The nice folks from Gearzap.com sent me a netbook case to check out. The case is specifically designed for 10.1 inch netbooks, and is a simple messenger bag which is designed to be worn over the shoulder.
It is smaller than you might be used to if you’ve ever carried a full sized notebook case. It has a pretty simple design with a white stripe offset to the right of the central axis if looking head on. Along the white stripe is a rubber banana logo (which is a bit odd because, well… it’s a banana) which had some leftover rubber around the edges which should have been trimmed better when the patch was cut. Aside from this, all of the stitch work seems rather well done and durable.

The netbook specific aspect of this case makes it really light which is great if you got a netbook with the intention of reducing the weight of your kit. You won’t find the typical shoulder pain from weight being put on one shoulder that you might have experienced if you’ve ever hauled around a monster desktop replacement laptop in a messenger bag! On the other hand, this also makes the bag quite small. If you are a big you might find yourself looking a bit silly with this relatively dainty messenger bag draped over your shoulder. But of course that is personal preference. At least the bag has a nice dark blue hue and metal accents (zipper, clasps, and brackets) that are made to look as though they were finished with chrome. This adds a bit back to the bag in terms of masculine appearance.

The bag is almost more of a square shape than a rectangle, and thus the flap which covers over the main pocket is somewhat long. This makes it sort of strange if you want to access the contents while the bag is actually on your shoulder as you have to go around the flap to get there. Magnetic clasps hold the flap closed. The magnets are reasonably strong, but the clasps are ‘button shaped’ if you will, and since they are on the inside of the flap, you kind of need to feel your way around until the button part finds the receiving hole that is designated for it, though you’ll hear a satisfactory metal click when you get it just right.

The main pocket has your usual padded slot designed to hold the netbook and an elastic strap with velcro to keep the device secured. Since the bag is not very deep (doesn’t go far out from the wearer’s perspective), there isn’t a lot of depth to the main bag, and fiddling with the elastic strap seems like more trouble than it’s worth, especially considering that a zipper already seals the main compartment. The netbook sleeve couldn’t fit the HP Mini 1000 [Portal page] any better. The fit really feels just perfect. There is padding on the front and back of the sleeve. The main pocket also has your standard pen/pencil holder fare, two mesh pockets on the padded separator of the netbook sleeve, and a few other pockets. The main compartment is a perfect size for the netbook’s power adaptor and a few other small items, though if you are planning on using this case for for school, be forewarned, it isn’t large enough to fit standard binders or folders, but you should be able to get plain old paper in there.

There is also a second zipper pocket on the front with no special padding and no holders inside, just in case you want to cram a few more things in there. Also on the back of the case is a final zipper pocket, but this one doesn’t have any depth structured with the fabric, so thin things back here only!

Overall I’d say that as long as the bag fits your taste in terms of style, it’ll work well if you have an appropriately sized netbook. The sleeve fits 10.1 inch netbooks perfectly, and there is still room in the pocket for the A/C adapter and a number of other curios, as well as the two other zipper pockets.

Thanks again to Gearzap.com. If you are in the market for netbook accessories, they have a pretty extensive collection, have a look! Also if you’d like to see all of the Cool Banana brand cases that Geazap offers, head here.

It is rather interesting that a number of new slate style tablet devices seem to be warring even before they are officially launched, or even proven exist. The two most frequently rumored are definitely the CrunchPad and the even more elusive Apple Tablet. While the Apple Tablet may or may not even exist, we’ve at least seen offical prototypes of the CrunchPad, and it seemed to be generally near completion until all any new info surrounding its release has halted in the last few months.

The CrunchPad shot up the popularity ladder in the Portal shortly after being added, and held the number one spot for a good period of time. Despite seemingly no one calling the CrunchPad a UMPC, lots of traffic clearly interested in the CrunchPad was landing on the CrunchPad’s Portal page.

The CrunchPad has only recently been supplanted by the likes of the Archos 9 [Portal page] and the Viliv X70 [Portal page]:The CrunchPad is a project started by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch. In July of 2008, an article titled “We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet For $200. Help Us Build It. inch written by Arrington, went up on TechCrunch. To date that article has produced 1,235 comments in the comment section of the article alone and also countless numbers of articles from other sites in response. Between that time and a month or two ago, the CrunchPad has received quite a bit of attention with various prototypes spotted and a good deal of news and search attention. Note the news reference volume in the graph below which shows how frequently the CrunchPad is searched for (compared to Archos 9 for context):The most recent news that seemed to decry an imminent release of the CrunchPad was that Michael Arrington had teamed up with a small company in Singapore called Fusion Garage for the design, and there is another entity apparently called CrunchPad Inc. which may or may not be involved in getting the device produced (or could possibly be a renaming of Fusion Garage itself).

But much of this news is from back in July. There were reports (read: rumors) that stated that a CrunchPad event may be held at the end of July, or in August, launching or otherwise officially declaring the final CrunchPad device. That date has since come and gone, and here we are, a few days from November, and it seems like all has been quiet on the CrunchPad front. So where in the world is Carmen Sandiego the CrunchPad?

Perhaps the CrunchPad has been waiting on Pixel Qi’s technology to develop? This is just a guess, but I don’t see anyone else taking a shot at the question.Pixel Qi is a company (sometimes referred to as the name of the technology itself) that is working on a type of screen technology that promises to bring inexpensive power saving e-ink like screens to mobile computers using existing LCD manufacturing processes. The Pixel Qi site has a small update box that has this to say:

We have passed early reliability testing with flying colors and are still on track to start mass production of our screens in late Q4 2009.

And while it might seem obvious that Pixel Qi would let people know if they have been working on screens for the CrunchPad to generate interest in the technology, and the device, the following was written on the Pixel Qi blog on October 17th under an article titled “Pixel Qi Screens debuting in Tablets inch:

While we are supplying screens for tablets (and ebooks, and netbooks too!) and are starting production shortly, including supplying limited volumes earlier than our official mass production start we can’t say when these products will be announced and sold retail.

Sorry not to be able to reveal more, but our customers: the netbook, ebook and tablet makers really need to announce their products on their schedules.

With a few CrunchPad articles mentioning a November release, I’d say that it is at least possible that the CrunchPad devlopment and the Pixel Qi screens are coinciding, and maybe the CrunchPad hold-up is due in part to Pixel Qi screen technology still working its way out the door.

Alternate theories? Please feel free to share below.

I think most of us realize at this point that netbooks have gone mainstream. While most consumers probably still couldn’t tell you the difference between a netbook and a more powerful, full fledged laptop, that hasn’t stopped companies from taking advantage of the term ‘netbook’ as a buzz word. Case-in-point, Comcast and Verizon are now both offering deals which provide their customers with a ‘free’ netbook. Each company offers a different netbook to new customers:

Verizon has teamed up with HP owned Compaq to provide the Compaq Mini 110, which is essentially just a rebranded version of the HP Mini 110 [Portal page]. Of course it is just about the most stripped down version of the computer and comes with a small 3-cell battery, and a slow 16GB SSD.

And what good would marketing be if they were just giving these things away without any hassle? There is definitely some tape you need to run through before actually receiving your Compaq Mini 110. Verizon requires that you claim your prize at least 60 days after your instillation, but no later than 90 days after instillation. If you don’t claim your prize within that 30 day window, you are no longer eligible for the ‘free’ netbook. I mentioned ‘free’ because they also charge you $50 for shipping and handling.

Meanwhile, Comcast has jumped on board with Dell to offer customers the Dell Mini 10v [Portal page]. I have been unable to track down the exact specs of the Mini 10v that Comcast is offering, but we’ll assuming that it is one up from least equipped model: 16GB (instead of 8GB) SSD, and 3-cell battery.

So who emerges victorious in the battle to win customers over with a netbook? If we look just at the netbooks that each is offering, its actually a really tough call simply by the fact that both netbooks are so similar. I don’t think there is any differentiating factor that would make me pick one of these over the other, if not simply by brand. I would personally stick with Dell, but hey, maybe you are a die-hard Compaq fan? In the end, these netbook offers really aren’t adding that much value to your purchase. Sure they might make a nice computer for the kids, but if you are really in the market for a netbook, you should buy some of the value packed netbooks that are available these days. You wouldn’t sign up with one of these companies if they were offering a free TV and expect to get a nice TV would you?

Welcome to this week’s netbook roundup. In this space every Monday I’ll highlight netbook news items from around the web.

• Netbook Cover Fashions Itself in the Likeness of an NES Controller This handcrafted netbook slip case has a cool retro gaming style to it as it is designed to look like an NES controller. Looks as though the person who made it uses it to protect their Acer Aspire One [Portal page].
• Broadcom demonstrates video accelerator for netbooks Broadcom has developed a part for inclusion in netbook platforms called Broadcom Crystal HD which works to accelerate video processing, apparently enough that a Mini 110 [Portal page] can play back 1080p video at full framerate, which is pretty impressive.
• Instant-On OS Makers Respond to Chrome OS Makers of instant on pre-OSs Splashtop and HyperSpace response to the news that Google plans to release Chrome OS which will initially be targeted toward netbook users.
• HP Mini 110 Netbook Gains $30 HD Display Option Speaking of the Mini 110, Kevin C. Tofel from jkOnTheRun let’s us know that the unit can now be configured with a 1366×768 resolution display, up from the previous 1024×576 option. Along with the aforementioned Broadcom Crystal HD option, you are getting real HD playback (1280×720) from a netbook!
• Asus Eee PC T101H touchscreen netbook coming later this year Asus UK has confirmed the specs of the Asus Eee T101H [Portal page], the bigger brother of the T91 [Portal page]

Update: Poll now closed, to see results head over to this post.

Just a quick poll to see which devices people are waiting for. There are seveal very nice devices that are still on their way to the market. See the following links below to review the devices before making your choice (also feel free to fill your own answer into the ‘other’ area). Please only vote once.

Crunchpad | Asus Eee T91 | Archos 9 | Always Innovating Touchbook

So as I mention in the video, this was easier to explain with a video than writing it, so consider this a video post!

How about you dear readers; what is your preference on hinge strength and what advantages does it offer?

I was able to get XP on the Mini 1000 [Portal page][review] and I did a quick Crystal Mark benchmark. This is a fully updated SP3 machine. Here are the results:

The HDD score is disappointing. The HP Mini 1000 that I have has a 16GB SSD, and that should be at least as fast as a standard 1.8 inch HDD, but it scores pretty below that level. Not too bad otherwise considering the price of the hardware, and the build quality of the unit, but it is still kind of sad that my UX180 scores slightly better than this, is much smaller, and gets about the same amount of battery life. Sure, the UX180 was really expensive when it came out several years ago, but today you can buy one for a similar price as the HP Mini 1000.

The Mini 1000 is definitely targeted as a secondary computer. I find that it works well as an around-the-house computer for staying connected through social networks and doing light web browsing.

Welcome to this week’s netbook roundup. In this space every Monday I’ll highlight netbook news items that might not need their own individual posts but may still be interesting.

• Black Samsung NC10 now shipping, slightly cheaper — The slightly modified black Samsung NC10 [Portal page] with larger trackpad is now shipping and can be bought for less.

• Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Review — Laptop Mag reviews the Dell Mini 10 [Portal page]. “Dell’s first 10-inch netbook has a compact chassis, good keyboard, and a crisp 10-inch display, but we wish it offered better battery life for the price”.

• New Acer netbook hits the FCC web site — Looks like there might be a different new Aspire One 10″ netbook in the works. FCC docs give a few hints.

• HP Now Offers Extended Battery for the HP Mini 1000 — HP has released the extended battery for the HP Mini 1000 [Portal page][Review]. It will run you $119.

• First look at the Eee PC 1008HA’s Eee Dock app – Video — The upcoming Eee 1008HA has some Asus built software that gets demoed on video at CeBIT 09.