Lenovo’s ThinkPad SL410 and SL510 managed to sneak out a touch early overseas, but now the outfit is making ‘em both official here in the States — and on the day before the launch of Windows 7, no less. Unfortunately, detailed specifications are nowhere to be found, with Lenovo simply telling us that these will boast 16:9 displays, Core 2 Duo processors, HDMI and VGA outputs, a multitouch trackpad, 3G WWAN, WiFi, Ethernet, optional Bluetooth and Windows 7 runnin’ the show. Both rigs can supposedly be ordered today starting at $529, so we guess it’s on you to poke around and see if either suit your fancy. Full specs lists is after the break.

In anticipation of the Thursday’s launch, the crazy kids at Gigabyte Japan have refreshed two of their netbook lineup to include Windows 7 Starter. Unfortunately for the T1028X tablet we’ve been tracking for a while now, this flavor of the OS doesn’t support multitouch. While that makes a touchscreen far less attractive in our eyes, maybe you’re into that sort of thing. Who knows? More of this gadget »

We’ve already seen plenty of Windows 7 laptops and desktops up for order, but it looks like we’re now finally starting to see how things will shake out on netbooks as well. After much confusion in the early days of Windows 7, it appears that Windows 7 Starter edition will indeed be the standard issue offering on the majority of netbooks, and it looks like it’ll also demand a slight premium over otherwise comparable XP-based systems. More of this gadget »

With the overdue passing of Windows XP into the next world comes the cheery note that Microsoft’s ceiling on netbook specs will also be no more — and the Mini 311 is among the first to get upgraded in time for the new king of Windowstan. More of this gadget »

Sony’s laptop event is underway, but we’ve got early pages detailing the new VAIO CW. Let’s just say it’s much more… reasonable than the VAIO X, packing up to a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo with NVIDIA GeForce GT230M or GT210M graphics under a 14-inch screen, all starting at $799. It’s also a pretty chunky little thing, measuring 1.52 inches thick at the back hinge and weighing in at 5.3 pounds — but that means there’s room for a Blu-ray drive and both VGA and HDMI outputs, so you know, there’s just more of it to love.