Asus Windows 8 tablet does the switcheroo to a 'Netbook'

Asus probably wins the smorgasbord award at Computex for showing off the widest range of tablets and hybrids.

Yet another in a collection of Android and Window 8-based designs is the Tablet 810, which runs Windows 8 on top of Intel's yet-to-be-officially announced 32-nanometer dual-core "Clover Trail" Atom chip.

"The Netbook is back, this time in the guise of a tablet computer with a keyboard dock," wrote CNET Asia.

That's not exactly a compliment as Netbooks of yore (circa 2009) were invariably slow. In short, they attempted the impossible: running resource-intensive Windows 7 on top of underpowered Atom chips.

"Although the Metro interface on the Tablet 810 ran smoothly and there was no lag even with multiple apps open, it's hard to tell if the new Clover Trail Atom processor within the device can sustain this once you start using more intensive applications," wrote CNET's Vincent Chang.

That said, Windows 8 undoubtedly is snappier on an updated Atom processor than Windows 7 or Windows XP ever was.

The 810 also sports an "Super IPS+" display, which offers good viewing angles, dual cameras -- a 2MP front-facing camera and a 8MP version at the rear -- and 2MB of memory.

Asus has not announced pricing and availability.

And Lenovo was showing a prototype ThinkPad Windows 8 tablet that uses the same Intel Atom Clover Trail chip.

It has a 10.1-inch 1,366x768 display (whose "colors were bright and vibrant, the viewing angles excellent," said CNET Asia), a rear 8MP camera and a flash, a 9.7mm profile, a docking connector, and micro-HDMI port, among other features. 

by Brooke Crothers 

Toshiba Says Goodbye To Netbooks in USA

Liliputing reports that Toshiba America has no plans to release new netbooks here in the States. An unnamed Toshiba executive confirmed that the company will instead focus on pumping out ultrabooks like the Portege Z830 series. Ultrabooks offer a thin and light form factor, but feature superior performance and a heftier price tag than netbooks.

At one time Toshiba was one of the more popular netbook manufacturers with enthusiasts. This was mostly due to its large, easy to use keyboards. Toshiba has manufactured netbooks for a number of years and may still sell the devices internationally. Case in point: The Toshiba NB510 revealed at CES 2012. This netbook features an Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail processor but won't be released here.

Toshiba is likely pulling out of the netbook race locally because sales just aren't there. Consumers are flocking to tablets and, as of late, ultrabooks. Currently rivals Acer, HP and Asus are still releasing the low-end portable systems, but Dell and Lenovo have officially pulled out of the local netbook market. Sony and Samsung still haven't launched a new model this year.

Overall, netbook shipments are down 34-percent from last year and now account for about 5-percent of global PC shipments. Looking ahead, they may soon be wiped off the face of the PC sector, replaced by low-end ultrabooks. Because Intel reportedly won't lower Ivy Bridge CPU prices, manufacturers are compromising by throwing in cheaper Sandy Bridge CPUs, swapping out SSD for HDDs, and using cheap batteries. This class will likely be a bit pricier than netbooks, but the tradeoff is better performance. For those looking for something in the netbook price range, these models will be far easier to tolerate budget-wise than the pricier high-end $800+ ultrabooks.

by Kevin Parrish