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Pegatron has another Freescale netbook prototype out and about, the same one trade shows (like June’s Computex) have gotten a glance at. It’s displayed here next to a Palm Pre because both the netbook and the smartphone share ARM’s Cortex A8 core architecture.

The netbook hasn’t got a name for now, but it runs a 1 GHz Freescale iMX515 CPU, capable of playing 720p video and running some 3D games.

Aside from the slow processor, the netbook’s specs are otherwise impressive. It has integrated 3G and GPS as well with WiFi and Bluetooth. The netbook should get up to 8 hours of run time.

An actual release for the Pegatron netbook may be a while off, as long as it gets positive feedback from testers. ASUS could be the company to greenlight the project or even label it an Eee PC.

Hopefully, the netbook should see low prices due to its smaller processor.

Via SlashGear.

Pegatron’s attempt at entering the netbook market provides an example of a unique approach.

Realizing that most people nowadays are on some sort of social network and that the amount of communication done through electronic means is constantly increasing, Pegatron has become creative and integrated Google, MSN, Skype, and Yahoo! keys into its Vivid prototype netbook.

Furthermore, the Vivid is unique in that it is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset, although it’s not the first electronic device to be powered by this chipset.

Pegatron’s Vivid netbook features a matte-display and a battery that is integrated into the netbook itself. This netbook also has 1080p output via its HDMI port.

Via Ubergizmo.

Image via HardwareZone.

People are starting to accept that netbooks aren’t DVD players (with a few exceptions), but it would still be nice if netbooks didn’t struggle with YouTube or Hulu. Nvidia has heard the market’s complaints and come out with a new system-on-a-chip named Tegra, set to boost netbook video immensely.

Mike Rayfield of Nvidia’s GPU described the new Tegra chip as “basically a full motherboard on a PCB (printed circuit board) the size of a pack of gum.”

At Computex 2009, Nvidia said that Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron and Mobinnova are all planning Tegra netbooks by the end of this year. The new chip will need to compete with Intel’s Atom, the Qualcomm Snapdragon, and the VIA Nano if it hopes to get a chunk of the 21 million netbook sales expected this year.

Tegra is basically an 800 MHz ARM CPU, an HD video processor, an imaging processor, GeForce GPU and an audio processor. Nvidia says they can be used independently or in sync, while keeping battery life long. Power efficiency is going to be a strong focus with the Tegra, so much so that Rayfield says that “with Tegra you can get 120 times longer battery life while listening to music than with the Atom processor and about 10 times more than Snapdragon.”

While comparisons may be tempting, the Tegra family is quite different from the Ion, according to Dean McCarron of Mercury Research.

“Ion is a chipset that pairs graphics capabilities with an Intel Atom CPU… Tegra takes the graphics core and combines it with a CPU that is not an x-86 class.”

Regardless of all the hype surrounding the Tegra, it’s possible that manufacturers won’t bite. “In the netbook market, their chances with Tegra are not great,” said McCarron. “So it is possible that we could see them emphasizing Tegra-based devices in geographies such as China that are more receptive to non x-86 architecture.”

Via Wired.

Xandros recently announced at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress that it would be offering a new turnkey software solution running on a unique processor: the Freescale i.MX515 featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology. Freescale has been involved in netbook technology before, most notably when it assisted in the development of the Pegatron netbook.

The new release will focus on “fast boot, long battery life, and reliable 3G connectivity.” It will come with a bundle of assorted Xandros software, as well as resources to help OEMs develop netbook products.

The ‘Xandros solution’ will also include an App Store with acess to all kinds of media, including “access to software, games, multimedia and web applications.” And that’s not all:

“Full-featured user applications include a browser, push-based email, PIM, instant messaging, a photo viewer, a media player, and an office suite to create and edit Microsoft Office documents.”

Wow. All the features will work with both keyboards and touchscreen, meaning the Xandros concept will be portable to pretty much any netbook you’d like.

Freescale Marketing Director Glen Burchers mentioned Freescale’s delight in being able to display Xandros on the advanced i.MX515 processor.

“Consumers demand low costs, high performance and long battery life, and the combination of Freescale’s hardware and Xandros’ rich feature set is expected to enable compelling netbook products that succeed in the marketplace.”

Andreas Typaldos, Xandros CEO, added his viewpoint as well:

“The advanced Freescale platform enables us to quickly bring the powerful netbook experience that Xandros created for the Eee PC to ultra-low powered netbooks with always-on 3G networking and media support… This will blaze a trail for OEMs and carriers bringing full-featured, cost-effective devices with long battery life to new markets, and create recurring revenue streams.”

The Mobile World Congress runs from February 16-19 this year in Barcelona, Spain. We’re anticipating a great deal of new releases from Europe, though not nearly as many as during CES 2009.

Via MSNBC.

We haven’t heard much from Pegatron lately. It split off from ASUS and has been doing ODM work by itself. Unexpectedly, the company moved into the spotlight for a moment at CES to announce its new Freescale-based netbooks. The Linux machines run 8.9-inch screens, have 8 hours of juice, and will cost a delightfully low $199.

It’s running the brand new ARM i.MX515 CPU by Freescale, a 1 GHz chip which is supposedly three times as fast as the iPhone.

The kicker? The chip is insanely efficient and generates barely any heat. It was demonstrated running 720p video using only .5 watts, feeling quite cool to the touch. Its processing power is weaker than that of the Atom, but are well suited to running Linux. It seems like a promising combo, and it’s cheap too. Pegatron and Freescale hope to see these picke dup by OEM around May or June.

Via Engadget.