Fujitsu Lifebook UH900 Gets Approved by FCC

Now that FCC has approved the Fujitsu Lifebook UH900 handheld PC, it should be available for purchase soon. The Lifebook UH900 has a sunlight readable WXGA display with multi-touch capabilities. Other specifications include an Atom Z530 processor, a 62GB Solid State Drive, integrated 3.5G, webcam and Bluetooth. The machine is compatible with Windows 7. According the FCC filing, two versions of the device will be available – the UH900 and U900. While the UH900 is aimed at home users, the other is meant for enterprise use.

The PDA will be available in black, red and gold. No word on pricing as yet.

Seagate Releases Momentus Thin Hard Drives

Seagate has releases a super thin hard drive for notebooks and netbooks. The Momentus Thin as it is called is a 2.5 inch hard drive measuring just 7mm in thickness. Average hard drives found in netbooks measure around 10mm in thickness. It is still unknown what capacities are available with the Momentus Thin series. But more information should emerge at CES 2010.

Apanda A60 Mobile Handset

The Apanda A60 isn’t just another Android-powered cell phone handset. It is powered by a 600 Mhz Qualcomm 7227processor. Other specifications include 256MB ROM, 256MB RAM, a 3.2 inch HVGA 320 x 480 pixels display, 5-megapixel webcam and WiFi connectivity. The device will run on Android 1.6. And as it supports both GSM quadband and WCDMA networking, it can be used as a global handset. No information regarding pricing or availability as yet.

Nokia Releases Rihanna App

Nokia has introduced a new Rihanna application for free. The Rihanna App as it is called will have exclusive music, photos, news and video content. It will also feature her biography and details about her upcoming tour. The application will work on all entertainment-rich media phones. It is available in the Ovi store.

Rumor: Apple Tablet Due in March

Rumors doing the rounds suggest that the Apple tablet will go into mass production by February. It is expected to be released in March or April. There have always been numerous rumors around the fabled tablet PC, but Apple hasn’t even confirmed whether they are building one. Nevertheless, rumors have kept pouring in. More interesting details have also emerged. As many as 1 million units are expected to be built every month. And word is that the tablet will come with an e-book publishing deal. If that is indeed true the Apple tablet can be a big rival to Amazon’s Kindle.

Wireless HD (WHDI) Expected in January

High definition movie buffs can rejoice. Word is that Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) will be ready by CES 2010. The WHDI technology allows you to wirelessly stream 1080p HD video content across distances of 100 meters. So you will be able to stream all your HD videos to your living room from another part of the home. According to Leslie Chard, WHDI is the only available high quality multi-room HD wireless solution. Here is hoping that WHDI won’t disappoint.

Samsung to Release Intel Pineview Atom Netbooks in January

Samsung plans to release a line of netbooks with Intel Atom Pineview processors in late January. A Samsung representative confirmed the company’s plans at the World Netbook Conference. The new netbooks are expected to arrive in late January. Additional details are not available at the moment, but we should be able to hear more at the CES in January. Samsung already has a line of netbooks using Intel’s Atom chips.

Acer Ferrari One Netbook

Acer has released a Ferrari branded netbook. Obviously, the Acer Ferrari One is aimed at those of you obsessed with F1 in general and Ferrari in particular. Other than the Ferrari branding, the netbook doesn’t have anything that sets it apart from other netbooks in the market.

The Acer Ferrari One has an 11.6 inch display. It is powered by a dual core AMD Athlon processor with 4GB of RAM and an ATI HD 3200 GPU. The storage option is a 250GB hard drive. The machine runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. As this is an AMD-powered machine, don’t expect it to have an all-day long battery life. Prices may start at $599.99.

Dell Unveils Vostro V13

The Dell Vostro V13 is thinner but slightly heavier than a netbook. It is aimed at businesses and has a 13.3 inch antigloss display.

The Vostro V13 features an aluminum chassis. The notebook measures just 0.65 inches in thickness and weighs around 3.5 pounds. Sources claim that it will be powered by an Intel Core 2 CULV processor with 4GB of RAM. There are the standard connectivity options including WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and Ethernet.

The battery is expected to provide up to 4.75 hours of up time. The base version which will ship with Ubuntu Linux is priced at $450. The Windows 7 version will set you back $600.

Libre eBook Reader Pro for $179

Libre eBook Reader PRO is the latest to enter the eBook reader market which is getting a bit too crowded. Unlike other eBook readers which use an e-link display, the Libre eBook Reader PRO has a monochrome reflective light LCD display. It comes with 100 free ebooks and a 2GB SD memory card. Other features include MP3 and photo support. Libre claims that its eBook reader will work for 24 hours non-stop. It carries a price tag of $179.

Samsung M5650 (aka Lindy) Coming to Europe

Samsung M5650 aka Lindy will be available in Europe very soon. The M5650 is a better version of the S3650 (aka Corby). It has a 3 MP camera, WiFi and 3G connectivity and a front-facing VGA camera. There are also dedicated keys for controlling music. While Samsung Corby has a capacitive touch-screen display, Lindy comes with a resistive touch-screen display. It is expected to cost around $220.

Everki Camber Netbook Case Also Serves as a Netbook Stand

Numerous slip covers and netbook cases are now available in the market, but the Everki Camber is different. It can serve both as a netbook case and as a netbook stand. The padded case will keep your computer safe on the go and when you sit down to work, it will serve as a netbook stand on which you can place the computer. Here is how it works. There is a sloped edge on one side of the case. Put the case on a table or on your lap and then put the netbook on top of it. The sloped edge of the case will prop the netbook up by around 30 degrees.

It isn’t just the double duty that sets this netbook case apart from others, the Everki Camber is also pricier than others. It retails for $49.99.

Lenovo Building Three ThinkPad Netbooks?

An FCC filing by Realtek indicates that Lenovo is building three ThinkPad-branded netbooks under the names ThinkPad X100e, ThinkPad Mini 10 and ThinkPad Mini 11.

We have already heard about the X100e. It reportedly has an 11.6 inch display. Other specifications include an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and Windows 7. No further information regarding the Mini 10 and Mini 11 are available as of now. But it is safe to assume that the Mini 10 will have a 10 inch display. The other model will probably have a 11.1 inch or 11.6 inch display.

The ThinkPad-branded netbooks are aimed at small businesses. They will be smaller and cheaper than the original ThinkPads.

AOJIE Releases Dirt-cheap Netbooks

Chinese netbooks have never really been pricey, but now it seems that they are getting dirt-cheap. AOJIE, a Chinese PC maker, has released two netbooks selling at $146 and $160.

The AOJIE X100V and X100A are equipped with 10 inch displays. The cheaper model – the X100V – is powered by a 1.6 GHz VIA C7-M processor. The other model, X100A, has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. Both models run Windows XP. Other specifications include 1.3 MP webcam, WiFi b/g/n and a 3-cell 220mAh battery. There are 2 USB ports. But these are the specs you get with standard netbooks, you might say. Well, not really. The AOJIE models have just 512MB of RAM and a 4GB solid state drive. But at just $160, the X100A is still worth considering.

Avira AntiVir 9.0 Free Antivirus Review

The Avira AntiVir Personal antivirus program offers protection from a multitude of evils including viruses, spyware, worms and Trojans. AntiVir Personal is free for home users. It can be downloaded from the company website and is available in four languages – English, French, German and Italian.

Avira offers customer support through an online support forum. Tutorials and an FAQ are also available. Installation is simple and takes around five minutes. Upon installation, users have to go through a configuration wizard which asks them to select the protection settings they need. You may just leave the configuration settings at default if you don’t want to mess with them. AntiVir updates itself automatically every 24 hours, so you don’t have to do it yourself.

The Avira AntiVir Personal interface is functional but unfortunately not very intuitive. Users may find most screens confusing. Again, leave the settings at default.

Effectiveness
In efficacy the AntiVir Personal is on par with AVG. The software detects and removes viruses and spyware proactively. Scan speeds are reasonably good. Another plus point is the nearly 0% impact on system performance. AntiVir consumes around 20MB of RAM, but it has virtually no impact on the performance of your system. This is indeed remarkable as many paid antivirus programs adversely affect system performance.

Conclusion
Avira AntiVir Personal is a good free antivirus program. It offers reasonable protection from viruses and spyware. The program doesn’t have any major downsides, but the interface could have been a bit more intuitive. Another problem is the occasional pop-up ads but that is not something you can complain about because this is a free antivirus program.

PROS
Free for home users
No impact on performance
Good scan times
Good detection rates

CONS
Interface isn’t very intuitive
Occasional pop-up ads for the paid version

How to Upgrade Your ION LE to Full ION

So you have bought a netbook with ION LE (Light Edition). ION is known to considerably improve the graphics performance of a netbook, but to get the best results you need to have the full edition of the chip. Well it is now possible.

One member at the MyHPMini Forum has reportedly hacked the ION LE on his HP Mini 311 and upgraded it to full ION. He did this by adding the device ID of the ION LE into and INF file and then installing it. He says that his netbook now delivers improved performance.

There isn’t much difference between full ION and ION LE. While the former supports DirectX 10, which is essential for getting good graphics performance, the later doesn’t.

The Gateway EC1805U Looks Much Like Acer Aspire 1410

Gateway has released a new thin and light notebook – the EC1805U – which looks much like the Acer Aspire 1410. It might be a case of re-branding as Acer owns Gateway.

The Acer Aspire 1410 and Gateway EC1805U have the same specs. They both have 11.6 inch LED displays and are powered by Intel SU3500 processor with 2GB of DDR2 RAM and a 250GB HDD. The netbooks run Windows Vista Home Premium SP1. Other features include an HDMI output port.

The Gateway EC1805U is expected to start shipping on December 9. It will retail for $449. The Aspire 1410, which is still available with many retailers, goes for around $23 less.

Intel's Classmate PC Gets Re-branded as MDG Flip in Canada

Intel’s Classmate PC has been rebranded again. This time around it has gone on sale in Canada as MDG Flip. MDG isn’t quite known for the quality of its devices, but that shouldn’t prevent you from buying Flip as it isn’t an MDG system.

MDG Flip has the same specifications as other re-branded Classmates. It has an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1 GB of DDR2 RAM and a 60GB hard disk drive. Other notable features include Bluetooth and WiFi 802.11b/g/n.

The Classmate PCs are aimed at students. They have a ruggedized design to withstand the use and abuse in a typical class room. They also come with some tablet features. The Flip can be purchased from the Sears.ca website for CDN $599.99.