Intel marketing guy: Netbooks aren’t dead yet

Mark Miller has one of those hot and cold jobs. He is the director of marketing at Intel for netbooks and tablets. Tablets, of course, are hot. But netbooks are cold. Still, in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, Miller said that netbooks aren’t dead.

Netbooks are the stripped-down laptop-like computers that cost around $200 to $300 and were created only for surfing the web. They were a hot commodity a couple … Continue Reading

The end of an era: Dell stops making netbooks

Netbooks, once the cheap portables spotted at coffee shops everywhere, have become so uncool that they are near extinction. Case in point: Dell is saying sayonara to its consumer netbook business.

Dell will stop producing its Inspiron Mini line of netbooks and has no plans to release any devices in the mini notebook category, the company told The Verge.

The company is now focusing its attention on pricier Ultrabooks, the red hot new category of … Continue Reading

Google Chromebooks available for pre-order, will ship June 15

Google announced via Twitter on Thursday that its Chromebook laptops are now available for pre-order from Amazon and Best Buy. The half dozen models that can be ordered are manufactured by Samsung and Acer and are expected to ship on June 15.

The release of these netbooks will be a test to see if U.S. consumers are interested in a new kind of operating system that is focused on web applications. The promotional language on … Continue Reading

Google to announce Chrome OS laptop rentals for $20 a month

Google is set to unveil a Chrome laptop “student package” tomorrow at its I/O developer conference for $20 a month, an unnamed senior Google executive tells Forbes.

If true, the move has the potential to completely reshape the way consumers adopt computers, and it will also serve as a not-so-subtle Trojan horse for Google’s online offerings.

The $20 monthly fee will cover both hardware and online services for the laptops, which run Google’s web-centric Chrome … Continue Reading

MeeGo head says LG in its corner for phones (LG: not really)

With Nokia moving to Windows Phone 7 and not looking back, there doesn’t seem to be much hope left for Intel’s MeeGo mobile platform — especially because there still aren’t any phones that use it.

But Valterri Halla, the Intel group member who is spearheading the MeeGo initiative, is convinced that Nokia’s absence will encourage other manufacturers to join in on the MeeGo party.

Speaking at a developer conference on Friday, Halla said that LG … Continue Reading

How to kill a good idea: Motorola’s Atrix 4G Laptop Dock to cost $500

Motorola’s Atrix 4G was one of our favorite devices from the Consumer Electronics Show, primarily because it had the cool ability to turn into a full-fledged ultraportable laptop when plugged into its Laptop Dock. So it’s impressive just how quickly AT&T has managed to quash my excitement for the device with the announcement of its crazy Laptop Dock pricing.

If you want the Atrix 4G’s Laptop Dock, you can either pay $499.99 to buy it … Continue Reading

Acer's new tablets a step in phasing out netbooks

Goodbye netbook, hello tablet.

Taiwanese computer maker Acer is phasing out its netbook series of ultra-small computers with the forthcoming release of new Android tablets, which are due in the first half of 2011, according to a Computerworld report.

Acer’s announcement marks for the company a move away from the netbook-style computer — a category which helped fuel Acer’s rapid growth and profitability — in favor of the tablet.

Tablets are seen as a vital … Continue Reading

Week in review: Why Google needs DRM

Here’s our roundup of the week’s tech business news. First, the most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:

Why Google needs the video digital-rights technology behind Netflix — Google recently announced that it has purchased Widevine, a video digital rights management company mostly known as the technology behind Netflix’s video protection. Why does Google suddenly need a credible DRM solution? Webtrends’ Peter Yared explains.

Why Facebook’s playing a dangerous game with the … Continue Reading

Why is Intel so coy about its new netbook and tablet group?

Intel has quietly formed a new business unit dedicated to tablets and netbooks, the New York Times reports.

It will be spearheaded by Douglas L. Davis, the current head of Intel’s embedded and communications group. Obviously, it’s meant to help the company gear up for the ever-growing tablet and netbook markets. But the real question to me is, why is Intel being so quiet  about this?

Intel already has a significant presence in the netbook … Continue Reading

Three reasons you might actually buy a Chrome OS netbook

Netbooks with Google’s Chrome OS operating system won’t be available to most consumers until the middle of next year, but company executives walked through many of the features at a press event today, where they also announced a pilot program using unbranded netbooks.

I’m finally starting to understand why someone would buy one of these devices. Most of the discussion until now has been at a theoretical level, focusing on the idea of an operating … Continue Reading

Google exec: Chrome OS and Android represent two visions of computing

Tech pundits (including me) have been wondering about how Google’s Chrome OS will compare to Android and how the two operating systems fit into Google’s broader product strategy. Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice president of product management, took another stab at answering the question today.

The topic came up at a Chrome OS press event in San Francisco, where a reporter asked if Chrome OS might be a better operating system than Android for tablet. The … Continue Reading

Chrome OS launch coming in mid 2011, but Google starts pilot program now

Google offered a flood of news about its Chrome OS netbook operating system today, but it turns out that most consumers will have to wait until the middle of 2011 before they can buy a computer with Chrome OS installed.

Previous reports predicted a limited Chrome OS launch, perhaps with a Google-branded device coming at the end of this year, with a bigger release due in 2011. That’s close to what Google announced today.

Sundar … Continue Reading

Week in review: Amazon takes down Wikileaks

Here’s our review of the week’s tech business news. First, the most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:

Amazon continues tight-lipped policy with WikiLeaks takedown — WikiLeaks, the nonprofit site that publishes leaked government documents, was booted off Amazon.com’s cloud computing services on Wednesday, and initially, Amazon refused to explain why. Later, it claimed the move was not a response to political pressure.

Will OnLive squash game retailers with $9.99-a-month online games? … Continue Reading

Google's Chrome OS netbook coming Dec. 7th

It’s been a long stretch, but Google is nearing the finish line with its Chrome OS netbook operating system. The company sent out invitations today to a Chrome event on Tuesday, December 7th, where it will launch the netbook, sources tell Engadget.

But don’t expect to get your hands on one anytime soon. Apparently, there will only be around 65,000 units produced, and those will go to Google’s closest “friends and family.” It’s a testing … Continue Reading

HP's fall line-up includes 3D laptop, wireless TV-laptop link, and colorful notebooks

Hewlett-Packard may not have a permanent chief executive. But it hasn’t stopped launching loads of new products. Today, the company is taking the wraps off its fall line-up of consumer laptop and netbook computers.

The flagship is a 3D laptop (below, right) that is very Apple-like in its elegance. The Envy brand, originally created by the Voodoo PC business that HP acquired, is as elite as HP gets. HP trots out the brand whenever it … Continue Reading

Netbook operating system Jolicloud launches

Jolicloud, the netbook and web services-focused operating system by Netvibes founder Tariq Krim, has finally launched with an official version 1.0 release.

The Linux-based OS was originally announced in 2008 and has gone through extensive public and private testing since then. It’s built to install seamlessly on most major netbook brands, with no need for extra driver or software downloads. It relies heavily on web applications, instead of local programs, which makes it perfect for … Continue Reading

Dell and HP may join Acer for first Chrome OS devices

While our story on Acer unveiling Chrome OS devices at Computex, the big Taiwanese trade show for computer manufacturers, didn’t pan out the way our sources had led us to believe it would, we do know that Acer is hard at work at devices featuring Google’s Web-centric operating system. Now it appears that Dell and HP may be among the first Chrome OS adopters as well, according to Download Squad.

The site has found files … Continue Reading

Sony patent shows solar charged e-reader/laptop built from two touchscreens

While our story on Acer unveiling Chrome OS devices at Computex, the big Taiwanese trade show for computer manufacturers, didn’t pan out the way our sources had led us to believe it would, we do know that Acer is hard at work at devices featuring Google’s Web-centric operating system. Now it appears that Dell and HP may be among the first Chrome OS adopters as well, according to Download Squad.

The site has found files … Continue Reading

30 percent of netbook shoppers bought an iPad instead, survey says

While our story on Acer unveiling Chrome OS devices at Computex, the big Taiwanese trade show for computer manufacturers, didn’t pan out the way our sources had led us to believe it would, we do know that Acer is hard at work at devices featuring Google’s Web-centric operating system. Now it appears that Dell and HP may be among the first Chrome OS adopters as well, according to Download Squad.

The site has found files … Continue Reading

HP on WebOS devices: Tablet coming before October, no plans for netbooks

While our story on Acer unveiling Chrome OS devices at Computex, the big Taiwanese trade show for computer manufacturers, didn’t pan out the way our sources had led us to believe it would, we do know that Acer is hard at work at devices featuring Google’s Web-centric operating system. Now it appears that Dell and HP may be among the first Chrome OS adopters as well, according to Download Squad.

The site has found files … Continue Reading