ASUS today announced that its Eee PC Seashell Series of netbooks is to feature Intel?s second generation Atom platform. Dell updated its Inspiron Mini 10 series of notebooks, while Fujitsu proposes its new LifeBook MH380 notebook as an energy-efficient mobile platform. Asus announced that its Eee PC Seashell Series of netbooks - which include the Eee PC Seashell 1005P, 1005PE and 1001P - is to feature Intel's second generation Atom platform, which was officially announced yesterday by Intel. The new Intel Atom processor N450 ? when used in concert with ASUS' exclusive Super Hybrid Engine technology - will substantially extend the battery lives of every model in the Seashell range, Asus claims. This will enable the Eee PC Seashell to deliver up to 14 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The updated Eee PC Seashell will feature dual operating systems, enabling it to boot into Windows 7 or Express Gate. The latter boots up in just 8 seconds, allowing users to surf the web, browse their photos, as well as chat and play games online almost instantaneously.

The Eee PC Seashell user experience is taken further with the ASUS Access service. Services such as the ASUS AP Bank, Game Park, ASUS @Vibe, ASUS Wi-Fi service, ASUS WebStorage, and ASUS Safeguard are accessible through the Access services shortcut preinstalled on all Eee PC Seashell netbooks. The extra 500GB of free ASUS WebStorage offers users drag-and-drop convenience when sharing files. It can also be configured to perform automatic back-ups, making computing easier than ever before.

Dell's proposal for energy efficient computing on the go includes the updated Inspiron Mini 10 netbook. Updates to the Mini 10 include optional high definition entertainment in addition to Web surfing, email, listening to music and sharing user-generated content in real time. Dell expects the redesigned Inspiron Mini 10 to be available the first part of January 2010.

The new design with 10.1-inch display includes a textured, smudge-resistant palm rest, sculpted keys and, for the Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle, extended-life battery offering up to 9.5 hours of operation. The Mini 10 can be personalized with a range of optional colors or hundreds of optional custom artwork designs available in the Dell Design Studio.

The Inspiron Mini 10 will be offered in the coming weeks in a selection of bundles with distinct features like an HD display, Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator, surround sound capability, built in HDTV tuner for over-the-air local HD broadcasts, or built-in Wi-Fi location enabled GPS.

Highlights:

- New Intel Atom N450 processor at 1.66 GHz
- 10.1-inch display with standard (1024x600) or High Definition (1366x768) display available in coming weeks
- Built-in speakers with available SRS Surround sound
- HDTV tuner and location-aware GPS configurations available in coming weeks
- Bundles with Broadcom Crystal HD for smooth HD playback coming in Q1
- Built-in 802.11 b/g wireless with available Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband
- 1GB DDR2 memory at 800MHz
- 160GB or 250GB hard disk drive storage
- Choice of 3 or 6-cell integrated battery with up to 9.5 hours of battery life (Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle only).
- Choice of Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home, Ubuntu operating system option available in the coming weeks
- Lightweight: Starting at about 2.75 ? 3.1 pounds with a 3-cell battery

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is expected to be available in early January from Dell and select configurations will be available in retail outlets worldwide in the coming weeks. Prices start at $299. Fujitsu will also introduce the new LifeBook MH380 Mini-Notebook based on the Intel Atom Processor N450 (code-named Pine Trail). The glossy, ruby-red LifeBook MH380 mini-notebook has a starting weight of just 2.97 pounds and sports a 10.1-inch high definition HD display, webcam, Bluetooth, large hard drive and standard six-cell battery offering up to seven hours of battery life. With Microsoft Windows 7 Starter as the operating system, the LifeBook MH380 mini-notebook offers computing in a lightweight, highly mobile configuration.

Fujitsu LifeBook MH380 Mini-Notebook Highlights

- 2.97-pound starting configuration
- Up to seven hours of battery life with standard six-cell battery
- New Intel Atom Processor N450
- Glossy ruby-red finish with chrome accents
- 10.1-inch HD display with 1366 x 768 maximum resolution
- 250 GB hard drive and 1 GB of RAM memory
- Windows 7 Starter with Microsoft Works 9.0 and Microsoft Office Home and Student 60-day trial
- Atheros(R) 802.11 b/g/n wireless
- 0/100 LAN card
- Integrated webcam and Bluetooth wireless

Priced at $449 for a fixed configuration. Available next month through the Fujitsu website and select retailers/e-tailers.