The ASUS Eee Top won’t have the all-in-one nettop field to itself for much longer: MSI are planning some rival integrated nettops of their own, in the shape of the new MSI Wind Neton range just unveiled in China. The Neton M22, M19 and M16 have a 22-inch, 18.5-inch and 15.6-inch displays respectively, and are all based on either the single or dual-core Intel Atom CPU. All have a touchscreen option and the M22 - which has a 1920 x 1080 resolution display - can be specified with a Blu-ray drive.
Celio’s REDFLY smartphone companion device seems destined to polarize opinion. The first reviews of the newly announced C8N are popping up, and while many are still having trouble seeing how this brainless (in the nicest possible way) netbook-style terminal brings anything desirable to the table, those who actually spend some time using it do seem to warm to the concept.
One of the common justifications we hear for digital photo frames missing out on wireless connectivity is that it makes the display too expensive. eStarling have decided to turn that premise on its head, with the arrival of the Impact7: a 7-inch display with WiFi, touch-controls and a remote control, priced at under $100.
Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience update is currently installing on consoles all over, but those hoping to gorge themselves on Netflix streaming movies may find their appetite left unsated. Licencing issues with Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment, has left the Netflix options suddenly truncated; films available to view through other Netflix routes are not permitted on the Xbox 360.
Apple’s release plan for OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard” has been previewed early, thanks to the company’s director of engineering of Unix technologies, Jordan Hubbard. Hubbard gave a presentation about the evolution of OS X at the LISA ‘08 (Large Installation System Administration) conference last week, and his presentation [pdf link] included the following tidbit about Snow Leopard coming in Q1 2009.
VIA have announced the VIPRO VP7710, a fanless touchscreen panel PC intended for industrial and commercial applications but likely to prompt at least a little interest from domestic custom installers. Based on either a 1.6GHz VIA Eden or 1.0GHz C7 processor with up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, the primary means of input is using the 10.4-inch water and dust resistant touch panel.
The Peek email messenger is either the pinnacle of task-specific devices, or an under-functional waste of pocket space, depending on your stance on convergence. Reviewers seem fairly happy, but one regular critique is the device’s unwavering obsession with email above all other types of messaging. Now Peek have responded by adding SMS compatibility, together with updating the email app to support a broader range of image attachment viewing.
Microsoft have simultaneously cut the price of their flash-based Zune PMPs and launched version 3.1 of the media device’s firmware. Those unaffected by the lure of the iPod can now pick up a 4GB Zune for $99, down from $129, while the largest, 16GB Zune drops to $179 from $199.
HP just announced the TouchSmart tx2, the company’s very first multi-touch convertible notebook for consumers. I had a chance to meet with HP earlier today to demo out the TouchSmart tx2 as well as a walk through by Kevin Wentzel, HP’s Technical Marketing Manager for the Mobility Global Business unit. I like what I saw so far, especially considering this is only version 1.0.
If you’re looking for something non-stick-like to control your Wii, then you might be interested in the Hori Classic Controller. Sure, it looks strikingly similar to the GameCube controller, but this one’s all for the Wii and is actually pretty practical when you get right down to it.
