Intel will invest $300 million during the next three to four years in an effort to speed up the development of its new “Ultrabook” category of laptops, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Intel will provide its hardware and software partners with funding and hopes that the cash will be enough for its partners to develop Ultrabooks that can last a full day on a single charge. “The Intel Capital Ultrabook fund will focus on investing in companies building technologies that will help revolutionize the computing experience and morph today’s mobile computers into the next ‘must have’ device,” Intel Capital Corp. executive vice president Arvind Sodhani told Bloomberg. Intel began discussing the new Ultrabook category during the Computex trade show in March. It hopes the computers will grab 40% of the consumer laptop market by the end of next year and says the devices will combine the performance of today’s laptops with a tablet-like experience in a thin and light product. Recent reports have suggested that Acer, ASUS, Dell, Lenovo and HP will begin mass producing Ultrabooks in September and ASUS’ UX21 is expected to be the first model to hit the market.

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And here we thought all Galaxy Tabs were created equal… While Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint customers will be fiddling with wimpy 7-inch Android-powered tablets from Samsung, T-Mobile subscribers apparently have a beast of a slate to look forward to next month. Here are some notable specs according to T-Mobile’s website:

• Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
• 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
• 10.1-inch 1024 x 600-pixel glossy WSVGA display
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• 160GB 5400RPM hard drive
• Microsoft Works 9, McAfee Security Center, Adobe Acrobat Reader 9

Now that, people, is how you build a tablet! Hit the jump for the full specs according to T-Mobile’s little oopsie.

UPDATE: T-Mobile pulled the page.

Thanks, Manny

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HP announced a new line of netbooks today that will debut in three different variations: The very much consumer oriented Mini 1000, the Linux-based Mobile Internet Experience (MIE) edition and the very fashionable Vivienne Tam edition. The new models will compliment and not replace their current netbook offering, the Mini Note 2133. All variants of the Mini 1000 will share the following features:

• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• 8.9″ or 10″ Brightview Backlight LED display with 1024×600 resolution. (Vivienne Tam is only available in 10″)
• up to 1GB DDR2 RAM
• black matte casing with a swirled imprint finish (Mini 1000 Standard and MIE version)
• vibrant red casing with a peony-flower inspired design (Vivienne Tam edition only)
• 92% full-size keyboard
• 8GB or 16GB SSD or a 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive
• expansion slot for a proprietary HP Mini Mobile flash drive (max of 8GB)
• 802.11b/g WLAN
• future mobile broadband/3G support
• 3-cell battery (3 hours run time)
• 10.3 in (L) x 6.56 in (W) x 0.99 in (H)
• 2.23 Lbs

The new Mini 1000 line will have a starting price of $379 for the Linux version and $399 for XP. The Windows XP versions of the Mini 1000 will be available from HP starting Wednesday, while those hoping to snag a new Linux machine will have to wait until next year. Hit the jump for a quick roundup of the features of the the fashionable Vivienne Tam edition and Linux-based MIE edition.

[Via Press Release]

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The Vivienne Tam edition is meant for the ladies, with its bold red keyboard and vivid floral design. If you open this netbook at your local Starbucks you’ll certainly turn some heads. It has the same specs as the plain Jane Mini 1000 but will come only in a Windows XP version with a 10″ display. Sorry ladies, no linux or 8.9″ display for you. The Vivienne Tam edition is expected to start around $699, though final pricing has not been released.

Last but not least is the Mini 1000 Mobile Internet Edition (MIE). Linux lovers can say bye, bye to the SUSE Linux of the Mini Note 2133 and say hello to the new Mobile Internet Experience (MIE), a proprietary OS built on top of Ubuntu Linux. The MIE version features an Instant-On Dashboard Interface and comes with pre-installed applications for web browsing, instant messaging and email as well as Skype for online video chat.

Netbooks have pretty much become almost like an overnight sensation with manufacturers like Asus, Dell and HP dishing out these tiny little computers. MSi is releasing the Wind 2 this November to add to the flurry of options available to consumers. For $600 you’ll get a new look, new case, 128 GB hard drive (and SSD option at some point), 3.5G modem, 1GB of memory, Windows XP and the awesome Intel Atom N270 processor. Look for the MSi Wind U120 to make its way in Asia in November, and possibly the U.S. soon after.

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We just got our hands on some interesting photos of the upcoming ASUS N10 notebooks set to be released the third week of this month. For starters, they’re pretty tiny. You know, with them rocking 10.2″ screens and all… In terms of specs and features, here’s what we got from the leaked docs:

• 10.2″ LED 1024×600 screen
• Windows Vista / Windows XP
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 9300M GS 256MB graphics card
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB 5400rpm HD
• One ExpressCard slot
• One HDMI port
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Fingerprint reader
• 3.5 lbs

You also get around 6.5 hours of runtime with the included 6-cell battery, a switch to toggle either the built-in motherboard graphics, or the sexy NVIDIA chip, Altec Lansing speakers, and a totally cool face recgozition software that will enable you to securely unlock your PC. That sums up most of the specs, but what about price? Well, the specific model we listed above is the ASUS N10J-B1 and will retail for $849 in the next couple weeks, but look for the N10J-A1 to retail for $749, and the N10E-A1 to run you $649. Check out all the slides in our gallery, ok?

Click on over to our ASUS N10 notebook gallery!