SlashGear Week In Review - Week 9 2009

After cellphones had their way with the headlines the previous week, the past seven days have been an opportunity for netbooks to race back into the spotlight.  Rumors spread about ASUS' upcoming Eee PC "Shell" luxury follow-up to the S101, while we saw a slimline version of the Acer Aspire One.  If you want a machine in the more immediate future, though, the Samsung NC20 was made official, and Dell finally launched their Inspiron Mini 10.

Dell's not just been concentrating on smaller systems, though; they've also announced the Studio XPS 435, a monster of a PC with up to 24GB of RAM and Intel's freshest Core i7 processors.  They're not advertising it as a gaming machine as such, but it seems a waste to use it just for Minesweeper.  If it's more dedicated gaming you're interested in, though, then talk of a Sony PS3 $100 price-cut is probably more up your alley.

We've actually seen a few oddly shaped PCs this week, with the Acer Hornet nettop – boasting NVIDIA's Ion chipset – leaking and Marvell's Sheevaplug $99 Linux PC hiding in a wall-wart.  Similarly small is the Toradex Robin, a credit-card sized mainboard with integrated RAM, Atom CPU and more connections than Donald Trump.  The Viliv S5 MID also grabbed its share of attention too, with video unboxings and hands-on, while a machine purporting to be the upcoming Mac mini flaunted itself on video.

In reviews, we've been looking at Samsung's LapFit D190SU – a 19-inch LCD intended specifically to partner up with your notebook, and with the DisplayLink USB connection tech to make that super-straightforward – together with the Element LIQUID iPhone cases.  We've also spent some hands-on time with the Verizon LG Versa – complete with its nifty detachable QWERTY keyboard – and T-Mobile's Samsung Memoir.

SlashGear's resident photo-expert, Daniel Lim, is off to PMA this coming week to cover the latest and greatest in digital photography.  Keep reading SlashGear for all the news!