A tipster with access to a seemingly infinite number of photos of this bad boy also shot over a spec sheet of the purported EC18T, and here’s what we’re looking at. This 11.6-incher is going to boast an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a Mobile Intel GS45 Express graphics chipset, and it’ll run either Windows 7 Home Premium or Basic. Of course, none of this is official information, and we have no info on pricing or availability yet. Hit the gallery after the break for a plethora of photos.

Source: Engadget

This could be the netbooklet I have been waiting for. A chinese company , Hanvon or Hanwang will being shipping a tablet running Windows 7 operating system with a Atom processor inside. This 8.9-inch, two USB port-sporting device can pull off multi-touch pinching and zooming and outfitted in a rather becoming all-aluminum case. It could make for a pretty desirable movie-playing machine on the go, provided it has the battery prowess for such tasks.

Source: Gottabemobile.com

Microsoft announced that they have removed the netbook restrictions that previously prevented OEM and ODM from installing any version of Windows 7 on their netbook. The lifted restriction means OEM and ODM can install Windows 7 starter on a netbook, and that the three application restriction has been removed as per consumer’s request.

"OEMs and ODMs have the choice to install any version of Windows on a netbook," a Microsoft UK spokespersons

aid. "[But] Starter is an entry version and doesn’t have many of the consumer or business features. The three application limit isn’t there anymore."

Still waiting for an ION powered nettop? One that is particularly small? Well, Lenovo’s IdeaCentre Q110 powered by NVidia’s ION powered graphics is now on sale atLenovo.com.

There’s the basic SIS Mirage graphic powered model, the Q100, selling from $299 then there’s the ION Q110 selling from $399.

The Q110 includes:
An Intel Atom 230 processor (1.6GHz, single core), Windows Vista Home Premium 64, NVidia ION, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD

There is no keyboard or mouse included. You’re eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. White model doesn’t seem available yet, only black. Shipping is 4 weeks away.

Source: Netbooked

Phoenix is showing off a few interesting things at IDF, but the real standout is their new Instant Boot BIOS, a highly optimized UEFI implementation that can start loading an OS in just under a second. Combined with Windows 7’s optimized startup procedure, that means you’re looking at incredibly short boot times — we saw a retrofitted Dell Adamo hit the Windows desktop in 20 seconds, while a Lenovo T400s with a fast SSD got there in under 10. It’s pretty slick stuff, and it should be out soon.

Source: Engadget

The S10 has a 10-inch resistive, swivelling touchscreen (which means no multi-touch, sorry guys) and a full QWERTY keyboard that’s only marginally awkward to type on (better than average for 10-inchers, but not as good as the HP Mini). It’s available in a few configurations, having either the 1.33GHz or the 2.0GHz Atom, 1GB of memory, either a 60GB HDD or 32GB SSD and the usual smattering of wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G). Interestingly, Viliv claims 10 hours of battery life (or 7 for straight video) which is awfully impressive, especially seeing as how this is one thin netbook.

Source: Gizmodo

The 12-inch netbook with NVIDIA’s Ion technology — is actually on schedule for an autumn release. Unfortunately, the machine is still humming along on Intel’s near-ancient Atom N270 processor, though the 2GB of RAM, high(er) resolution panel, real man’s GPU and Windows 7 operating system should help move things along. Per usual, we don’t expect ASUS to confirm or deny the legitimacy of this slip, but if you’re in the market for an Eee, this may be all you needed to hold off just a bit.

Technical specifications Asus Eee PC 1201N

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 Diamondville
• Chipset: Nvidia Ion LE
• Memory: 2GB DDR2
• Hard drive: 250GB SATA 5400RPM
• Screen: LED 1366×768 pixels
• Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 9400M G
• Networking: 802.11b/g/n wireless, Ethernet 10/100
• Interface: USB2.0,, 1 x VGA, 1 x RJ45
• Battery: 6-cell 5200mAh
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

Source: Netbook Italia

I scored one of the only copies of Windows 7 Touch Pack out in the wild, and it really blew my mind, bringing the full power of Microsoft Surface to touch-enabled Win 7 PCs. Have a look:

In my first go-around with Win 7 touch, I didn’t feel so much ooh-aah as I felt relief, relief that Microsoft had actually baked intelligent touch controls directly into the new operating system. Once again, my touch experience is with the optically driven HP TouchSmart PC, this time running Windows 7 Release Candidate build 7100. Nothing you see is third-party, except for the beta TouchSmart multitouch drivers by NextWindows.

Can’t wait to install and run this on a multi-touch version of netbooks.

Read the rest at: Gizmodo

The Archos 9 Windows 7 touch tablet has made it through its first round of show floor pageantry, briefly falling into the the expectant hands of the guy(s) from ArchosFans. The mildly romantic encounter was captured on video, for posterity.

The most important piece of the Archos 9’s hardware—its 9-inch resistive touchscreen—works quite well here. (It’s on smaller screens where the difference between resistive and capacitive screen starts to stand out, but that’s another story.) The rest of the hardware, barring the alarmingly creaky "kickstand," looks solid and attractive, especially considering the USD$650 price point.

Windows 7, as we know, is fairly well suited to touchscreens, though on this particular device I think the simple addition of smooth touch scrolling for IE would do wonders.

Sidenote: take a good look at this form factor, because it’s more or less what the mythical "Apple Tablet" is said to look like. I’m torn: on the one hand, I’d love to play with one, and it could be nice browsing device for the sofa; on the other, I could see getting tired of holding my hands up to the screen all the time, since it’s too big to thumb. Just sayin’!

Source: Gizmodo

Well, we thought this might happen — especially after the news that Acer’s Z5600 all-in-one will be shipping with Windows 7 pre-loaded, come October 23rd of this year. And now it’s official: Windows 7 is on track to be released this "holiday season." Now, this announcement may be officially vague, but it is official. Sometimes in this business (as in life) we take what we can get.

Source: Engadget

Microsoft’s new Virtual XP Mode requires hardware virtualization, but with all the news surrounding this feature, users are wondering "Am I able to run Virtual XP Mode?"

Even though people may recommend you run Securable to check and see, the problem is, Securable may not display results accurately, even if your BIOS says that hardware virtualization is turned on as evidenced by this forum thread.

Thankfully, Microsoft is aware of this, and has created this page to help you out. The pages gives you ways to identify if your processor supports hardware virtualization, and gives instructions on how to check the BIOS settings of Dell, HP, and Thinkpad systems to see if it’s turned on. Intel users can check if their processor supports hardware virtualization here, and AMD users can check here.

Source: Neowin

Microsoft has just announced the availability of the Windows 7 Release Candidate for MSDN and TechNet customers. In addition, we have confirmed that it is also available on Microsoft Connect for those enrolled in the Windows 7 test program.

"Listening to our partners and customers has been fundamental to the development of Windows 7," said Bill Veghte, senior vice president for the Windows business at Microsoft. "We heard them and worked hard to deliver the highest quality Release Candidate in the history of Windows. We have more partner support than we’ve ever had for an RC and are pleased to say that the Windows 7 RC has hit the quality and compatibility bar for enterprises to start putting it through its paces and testing in earnest."

Microsoft will be releasing the RC to the public on May 5th and it’s expected the RC will be available to millions more customers than the beta.

See Neowin’s Beta to RC guide here.

Source: Neowin