Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

I think quite a while ago we looked at a prototype of a dual screened netbook/slate type computer substituting the keyboard for another touchscreen with a software keyboard for extra screen space. Well now Toshiba have announced the “clamshell” Libretto W100 a similar affair, obviously taking the simplicity of a DS and adding the functionality of a netbook and smartphone.

The two 7” screens run Windows 7 Home Premium, with an Intel Pentium U5400 Processor. Further look at the specs show it’s no simple pushover either. With 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 62GB SSD storage, N-standard WiFi, SB, microSD and a 1MP webcam the user also has a choice of built in 3G connectivity too. Sadly the downside is the battery life which Tosh claims is a measly 3 and a half hours.

Everybody was looking forward to a Microsof slate after iPad rocked the world but it never surfaced. This is certainly looking promising as a player in the market and certainly will be interesting to see in action. Bad news is we only know it’s getting released sometime over the summer and there’s no price.

As we touch on the portable computing seen quite a bit, you can see an obvious regular trend. If you want a power house of a machine running top spec applications and games then you have to buy a big bulky power hungry (rubbish battery life) laptop. If you want portability with good battery life you have to get an under specced netbook only capable of browsing the net and sending the odd email. Now obviously computer technology improves at quite a vast rate and it may seem obvious that eventually the low end technology will catch up to the high spec, which in turn will advance further etc……anyway Toshiba have developed a laptop that kinda incorporates both……

The Portege R700 is a 13.3” Windows 7 operated laptop that weighs a mere 1.3Kg. The picture we found courtesy of Electricpig shows that it can be held with one hand at one side and the weight distribution is so spread out it doesn’t feel heavier at one side than it does another.

Spec wise you can choose between Core i3, i5 or i7, up to 4GB of DDR3 and a choice of 320GB HDD or 128GB SSD. It also has 3 USB ports and an HDMI out socket. It’s available with built in WiFi like most machines but also comes with optional 3G connectivity. Now whats also interesting for an ultra light, ultra thin laptop like this is that it has an optical DVD drive. Now what is also surprising, with all that spec, Toshiba claims it’ll do 9 hours of use on a full battery charge.

As per we don’t have a release price but we do know it should be with us next month sometime so if you’re after a lightweight, portable but powerful lappy, this could be for you.

The thing with netbooks in my opinion is they’re all well and good to carry about and do the odd bit of word processing or web surfingin a coffee shop, but they cant really do much else. Acer has obviously noted this and has updated its range to allow HD video capabilities but also given them extra connectivity but still giving decent battery life.

The Aspire One 533 has a 10.1” 1280 x 720 screen. Alright it’s not Full HD but 720p is still pretty good. Powered by either the Intel Atom N455 nor N475 you can opt for 1GB or 2GB of memory. It also has up to 250GB of storage. The standard WiFi comes too but you can also have the option to include 3G connectivity and the latest Bluetooth 3.0. Battery wise, there’s 3 options for you to pick from. The highest being a six-cell affair which will give up to 10 hours of use, but also will add weight.

Available in July there’s no price but with so many options to choose from they’re going to vary anyway.

If you pop on to the Asus website, they’ve just added it’s next model into its Eee range with the 1015P netbook. “Another netbook?” you might say “What’s different?”. Well according to Asus this little baby will work mains free for up to 13.5 hours, a current record from what I can gather.

Specs wise it’s not the most powerful but still pretty good considering the fact it can last so long on it's battery. This is probably due to the fact it uses Intel’s latest Atom N450 chip. Options come with a 160GB, 250GB or 320GB HDD. It comes with 1GB RAM upgradeable to 2GB and comes with N-standard WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1. With a 10.1" LED Backlight WSVGA Screen and running Windows 7 Starter, the website states it’s available in black, white or blue.

No luck with the full details yet though but Asus have confirmed it will be available in the UK, so if you’re interested, just keep your eye on that website.

With Ipad on the horizon it’s time for the adversaries to start flooding in. Although we’ve talked about a few in the past, of what will be challenging the iPad, with its imminent arrival, what will be its imminent competitors. Well Dell looks to be one of the first with its Mini 5 tablet. Also known as the “Streak” this was first shown at a San Franciscan tech show earlier in the year as well as a prototype demoed at CES. Now it’s almost here in Blighty.

Specs wise it definitely means business. Firstly there’s the 5” WVGA capacitive touchscreen(bit small in comparison to the iPad, not much bigger than your largest smartphones) which Dell says will be running the “latest version of Android” . Now does that mean 2.1 or the “coming soon” Android 2.2 (see next post for details on this). The slate will also have a 5Mp camera with flash and autofocus and the usual gubbins of WiFi, Bluetooth and that all important 3G connectivity. It will also have Amazon Kindle intergration for all your eBook requirements.

Dell has gone on to say that they have a distribution partnership with O2 Telefonica in Europe and the Streak should be with us in the next month with a later release in the States sometime in the Summer. However we don’t have any price details.

With smartphone tech getting so good one often doesn’t need a PC to do his/her job or social networking, your phone will pretty much be able to cope with everything. It appears Sony are trying to grab some attention from the market with its new ultra-portable, small and light(only 600g) P Series notebook.

Firstly the basic specs. Now obviously with a lot more power than that of any phone, the Vaio P runs with an Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM. With an 8” screen running Windows 7 the Vaio P also has 64GB of Flash memory to keep it light and power-use friendly. Now what they’ve added to the Vaio P to give it smartphone-esque functionality is touchpad, GPS and an accelerometer. You can flick the pad through images and also turn it into portrait mode for easy viewing of things like ebooks. It’s also packing Everywair 3G allowing 7.2Mbps internet use wherever you are.

Available in an assortment of colours (green, pink, orange, black or white) it should be availbale around June time. No price details are available now but when the last P series came out they started at £849 for the lowest specced model. Expect extortion again.

As you may have noticed I’ve avoided speaking about the iPad at all! Mainly this was due to the fact I’m not a fan of Apple (which has changed slightly since my recent acquisition of an  iPhone 3GS) but also there was never any concrete evidence for us UK residents on when it was arriving or how much it would be. Well wait no more it’s now been officially priced and dated by Apple.

May 28th is the date you’ll want to make note of in your diaries. Now if you’re unsure what an iPad is well basically it’s an iPhone as big as your head, a tablet Mac which the Americans have had the pleasure of playing with for a couple of months now and as it’s an Apple product everyone wants them(there was shortages in the US after release due to demand, much like the iPhone). 

It will be available in 2 kinds of model. a “WiFi only” and a “WiFi + 3G”. The “WiFi only” prices start at £429 for a 16GB model, rising to £499 for a 32GB and £599 for a 64GB model. The “WiFi and 3G” models will obviously cost more at £529, £599 and £699 respectively.

Available to pre-order on Monday(if you really really want one I’d suggest you do) they will be available to buy from any Apple store. No doubt the mobile carriers will jump in, perhaps subsidising with contracts or a pay as you go style.

Samsung have entered the touchscreen netbook market which may be a little late with the soon to be arriving folding tablets but where it makes up for it is in its durability and its compact size.

A not so great 1024x600 10.1” it’s standard size for a netbook but this has a nice touchscreen for you to prod around with and as its running Windows 7, the touchscreen friendly OS unlike most netbooks that run Windows XP. However despite its superior OS the netbook itself isn’t a top of the range power monster. Intels Atom N450 is the processor with 1GB RAM. It also comes with with a choice of 160GB or 250GB HDD.

However it looks like Samsung are aiming for a particular market with this one as it seems its been built to last the elements and general wear and tear despite its lack of future-proof tech. The drives are anti-shock protected and the case is reinforced to withstand the odd drop or bump in your bag, probably from them idiots at the train station who insist on barging you out the way. It also has a liquid resistant keyboard. Whether you can spill your coffee on it and it still work I would like to see although at £350 a throw for the machine, it would be an expensive test.

Not available in the UK yet and no release date, the Samsung NB30 Touch is on sale in Italy now so it shouldn’t be too far off a British release.