A Little News From Dell
Dell’s much-rumored entry in the netbook (aka mini-notebook, aka eee PC-like device) race is now a reality–and it’s called the Inspiron Mini 9. Prices start at $349 for a Ubuntu Linux version with a 4GB solid-state drive; a version with Windows XP and a 16GB solid-state drive is $449 after $55 in “instant savings.” Like other companies, Dell says it’s aiming its mini-laptop at students, but I know a lot of business types who are at least intrigued by the idea of toting one. Generally speaking, Dell’s arrival in a market is confirmation that it’s real and more or less permanent. I’m really curious whether these machines turn out to have staying power, or whether they, like other undersized notebook types of the past, are a fad. (Side note: I’m going to be writing more about netbooks soon–stay tuned…)

Read more at: Crave, Boing Boing Gadgets

Burn, Sony, Burn
Sony has recalled aboiut 438,000 TZ-series VAIO laptops worldwide because of the potential of overheating problems. Unlike the rash of laptop-related recalls a while back, this one doesn’t have anything to do with the batteries: A wire in the hinge may overheat and burn. If your notebook is at risk, Sony will fix it for free. The company has set up this page to tell customers whether their machines are affected by the recall.

Amazon Does Streaming, Comcast Does Downloads
Amazon has rolled out its new Amazon on Demand streaming video rental service for PCs, Macs, and Sony TVs using Sony’s Bravia Internet Link device. The selection of movies and TV shows looks competitive, and there are some free offerings (a preview of a Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget!). Meanwhile, Comcast’s Fancast service, which formerly only offered streaming, is now doing downloads of movies and TV episodes for rental and sale. They’re Windows-only–when I tried visiting the store on my Mac, it cheerfully said “Non-Windows users welcome” and said I could pay for content from my Mac but not watch it. Now that’s a welcome!

Read more at: AppScout, Seeking Alpha

Not a Photo of the new iPod!
A number of sites are publishing what they say might be a photo of the next-generation iPod Nano that will presumably debut next Tuesday at Apple’s press event. I’m prepared for the possibility that my instinct is wrong and the new Nano will be long and skinny. But the “photo” is patently a computer rendering, and not a particularly realistic one at that. So I don’t take it as adding any credibility whatsoever to the scuttlebutt to date on the Nano. Sometimes, I wish the world would agree to a moratorium on Apple rumors for six months or so…

Read more at: MacRumors

Chome on Your Phone
The existence of Google’s Chrome may have been the week’s biggest surprise, but everyone knew that Google was working on a browser–the one that comes with Android, its mobile operating system. Now Google co-founder Sergey Brin is saying that the Android browser will incorporate technology from Chrome, and will likely take on a name to indicate its relationship. Wonder if Google will release versions of Chrome for other phones? Is it possible, realistically or technically, for another company to release a browser for the iPhone? If it is, would it be worth Google’s effort? I have no idea, but it’s fun to think about.

Read more at: MobileCrunch, Cnet