VIA has announced the VIA OpenBook, an 8.9-inch replacement / upgrade of the 7-inch VIA NanoBook, which was a reference design for sub-notebook / netbook manufacturers. In addition to a larger LED-backlit display, there are other changes in store – some of the new features include a video chipset featuring MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1 and DiVX video decoding acceleration as well as an optional GPS / Bluetooth upgrade module, and a dual 2MP web camera. This is a reference design – it will be used by other netbook manufacturers who will build these using VIA parts, and rebadge them, similar to the Packard Bell Easynote XS
Specifications:
– VIA C7-M 1.6GHz CPU (800MHz FSB)
– VIA VX800 unified chipset
– Up to 2GB of memory
– 8.9-inch LED Backlit display, 1024×600
– VIA Chrome9 HC3 DX9 3D engine
Dimensions:
Width: 9.45 inches / 240 mm
Depth: 6.89 inches / 175 mm
Height: 1.43 inches / 36.2 mm (at battery)
Weight: Less than 2.2 pounds / Less than 1 kg
Something that is particularly intriguing – VIA has released the “OpenBook Reference Design” under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license. This means the external design CAD files are being released for customers to modify to their own style and could save them some time and money in design:
The external panel CAD files for the VIA OpenBook Reference Design are being released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license giving customers the flexibility to bring their own innovative style and brand value propositions to the Mini-Note market segment. This also helps customers reduce product development costs and speed time-to-market.
Read:
– VIA Press Release
– YouTube Movie
– VIA OpenBook Gallery (Small-Laptops.com)