$99 Acer Aspire One netbook with 3G connectivity for sale at RadioShack starting today

When you consider the same model (Intel Atom processor, 1 gig RAM, 160 gig hard drive, 8.9-inch screen, Windows XP) the $99 Aspire One from Acer at RadioShack sounds like an absolute steal.
EXCEPT: To get the $99 price at RadioShack, you also have to sign up for a two-year 3G data contract from AT&T at $60 per month.
So that's an extra $1,440 over the life of the contract. Now, you are getting something for your money -- being able to hop onto the same high speed 3G data network as the iPhone and other 3G phones means you'll almost never be without Internet access on your Aspire One.
So, if you are interested in getting the 3G, this could be a great deal for you. Just know what you're signing up for before you buy this model.

Asus N10JC Notebook

The Japanese corporation of Asus has announced that the new N10JC laptop is available for purchase. This small yet good notebook has a small LCD screen that measures 10.2-inches and provides a WSVGA resolution of 1,024×600 pixels. The processor is powered by an Intel Atom N270 at 1.6GHz, and the graphics card is a GeForce 9300M GS.
Priced at $720 and boasting Windows XP Home Edition as the operative system, the Asus N10JC has 1GB of RAM, 160GB on the hard-drive, and a HDMI output for high-quality image. Other features include WiFi, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a 4-in-1 memory card slot.

Asus G71

Asus announced the G71 gaming notebook backing October, but omitted to mention the pricing or, indeed, an actual release date. Now we have both and while neither is surprising, the former is still pretty shocking. So, available any time now the quad-core G71 carries a £1,999 MSRP with a cheaper dual-core spec also available starting from £1,349.
Though admittedly expensive, that kind of money does get a pretty decent spec for a portable (compared to a brick bag of bricks). CPU aside there's no difference in the systems, which stack up as follows.
Intel quad-core QX9300 (2.53GHz, 1,333MHz FSB, 6MB cache) dual-core T9400 (2.53GHz, 1,066MHz FSB, 6MB cache).
17in 1,920 x 1,200 Display (plus a secondary VFD above the keyboard)
4GB DDR3 RAM (2 x 2GB)
nVidia 9700M GT (512MB GDDR3)
2GB Intel Turbo Memory module
500GB hard drive space (2 x 250GB RAID 0)
Blu-ray Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate In Asus' usual fashion, the systems also come in a pretty comprehensive bundle, packing a backpack for (ah-ha) carrying the G71 around, a mouse and a headset. Okay, so taking such a laptop to the occasional LAN party might be within the realms of possibility, but calling the G71, in either its quad- or dual-core versions, is a bit of a misnomer if you ask me.
Still, if you've got money to burn and an Alienware system doesn't float your boat, then you know what to do.

Travel Keyboard Is Full Sized and Actually Looks Usable

Portable keyboards are a godsend for many laptop users (and in our opinion, all netbook users). This one is light, compact, and sports full sized keys. Nice.

New from Atek, the OnBoard Travel Keyboard has all 99 keys as well as a numeric keypad. It comes with a protective cover which slides over the top of it, so it'll be easy to just throw in a laptop case or other bag. The keys are indeed all full sized and it weighs only 1.4lbs.

This appears to be a straight up keyboard. No folding, bending, or other "creative" ways of making the keyboard portable. It's just a plain old keyboard which they made lightweight and gave a travelcase to. Perfect. It does look like they shaved a little space off of the function keys, but we can live with that.

It even comes with an inflatable palm rest for "extra comfort".

You can pick one of these puppies up here for $29.95.

SanDisk Secure USB Drive Now Available For Macs

SanDisk has released a Cruzer Enterprise USB drive which is as secure as it is compatable with OS X - which is to say, completely.

SanDisk is calling it "the first secure USB flash drive to fully support Apple Mac OS X computers," and they claim it is compatible with both 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). For some technical jargon straight from the lion's mouth, the drive meets USB security and compliance needs through a "hardware-based 256-bit AES USB encryption solution that puts mandatory access control on all files as protection against theft of loss of the drive." Sounds secure to us.

Other features include the ability to log in and shut down access to the encrypted areas, manage password settings, launch online support, and set a number of other preferences. The drive is available for both Windows and Mac and will be sold in 1/2/4/8GB formats. The price will be between $60-$300.

HP Mini 1000 Officially Goes 3G

HP is announcing that its Mini 1000 netbook can, for a fee, be equipped with mobile broadband from either AT&T or Verizon.

First it was a rumor, then a hack, and now it's finally official news. The HP Mini 1000 can finally be purchased with embedded 3G capabilities.

We applaud HP's decision to help bring 3G to the US, but the deal just doesn't look as good as some others we've seen. Not only will it cost you a full $199 to purchase the upgrade without any mention of subsidies from the carriers, but it seems you cannot even order the upgrade and still get an SSD in your unit. If you try to customize your Mini 1000 on the site with WWAN, you will be forced into getting the HDD.

We haven't gotten our hands on the 3G Mini 1000 yet, so hopefully it's lightning fast or has some other great perk to make it worth the extra cost. Otherwise, unless you really just like the netbook, it might be best to try another netbook for 3G or at least wait until prices come down.

$100 Netbook Too Good To Be True

Rumors that Coby Electronics would be coming out with a $100 netbook have been officially squashed.

It was reported in a number of areas a few days ago that Coby Electronics Corporation would be developing mini-notebooks at a cost of less than $100 by Spring 2009. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.

The original article was from Arkansas.IndyMedia.org and has been discredited by Coby. They produced an emphatic statement which meakes it clear that the company is not "producing a PC nor is one headed to market at any price under the company's name."

Coby admitted that they keep their noses in all consumer markets, ostensibly including netbooks, but that at this time they are most certainly not developing a laptop. They currently produce MP3 players, LCD TVs, and other sorts of consumer electronics.

$100 Netbook No Longer Too Good To Be True

Acer is offering an Aspire One for just $99 (plus a huge asterisk) at Radioshack.

Sometimes, it takes a strong website to admit when it's wrong. Not that we reported false news, mind you - Coby is certainly not producing a sub $100 laptop - but we were wrong in saying it's too good to be true. Acer has taken the mantle and is now offering their 3G Aspire One for under $100.

Plus some fine print. You may want to click on that picture and enlarge it before marveling at the bright red $99.99 for too long.

The netbook is only $99 when you sign up for a two year commitment to an AT&T wireless plan at $60 a month or more. The netbook is normally $499, but breaking out the old laptopical calculator we've been able to determine that the two year data plan will cost you just a bit more than $400 (and by just a bit we mean over $1000 more). The US has seen this sort of thing with cell phones and smart phones before, but this is among the first netbook to offer such a savings. We recently mocked the HP Mini 1000 for offering no subsidies while praising Dell for being the first to offer at least some, but this is the best deal we've seen yet for a 3G machine.

Don't get us wrong, that's still a ton of money. But it looks like 3G connectivity is going to get cheaper and cheaper as its popularity rises.

Windows 7 Software Feature Multi-touch Media Transfer

With new software developed for Windows 7, you can transfer music and other media to your iPod, iPhone, Android phone and various cameras using just your fingers. Simply place the device on the computer surface and multi-touch that data to its home. Who needs a mouse or keyboard when you've got hands?

The new technology has the potential to look gorgeous, but as the folks over at gizmodo were quick to point out, it's probably not actually faster than using a keyboard/mouse. It looks like it takes a lot of movement to perform certain tasks that ordinarily just took a slight jerk of the arm maneuvering the mouse and a few clicks.

Still, this looks beautiful. It looks like it would be fun to use (at least for a while) and certainly impressive to show off. Whether you like it or not (and we would guess that most people do), it looks like increased multi-touch capabilities are the wave of the future, and it'll be fun watching developers making it easier and easier for consumers as time goes on.

This pic is a capture from the youtube videos you can see after the jumps.

More Trouble For New MacBooks - Now It's RAM, GPU

We've already reported the problems with the new trackpad that have been worked on, and the issue with running your MacBook on purely AC power. And most people have shrugged their shoulders and gotten used to the lack of a FireWire 400 port and the over-the-top glossiness of the screen. But now there's problems with maxing out your RAM and the new GPU? It seems Apple may have grabbed a little more spotlight than even Steve Jobs ever wanted lately.

Ok, maybe that's a little unfair - the computer still works fine for most people most of the time. But a number of MacBooks have been reported as crashing when users upgraded their RAM to 4GB. Apple hasn't made a statement about this, but on their popular forums an Apple engineer has said they are aware of the problem and will be patching it as soon as possible. For now, according to tests by jkOnTheRun, you can only solve the problem by going back to 2GB/3GB.

We've also heard reports that the nVidia 9600M GPU used in MBs has "bad bumps," which was an issue with previous nVidia GPUs, and leads to "black screens of death" and other video problems. nVidia maintains that their bumps are in fine shape, but Apple is said to be investigating the problem.