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Sylvania, best know for their TV’s that are sold mainly at Wal-Mart has decided to enter into the already overcrowded netbook market. Sadly the MESO seems to be just another netbook, and overall nothing really special.

The MESO will feature an 8.9-inch display, 1.6GHZ Intel Atom processor, 80GB hard drive and a built-in card reader and webcam. The Sylvania will be running either Windows XP Home or Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Again similar to other netbooks, the MESO will be available in a variety of colors which include onyx, snow, solar and blossom, which are better known as black, white, yellow and pink.

Although it has not officially been announced, the MESO is expected to be available through Wal-Mart and retail for $299 and up.

[Out of the Box]

While there still has not been an official product announcement it seems that will not stop the details from slowly but surely slipping out. The latest news comes courtesy of Dell, so we can at least be safe to believe its accurate, and places the mini notebook to be ready for an August release. Aside from the release time frame the specs are still mostly unknown with Dell’s senior vice president Jeff Clarke stating quite simply that he is “not going to talk about about the specification of the product.”

What we do know is that the mini notebook will have a VGA port, three USB ports and a built-in card reader. The most important details such as the processor, RAM, hard drive and well basically all the good stuff remain under wraps. It was also stated that the main reason that Dell is coming a little late to the mini notebook party is that they are “working on getting the right keyboard,” with an effort to make it “unique to Dell” and still offer a keypad that “accommodates as best as possible the best user experience for this class of products.”

The notebook is rumored to be called the Inspiron Mini, however I a leaning towards the name “Minspiron” that was coined by Kevin Tofel.

Read [apcmag] Via [Liliputing]

Microsoft will not be killing off Windows XP this June as expected, instead it has been given an extension of life, sadly it was not due to the Save Windows XP Campaign that we saw, but instead because of the recent surge in low-cost computers such as the Eee PC, Cloudbook and recently announced 2go PC.

Microsoft has announced that Windows XP Home will be available until at least June 2010 and for one year after Windows 7 is released, which could mean we will see availability through 2011 and possibly into 2012.

Read [AP Google News]

The ultra-portable market has been very popular lately, with most newly released models offering at least some comparison to the Eee PC and some even with the Everex Cloudbook.

The Twinhead C8 features a pearl white outer shell and features and 8-inch display with a nice 1024 x 600 resolution, which can make a big difference when compared to a 7-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution. Aside from the display the C8 is powered by an AMD LC-800 processor with 1GB of RAM and features a 1.8-inch 20GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Ethernet, two USB ports, one VGA out and a 4-in1 card reader.

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It was just a few weeks back that we first saw those cell phone style pics show up, only to quickly be followed up with a much cleaner looking set, based on that it seemed only a matter of time before more information came out. This time its in the form of a spec sheet and a few press style pics. The Intel Netbook 2go PC will be manufactured by Computer Technology Link (CTI) and seems to be aimed primarily at the education and classroom market although with the featured specs it should hold its own against with the recent ultra-portable craze.

The 2go PC will be running on an Intel Celeron M processor with the 915GMS chipset and come with Windows XP or Linux. The 2go PC will feature a 9-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution, 512MB of RAM standard with support up to 1GB, a 4200 RPM 40GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, SD/MMC card reader and a built-in webcam.

Although an official price and release date has not yet been announced, rumor has it that it should be available in less than 60 days and retailing for around $400. Keep reading for a few more pics of the 2go PC…

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It seems the Cloudbook has expanded its availability, both Circuit City and “The All-New” CompUSA are now offering the Everex branded UMPC. Perhaps this will make the Cloudbook seem a little more like a ‘real’ computer if its not being purchased from Wal-Mart. As of now the better deal seems to be at Circuit City as they are currently offering free shipping on any order over $24. Similar to Wal-Mart, the Cloudbook is available as an online purchase only. With such a rough start and a so-far rocky set of reviews (mostly due to the installed gOS) it is nice to see the ultra-portable expand into more “big-box” style stores, even if they only have it available online.

Product [Circuit City] Product [CompUSA] Via [Cloudbook UMPC]

The latest notebook that is rumored to be to hitting the ultra-mobile, or Eee PC competitor market looks like it could be the Intel Netbook. A few pictures have turned up of the new device courtesy of a “buddy that works for a US Based OEM.” The Netbook is said to feature a 9-inch display, 900MHz Celeron processor, 512MB RAM, 40GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and will be running Windows XP. The Netbook also weighs less than three-pounds and has a carrying handle built-in. Rumor has it that the Netbook will be landing in the US around June and be in the ballpark of $400.

Of course with all leaked pics, we are left to wonder just how accurate or real they are, based on these blurry, but somewhat nice camera-phone style pics the Netbook does have a nice appearance. As usual, time will tell. Keep reading for a few more of the leaked images…

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In an ultra-mobile that mimics both the Cloudbook and the Tango X, the new device that will be hitting the Japanese market offers a nice ‘upgrade’ of specs over the US released Cloudbook.

The Japanese Cloudbook features the same sized 7-inch display but offers it as a touchscreen and also includes Bluetooth and 802.11a right out of the box. In addition it retains the Via C7-M ULV processor, 30GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and the 0.3-megpixel webcam. The Japanese Cloudbook is set to be released on March 22 and retail for ¥59,800 (about $600 US).

[Update] The Japanese version will take on the model number of CE1200J as opposed to the US model number CE1200V, it will also come pre-installed with Windows XP as opposed to gOS.

Via [akihabara news] Via [Ultra Mobile Life]

Another variant of the Nanobook or Cloudbook has popped up. This time its set to hit the stores in Indonesia and has been dubbed the Zyrex Ubud, but in a nice twist it will not be running a modified version of Linux, instead they opted for Windows. Which version is still not clear as Cloudbook UMPC is reporting that it will be running Windows Vista Starter Edition, however the website for the Ubud is listing the OS as Windows XP, possibly consumers will be given a choice.

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In what seems like yet another low-cost ultra-mobile PC, Norhtec has introduced the Gecko. Similar to the Cloudbook and Eee PC, the Gecko also has a 7-inch display. In addition the Gecko is also expected to feature a 1.0 GHz VIA C7-M processor, 40GB hard drive and support up to 1GB of RAM, although there was no mention of how much RAM will come standard.

The Gecko is not yet in production, but is being worked on by Quanta. It is also expected to run, you guess it, a modified version of Linux. The Gecko will use Linpus Lite which is said to be similar to the easy (standard) mode of the Eee PC.

Similar to the XO laptop from OLPC, this will be headed for the developing markets of the world and likely not be hitting the US or Europe anytime soon.

Via [Ultra Mobile Life]