Netbook Scoop» Fujitsu Netbooks Archives – Netbook Scoop

Deal of the Day – 12/9/09 – Fujitsu M2010: $289.99

Tom Greer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:41:00 +0000

While supplies last, J&R Computer World is offering a super deal. They have slashed the price on the Fujitsu M2010 netbook, which lists for $399.99, down to $289.99.

Fujitsu laptops are highly regarded for the robustness of their build quality. Their products normally are priced accordingly, above the average price of competitors – which makes this an especially, special deal.

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Falling Netbook Prices – 8/3/09

Tom Greer — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:40:25 +0000

Lots of falling prices on netbooks, nettops and all-in-one desktops to report this morning.

Let’s start with the Fujitsu M2010. Fujitsu is a well-respected manufacturer of laptops. They waited a long time to enter the netbook niche. Fujitsu just recently introduced the M2010 to the US market. J&R has slashed their price to $399.99 with FREE shipping.

This is the first time that we have seen the M2010 priced below $400.00.

Next we have falling prices on the Acer Aspire One D250 netbooks. This is the 10″ ultra-thin model that comes with either a 3-cell or a 6-cell battery. mWave has trimmed their prices on all of the colors with 6-cell batteries to $324.99.

You will find this for sale for about $349.99 at most other places.

If you are looking for a nettop (a miniature desktop computer), OnSale.com has cut their price on the White, Linux version of the Asus Eee Box to $274.99.

If you prefer to buy the Windows XP version, then ZipZoomFly has the best deal at $299.99.

Our last falling price to report today is an All-in-One desktop (where the computer is built into the touch screen display). NewEgg has reduced their price for the MSI AE1900 to $499.99 with FREE shipping.

The deals in the above widgets are updated automatically. So if you visit us a few days down the road, the prices displayed may not match the article. That means you got here too late. So, why not subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

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Selecting My New Netbook, Part 3

Tom Greer — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:09:06 +0000

I described in an earlier post how I dropped my netbook, leading to its demise. The good thing is: Now I get to buy a new netbook!

In Part 1of this series, I reviewed out the features that are important to me. Then I scanned the currently available netbooks and selected five that met my requirements.

The first on the list (in alphabetical order) is the Linux version of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. I reviewed that netbook in depth in Part 2.

The next netbook on my list of potentials is the Dell Inspiron Mini 12.

Specifications:

Display: 12.1 inch LED with 1280×800 resolution
CPU: 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 Processor (1.6 GHz Z530 [+$50])
Graphics: Intel GMA500
RAM: 1GB DDR2 at 533MHz (upgradeable to 2GB for $50)
Storage: 40GB Hard Drive (60GB [+25], 80GB [+$50])
Camera: None (0.3M pixel for $15, 1.3M pixel for $25)
Wireless: 802.11g
Bluetooth: 2.1
Battery: 3-cell (6-Cell [+$15]*)
OS: Ubuntu Linux version 8.04.1
Weight: 2.72 lbs. (3.2 lbs. w/6-cell battery)
Dimensions: 11.77 x 9.02 x 0.92 inches

* Note: Interpreted based on cost delta between configurations.

Reviews:

Let’s start with a review by Alun Taylor at Register Hardware. Some important observations:

…we struggle to find a bad word to say about the Mini 12’s build quality.

While the keyboard has a nice enough action – and is perfectly usable – it does lack quite the final degree of firmness and solidity you will find on an AA1’s keyboard.

The Mini 12’s touchpad and button combo is one of the better to be found on any netbook…

As you can see from our PCMark05 bench tests a speed demon the Mini 12 is not, the HDD test result being particularly poor. The 1.6GHz Atom Z530 doesn’t deliver quite as much performance as the 1.6GHz Atom N270, but it’s not so very far behind.

Of course, what really separates the Mini 12 from the herd is that screen. At 12.1 inches corner to corner and with a netbook-beating resolution of 1280 x 800, the Mini 12 is a handy choice for anyone not wanting to make do with the usual 8.9in or 10.1in 1024 x 600 netbook-standard screen size and resolution.

The basic battery pack managed to play a standard-definition video at full screen – and full brightness and with the Wi-Fi radio switched on – for 139 minutes.

Lacking a cooling fan, the Mini 12 is virtually silent in operation. Thankfully, this doesn’t come at the expense of a toasted crotch – the 12 keeping its cool even after prolonged bouts of intensive use.

Joanna Stern at LaptopMag.com also reviewed the Dell Inspiron Mini 12. Some of her key comments:

The most striking aspect of the Mini 12’s design is its thin stature, making it reminiscent of slender – and expensive – ultraportables…

The extended battery protrudes from the bottom of the system… it sets the keyboard at a comfortable angle for typing.

Unconstrained by the smaller chassis inherent in mini-notebooks, one of the best features of the Mini 12 is its keyboard. The 92 percent–full-size layout is fine for touch typists and requires no accommodations in typing patterns.

The 12-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel resolution glossy screen makes all the difference to the netbook experience… the extra two inches allowed us to keep two Web pages open side by side and read them comfortably.

The screen has just the right amount of gloss, and horizontal viewing angles were good…

…the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 got a bit hot on the underside of the unit, measuring about 99 degrees. The rest of the system, including the keyboard and touchpad, were not noticeably warm.

We were impressed with the Mini 12’s six-cell battery, which lasted 5 hours and 20 minutes on the LAPTOP Battery Test… The fact that it beat out all other mini-notebooks—except the Samsung NC10—is all the more impressive considering that the Mini 12 has a larger screen than all the others.

I read a lot of other reviews, but I think the two above capture most of the important points.

My Thoughts

Advantages:

Bigger display with 1280×800 is very attractive to me.
6-cell battery that lasts almost 5 1/2 hours (despite larger screen) is a big plus.
Despite larger screen and chassis, still very lightweight.
Less than an inch thick.
Keyboard supports touch-typing without adjustment

Concerns:

When the Inspiron Mini 12 was first introduced, I heard it was dog slow. But that appears to be a result of Vista and not the Z-series CPUs. Still, I would want the 1.6 GHz processor, but $50 seems like a lot.
Lack of function keys.
The standard glossy black finish is a fingerprint magnet. Paying $40 to get a white finish (or any other color) is a 10% increase in price. That fails my common sense test. But I don’t know that I’d be happy with the glossy black.

Conclusion:

I am surprised. The initial feedback when the Inspiron Mini 12 was introduced was that it was slow and expensive.

It appears that Dell was listening. You can now purchase it with XP or Linux (which both fix the speed issue) and the price now starts at $414 for the 6-Cell model.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 definitely makes it to the final round.

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Selecting My New Netbook, Part 1

Tom Greer — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:00:30 +0000

In an earlier post, I explained that I needed a new netbook. In this post, I’ll select and list which netbooks that meet my requirements. In later posts, I explore each of these individually.

Here is what is important to me.

Must have a Linux OS. (It’s a personal preference.)
Must have a keyboard that I can touch-type on. That especially means a full-size right shift key.
Must be thin and light (since I carry this and a laptop in the same bag).
Prefer 6+ hours of battery life (so it lasts a whole plan trip), but I might be willing to accept shorter battery life to keep the netbook thin and light.
If I can get better resolution than 1024×600, without adding too much to the size/weight, then I would do so.
I don’t need a hard drive. I don’t store much on the netbook. Just about everything I need is online. A solid-state drive with 8-16 GB is smaller and lighter.
Of course, it has to be a good value.

I’ll review each brand and identify which models make the cut.

As a start, all models pre-loaded with a Microsoft operating system are excluded. (Yes, I know I could buy one of these and load Linux myself. But for years I did this and hated paying Microsoft for that privilege. Now that manufacturers are actually pre-loading Linux, I believe I should reward them with my business.)

Acer:

Aspire One 9-inch 8G 3-Cell Linux
Since this is what I used in the past, I want to try something new. So this is out.
Aspire One 9-inch 160G 3-Cell Linux
This is the same as above, except for a heavier hard drive that I don’t need. So this is out.
I would consider a 10″ Aspire One model, except none of them come with Linux. While Acer has announced a plethora of new models, it has not touted any Linux models for introduction in the near future.
So, in summary, Acer is out of the running.

Asus:

Eee PC 900 16G Linux or Eee PC 900 20G Linux
I decided not to go with the Eee PC last purchase due to the keyboard layout, which has a tiny Right Shift key. So this is out.
Eee PC 901 20G Linux
Different keyboard than the Eee PC 900 series, but same layout issue. This is out also.
Eee PC 1000 40G Linux
I really would like to consider this, since it has a 10″ screen and a bigger keyboard. But the keyboard suffers from the same issue. I had an earlier Asus Eee PC and this keyboard layout drove me nuts. So, this model is out, too.
All of the other Asus models have a Microsoft OS, which means Asus is out of the running as well.

Dell:

Inspiron Mini 9 Linux
Can be ordered with 4, 8, 16, or 32 GB solid state drives. That is appealing. Small, thin and light. OK , this one is in.
Inspiron Mini 10
Only available with XP. Never mind.
Inspiron Mini 12
Available with Linux. 12-inch screen. Comes with hard drive with option to also add an SSD. 6-Cell battery available. A little bigger than I had in mind. Sounds like it might be heavy. But, I will consider this model.

Hewlett-Packard

HP Mini 1000 (Mini Mi)
Could custom order one from HP, or choose one of the Smart Buy pre-configured versions (Mini 1110NR or Mini 1120NR). 9-inch and 10-inch versions are available. Comes with either 3 or 6 cell battery. Definitely in the running.
HP Mini 2140
Great specs, but no Linux option.

Lenovo

No Linux option currently on their website. So, Lenovo is out.

MSI

No Linux models in their lineup.

Samsung

Every model has a Microsoft OS.

Sylvania

G Meso 80G Linux
Has a hard drive. But, other than that, it is worthy of consideration.
[Update: After spending a short time looking at the G Meso more closely, I realized that the keyboard is very small and has a shrunken and misplaced right shift key. For that reason, it should have never made the initial list. ]

So there you have it. The field is rather small, only five (counting the 9 and 10 inch HP Mini’s as two models.)

Last thoughts, many of the latest models come only with a Microsoft OS. I’d really love to consider them, but I hate to pay Microsoft and then wipe out the OS.

After looking at the options, maybe I’ll need to reconsider.

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Ten Netbook Models For $279 Or Less

Tom Greer — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:06:45 +0000

We now provide the ability to search for netbook by price range. Click on a price range below.

I found it interesting that there are now at least 10 different netbook models that are priced at $279 or less.

Here is the current lowest priced unit:

Most of these have a Linux operating system. But at least two have Windows XP.

This list is constantly updated, so this list will change as prices do.

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Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Mini and Fujitsu M1010

Tom Greer — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:32:40 +0000

There has been a bit of a buzz over the past few days over the official announcement of the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Mini.

Here are a few pictures (click to enlarge).

The specs are pretty typical for a second-generation netbook:

Intel® Atom™ N270 low-power processor

Windows® XP Home Edition

8.9-inch WSVGA display

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 95

60 or 80 GB hard disk capacity

1 GB memory

Integrated 1.3 Mpixel webcam and digital array microphone for easy video telephony

Integrated WLAN, LAN and Bluetooth®

Interfaces: VGA, USB 2.0, ExpressCard (34 mm), 4-in-1 card reader, 2x audio

Special Features: long battery runtime (about 4 hours depending on usage), silent mode function

Weight: ~ 1 kg

Additional accessories: clip-on covers with different colors, external optical disc drive with Nero software suite (via USB 2.0), 6 cell battery

Unfortunately, it appears that the Amilo Mini will only be sold in Europe. If that is true, then we won’t be covering this product in the future, because our focus is on netbooks that are sold in the USA.

Which brings us to the announcement by Fujitsu (not the joint partnership with Siemens) that they will be shipping a netbook called the M1010 in Asia sometime in the fourth quarter.

There is not much available yet. The specs reported on the various sites seem to be a lot like the Amilo Mini: 8.9″ screen, Atom processor, etc.

But this is being reported as an addition to the M series. The M series is not currently sold in the USA.

So neither the Amilo Mini nor the M1010 are products destined for the USA.

However, LaptopMag.com reports in a late-breaking update:

Fujitsu’s American team says at this time, there are no plans to offer a netbook similar to the Fujitsu Amilo Mini in the U.S. However, we do intend to offer a product in this class in the future.

So, there you have it, Fujitsu will have a netbook for sale in the USA someday.

This ends our coverage of Fujitsu Netbooks until something specific is announced for the USA.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of other products for sale in the USA to discuss…

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Eee PC vs. MSI Wind vs. Aspire One

Tom Greer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:35:01 +0000

I have no direct line on sales figures for any of the netbook manufacturers or retailers, so I don’t know what is really selling. But I do see the traffic patterns to my site, which gives me a good indication of the level of interest in various products.

I’ve been perplexed by the MSI Wind. There is almost no stock anywhere. Are sales exceeding MSI’s expectations by such a large amount that they simply can’t manufacture enough? Or is MSI simply having supply chain problems in obtaining components?

I called around and found a few places that had MSI Winds in stock and posted the info. I thought that people would read my article and scarf them up. That article received a very light response.

By contrast, since I unveiled our Netbook Price Comparison Guide a few days ago, The biggest item of interest has been the Aspire One. Second place goes to the Eee PC 1000H. In third place is the Eee PC 2G Surf. The Eee PC 1000 and 901 are fourth and fifth. Finally, in sixth place, we get to the MSI Wind.

In search of supporting information, I jumped over to Google Trends. I asked it to display the search activity for “Eee PC”, “Aspire One” and “MSI Wind”. Here is the chart:

About a month ago, I published a similar chart. At that time, it appeared that the MSI Wind trend would soon catch the Eee PC line. Now, this suggest that interest in the MSI Wind has peaked. It also confirms the level of interest for the Aspire One that I noted on my website.

By contrast, Acer does not seem to have any problem keeping retailer shelves full.

It will be interesting to see how this all changes as in the upcoming months as the big boys introduce netbooks. If the rumors are correct, we should see the first “Dell E” later this month and the first Lenovo IdeaPad S10 in October.

The competition is just beginning to heat up.

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Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini Netbook News

Tom Greer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:21:27 +0000

Fujitsu Siemens looks to be getting into the netbook arena. News comes via unofficial reports, pictures and even videos.

Here is a quick rundown.

Netbux first reported that Fujitsu Siemens would be shipping their first netbook on July 13. They provide a nice picture.

Heise followed up with more information and a close-up picture.

The Heise article also tells us that this new netbook will be called the Amilo Mini and will feature an 8.9″ display.

Then this video appeared on YouTube:

Followed by this video showing interchangeable colored covers.

In any event, the product looks like it is ready for official introduction. It will be interesting when we get specs, pricing and ship dates.

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Fujitsu M2010 10.1" N280 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x576), 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, Intel GMA945GSE, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 1.3 MP Webcam, 802.11b/g, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.8 lbs.	Today's Best Deal Red $289.99 Go!
	Comes in: Red (FPCM22311 ) - from $289.99

CompareFujitsu M2010 10.1" N270 160GB 3-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x576), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, Intel GMA945GSE, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 1.3 MP Webcam, 802.11b/g, 3-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.5 lbs.	Today's Deals From $349.00 To $459.99 At 4 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Red (FPCM21971) - from $349.00

CompareAcer Aspire One D250 10" N270 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $294.99 To $374.99 At 15 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Diamond Black (AOD250-1990 or AOD250-1924) - from $304.95 Ruby Red (AOD250-1610 or AOD250-1706) - from $299.99 Sapphire Blue (AOD250-1185 or AOD250-1580) - from $309.00 Seashell White (AOD250-1289 or AOD250-1738) - from $299.00

CompareAsus Eee Box B202 160G Linux
	1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB DDR2-533/677 RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, Linux	Today's Deals From $261.72 To $319.99 At 12 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black - from $261.72 White - from $276.99

CompareAsus Eee PC 1000HE 160GB XP
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $389.99 To $426.81 At 6 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (EPC1000HE-BLK005X) - from $393.99 Blue (EPC1000HE-BLU002X or EPC1000HE-BLU005X) - from $399.95

CompareSylvania GNET13001 30G Linux
	7" Display (800x480), VIA C7-M 1.2 GHz Processor, 1.0 GB DDR2-533 RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, gOS Linux
	Comes in: Black (GNET13001 )

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 40GB 6-Cell Linux
	12.1" Display (1280x800), 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 Processor, Intel GMA500, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1,6-cell battery, Ubuntu Linux
	Comes in: Obsidian Black (DNDWYA5)	More Info

Sylvania GNET13001 30G Linux
	7" Display (800x480), VIA C7-M 1.2 GHz Processor, 1.0 GB DDR2-533 RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, gOS Linux
	Comes in: Black (GNET13001 )	More Info