Apple branching out in 2009?

Familiar Apple rumors are making the rounds again this week as Macworld looms in the distance, one month away.

Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research put out a research note Monday morning spotted by D: All Things Digital saying that Apple plans to release something from "a completely new device category" next year. He fails to explain exactly what such a product might encompass, but speculates that it will be based around a processor designed by the former P.A. Semi engineering team.

As a result, the usual rumors (Mac tablet, iPhone Nano, iKindle) are under discussion within the Mac universe. Chowdhry believes that Apple patent filings will be released early in 2009 that will make everything clear, and also notes that P.A. Semi should have an iPhone chip out around that time that improves performance and battery life.

Earlier this year CEO Steve Jobs implied Apple was watching small-device categories like tablets and Netbooks to see if they actually take off as a mega-trend, but in the meantime the company had other priorities. Mac tablet rumors stretch back for years, and in the past Jobs has quickly shot down talk of an Apple-produced competitor to Amazon's Kindle, which has been interpreted as a sign Apple was doing just that.

Via CNET Crave

Yogen Max's foot power to charge up your laptop

Considering the strides taken in renewable energy, this seems like a step backward into the dark ages of flint and pyrite tools for making fire. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But if we have to revert to manually generating power for use, it just goes against the grain of tapping nature's resources--from sun to sea--to do the hard work. So it'll be interesting to see if Easy Energy's Yogen Max foldable laptop charger, which resembles a bicycle foot pump, will take off when it ships some time next year. Presumably, when you've no solar charger or are out of reach of an AC mains, this foot pedal charger is probably going to look like mighty sweet for your notebook on its last legs. Not to mention that all the workout should get you pumped up for yet more office rat racing.

Via Coolest Gadgets

Dell opens Design Studio: Custom lids

To be honest, I've never thought Dell's new Studio laptops did much to befit the Studio name. Dell trumpeted personalization when it launched the Studio line earlier this year, but aside from the standard rainbow of solid colors also found on lunch-pail Inspiron models, the Studio line offered only a handful of graphics patterns from Mike Ming (one of which, Sea Sky, is also an Inspiron option). Expanded feature set aside, Dell's Studio laptops looked like slightly more stylish versions of Inspiron laptops.

Recently, the Dell Studio line further distinguished itself from Dell's other laptop lines with the introduction of the Dell Design Studio. There, you'll currently find 58 options for personalizing the lid of your Studio 15 or 17 laptop. (Dell states its Design Studio "offers more than 100 exclusive and original works of art", so expect more to be added soon. Featured artists include Joseph Amedokpo, Jason Bacon, Tristan Eaton, Siobhan Gunning, Bruce Mau, Mike Ming, Brittany Waldner, Derek Welch, and Guillaume Wolf.
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gOS Cloud: Browser-based OS for Netbooks

Good OS, the people who brought you the Linux-based gOS found on the US$199 Wal-Mart gPC last year, announced a browser-based OS called Cloud at the Netbook World Summit in Paris on Monday. (You know you've made it as a form factor when you have your very own world summit. Kudos, Netbook!)

The Cloud OS features a browser with an integrated, OS X-like dock and a Linux kernel that boots "in seconds", according to the company. The browser looks oddly similar to Google's Chrome, though no official connection between Google and gOS exists. Within the browser window resides a dock that provides quick access to a number of apps--Skype, YouTube, Google's Docs, etc.--that you can fire up without running Windows. From the dock, you can also boot to Windows.

Unlike the gOS, the Cloud OS isn't meant to replace Windows but live alongside it, similar to what Asus offers on some of its laptops and Lenovo on its IdeaPad S10 Netbook with the SplashTop app. Good OS states that Cloud "does not require additional hardware and is compatible with any operating system".

Good OS demonstrated its Cloud OS on a Gigabyte touch-screen Netbook at the World Summit in Paris. The company says such touchscreen Netbooks running the Cloud OS and Windows will be released at CES next month.

Via CNET Crave

ASUS releases brushed-aluminum Eee PC 1002HA

Unveiled last month, Asus' latest addition to its ever-expanding Netbook line is the Eee PC 1002HA. It's your standard 10-inch Netbook--Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP--but comes wrapped in a gray, brushed-aluminum chassis. On the Eee PC scale, the 1002HA falls between the basic, black Eee PC 1000 and the sleek, thin S101. Thankfully, it's priced closer to the former, at US$499. And weighing in at 1.2kg, the 1002HA is only a little heavier than the S101.

Unfortunately, the 1002HA's uses a tiny, two-cell battery. It has a lower-rated capacity than the Eee PC 1000's six-cell battery or the S101's four-cell battery. The 1002HA's battery is rated at 4200mAh, compared with 6600mAh and 4900mAh on the Eee PC 1000 and the S101, respectively. Asus states the 1002HA will run up to 5 hours on a single charge, but the S101's larger battery ran for just more than 4 hours on our tests.

You can find the Eee PC 1002HA in the US listed on Amazon, Buy.com, ZipZoomFly, and other online resellers, though only for preorder at the moment.

Via CNET Crave

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