The Android operating system is slowly picking up steam in the netbook industry as two netbook heavyweights, ASUS and Acer, announced plans this week to release systems based on the OS later this year.

According to BusinessWeek, ASUS’s latest Eee PC netbook will utilize the power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The system will also feature a 10 inch display, universal 3G radio, support for 720p video playback, built-in GPS, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Currently being demoed at Computex, the new Eee PC model is expected later this year.

Acer also announced plans this week to release a new Aspire One netbook running the Android OS. While there was no mention of specs, the company did mention that the new Aspire One would be ready by Q3 of this year. In addition, this won’t be the only Acer netbook model running Android. The company announced that the majority of Acer netbook models would offer Android as an option over Microsoft Windows – giving users a choice in pre-installed OS’s.

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Technorati Tags: ASUS, Eee PC, Acer, Acer Aspire One, Android netbook

If you’re in the market for a svelte netbook, you’ll want to check out the new ASUS Eee PC Seashell (model 1008HA) netbook. Introduced back at CES 2009, the Seashell netbook is now available for folks here in the U.S.  This system is really a thing of beauty thanks to its “seashell-inspired design”. Physical features include a smooth opalescent glossy exterior sprinkled with light reflective specs, a profile of 1 inch thickness, and a weight of a mere 1.1kg. On the inside, you can expect fairly standard netbook components – here are the specs:

• 10 inch LED backlit WSVGA display with Color-Shine
• Windows XP Home or Linux
• Intel Atom N280 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB 2.5 inch SATA II 5400 RPM HDD
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• 6 hour Li-polymer battery
• 1.3 megapixel battery
• HD audio
• stereo  speakers
• Digital array microphone
• Mini VGA connector
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Ethernet port
• Headphone and microphone in
• Card reader for MMC/SD/SDHC

The Eee PC Seashell is available in White, Black, Blue, Pink, Sapphire Blue, and Ruby Red.

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Technorati Tags: ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1008HA

Thanks to a new partnership between DTS, Inc. and ASUSTeK Computer Inc., computing enthusiasts will now be able to build PC systems with ASUSTeK motherboards featuring DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC technology. The technology, found in the latest P5Q Turbo and M4 series motherboards, deliver surround sound effects through just two speakers or headphones.

According to the press release:

“DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC uses advanced post-processing technology to deliver an incredible surround effect from just two speakers or headphones. The post-processing contains significant psycho-acoustic information that alters human perception, making one believe that sounds are actually occurring outside the boundaries of the two-speaker system or headphones. Developed with a key understanding of acoustics and years of knowledge in dealing with the properties of sound, DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC creates a three-dimensional wall of sound that exceeds the limitations of just two speakers for an optimal surround sound experience. DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC also supplements the weakened stereo image and ambience of digitally compressed audio, while keeping the monaural components (such as solo vocals) unchanged.”

Two of the latest ASUS mobos featuring DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC include the ASUS P5Q PRO Turbo:

and the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe:

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Technorati Tags: DTS, Inc., ASUSTeK Computer, DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC, Motherboards, Surround Sound

Missed this one from early last week. Those of you waiting on the new Eee Top ET1602 should be happy to hear that ASUS is now shipping the All-In-One PC here in North America. For a starting price of $599, the ET1602 features items such as a 15.6 inch touch-screen display, an Intel Atom processor, integrated webcam, array microphone, Wi-Fi, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, built-in speakers, and a built-in handle. We first saw the ET1602 at CES 2009 and we were certainly impressed with what we saw. While the All-In-One comes with Windows XP, it’ll certainly be interesting to see what the system will be like running something like Windows 7 which has a much better touch-oriented UI.

AND, if you’re looking for an external DVD drive for the ET1602, ASUS has announced a matching-design SDRW-08D1S-U Diamond slim USB DVD drive. No word on pricing.

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Read this in Chinese Simplified or French

Technorati Tags: ASUS Eee Top ET1602, All-in-one PC

Interested in the new ASUS Eee Top 1602 all-in-one PC system announced back at CES 2009? You’ll want to check out PC Magazine’s review of the system here on their website. The Eee Top 1602 (which we checked out at CES) comes with a 15.6 inch widescreen touch-screen display, Windows XP, an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, built-in stereo speakers, a memory card reader, and various ports. Interestingly, PC Magazine published a price for the 1602 – $599 for the system which isn’t too bad considering all that you get (though a beefier processor would have been nice). Here’s what they thought of the Eee Top:

“The ASUS Eee Top 1602 is the first truly integrated all-in-one nettop. The Eee Top may create a new category—think of it as the new Internet terminal that replaces your desktop (which is what WebTV or Audrey tried to do).”

Is a nettop in your future?

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Technorati Tags: ASUS, Eee Top 1602, PC Magazine Review

In addition to the newly announced nüvifone M20, Garmin-Asus provided additional details to their previously announced nüvifone G60 handset. Unlike the M20 which is a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS based handset, the G60 runs a Linux OS and is “designed for the active on-the-go user who wants an easy-to-use device” to answer simple questions such as “where am I?”, “where am I going?”, or “how do I get home?”

Here’s the rundown of features and specs for the nüvifone G60:

• Quad-band GSM / GPRS / Edge 850/900/1800/1900
• 850/1900/2100 HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
• Linux OS
• Three primary icons on the display – Call, Search, and View Map
• Secondary icons appear on the side of the home screen and can be customized by user preferences
• Built-in accelerometer
• Location Based Services support with location information added to apps such as email, SMS, photo sharing, social networking etc
• Operates like a Garmin nüvi device with preloaded maps of North America or Eastern and Western Europe and millions of POI
• Connected Services support
• Ciao! social networking app
• Supports POP3 and IMAP4 email such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail.
• Soft keyboard
• 3.0 megapixel camera with auto-focus – automatically geotags images
• Allows individuals to place calls and identify their exact GPS location while making phone calls
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• 3.55 inch 65K color support, anti-glare resistive touch-screen with 272 x 480 resolution
• 4GB on board memory, 128MB RAM
• microSD slot with SDHC support
• MP3 playback support
• Document viewing support for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, and JPG
• Measures 112 x 58.1 x 14.6 mm and weighs 137 grams

Still no word on pricing or an exact availability date other than the first half of this year.

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Technorati Tags: Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60, Linux Smartphone, Garmin device

Nearly two weeks after formally announcing their new alliance, Garmin-Asus have announced their latest smartphone product offering – the new nüvifone M20 – “an all-in-one, mobile web-browser, and premium navigation system with a Windows Mobile operating system.” The company will unveil the new M20 at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The nüvifone M20 is a dual-band 3.5G/tri-band GSM Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone with Wi-Fi connectivity, web browser, push email support, document viewing capabilities, multimedia support, Bluetooth wireless, and Garmin satellite navigation.

Other features and specs include the following:

• Full QWERTY soft keyboard
• HSDPA wireless support
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• Location Based Services with navigation functions linked to frequently used applications such as calendar, contacts, email, Internet apps, etc
• Comes pre-loaded with maps and points of interest (POI) for North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and other regions
• Provides turn by turn voice prompted directions and automatically recalculates if a turn is missed
• Connected Services support – suite of online apps and data from Garmin-Asus which adds “location intelligence” to navigation, phone, and browser functions. Expandable list of apps includes content like real-time traffic, white pages, weather, flight status, local events, and movie times
• Support for Ciao! – a social networking service that keeps users up to date with their friends whereabouts and status
• 2.8 inch TFT VGA (640 x 480) touch lens display with 65K colors
• Built-in microphone and speakers
• Built-in 4GB/8GB My Storage
• ActiveSync for Outlook, Microsoft Office, and multimedia synchronization
• 3.0 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging capabilities
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, and AMR-NB
• Video playback support for MPEG4/H.264/H.263/WMV @ 30fps VGA
• Video recording in MPEG4/H.263 @ 15fps QVGA; Streaming Audio/Video
• Opera browser
• Qualcomm 7200A 528MHz processor
• 920 mAh Lithium replaceable battery
• 3 hour talk time with 3G enabled; 2.8 hours with 2G enabled
• Built-in accelerometer
• Measures 95.3 x 52.5 x 12.8 mm
• Weighs 99 grams with the battery

The Garmin-Asus M20 will be available during the first half of this year.Stay tuned for an exact availability date and pricing.

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Technorati Tags: Garmin-Asus nüvifone M20 smartphone, Windows Mobile Smartphones

Ever wish you could have Garmin navigation technology included with your mobile handset? Well soon you’ll be able to! Garmin and ASUS formally announced a strategic alliance today to build a line of “location-centric” mobile phones. The upcoming line, known as the Garmin-ASUS nüvifone series, will be rolling out this year headlined by the G60 model which will be announced at the upcoming Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona.

The two companies have actually been working together for over a year with their first model being that new G60 model. It was originally known as the nüvifone handset but has since been rebranded as the Garmin-ASUS nüvifone G60. Newer nüvifone products will also continue the vision of the original G60 and offer Location-based Services capabilities such as turn by turn, voice prompted navigation typically found on high-end Garmin portable navigation devices, and pre-loaded maps with millions of points of interest.

Features of the nüvifone G60 handset include:

• Quad-band voice
• Tri-band data
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA encryption
• Desktop web experience with full HTML browser
• Location based apps including real-time traffic information, gas prices, flight times, weather, etc
• Geo-tagged SMS, email, and photo sharing
• Ciao! Location-based Social Networking platform
• Large display with portrait and landscape view of each screen
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard with touch-screen
• Garmin navigation experience with voice prompted turn by turn directions that speaks street names
• Optimized for pedestrian or automobile use with included car mount
• One-step navigation from contacts, email, and local search results
• “Where am I?” safety feature displays your current address and nearest police, hospital, and fuel services in one click
• Pedestrian mode for in-hand navigation

Garmin-ASUS nüvifone models will be on display at the Garmin-ASUS booth at the MWC in Barcelona.. Wish I was going!

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Technorati Tags: Garmin-ASUS, nüvifone G60, nüvifone phones

One new market that ASUS appears to be diversifying into is in the area of wireless HDMI. This makes complete sense when you consider ASUS is also in the wireless networking market with several products including the RT-N17 wireless N storage router and the WL-330gE portable wireless 4 in 1 access point.

Now what we have above is the new BR-HD3 Wireless HDMI kit. The kit contains both the transmitter and receiver, supports up to 1080i video and stereo linear PCM audio. It has one HDMI 1.3a input on the transmitter and one HDMI 1.3a output on the receiver. Too bad the units lack 1080p support (as well as multi-channel audio support)

Technorati Tags: ASUS BR-HD3 Wireless HDMI kit, CES 2009

Remember that ASUS AiGuru SV1 Eee Videophone announced last month? Well I got a chance to see it up close and personal and wow.. it’s large. (yeah for some reason I thought it was going to be smaller.. ) In any case, the videophone does feature an 800 x 480 resolution 7 inch display so I can forgive the large form factor.. though I wish it didn’t look like a toy from afar.

Now features of the SV1 include:

• The world’s first large screen videophone for Skype without needing a PC
• Intuitive, icon driven user interface
• 802.11 b/g
• Cable free rechargeable battery
• Built-in 0.3 megapixel webcam, microphone, and speaker
• 10/100 Ethernet
• Measures 202 x 123 x 253 mm
• 20 min talk time on battery
• 30 min standby time
• 2 hour charging time

Technorati Tags: ASUS AiGuru SV1 Eee Videophone, Skype, CES 2009