The Crux 360 case will turn your Apple iPad into a netbook. This is great for iPad owners who want to do some serious typing or send emails, or blog. Just slip the iPad directly into the case, and connect the Bluetooth keyboard with it.

You can easily disable the keyboard and use the iPad in the normal way, but with a kickstand. The Crux 360 Case for iPad retails for $149.99.

Get ready for a whole bunch of smartbooks headed your way, powered by Google’s Chrome operating system. They are coming in November. Google is positioning themselves to launch their own-brand Chrome notebook in the same way they launched their Nexus One smartphone.

The first shipments are expected to be anywhere from 60,000 to 70,000 units, running on an ARM-based platform. But with all of the tablet madness, why bother? We hope they feature something to set them apart.

Dell has unveiled the Inspiron 15R Alloy Edition. It is named for the silver wave pattern on the lid that looks like metal. The machine features a 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 and it is LED backlit.

It comes with a bunch of processor options for Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs and can be fitted with up to 8GB of RAM with Core i3 and i5 machines at 1066MHz and Core i7 machines getting 1333MHz RAM. Standard
graphics are Intel HD and the machine has an ATI HD 5650 GPU as an option with 1GB of RAM. Storage goes up to 750GB with 5400rpm and 7200rpm versions available.

You know how it is. You purchase a notebook that’s been filled up with bloatware that you don’t want. We’ve all been there. But the Korea-bound Samsung X430 notebook is free of such things. The notebook is apparently a Microsoft Store Exclusive, and offers a Microsoft Signature Image label that means that it’s copy of Windows 7 is completely free of trialware and other crap.

However, Microsoft has filled it with a bunch of in-house software like Windows Live, Bing Maps 3D, and Microsoft Security Essentials. I guess you are trading one set of bloatware for another.

Need to cool things down with your notebook? Well, Logitech has just announced the Speaker Lapdesk N550. It’s a notebook cooler pad designed for machines with displays of 14.1-inches or smaller. It will keep the temperature of your notebook on the cool side and features integrated stereo speakers on either side of the notebook for rich, full stereo sound.

The angled base also raises your laptop display to a comfortable viewing position. You just plug it into the notebook’s USB port and you are ready.

NVIDIA has had problems over the last few years with some of its GPUs being defective. This was a widespread issue in 2008 and 2009 with GPUs failing in notebooks from HP, Dell, and Apple. Throughout the entire class action against NVIDIA, the company has maintained its innocence in the issue with the machines.

NVIDIA has finally agreed to a settlement with the company makers and consumers who purchased notebooks with defective MCPs and GPUs. The settlement terms are different depending on the machines. Owners of Dell and Apple notebooks that are affected will get a replacement GPU.

Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad Edge 11 is an ultraportable but it packs in the performance. It will ship with AMD’s single and dual-core Nile platform, and Intel’s Core i3/i5 processor options. Sadly Lenovo has no plans of releasing this one in the states.

So the X100e will still be the champion in the US, with the Edge 11 becoming its counterpart overseas. The AMD version is cheaper, with prices that start at $450, while the Intel-powered model is more about $550.

LG has announced a new notebook computer that has 1080p resolution and support 3D content called the A510. The new notebook is a 15.6-inch machine and its 3D screen uses passive glasses and is LED backlit. Power for the notebook comes from a range of processor options.

The options for CPUs include Core i5 840QM and 740GM, Core i5 580M, 560M, and 460M, as well as Core i3 380M and 370M processors. The notebook runs Windows 7 and comes with a normal pair of passive 3D glasses and a clip on set for those who wear glasses.

Origin PC has a new high end gaming notebook. The Origin EON 17 features a 17.3 inch Full HD wide screen display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and it is capable of Full HD video in 1080p. You can choose from a range of Intel processors up to an Intel Core i7 980x processor, and you also have the option to have up to two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M graphics cards in SLI.

You can also choose a massive 24GB of DDR3 RAM, with a total of three different hard drives. How about a full size keyboard with a numeric keypad? You got it. Some other specs include HDMI out, optical digital out and 7.1 channel HD audio, a touch sensitive multi gesture pad and a bunch of instant access buttons. This is one powerful notebook.

AVADirect has announced a new gaming notebook that it claims to be the fastest desktop replacement on the planet. A quick look at some of the features and AVADirect may be right, the thing is a beast. The X7200 has an aluminum case and sports two USB 3.0 ports.

It can be fitted with 12GB of triple channel DDR3 RAM and has three 9.5mm drive bays along with onboard RAID support. That is enough storage space for 2TB of HDDs or 1TB of SSD storage. The machine can be fitted with two NVIDIA GTX 480M GPUs with a total of 4GB of GDDR5 graphics memory.

Rugged notebooks come in different levels of rugged. There are some that are only a bit more rugged than your average notebook and then there are some that are able to withstand the harshest of conditions and survive drops, water, and dust. The Getac B300 is one of the most rugged machines you will find.

Getac has announced that it has updated the B300 with some new specifications and features. The machine now gets a faster Intel Core i7 CPU running at 2GHz that can be boosted to 2.8GHz with Intel Turbo Boost tech. The machine also gets a standard 700-nit brightness LCD and has an optional 1400-nit rated screen.

If you’re looking for an iPad case that also has a built-in keyboard, this one will do the trick. Check out this new case from Brando. It makes your iPad look like a notebook.

The keyboard runs through Bluetooth and has a built-in lithium battery that’s good for about a week and stands-by for a full 100 days. The keyboard can even be removed and used up to 10 meters away. It’s made of high-quality leather and claims to be waterproof as well.

We all know that Apple’s iPad is a smashing success, but just how many netbooks and notebook computer sales is it destroying? Well, Best Buy’s CEO has dropped a shocking statistic out of nowhere.

According to him, the iPad has cannibalized sales of notebook computers by at much as 50 percent! If true and if those figures are consistent across many retailers, then maybe Apple is killing netbooks faster then anyone thought.

MSI has a wide range of notebooks and other computers in its line that include some nice netbooks and AIO desktop offerings. The company has added some interesting new notebooks aver the last month or so to its offerings and among them are the new GX660 and GX660R notebooks.

The two notebooks both have 15.6-inch screens WiFi, Bluetooth, 720p HD webcams, HDMI output, ATI Radeon HD 5870 Broadway XT graphics, and USB 3.0 ports. Some of the other hardware differs between the models. The GX660 has an Intel Core i5-450m CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB of storage.

Notebook users know that the power adapter for their machines often seems as big and heavy as the notebook itself. It can be a real challenge to fit that adapter into your notebook bag or suitcase when going on the road because of the bulk. Cooler Master has unveiled a new universal 95W adapter for small notebooks that is very thin and small.

The adapter is called the USNA 95 and it has 95W of power with 150W peak. The small adapter measures 2.4″ x 0.7″ x 4.1″ and is billed as the world’s smallest 95W power adapter. The device ships with nine tips that work with the majority of notebooks on the market.