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Netbooks are small in general, but the Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1 pretty much takes the cake. With a 5-inch display and QWERTY keyboard, this midget of a machine looks more like an MID than anything else.

However, it features a full OS (Ubuntu Linux), a 1024 x 600 touchscreen display, and the 800 MHz Freescale i.MX515 CPU. Flash storage is a miniscule 4 GB, and RAM is only 512 MB.

Ports and other features are surprisingly luxurious, including 2 USB ports, a microSDHC expansion port, and Wi-Fi.

However, that’s not all. The battery should be usable for up to 10 hours at a time and boot speed is as low as three seconds. The Sharp Netwalker netbook clearly means business.

Japanese consumers will get the Sharp Netwalker PC-Z1 as early as September 25th for around $479. We’ll have to wait and see if US markets will get access to this little netbook for now, but we’ll have the news for you as soon as it’s out there. Stay tuned.

Via Engadget.

Netbook manufacturer Suzuki has recently introduced the world to their new 7.1″ touchscreen netbook, the Suzuki Neutron 701 MNI.

This netbook has a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor and can support up to 4 GB of RAM. Other tech specs of the Neutron 701 include: 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, a 56K modem (quite an unusual part), Bluetooth 2.1, 3 USB ports, a VGA port, a 5-in-1 card reader, an ExpressCard slot, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam.

The dimensions of the Neutron 701 netbook are 9″x6.7″x1.2″. The machine weights roughly 2 pounds, including the 4-cell battery.

With the size trend moving away from smaller netbooks to netbooks with screens that average about 10″ though, will this Suzuki netbook really be successful in the current market? Any thoughts?

Via NetbookUpdates.

The CrunchPad prototype has been a running project over at TechCrunch since April, but since that time we’ve seen fairly sparse news about the thing. It’s small, sexy, and apparently usable, and the whole thing’s made all the more interesting because it’s designed by a blog, not some computers giant.

It hardly needs to be said that once the Straits Times proclaimed the CrunchPad to be the “world’s first tablet PC” with an exclusive demo by alleged developer Fusion Garage, industry eyes were drawn. Here’s an exerpt from their article:

“The fully working model, called a Crunchpad, has a 12-inch screen and weighs 1.2kg. It allows users to watch YouTube videos, listen to music and edit documents, among other things. Its operating system, or OS, was also developed in-house. The device will not have storage space – which some analysts have pegged as a big drawback – and will instead run programs hosted on servers: so-called cloud computing.”

Naturally, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington has confirmed nothing in the article thus far. He was also apparently pretty F-ing pissed about the whole thing as well:

“re crunchpad, obviously i’m completely ripshit mad about all this unauthorized bs press: http://bit.ly/2dVjBQ wtf.”

The machine should pack an Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and some sort of mobile broadband – it’s a netbook sans keyboard and hard drive.

Rumors price the device at $400, though Michael Arrington hoped to make it cheaper. Stay tuned as this story develops.

Via CNet.

Archos is blurring the line between netbooks and portable media gadgets with its new Archos 9PCtablet. It’s a 9-inch Atom-powered tablet PC, and promises more in the way of entertainment than your average netbook.

The 9PCtablet has an optical trackball, and looks a lot like a Viliv S7. Of course, the Viliv devices have tiny screens in comparison.

The Archos 9 will be out this fall with Windows 7 as the OS. It uses a 1.2 GHz iteration of the Intel Atom, which may or may not give the kind of performance we’re used to from the 1.6 GHz Atom N270 or 1.66 GHz N280.

Archos supplied specs for the new 9PCtablet:

• Processor: Intel Atom Z515 1.2 GHz
• Video Chipset: Integrated US15W
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7
• System Memory: 1GB (DDR2 400/533)
• Display: 8.9” touch screen – 1024 x 600 pixels
• HDD: 60GB or 120GB
• Communication: Ethernet 10/100
• WiFi: PCI-E interface, 2 Antennas, Support IEEE 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Optional 3.5G HSUPA – Huawei EM750M 7.2Mbts module
• Audio: 2 stereo speakers
• Built-in Microphone
• Optical Finger Navigation System with Right and Left click buttons
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Audio/headphone output
• Web cam: Built-in 1.3MP camera

Archos will be releasing black and white versions of the new tablet netbook. Other options include a 60 or 120GB hard drive and a 3.5G HSUPA antenna.

Via CNet.

Not a year ago, this might have been labeled an ultramobile PC, but nowadays we’re calling devices like the Kohjinsha SK3 touchscreen netbooks. The new device is Kohjinsha’s upgrade to the 7-inch SC3 UMPC. What’s different? The new device got a better battery and upgraded cameras, among other things.

While comparisons to the ASUS Eee PC T91 are tempting, the SK3’s convertible resistive touchscreen is 3 inches smaller than that on the T91. The 1.3 GHz Menlow CPU is supposedly fast enough to run Vista. Wi-Fi got draft-n support this time, and old connectivity choices like PCI Express, SD, VGA and Ethernet are still included. The netbook has GPS capability as well.

Unfortunately, we don’t know quite what kind of life we’ll be seeing for the new battery. Pricing is also unknown, but we’ll be on it as soon as the numbers are out there.

Via UMPCPortal.

While the idea of an Apple netbook has been fervently denied by representatives of the company, a few out there just won’t leave that poor dead horse alone.

According to a few reports, Apple is considering netbooks with a bit more seriousness this time around. Reuters noted that Apple bought a shipment of 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan, to be delivered third quarter. In addition DigiTimes – whose controversial role in the netbook industry is well-documented – thinks the company delivering them is called Wintek. They believe Quanta Computers will have a role as well.

Is Apple turning a new leaf with the netbook industry? It’s hard to say. Numerous reports say netbook sales will continue to skyrocket for the forseeable future, but Apple has distanced itself from price battles as much as possible. Its uppity stance has worked well in supplying such luxurious items as the iPhone and Macbook Air, so why bother?

As always, we’ll need to wait and see. A few big Apple conferences are coming up and there’s still room for them to surprise everyone, so stick with us and we’ll report it as it comes.

Be sure to check out our section on Apple and the netbook industry to learn more.

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.

The retail price of the Intel student-based tablet netbook system, the Intel Classmate PC, has been confirmed. It is now available from CTL in the USA for $549.

The price is a bit higher than we’d hoped for, as it is a device meant for wide distribution among students and other low-end consumers. Hopefully this big number was worked into Intel’s plan for hawking the device, because if it wasn’t, the Classmate PC will surely sink. We definitely laud Intel for putting the new tablet netbook out there, but praise is less important than price when it comes to getting the thing sold.

Be sure to check out our feature on the Intel Classmate PC for all the specs.

Via Hexus.

The new Classmate PC by Intel has been getting some press as a student-ready tablet meant for the modern age. The netbooks come in a convertible and clamshell version, the first of which has a flexible 180-degree swivel design and has touchscreen capabilities.

Lila Ibrahim, general manager of the Intel Learning Series-supporting Intel Emerging Markets Platform Group, is walking the high road with this netbook. “Education is one of the best ways to improve the future for individuals, villages, or nations,” he said. “There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world and of those only 5 percent have access to a PC or the interner. The IT industry has a huge opportunity to contribute to how technology can improve students’ learning and students’ lives. With our announcement today, Intel continues its long-standing commitment to advancing education through technology to transform lives around the world.”

The Classmate PC is truly a school-ready netbook. It comes with a lower-power Intel Atom CPU, to drive the cost down, and is light enough for a child to tote around. It is specially designed for ruggedness, and can take solid bumps or liquid in its water-resistant keyboard. It also has the unique “palm rejection” feature, which allows the child to rest his palm on the touchscreen for more comfortable writing. The netbook also features software from the Intel Learning Series program.

Intel says local manufacturers including “CTL, Equus and M&A in the United States, MDG in Canada, CMS in the United Kingdom, NEC in France, Olidata in Chile, ASI in Australia and Hanvon in China” are going to be offering Classmate PCs in their respective countries. Both the clamshell and convertible tablet Classmate PCs will be offered worldwide.

At CES this week, Craig Barrett (the chairman of Intel) focused on Intel’s intent to provide educational content to children everyqhere. “Technology can be used in tremendous ways to impact people’s lives on the ground,” he elaborated. He mentioned that 3G, 4G, and WiMax would hold a big role in helping do so, especially for developing countries.

Release dates and costs aren’t available yet, so check back soon.

Intel’s newest project is the Classmate PC, a student-based netbook to be officially announced at CES this year.

The netbook is in the tablet style, with a touchscreen and compatibility for both landscape and portrait modes.

Laptop.com recently got the chance to mess around with an “almost final” version. Their conclusions? Even though the Classmate is built for kids, the touchscreen features are well-implemented, and other netbook manufacturers should take the hint.

They also liked the blue and white color scheme, the webcam, and the friendly interface. The Classmate can also tell if your palm is grazing the screen while you use the stylus. That way you won’t accidentally click other icons, something that personally irks me about my laptop’s touchpad.

The Classmate PC is an interesting take on the netbook theme and we hope to see some more interpretations soon.

Via CrunchGear.

MSI Wind plans to unveil their touchscreen-enabled MSI Wind netbook next month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Although they won’t be the first company to do so – Gigabyte sells one for around $1,000 – MSI may be the company with the cheapest touchscreen netbook.

Intel has a special role in the netbook world, acting as the supplier of the most widely used chip in the market – the versatile 1.6 GHz Atom.  However, analysts at Intel seem to have some doubts about the fate of the very netbooks their company powers.

According to Intel VP of sales Stu Pann, Intel believes it’s miscalculated what markets would go for netbooks.”We originally thought Netbooks would be for emerging markets and younger kids… It turns out the bulk of the Netbooks sold today are Western Europe, North America, and for people who just want to grab and go with a notebook… We view the Netbook as mostly incremental to our total available market.”

Pann’s biggest criticisms were of the small screens, which he believes are “not something you’re going to use day in and day out.” He cites eye strain and general discomfort for this reasoning.

It makes sense, of course, for Intel to say netbooks will only add incrementally to its income – after all, Intel is a massive company. However, we should remind ourselves that earlier this year netbooks’ enormous sales surprised Intel, forcing the technology giant to crank out thousands of Atom chips it hadn’t anticipated making.

The Atom chip is, for the moment, in almost every netbook around. It is easy to forget that the Atom is a mere six months old. Pann’s reluctance is sensible, in this light, but as for netbooks not being used by owners on a daily basis, I’m skeptical.  After all – are netbooks not the ultimate tools for commuters?

To expect an owner of a netbook to use it as a replacement for his main working machine is unrealistic – netbooks were never meant for that.  Mobile users will use netbooks for short amounts of time – in the train, while on break, waiting at a bus stop – which conforms well to Pann’s “fine for an hour” statement.

While it’s been supposed that netbooks’ rise is due to the shortchanged economy and consumers’ need to save money, this analysis ignores several factors. Netbooks have been gaining luxurious new features to please those with some money to burn – consider the touchscreen Raon netbook or Hello Kitty netbook, about which we recently wrote. The market has proven that netbooks are not just cheaper, crappier laptops, and Intel should take heed of this.

It would be short-sighted and senseless for Intel to stop the experimentation with the new netbook market, considering the recent explosion of new netbook releases. In my opinion, the rise of netbooks is more than a trendy bump in the timeline of technology – it is indicative of a change in the market itself.

The fact of the matter is that shoppers are showing that they want a cheap, slim laptop-like device, no matter how knockoffy netbooks seem. They are buying netbooks, and skepticism can’t make much of an argument against that – at least for now.

Intel has the potential for far more profit in its hands, given the netbook community’s clear preference of the Atom, and would do well to let the market prove its sustainability.