June 24 - 12:00am EDT   HP on Wednesday introduced several devices geared for businesses, the Mini 5101 netbook and ProBook 4310s notebook, along with new accessories. The Mini 5101 features a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display, with options for 1024x600 resolution or a 16:9 aspect ratio with 1366x768 resolution. The device is powered by Intel's 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU and 945GSE chipset, with 1GB of DDR2 RAM which can be expanded to 2GB. [full story]

June 16 - 11:10pm EDT   Disney has collaborated with Asus to produce a Disney-branded netbook, known as the Netpal, that focuses on the market for kids aged six to 12. The device is based on the computer maker's Eee PC, with a 8.9-inch display, Wi-Fi connectivity and an Intel Atom processor. Each machine will run on Windows XP, but with a customized interface featuring themes such as Mickey Mouse, Cars, Toy Story and WALL-E, among others. [full story]

June 15 - 1:20pm EDT   ASUS is readying a late June shipment for its first 11-inch Eee PC netbook, the 1101HA. Specifically measuring 11.6 inches, the design of the system is otherwise said to closely resemble the 1005HA and 1008HA. Inside is a 1.33GHz Atom processor, paired with 1GB of RAM and a six-cell lithium ion battery. The display supports resolutions up to 1366x768. [full story]

June 2 - 1:10pm EDT   Mobinnova has announced the élan, a netbook based on one of NVIDIA's fledgling Tegra processors. The system features an 8.9-inch display, which in combination with the Tegra chip is capable of 720p video as well as accelerated Flash content. 3G and Wi-Fi connections are built in, along with a webcam with unspecified resolution. The exact model of Tegra is also unknown. [full story]

May 28 - 5:55pm EDT   Qualcomm on Thursday outlined its vision for mobile computing, specifically an ARM-based series of smartbooks that combine attributes of both smartphones and netbooks, according to GigaOM. The smartbook would be powered by the company's Snapdragon technology, a powerful mobile processor and chipset platform first introduced late in 2007. The devices could integrate cellular connectivity and Wi-Fi, with a small form-factor, displays measuring between 10-12 inches and a full keyboard. [full story]

May 15 - 12:45pm EDT   A new version of Acer's Aspire One netbook has emerged, according to reports. Dubbed the 571, the machine is said to be based on the chassis of a D150 or D250, also using most of the same internal specifications. Its 10.1-inch display is said to have been upgraded to support 1280x720, though, in a 16:9 widescreen ratio. Aiding the encoding and decoding of HD and H.264 video is a Quartics coprocessor. [full story]

May 12 - 3:10pm EDT   A Verizon version of the iPhone may not arrive for some time, but it remains a strong possibility, according to a pair of key Apple executives. In a meeting with Kaufman Bros. and a group of investors, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and senior Mac manager Tom Boger have explained that Apple is happy with the results in regions with multiple iPhone carriers, such as Australia. Adding Verizon in 2010 would cause a problem, the executives say, because of the carrier's current dependence on CDMA networking. [full story]

May 6 - 1:00pm EDT   Taiwanese phone specialist HTC is collaborating with carrier T-Mobile on an Android-based netbook, a TMOToday source claims. Little is known about the computer, except that it should feature built-in 3G reception for T-Mobile's broadband network, and ship sometime before the end of the year. Such a timeframe could suggest a launch no later than early October, timed to coincide with the frequent influx of school computer sales. [full story]

April 22 - 6:25pm EDT   There remains little or no interest at Apple in developing a netbook, the company's COO remarks. In response to a question from Barclay analyst Ben Reitzes, asked during the company's Q2 results call, Tim Cook has expressed disappointment with the current state of netbooks. "When I look at what is being sold in the netbook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens," says Cook. "And just not a consumer experience and not something that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly." [full story]

April 21 - 1:10pm EDT   The Japanese division of Sharp has announced the Mebius NJ70A, its newest netbook. While designed in a standard 10.1-inch format, the system is said to be the first netbook in the world with an LCD trackpad. The pad measures a separate four inches, and is equipped with LED backlighting and resolutions scaling up to 854x480. Users can run several apps directly from the screen, such as games and a paint program. It additionally recognizes multi-touch gestures similar to those on the Apple MacBook, such as pinching and expanding fingers to scale content. [full story]

April 17 - 5:55pm EDT   Additional information has emerged surrounding Verizon's upcoming netbook offerings. Several leaked images posted on PhoneArena show an HP Mini 115NR with a 1.6 GHz CPU, 10.1-inch screen, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. The system will come loaded with Windows XP Home Edition, and users can access the Internet from Wi-Fi or Ethernet in addition to the integrated mobile broadband modem with support for GlobalAccess. The keyboard on the 10.1-inch Mini is closer to the area of a full-size notebook. [full story]

April 8 - 1:15pm EDT   People should not expect to find Android on Acer netbooks in the near future, executives from the latter company have stated. While HP is known to be testing Android for netbooks, and ASUS and Dell are rumored to be interested, Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci argues that the software is not yet suited to netbook functions. "Android in my opinion is for communications," says Lanci. "And Windows comes at the market from the computing side. An ideal solution would offer both. So right now we are using Android for our smartphone, and we are testing it on our netbooks. But I think everybody in the industry is testing Android on netbooks." [full story]

April 1 - 2:50pm EDT   At the CTIA show in Vegas that kicked off today, MSI is showing off its new Wind U123 netbook along with a pair of new X-series Ultra-Slim notebooks and has released the specs and pricing information for its portable PCs. The new 10.2-inch Wind model is powered by Intel's 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU and is the first Wind netbook to offer a 3G data network module and a TV Tuner. For security, the netbook will have MSI's EasyFace software that will read a user's facial features via its 1.3-megapixel camera before granting access. Another first in the Wind range is the U123's availability in a range of colors, adding blue and red in addition to white and gray. [full story]

April 1 - 12:40pm EDT   The Android platform for mobile phones, developed by Google, may soon be used in netbooks, with HP confirming interest and ASUS and Dell rumored to be developing devices as well, says the Wall Street Journal. HP says its engineers are testing the technology, but the decision has not yet been made to go ahead with the plan. The free open-source software could drop the prices of netbooks, which are entry-level devices with low margins that make ultra-low price points hard to achieve. Taiwan's ASUS has said it is considering Android-powered netbooks; Dell may be more likely to develop Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) with the software, but neither company has elaborated ... [full story]

March 31 - 5:35pm EDT   The first market the Aspire One D250 will likely be available in is Europe, as the system now has its own product page on Acer's European website. The 10.1-inch netbook was first spotted in February, and passed through the FCC earlier this month. The page reveals official specs for the sub-2.5lb, one-inch thick netbook, which uses Atom N270 or N280 processors and supports 3G broadband. Standard RAM is 2GB, while permanent storage consists of a 160GB hard drive preloaded with Windows XP Home. [full story]