A couple of reports are now saying Microsoft has apparently answered Google’s advancement into the netbook OS field with an  ‘announcement’ due to be made the coming Monday 13th of June 2009. Another Blog post has been making rounds about a new Microsoft browser in the works being called Gazelle, which is I’m presuming another alternative to Internet Explorer. The blog states that Microsoft’s announcement could be that Windows 7 will be released to marketing and possibly an announcement of the new browser as well. Nothing is confirmed just yet.

The new Gazelle browser will be designed to act as what reports are saying, a ‘self-contained OS to handle multiple processes and web applications in a secure manner’.  It’s apparently built on a browser kernel that’s designed to be a secure system so as to provide for security from viruses and such to prevent them from accessing your device’s OS.

It’s all speculation as of now but it’s not too long a wait to see what Microsoft has in store for us. And if  you’re wondering if the Chrome OS was the reason for all the hullabaloo from MS, your guess is as good as mine. Stay tuned.

Lenovo used Nvidia Ion’s revolutionary design to create a thin, lightweight, low-power laptop with a 12-inch screen and improved application compatibility. The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 has the graphics horsepower to support high definition media and many PC games which will not run on most low-cost small PCs. 

“Nvidia Ion is one of the latest technologies available for the PC industry for small, low cost laptop PCs, and we’re excited to be among the first to use it,” said Stephen DiFranco, vice president and general manager of consumer and commercial channels, Americas Group, Lenovo. “With its 12-inch display, full-size keyboard and rich multimedia optIons powered by Ion, the IdeaPad S12 balances an improved computing experience along with the size and affordability many consumers are looking for today.”

“The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 with Nvidia Ion graphics is a game changer for the industry,” said Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of the GPU business unit at Nvidia. “It’s a powerful testament to what a small PC can do if it’s optimized with Ion. The thin and affordable S12 does everything you expect a PC to do including watching movies, playing games, flipping through vacatIon pictures or editing family videos.”

Nvidia Ion graphics support:

- All versions of Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7
- Outstanding HD video including 1080p and Blu-ray movies
- Stunning HD video through an external monitor via HDMI
- Popular games including Spore and Battlefield Heroes
- DirectX 10 graphics with advanced digital display connectivity
- Accelerated video enhancement and conversion using Nvidia CUDA technology

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is expected to be available later this summer, and features 160 GB of storage, 1 GB of memory, a six hour battery life, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3x USB 2.0, an Express Card slot, a 4-in-1 card reader and VGA/HDMI outputs, supports HD and Blu-ray video up to 1080p. Pricing for models starts at $449.

The semiconductor maker also said the open-source Linux-based operating system for netbooks it has supported since 2007, named Moblin, is now in beta testing. Intel’s next-generation Atom platform – code-named “Pine Trail” – will have only two parts instead of three, and will have better battery life and performance than the current generation Atom, company executives said on a conference call. More details on Atom and Moblin are expected at Taiwan’s Computex computer exhibition in June, they said.

The development of Moblin, now run by the Linux Foundation after Intel handed over control in April, is not designed to challenge Microsoft Corp’s dominance in operating systems, Intel said. “There are requests from our customers to be able to deploy alternative operating environments,” said Intel’s vice president of software and services, Doug Fisher, on the conference call. He added that Moblin is not meant to be compared with Microsoft’s offerings. Most netbooks currently run Microsoft’s old Windows XP operating system and Microsoft has said its new Windows 7 system will also run on netbooks, after it was embarrassed to discover its current Vista system was too bulky to run on most netbooks. Analysts say some netbooks run on Linux, but the market share is tiny.

IDC analyst Bob O’Donnell forecasts less than 5 percent of netbooks will run on any Linux platform in 2009. Google Inc’s Android operating system for mobile devices, which is also Linux-based, will likely show up on netbooks in the second half of 2009. according to analysts.

The Touch Book, previewed at DEMO 09, weighs less than two pounds as a netbook and has a battery life of 10 to 15 hours – three times longer than most netbooks.

“The Touch Book is perfect for these tough economic times because you can use it in so many ways,” said Gregoire Gentil, founder of Always Innovating and creator of the Touch Book. “You can use it as a netbook computer, a hand-held game device, or a video player. You can even reverse the keyboard to prop it up on a table in an inverted ‘V’. Finally, because it is magnetic, you can remove the keyboard and put the tablet on the fridge to serve as a kitchen computer or digital frame.”

The Touch Book combines the best of open source software and open hardware with a sleek industrial design by designer Fred Bould. The innovative design includes internal USB plugs. “I hate having dongles hanging from my laptop – I often end up disconnecting them accidentally – so we opted to put the USB inside,” said Gentil.

The Touch Book is the first netbook featuring an ARM processor from Texas Instruments, resulting in outstanding battery life, and a fan less, heat-and-noise-free system.

The Touch Book is expected to ship in late spring and will start at $299.

The Eee PC 1002HA features a 10″ LED-backlit display (1024 x 600 pixels), a digital array microphone, a 1.3 megapixel built-in webcam and Bluetooth connectivity. Available with Windows XP Home edition operating system, the netbook is equipped with a built-in 4-in-1 card reader capable of reading MMC, SD, Memory Stick and MS-PRO media formats.

Speaking on the launch Stanley Wu, Country Head for Netbooks, Asus India, said, “Eee PC 1002HA, the new addition to the Eee PC family is basically targeted at working professionals. Keeping our promise of offering more value additions to Eee PC users we have bundled Eee PC 1002HA with free 10GB online storage facilities along with the usual 160GB HDD storage device. Also, PC users who are conscious about power consumption will surely benefit with the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) that saves up to 15% power of the CPU.”

The Eee PC 1002HA features the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) which consists of the Power4 Gear Hybrid application and the Energy Processing Unit (EPU). Power4 Gear Hybrid facilitates the deployment and usage of power according to the users’ preferences in relation to the specific tasks that they need to perform, while the EPU accurately detects the users’ power requirements and makes the necessary power adjustments. Users can also choose from pre-determined power presets to cater to their computing requirements. Coupled with a custom-made, polymer battery that boasts two high-capacity cells offering 4200mAh, the Eee PC 1002HA can provide users with up to 5 hours of unplugged computing time.

In addition to its 160GB of primary storage, the Eee PC 1002HA also includes 10GB of online storage via the exclusive Asus Eee Online Storage. This allows users to access their documents and multimedia files anytime, anywhere, and to share these files with their friends and family. Eee Storage also allows users to set a password to keep intruders from accessing their data. Most importantly, Eee Storage provides users with additional space for backing up important documents, accessible whenever there is Internet access.  The Eee PC 1002HA also features support for 802.11n wireless connectivity.

The Asus Eee PC 1002HA is available for Rs. 24,990.

The netbook features a 160GB hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, SRS WOW HD and TruSurround XT.

With Smart-Link technology and a simple USB cable, LG-X120 connects to regular computers to share files or install new applications, accessing data even from the computer’s CD or DVD drive. An advanced security function allows users to safely share files while connected to other devices, without compromising important information.

The LG-X120 features a soft textured, classic white exterior and has a matt surface that resists fingerprints and scratches. Weighing in at 1.2kg, the laptop has a battery life of 3.5 hours for the 3 cell battery and 7 hours for the 6 cell battery.

LG-X120 will be available in March in Europe. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet.

The new netbook will have a 10 inch WSVGA LED backlit display having a resolution of 1024×600 pixels and will weigh 1.18 Kg. The design will be quite similar to the older netbook. It will have Acer Crystal Eye Webcam embedded right on top of the screen which will offer better quality even in poor light settings. The netbook will have a lot of connectivity options like WiFi, Integrated Acer Signal Up technology and Bluetooth. It will have an Intel Atom processor, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 160 GB HDD and will have a 6 cell battery offering 7 hours of battery life.

The netbook will be available in red, black, white and blue colors. No news about the price and availability is yet known.

Inspiron Mini 12 is powered by the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530, and has a 533MHz FSB, a Intel US15W chipset, and a 1GB DDR2 533MHz and 80GB 4200RPM HDD.

Weighing 1.24 kg, other features include WiFi (802.11b/g), 1.3 megapixel webcam, and Bluetooth. Mini 12 runs on the Windows XP Home edition instead of Windows Vista offered in the US.

Announcing the launch, Girish Mehta, director of consumer marketing, Dell India said, “Mini 12 is designed specifically for mobile, hi-def lifestyles. With its slim lightweight design and 12″ widescreen display, it is the ideal for on-the-go generation.”

Netbook’s 3-cell battery lasts about 3 hours, while the 6-cell offers approximately 6.5 hours of battery life.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 will be available through select Croma Stores in India before the end of January for Rs 31,000 approximately.