It’s true! Every company with a toe in the technology space is releasing a netbook. The latest to join the party is Viewsonic, whose 10-inch VNB101 will hit shelves next month for a yet to be announced price.
Inside you get the typical netbook specs: an Atom N280 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Bluetooth, a 10-inch, 1024 x 600 LCD screen, 802.11b/g wifi, plus a couple of USB ports, a VGA video output, ethernet and a 3-in-1 card reader. It’ll come with XP Home pre-installed.
What makes this lappy worth mentioning is the 25.4mm thickness, which is pretty slim, and the lithium polymer battery, which offers 2.5 hours worth of power (apparently) while keeping the netbook nice and light. It’ll be available in three colours: Black, champagne and red.
I had a little hands on with one the other night, and it certainly was lightweight. The position of the ports was interesting, with most being located on the back of the laptop, where you generally find the battery. Because they used Lithium polymer, Viewsonic were able to move the battery to the bottom of the netbook. That could lead to heat issues, but I’d need to play for a bit longer to actually experience that before passing judgement. On the whole though, it seemed like a pretty well made, if not a bit generic, netbook.