AMD has picked up a fair bit of ground in the netbook space lately with support from the likes of HP and Acer, and it looks like it’s now added yet another big partner — ASUS is relying on some AMD hardware for its just-announced Eee PC 1201K netbook.

 That’s an AMD Geode NX 1750 processor backed up by a SiS 741GX/966L chipset, to be specific, which is complemented by some mostly ordinary specs otherwise, including a 1GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, a built-in memory card reader and, somewhat interestingly in light of yesterday’s news, Windows XP Home for an OS. No word on pricing or availability just yet.

Laptops packed with Bluetooth 3.0 and WirelessHD are being shown at the Computex trade show in Taiwan and will be on the market this year, offering faster wireless data transfer speeds between PCs and TVs or mobile phones, for instance. Laptops shown by Acer and Asus with the latest technologies could help wirelessly transfer larger files and high-definition images at faster speeds. The technologies have been under development, but are now slowly making their way into PCs.

Asus announced the G73JW and the G53 gaming laptops with WirelessHD, which allows the transmission of high-definition video from laptops to larger TV screens. That could let users turn their PCs into game consoles or Blu-ray players. The laptops integrate Sibeam’s WirelessHD technology and use the 60GHz frequency band to transfer data. The data transfers will not interfere with wireless communication through Wi-Fi or cordless phones, which use separate frequency bands, SiBeam said in a statement.

The laptops will be available with 3D screens, Asus said. The G53 will come with a 15.6-inch screen and the G73JW laptop with a 17.3-inch screen. Laptop prices were not announced, and they will become available later this year…..

Acer at the show said it would bring Bluetooth 3.0 technology to its laptops, though it didn’t announce specific models. However, an Acer Aspire 533 on display included a Bluetooth 3.0 port, according to enthusiast Web site Netbooked, which did a hands-on review of the device.

Acer has also indicated it would implement Bluetooth 3.0 in its Timeline laptops on a BIOS support page.

Bluetooth is commonly used in mobile phones with wireless headsets for hands-free talking. Bluetooth is also used in laptops to transfer multimedia files or sync data without using wires.

The new Bluetooth 3.0 standard boosts wireless data transfers between devices to 25M bps (bits per second) from 3M bps, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a group developing the standard. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification, which is based on Wi-Fi, is an update from the Bluetooth 2.1 protocol, which was adopted in 2007.

Bluetooth 3.0 piggybacks Wi-Fi connections to transfer short bursts of data at fast speeds from devices like mobile phones to PCs. Bluetooth 3.0 will transfer images or movies at faster data transfers while using less power, said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

The Wi-Fi backbone helps shut down the Bluetooth radio a lot quicker as data transfers are completed faster, Foley said. The new standard also increases the range and stabilizes connections between devices. In earlier standards, connections easily broke when devices went out of range, Foley said.

Foley hopes the adoption of Bluetooth 3.0 in PCs will spur other device makers to adopt the standard. The technology has already appeared in smartphones, but Foley said it will ultimately make its way to cameras, camcorders, projectors and TVs.

Asus also included a Bluetooth 3.0 port in its EeeTop PC ET 24, all-in-one 3D desktop designed to replace home theater systems. The desktop was announced at Computex.

Semiconductor companies are also developing chips that include Bluetooth 3.0 radios. Ralink Communications showed the RT3592BC8 chip that combined Wi-Fi/802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 technologies. The Taiwanese company said the chip could be used in laptops, and could enable applications like peer-to-peer gaming.

Broadcom announced that its InConcert communications module, which combines 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0, had been selected by PC makers like Asus and Samsung for implementation in laptops and netbooks.

Well, will you look at that. In its haste to proclaim itself winner of a 2010 Red Dot design award, ASUS has inadvertently or perhaps intentionally announced the brand-new netbook that received it — the Eee PC 1218. She’s a beaut, too, with a slim, one-piece aluminum shell that evokes the MacBook Air but still packs a substantial number of expansion ports……. There aren’t any hard specs quite yet, but the above shot shows it’ll come with a webcam and chiclet keyboard, and in a second pic after the break we can make out three USB sockets, Ethernet, VGA, a pair of 3.5mm audio jacks and an HDMI port — the last of which possibly suggests a dedicated GPU (here’s hoping an Ion 2) for HD video playback. Oh, and lest we forget, ASUS says it’s also got a soft-touch plastic underside, for all you coffee-swilling, netbook-slinging butterfingers out there. No word on pricing or availability.

Asustek Computer chairman Jerry Shen has announced, at a conference in Taiwan, that the company will introduce its tablet PC, the Eee Pad, at Computex 2010, scheduled between June 1-5, and is aiming to launch the device in retail channels in the third quarter of 2010, which sources from component makers revealed will be late July.

To compete against Apple’s iPad, Asustek has strengthened the Eee Pad’s industrial design and has cooperated with Google to adopt its Android platform. Asustek will also add features that iPad currently does not support such as USB, integrated webcam, and Adobe Flash, Shih noted.

As for the impact of tablet PC, Shih expects the device reduce overall netbook demand by 10-20%. The company is also monitoring the tablet PC and e-book reader markets closely to prevent related products stepping into each other’s demand and will maintain flexibility to launch products that suit the fast-changing market demand……

The sources estimated that Asustek’s Tegra-based Eee Pad will be priced at NT$15,000-16,000 (US$479-510) after bundling with telecom carrier services, and total shipments will reach 300,000 units in 2010.

In additional news, Micro-Star International (MSI) is also ready to launch its tablet PC, the M Pad, in the third quarter of 2010, but is conservative about initial shipments to prevent inventory buildup. MSI’s current strategy is to observe Asustek’s Eee Pad sales performance before deciding the strength of its shipments and marketing push

ION Cannon Redux?

When Intel released its Pine Trail platform for its latest Atom netbooks, it looked like it was game over for NVIDIA’s ION platform. As far as Intel was concerned, the newer Pine Trail platform simplified things by integrating the memory and graphics controller onto the same die as the CPU (codenamed Pineview but more readily known as the Atom N450) , which meant that there was no need for another graphics controller like in the older Atom platform (such as the N270 and N280 variants which popularly represent this segment)…..

For NVIDIA though, this seemed like a slap in the face, given how they still haven’t managed to get a license for the Arrandale (mobile Core i7, i5, i3) processors and now they can’t supply the chipsets for the Atom platform anymore. So instead, they’ve redefined the ION platform and changed it from a chipset with better integrated graphics to a discrete graphics option for netbooks. Now, you might be wondering, why would netbooks need a discrete graphics solution?

That’s because Intel’s integrated graphics still lacks the performance punch, especially when it comes to handling high definition Adobe Flash video. While there exists a stopgap solution in the form of a Broadcom Crystal HD chip that may come with a select few netbooks, the lack of such functionality built-in does mean that NVIDIA has a way back into the netbook market again. The ION 2 does basically everything the original ION did, but now comes with NVIDIA’s Optimus technology.

We managed to get our hands on an early netbook build with NVIDIA’s ION 2, and this time, it’s the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN. It’s a 12-inch netbook that comes with a dual-core Intel Atom D510 and NVIDIA’s ION 2 for discrete graphics. Unfortunately, our prototype came equipped with an Intel Atom N450 processor instead, so we figured it’s more of a show set than a proper review unit. Since it’s not of the right configuration and the drivers that shipped with it was for preview purposes, we’ll save the performance matters for the full proper review when the properly configured unit arrive. So for now, let’s take a quick look at this upcoming netbook.

If you find the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN looking very familiar, that’s because it’s sharing the same chassis as the previous ASUS Eee PC 1201N, which was a netbook equipped with the original NVIDIA ION platform and a dual-core Intel Atom 330.

We’ve just been informed that the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN will come in various Atom CPU configurations like the D410, N450 and D510. But more importantly, this netbook will NOT support NVIDIA’s Optimus technology as they are aiming to be the first in the market with an Ion 2 graphics engine. Additionally note that netbooks with Ion 2 using Windows 7 Starter will also not feature Optimus technology; only those using Windows 7 Home Premium like the Eee PC 1201PN have this feature support as an option. An Optimus equipped version of the ASUS Eee PC 1201PN will follow later this quarter of the year.

If you’re looking for a nettop without all the fussy ability to play high definition content, ASUS’s upcoming EeeBox EB1007 might be your ticket to standard-definition minimalism……. According to Netbooked, the vanilla desktop was said at CeBIT to be HD-capable, but what we’re seeing on the company’s site doesn’t appear to be, packing the new Intel Atom D410 processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB of storage, three USB 2.0 ports, all topped off with 802.11b/g/n WiFi. No word on when it’ll be available or how much it will cost when it does, but it should certainly slot in under the $387 EB1012.

Well, ASUS’ 10-inch Eee PC T101MT is undoubtedly for those that can’t make the call on netbook vs. tablet, and like clockwork the Atom N450-powered netvertible is creeping up on stateside order pages in search of $500 of your hard earned cash…… Unfortunately, for that price you’ll only be getting single touch input since its Windows 7 Starter OS lacks multitouch support, but our guess is that slightly more expensive SKUs with Win 7 Premium will start popping up soon. We’d certainly urge you to wait on our full review, but if you’re too eager to put your fingers all over that capacitive screen and chiclet keyboard, reach for your wallet and hit one of those source links.

Source:Engadget

The Asus Eee PC T101MT is about to break cover, making its way to a gadget emporium near you during April. The new machine was first spotted in Vegas during the annual gadget hoedown that is CES.

It rocks a swivel screen, which you can fold back onto the keyboard, turning this 10-inch netbook into a proper tablet too. Inside that bod’ you’ll find plentiful specs including Intel GMA graphics, the standard Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and a plentiful 320GB hard drive.

The Garmin-Asus nüvifone joint venture has taken on another family member today: the A50, rocking Android. It has 3G, a 3.5” capacitive touchscreen, GPS, and supports Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Exchange sync. The running theme with nüvifone has been navigation and location-based services, and includes stuff like car mount-optimized user interface, and an additional side-mounted GPS unit.

Garmin-Asus is also making a lot of noise about the Windows Mobile-powered M10, which had made its first appearance in Taiwan last month. Before that, AT&T (NYSE: T) was offering the Linux-powered G60, received with little acclaim. Personally, I find the idea of a handset built from the ground up with an eye on GPS is a great idea, especially since Google is eating Garmin’s lunch when it comes to straight-up navigation services…..

Garmin-Asus sounded pretty cock-sure that they were going to do an Android handset when I talked to them last year at Mobile World Congress, and we’ll undoubtedly see the A50 and M10 at this year’s event. As for when the populace at large will be able to pick up either of them, the nüvifones should be spreading across Europe in the first half of 2010.

The existing Windows Mobile nüvifone has already enjoyed a 6.5 update, but this M10 is apparently running the new 6.5.3, which we caught a look at during CES. Preorders have started for the M10, which will offer a 3.5” 800 x 480 display, 600 MHz processor, and cruise on 900/2100 HSPA and 900/1800/1900 EDGE bands. If you haven’t been acquainted with the nüvifone family, they’re basically a navigation-centric smartphone family. The Linux version that came out on AT&T didn’t make a big splash, but I’m still hopeful for the concept, especially if Garmin-asus can do good things with Android. If you happen to be in Taiwan, you can preorder the nüvifone M10 here for about $USD 450, and expect to see it on your doorstep on February 6.