There are four new models in all under the Vostro line--two laptops and two desktops. The notebooks will start at US$475, and the desktops at US$440, and will be available in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

The notebooks are available in 14.1-inch and 15.6-inch sizes, and come with Intel Celeron or Core2Duo processors, and Ubuntu Linux or Windows Vista. The desktops come with Intel Atom, Celeron, or Pentium processors, and Ubuntu or Vista.

Dell says there will be more Vostro products for these markets released in the next few months.

This looks to be the beginning of the company's promised push into two of the fastest-growing PC markets in the world. After establishing a retail presence in both China and India in the last year, Michael Dell said in March that while growth in the US market for PCs would be "OK", Asian markets would grow more.
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New Dell leaks: XPS Studio 13 and 16

To give credit where credit is due, Dell's recent reveal of its new Latitude E-series business laptop line was the first new laptop announcement in a long time to not completely leak a few days or weeks early. (There were some photos and rumors a few months ago, but overall, it was a successful launch.)

The same cannot be said for Dell's consumer side--every new product is leaked, usually with detailed photos and spec sheets, leaving little actual news for the system's launch day. Case in point--these new photos and details (purportedly from an internal PowerPoint) of something called the Dell XPS Studio line.

We're familiar with both the XPS and Studio brands, and we're curious to see if this new hybrid is the beginning of the end of one or both as a standalone. These slides, from notebookreview.com, show slot-loading Blu-ray drives, edge-to-edge glass displays, hybrid SLI graphics (that's a GPU and the motherboard's integrated graphics working together), and backlit keyboards. In addition, the 16-inch model is shown with some cool-looking wood accents on the lid.
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ASUS ditches Eee name for high-end Netbook

A high-end luxury Netbook? Seems like an oxymoron, since Netbooks are supposed to be simple, stripped-down, low-cost laptops. (Not familiar with Netbooks? Check out our Netbook roundup feature for a primer.)



ASUS, the company that single-handedly built the Netbook category with its Eee PC, is reportedly aiming at more upscale consumers with a fancier version of the popular Netbook. The newest version, with a 10.2-inch screen, has some high-end features, including a fingerprint reader, HDMI output, Altec Lansing speakers, and, in at least a few leaked shots, an ExpressCard slot.

The catch is that ASUS is calling it the N10, instead of using the Eee PC name, which has already graced several Netbooks, a low-cost small form factor desktop, and a slew of accessories. We first caught sight of this new system on French Web site Blogeee.net, which also claims (if our rusty French is correct) it'll cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 330 to 430 euros, which at the current exchange rate is about S$687.54 (US$493.89) to S$895.88 (US$643.55). No official word on price, specs, or release date in Asia so far.

What's that smell?

Of all the five senses, smell might be one of the most underrated. After all, most people would probably feel that losing their sniffer is less traumatic than being unable to see, taste, touch or hear. Yet the ability to discern scents allows us to detect danger (is that week-old cheese still edible?), enjoy flavors (some say taste is 70 percent smell) and even procreate (pheromones anyone?).

But will a breath of fresh air make your computing experience better? ASUS seems to think so and it has announced a new range of scented laptops based on the F6 series. But instead of merely attacking your olfactory nerves, it also heads for your aesthetic sense by offering unique graphic motifs based on the scent.
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