Filed under: Laptops

Once we all understood that the netbook was more than just a craze to be dominated by ASUS and its Eee brand, it was inevitable that Dell would join in. Sure enough, out popped the Inspiron Mini 9, priced competitively and loaded with hardware good enough to satisfy most in the market. Now that the first wave of machines have hit doorsteps (and subsequently, office desks, airplane tray tables and bathroom ledges), we’re curious to see if Dell’s foray into the already crowded netbook market was a play well made. Are you happy you chose Dell’s option over the others? Are you pleased with the value? Is the keyboard comfortable enough? Satisfied with the battery life? There’s too much competition in this space to let someone get away with a halfhearted effort, so feel free to really spill your guts on this one.

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Filed under: Laptops

Aw yeah, it’s an $89 laptop, son! And it’s new! Menq International’s EasyPC E760 was reportedly spotted in Berlin at IFA 2008, and one particular camera-wielding individual even gave it the showcase treatment on video (after the break). This el cheapo was seen sporting a 7-inch 480 x 272 resolution display (ouch!), a Samsung ARM processor (what a workhorse!) and Windows CE behind the scenes. In that case, we’ll just pick up a pocket-sized WinCE device and save ourselves the hassle — thanks anyway, though.

[Via techvideoblog]

Continue reading Menq International lowers the bar with $89 EasyPC E760 laptop

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Filed under: Laptops

The Kira 100 was a decent Eee PC knockoff, but at just north of $475, there was literally no purpose in picking it over the genuine product. The Jointech JL7100, however, really makes ASUS’ darling look mighty unnecessary. Okay, so maybe the fact that this thing relies on WinCE 5.0 rather than, you know, a bona fide laptop operating system is a bit disappointing, but there are sacrifices to be expected here. As for other specifications, you’ll supposedly find a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, Samsung chipset, 64MB (yes, megabytes) of internal storage, 64MB (yes, megabytes) of RAM, a VGA output and three USB ports. We can hear your stifled laughter from here, but your tune may change upon hearing the $99 (USD?) price tag. Told you so.

[Thanks, Sean]

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Filed under: Laptops

It was inevitable, was it not? With the success of HP’s 2133 Mini-Note, it was pretty obvious that the outfit would be working up a second edition, and according to Jerel Chong, HP Australia’s Market Development Manager for Notebook PCs, it’s already “looking at a similar device but at a lower cost.” Reportedly, the lower cost low-cost laptop will be ready for budget-conscience consumers sometime before 2009, though we have no idea what corners will be cut in order to hack down the price. Mr. Chong did mention that the cheaper edition would be less “durable,” but considering that we never viewed the original as a Toughbook replacement, we’re not so sure what he’s really getting at. Nevertheless, those looking seriously at the more business-minded 2133 may want to hold off, but good luck suppressing that insatiable desire to be instantly gratified.

[Via TheGadgetSite]

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Filed under: Laptops

Here’s a peculiar one. Medion’s Akoya Mini — you know, just one of the legions of low-cost laptops you’ve barely heard of — is finally on sale after being showcased at Computex. But it’s not the mere fact of being on sale that’s intriguing; for whatever reason, Medion has decided to offer the unit up in Austria’s Hofer, which is the foreign equivalent of America’s Aldi. So you know, while you’re browsing around picking up a few bits of produce and a 20-pack of Fun Dip, why not snag a 10-inch netbook for €399 ($628) to round things out?

[Thanks, hondosan]

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Filed under: Laptops

Daewoo Lucoms is no stranger to building smallish computers, but it seems to have taken a few obvious design cues from Intel’s 2go PC when crafting its own Lukid. According to the firm’s site, this kid-friendly PC includes a 900MHz Celeron M ULV processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 9-inch display, 30GB hard drive and Windows XP Home Edition. There’s also two USB jacks, audio in / out, WiFi, Ethernet and a rather unsightly (though quite useful, we imagine) carry handle. Expect this one to land in South Korea for around ₩549,000 ($531), though we haven’t heard a peep in regard to availability elsewhere in the world.

[Via AVING]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops, Storage

SanDisk is all about adding those prefixes to solid state discs, and not quite a year after we were forced to learn what uSSD really meant, the same firm is now shoving pSSD into our dictionary. Launched at Computex, these new parallel ATA solid-state drives are designed for use in the booming low-cost laptop sector, and will be available in 4/8/16GB sizes. They’ll also boast a streaming read speed of 39MB/sec and a streaming write performance of 17MB/sec. According to SanDisk, the modules will be built using the outfit’s Multi-Level Cell (MLC) and Single-Level Cell (SLC) flash memory at fabrication plants in Yokkaichi, Japan, and while dollars and / or yen weren’t talked about, you can get set to grab your own when they land in August.

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Filed under: Laptops

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Filed under: Laptops

Remember that mention that Gigabyte was looking to dole out some sort of low-cost PC later this year? Can’t discern that from the hordes of other similar notices from nearly every other computer maker out there? Fret not, as DigiTimes has it that the aforesaid firm will indeed be rolling out a budget-priced subnote as early as June. More specifically, the M912 will feature an 8.9-inch panel (resolution still unknown) with an Intel Atom CPU, and according to “sources,” it’ll support either Linux or Windows XP and could come stocked with Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the most critical point (yeah, price) is still left to our imagination.

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Filed under: Laptops

In case you’ve been camped out under a nearby boulder for the past six months or so, you’d realize that low-cost laptops have swarmed the market. Granted, only a handful are actually available for purchase today, but just in case you’re trying to arrange your options in order to make the best purchasing decision in the future, Liliputing has assembled a stunningly comprehensive list of everything that’s out there. From now shipping to darn-near-vaporware, all the details you need to know are lined up perfectly in the read link. Wipe that sweat from your brow, vaquero — the hard work’s been done for ya.

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Filed under: Laptops

Upon initial inspection, we had a hunch the ECS G10IL would emerge as one of the most desirable of the low-cost lappies. Now that ECS has filled us all in on a few more pertinent details, we’re feeling all the more sure of that assertion. According to new specifications loosed on the outfit’s own website, we can look forward to a Diamondville, er, Atom CPU, Windows XP or Linux under the hood, a single RAM slot (up to 2GB), an HDD or SSD, 1.3-megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 multicard reader, a 8.2- / 10.2-inch glossy display and a 4- / 6-cell battery for good measure. Oh, and if you were wondering if Bluetooth and WiFi would tag along with the built-in HSDPA / HSUPA, the answer’s yes (at least on the big fellow). So, does the G10IL have your attention now, or what?

[Via DailyTech]

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Filed under: Laptops

Sheesh — as if the Eee PC, ONE, Cloudbook, G10IL and countless others weren’t enough, now we’ve got one more low-cost laptop to keep track of. Aiming to arrive just a hair below that magical $300 price point, NorhTec is reportedly gearing up to introduce its Gecko laptop to the world, but the machine itself will be designed / built by Quanta. So far, we’re hearing that it’ll tout a 1GHz Via C7M ULV processor, an optional PATA hard drive, integrated graphics, a 7-inch display and the Linpus Linux Lite operating system. According to NorhTech’s president Michael Barnes, “Linpus Lite is very similar to gOS,” which we aren’t exactly sure is something you’d really want to trumpet. Nevertheless, said bigwig also implied that the formal announcement of this here lappie would be happening soon — let’s just hope it actually stays under three bills.

[Via Eee Site]

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