Recently in First Looks Category

It looks like Acer fanboys are in for a treat as images and details of a new 10-inch Aspire One netbook has surfaced on the internet.

Joining the likes of HP, Asus and Dell, this new Acer Aspire One comes with a 10-inch display, Bluetooth and a multi-touch capable trackpad in addition to the now standard 1.6GHz processor, 1GB RAM, WiFi and Win XP OS. Aside from the cosmetic changes done on the body, it seems that Acer has also decided to include easy access compartments for RAM and HDD upgrades making it even more enticing for consumers.

No pricing and release date available at the moment as Acer hasn't even officially announced this new 10-inch Aspire One just yet. Taking into account how primed and ready it looks in the pictures, I suspect that its release is just around the corner. UPDATE: More PR-ready pics have just surfaced showing off the various colors of this new Acer Aspire One. They can be found at Slashgear.

Sony Ericsson fans will be happy to know that a new Cybershot phone as well as a Walkman phone are confirmed to debut this year. The Sony Ericsson C510 is a 3.2-megapixel Cybershot phone that comes with a 2.2-inch TFT scratch-resistant display, Bluetooth, Google Maps, direct YouTube upload, slide-in lens cover, and 100MB internal memory. It likewise features Smile Shutter, Face Detection and Photo Fix. It’ll be available in the 1Q of this year in two color options: Radiation Silver and Future Black. Price is yet to be known, but it expected to be more on the affordable side. Meanwhile, the W508 is the new Walkman phone to watch out for. It's a clamshell that features a 2.2-inch internal scratch-resistant display, a 1.1-inch monochromatic OLED external scratch-resistant display, 3.2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, NetFront browser, 100MB internal memory and a 1GB Memory Stick Micro as part of the package. Of course, since this is a Walkman phone, you can expect TrackID, Mega Bass, Shake Control and SensMe to be present as well. It’ll be available in Q2 of this year with a yet to be known price. While these two may offer very little in terms of groundbreaking features, they certainly have the looks and styling to succeed in the market.

Dell has unveiled their latest addition to their netbook line, the Inspiron Mini 10. While it does offer a smaller screen size as opposed to the Inspiron Mini 12, it does, however, offer more features. The Inspiron Mini 10 comes with a 10.1-inch 16:9 HD 720p display, Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G WWAN, webcam, multi-touch trackpad and a TV-tuner USB accessory. No word though on what the RAM, storage and OS options will be made available for this new netbook, but we're guessing that 1GB/2GB RAM, 80GB/160GB HDD and SSD storage as well as Win XP/Linux options are a sound choice. Likewise, an exact release date and price are yet to be known. Considering that the Inspiron Mini 10 comes with more than you're average feature set, it wiill most likely be more expensive than any Inspiron Mini we've seen to date. Nevertheless, we're pretty excited about this one as it looks to be a pretty handy netbook to lug around while on the road.

During the recently concluded CES in Las Vega, Palm finally unveiled their latest smartphone, the Palm Pre.

Taking a new approach in designing this smartphone, the Palm Pre integrates a slide-out QWERTY keypad to complement its 3.1-inch touchscreen display which is not usually common in Palm devices. It likewise features a 3-megapixel camera with flash, HSDPA connectivity, Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR, proximity and light sensor, accelerometer, 8GB internal memory, and runs on their latest mobile operating system, the WebOS.

Palm’s new OS is a huge improvement in terms of visual appeal when compared to their earlier applications, but the jury is still out as to how successful as a platform it will be especially when compared to the iPhone and Android. The WebOS makes use of CSS, XHTML and JavaScript making it compatible with a wide variety of applications, and will likewise be able to connect directly to an app store that Palm will be launching soon dubbed as the App Catalog. Sadly though, only US residents will get a chance to own one during the early part of this year. The Palm Pre will become available sometime during the first half of 2009 exclusively on Sprint. A Palm Pre GSM version for other market is expected to be released once it makes its debut in the US. Hopefully, that will happen sooner than later because the last thing Palm needs is to follow in the footsteps of the XPERIA X1 and lose whatever interest and fan base it has gained during its announcement due to a delayed release.

Asus can be credited for the huge success of netbooks in the market today thanks to their groundbreaking Eee PC laptop, and it seems that they’re once again poised to set a new trend this year with the unveiling of the Eee PC T91 and T101H. As their name implies, both new netbooks belong to the continuously growing Eee PC family, but unlike previous releases, these two feature a touchscreen display allowing it to function as a tablet PC as well. The T91 comes with an 8.9-inch display and an Intel Atom Z520 processor. The Eee PC T101H, on the other hand, comes with a bigger 10-inch screen and a new keyboard design that greatly resembles that of Apple’s Macbook laptops. Aside from the details mentioned above, further information regarding specifications and more importantly, price and availability were not disclosed just yet. Considering that Asus has decided to out not just one but two tablet netbooks this early on in the year, the question on my mind is; will tablet netbooks be the next big thing as far as netbooks are concerned? If these two pioneering models become successful when they're released, I have no doubt that tablet netbooks will indeed be the next phase in the continuing evolution of the netbook.

Sony has officially joined the netbook bandwagon with the announcement of the new Vaio P laptop. It sports an 8-inch display, Intel Atom Z530 1.33GHz processor, 2GB RAM, WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, 3G WWAN, GPS, webcam, Windows Vista OS, and 60GB HDD, 64GB SSD and 128GB SSD storage options. It also does away with the usual trackpad and features a pointer instead to save up on space. The Sony Vaio P also boasts of being the lightest netbook weighing only 1.4 lbs and has enough juice in its battery to last up to 4 hours which is still unheard of as far as 3-cell battery-running netbooks go. It’s expected to start shipping in February in 5 colored variants (garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black) with a starting price of $900. Here's a hands-on video showcasing the Sony Vaio P courtesy of Engadget. With such a steep price and awkward design, I doubt the Sony Vaio P will actually draw much attention from the usual netbook-buying public. I personally find an 8.9-inch display already too small, and I can’t even begin to image how people will get their work done on a smaller 8-inch display. Anyway, for what it’s worth, the Sony Vaio P is indeed a technological wonder cramming in all those features in an ultra-small form factor, but as far as practicality and functionality are concerned, it’s still got a lot of room for improvement.

We’ve got good news for those who love the HP Mini Note 2133 for its design and form factor but hate its processor and Vista OS. HP has decided to continue their first netbook’s legacy with the Mini 2140. The HP Mini 2140 comes with an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 10.1-inch LED display, 1GB (max 2GB) RAM, 80GB or 160GB HDD options, WiFi, Bluetooth, Express Card slot, and a ton of OS options that include Windows XP Home/Pro, Vista Basic/Premium, SuSe Linux and FreeDOS. The starting price for the HP Mini 240 is pegged at $499 which is exactly the same price of the Mini Note 2133 when it first debuted a while back. This, likewise, means that the Mini 2140 won’t be cheap at all. However, with the best features of both the Mini Note 2133 and Mini 1000 all packaged in one stellar looking device, I certainly wouldn’t mind paying extra for it. While this is certainly good news for those holding out on buying a netbook, this latest announcement will definitely disappoint those who have already bought an HP Mini 1000 thinking that they were already getting the best of what HP has to offer as far as netbooks are concerned.

The Steve Jobs-less Macworld 2009 has ended without much fanfare, but one of the definite highlights of the show was the unveiling of the new 17-inch Macbook Pro. The full-featured big brother of the Macbook family has finally gotten a much deserved aluminum unibody make-over that ties it in nicely with the rest of Apple’s product line. There will only be one base model for this new 17-inch Macbook Pro which will feature an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5400rpm SATA HDD, NVIDIA 9400M and 9600M GT graphics chips, 3 USB ports, and a 39% bigger glass trackpad as compared to the regular Macbook. However, there are options available to upgrade to an antiglare display, 2.93GHz processor, 8GB RAM, and 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD, 128GB or 256GB SSD for storage. It’s also interesting to note that the battery life of this new Macbook Pro is rated at 8 hours on the 9400M chip, while using the more powerful 9600M GT chip lowers it to a respectable 7 hours. That’s really impressive if it can truly lives up to its billing in real world conditions. The 17-inch unibody Macbook Pro’s starting price is at a whopping $2799. This will hopefully hit the local market before the 1Q of 2009 comes to a close.

If you think that this is just a concept device, then be prepared to be amazed because you’re completely wrong. LG has decided to come out with the GD910, the first ever 3G-capable watch phone that likewise boasts of having a touchscreen display, front-facing camera for video calls, Bluetooth, and HSDPA connectivity that maxes out at 7.2Mbps. While I highly doubt you'll be able to take hi-resolution pictures using this, the GD910 does make for a pretty handy 3G modem that you can pair with your laptop through Bluetooth and will definitely be an interesting conversation piece at gatherings. Details pertaining to its availability and price will probably be revealed at CES 2009 where it is expected to make its grand debut. As for the here and now, it has definitely caught my attention though I really wouldn’t consider getting one if it does go on sale in the local market. How about you guys? Will you buy the LG GD910 watch phone if it becomes available locally?

Without a doubt, 2008 has been a break-out year for netbooks and it seems that MSI wants to set a new trend in 2009 with the announcement of the world's first hybrid netbook, the U115.

Instead of offering either an SSD or HDD variant, they’ve decided to combine both in a single device offering you a taste and the best of both worlds. There’s an ECO mode feature which when turned on will shut down the HDD to extend battery life in extreme situations wherein an external power source cannot be found. The U115 comes with an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 10-inch display, 1GB DDR2 522MHz RAM, Bluetooth, Windows XP Home, 1.3- or 2.0-megapixel camera, 3- or 6-cell battery, 802.11 b/g/n or b/g WiFi connectivity and 120GB HDD with 8GB SSD or 160GB with 16GB SSD options. No word yet as to when, where and how much the U115 netbook will cost, but taking into consideration that it will feature two storage devices, expect it to cost a bit more than you’re average Wind netbook.