When I was in high school, I had a Psion Revo clamshell PDA, which was basically a 5″ screen with keyboard and stylus input. As with most PDAs of that era, it was a great idea that simply couldn’t be executed properly given the technology available. Now, NEC wants to bring back that design with the LifeTouch Note, and some of todays best hardware.

The NEC LifeTouch Note is packing some serious heat running Froyo with a Tegra 2 processor, a 7″ LED backlit WVGA touchscreen, and 3G/4G and WiFi only variants. Just for good measure, it also has a 2 MP rear camera, GPS, and accelerometer. There will be a 4 GB WiFi only model for 40,000 Yen (~$475), and 8 GB WiFi only or 3G/WiFI models for 45,000 Yen (~$537). NEC claims the device will be able to give you 9 hours of battery life as well.

You’ll also have a choice of colors, but unfortunately, as of now the LifeTouch is only being released in Japan, and will be out in March there. If we have any readers out in Japan, let us know how this thing looks when it launches.

[Akihabara News] via Netbook Planet

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz QS8250 chipset – this is the Snapdragon processor used for GSM/HSPA devices, so AT&T and T-Mobile perhaps? We already know that Telefonica will release it in Europe and Latin America.
• 512MB RAM, 512MB Flash Memory – I’m really surprised by this. I figured they’d make something more powerful than what we’re getting in phones. *shrug*
• 16 GB internal storage – HP notes: “1GB may not be available due to application requirements. (Program may require a download for use.)”
• 10.1-inch backlit TFT resistive touchscreen – booo, resistive! It may not matter as much on a device like this, but resistive are usually less desirable than capacitive.
• 28 Wh typical Li-Polymaer battery and AC adapter included – based on previous comments by HP, this device should experience 10-12 hours of battery life.

Other Specs include:

- Compaq’s unique version of Android that includes a custom skin, widgets, proprietary apps, tweaked interface, and more.

- RoadSync Exchange for email, calendar, contacts, for Microsoft Exchange

- NDrive navigation pre-installed, but users may have to purchase additional maps in some cases

- Quickoffice for reading Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF. (strange they use DataViz’s Roadsync service but don’t bundle DataViz’s Documents To Go, which is clearly superior to QuickOffice)

There’s no word yet on OS version, but I’m guessing Cupcake or Donut.

[HP via Gizmodo]

The Airlife 100 is set to be available in Europe and Latin America through Telefonica (possibly in the U.S. under AT&T). It would provide 10-12 hours of battery life, turn on instantly, and browse the web through an integrated 3G modem or WiFi. It would also include a VGA camera and a heavily-customized Android build (no word yet on which version). Below is a gallery of press photos as well as a video demo that HP showed to me at CES.

You’ll notice custom widgets, a dock bar, file manager, photo gallery, custom music player, and more unique tweaks designed specifically for a device of this size and capabilities. There are no core Google apps because of lack of certification, but you can cross your fingers that Google will grant permission for the Airlife to run the Android Market, Gmail, Maps, etc.

[Engadget Spanish] via AndroidAndMe

Below is a video review of the Hivision PWS700CA. The Android netbook has a 7-inch display, 600MHz ARM926 process, 128MB of RAM, WiFi, and 720p video playback. I just don’t see the point of having a computer with only 600MHz and Android, but I’ve learned that there’s always someone willing to take on a new device. Take a look at this video review from ARMDevices.net.

• Dimensions: 8.25? x 10.75? by 1.0? (closed)
• Weight: 2.5 lbs.
• Internal Memory: 4 GB (3 GB for user) up to 3000 books
• E-reader File Formats: ePub, PDF
• LCD Touchscreen Display Size: 1024 x 600 (10.1?)
• E-paper Display Size: 9.7? e-Ink®(1200 x 825), 16 shades of gray
• E-paper Input: Wacom® Penabled®
• Operating System: Linux with Google® Android®
• Connectivity: 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth capability
• Battery Life: Up to 6 hours
• Battery Type: Lithium-ion polymer
• Mobile Modem (optional): EVDO or HSDPA
• External Memory: SD card slot, 2 USB ports
• Audio and Microphone Jack: 3.5 mm each. Includes internal microphone and speakers.
• Audio playback: MP3
• Video playback: MP4, 3GP
• Input: Stylus input on e-paper and touchscreen. Virtual keyboard. Bluetooth keyboard (optional)

With that I have been doing some looking around and have found a few sites that have spent some hands on time with the Acer Aspire One D250 netbook. The first issue that I see is despite this being a dual-boot computer, you cannot actually boot into what ever OS you want. Instead you have to first boot into Android, and then if you want Windows, you will have to choose the “switch OS” button. Seems a little strange to me and I would really say this is more of a quick-start setup as opposed to a true dual-boot.

Anyway, the reports that I was able to find come from Register Hardware, Pocket Link, The Mirror, ZDNET UK and Laptop Magazine.

I will let you judge for yourself, but the long and short is that I am not nearly as excited about this netbook as I was the day it appeared on Amazon.

That aside, the good news is that the model in question is the Acer Aspire One D250, which has already been proven to be a good netbook. This particular model will be running both Windows XP and Android. In terms of price — $349.99.

Otherwise the features are pretty standard for a netbook and include a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of RAM (upgradeable to 2GB), a 160GB hard drive, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and a an 89% full size keyboard. Additionally, this unit ships with a 6-cell battery, weighs 2.8 pounds and is only 1-inch thick.

I guess now is the time to finally make up my mind, I regularly use a netbook and really like having one on hand, that said I have been pretty happy with my Eee PC 1000H but am considering putting that up for sale and picking up the Android Acer Aspire One.

Product [Amazon]

The latest is coming from Gizmodo, who are reporting that a dual-boot (Android and Windows XP) Aspire One will become available “in time for the holidays.” Otherwise, the details are still pretty light to non-existent.

The report from Gizmodo further goes on to suggest that the Aspire One will be of the 10-inch variety and retail for around $350. Which happens to be the current price of the Windows XP based Aspire One.

All things considered I am interested to see what happens if this model is released. After all it will be dual-boot which is likely to confuse some people. But at the same time, this seems to be a pretty safe way for Acer to release an Android powered netbook, at least they can safely judge the demand.

[via Gizmodo]

Unfortunately, we really have very little, well no real information about who these sources are and how reliable (or unreliable) they may be. Additionally, don’t expect to save any money on this netbook, because while it will be running the free Android OS, it will also have Windows XP, which means Acer will have to pay the Microsoft “tax.” Finally, it looks like in this case Windows XP will be the “primary” operating system leaving Android OS as the quick-boot option. Personally, I am really into Android and am curious to see what it can bring to the netbook market, but am thinking that having Android simply as a quick-boot option may be the way to go.

[via DigiTimes]

Videos from the Computex trade show in Taipei have shown two Android devices with Freescale internals: the Inventec IAC Smart Handheld, a “new class of product” smartbook, and the Kinpo Thin Client media tablet were both exhibited at Computex.

SMARTBOOK

The IAC smartbook, more than a smartphone but not quite a netbook, sports a 4-inch screen, Android OS, slide-out keyboard, and strong video playback qualities. The video briefly displays visual playback that appears to be superior to quality seen on current Android devices.

TABLET

In a second video, the world also got a look at the 7-inch Kinpo Thin Client. The Kinpo has a WVGA display, touchscreen, SD card slot, USB connectivity, and a full Android OS. It also has strong playback quality, as one would expect from what’s likely to be a media-centric device. The device will be available at the close of 2009 according to the presenter in the video.

Freescale is a company that creates semiconductors and other parts that manufacturers use to create electronic products. The Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader are two examples of Freescale-supported products. The company also plans to support several Android-devices from manufacturers aiming for a Christmas release.