NCR announced two compact POS (point of sale) devices that run SUSE Linux for Point of Service, as well as a number of Windows operating systems. The RealPOS 40 and RealPOS 60 use Intel Atom and Celeron processors, respectively, offer enhanced energy efficiency, and provide both four powered serial ports and up to eight powered USB ports, the company says.

Lenovo has announced its entry into the "netbook" market. The Linux-based IdeaPad S9 and Windows-XP-based S10 feature 8.9- and 10-inch displays, respectively, plus 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processors, 1.3 megapixel webcams, 802.11b/g wireless networking, and up to 160GB of storage, says the company.

The world's third-largest PC vendor has announced a "netbook" based on a 1.6GHz Intel Centrino Atom processor and Linpus Linux. Acer's $380 Aspire One offers 512MB or 1GB of RAM, 8GB flash, an 8.9-inch, 1024x600 display, WiFi, webcam, and an optional 80GB hard drive.

A Berlin-based software company is preparing an Intel Atom N450-based e-reader that runs Linux with Android extensions. Billed as the "tablet PC for publishing houses," Neofonie GmbH's "WePad" tablet sports an 11.6-inch touchscreen, 16GB of flash storage, a SD card, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, and a webcam, says Neofonie.

Acrosser has introduced a compact, fanless computer aimed at the harsh environments found in trucks, taxis, and other vehicular applications. The AR-ES0831FL runs Linux on Pentium and Celeron M processors, and meets IEC-68-2-6 vibration and IEC-68-2-27 shock standards, according to the company.

The VAR Guy was guilty of hyping Windows-based Ultra-Portables from startups like OQO a year ago, but he has drastically changed his thinking about the Ultra-Portable computer market. He thinks current market dynamics greatly favor Linux over Windows in the Ultra-Portable industry. Here’s why.

French mini-PC vendor Linutop announced a version of its Ubuntu 8.4-based Linux distribution on a USB key targeting Asus Eee PCs. The key (pictured) is based on its small-footprint Linutop 2.2 distro, which is designed for ultra-low-powered systems such as its own Linutop 2 mini-PC.

Digital Gadgets has announced an 8.9-inch netbook computer that will sell under the Sylvania brand name. Offered in four different colors, the Linux-compatible "g netbook MESO" includes a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 80GB hard drive, four-cell battery, webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless networking, according to the company.

V3.co.uk gets a walk through of the Joojoo tablet, which has a USB port and runs Linux underneath its browser interface. The 12.1-inch tablet has a capacitive touchscreen and features an Intel 1.6GHz Atom processor and Nvidia ION chipset.