ECS G10IL and Sylvania MESO - Hands-On, Video Webcast (LAPTOP Mag)
August 8, 2008
The folks at LAPTOP Magazine (well Joanna Stern) have been incredibly busy the past few days.
First-off, a hands-on with the ECS G10IL. The ECS G10IL is a 10.2-inch netbook, one that Joanna calls “The Sexiest Netbook Yet”, and it’s powered by an Intel Atom CPU. It’s slightly larger than others in its class - the keys are slightly larger and are flat, similar to an Apple MacBook. She believes it will give Lenovo a run for their money in the design department. She considers it a potentional contender to knocking the MSI Wind and Eee PC 1000H off the throne in the 10-inch category.
Second, a hands-on with the 8.9-inch Sylvania g Netbook Meso which is also powered by an Intel Atom. She mentions it’s thicker, but shorter than the Acer Aspire. She’s also included a video of it.
Finally, here very shortly (1pm EST, 12pm CST), there is going to be a live webcast (you can access it here) that revolves around the G10IL and the Meso.
This is something new for LAPTOP Magazine, and they’ll be taking questions from viewers, as well as chatting with people from a few other mobile websites.
Read:
- Hands-on with ECS G10IL
- Sylvania g Netbook Meso
Sylvania MESO to Enter Netbook Market
July 30, 2008
A consumer electronics manufacturer / retailer with close ties to Wal-Mart is announcing that it’s jumping into the netbook game with an 8.9-inch offering.
The Sylvania MESO (or Sylvania g netbook MESO) will be based on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, will weigh in at around 2.2 pounds, and will come with an 80GB HDD loaded with either XP Home or Ubuntu Netbook Remix. It’ll have an internal webcam, and the 8.9″ display is an LED-backlit display.
Its a follow-up to Sylvania’s VIA C7-based “Syvania g” netbook (which was not well known).
It will be available in four colors: Onyx (black), Snow (white), Solar (yellow), Blossom (pink)
Read: RossRubin.com
Voodoo Envy 133 Unboxing, Packaging
July 10, 2008
Want to know what you get from your $2099 (and on up) when you purchase a 13.3-inch ultra-lightweight Voodoo Envy 133?
Well Rahul Sood, the guy who founded VoodooPC and who is now the Chief Technology Officer for HP/Compaq’s gaming component, posted an unboxing article of sorts, discussing just what went into the design of the packaging for the Voodoo Envy.
Included are pictures of the “Voodoo Aura power connect” which is not only an A/C adapter (which, by the way, they included extra power cables in case any become frayed from heavy use), but also acts as a wireless router.
It definitely rivals many of the other high-end/luxury-type laptops:
Our packaging expert Allison worked with our ID folks to design the Envy 133 presentation box to look somewhat like a Tiffany box. It lifts up like a hat box to reveal a wonderful presentation, including the Envy 133 wrapped in a microfiber polish sleeve.
Read: RahulSood.com
ECS G10IL - Available in the US in September
July 9, 2008
Surprise, surprise, LAPTOP Magazine has word of the ECS G10IL coming to the United States sometime in September. As expected, it will not be carrying the ECS brand (and may even carry a different name) - it will be sold through another company with a different brand.
A few notes about the US-bound ECS G10IL:
- Mobile broadband options - EDGE, HSUPA, HSPDA
- Mobile broadband not available on low-end versions
- Probably just 10-inch (similar to the MSI U100
- Storage: 8GB SSD with Linux, or 80GB HDD with Windows XP
- Pricing starting at $399
- Designed/marketed for business use instead of education.
- Production to start in mid-August
I find it interesting that it’s targeted towards business use. In my experience, from conversations I’ve had with people, and from what I’ve read, a lot of companies are touting businesses or students as the target audience (and it’s true, those two groups probably are the biggest customers over the long term), but they are ignoring other audiences. I’ve come across a lot of people who are not gadget freaks or would not be considered “power users” or travelers who would favor such a small form factor, but who are very much interested in these devices.
LAPTOP Magazine has an interview with ECS vice president of sales Henry Kwan about the ECS G10IL, and it’s journey to the US (link below).
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
OCZ Core SSDs Announced - $479 for 128GB SSD
July 1, 2008
OCZ Technology Group has announced a new line of low-cost Solid State Drives (SSD). They are calling it the “Core Series” and the prices are incredibly competitive and affordable, compared to what we’ve seen in the past.
They use a Serial ATA (SATA) interface at SATA II speeds, in a 2.5″ form factor. Advantages of SSDs included increased battery life, lower heat, reduced power consumption, and increased durability (no moving parts).
Models:
- 32GB - $169
- 64GB - $259
- 128GB - $479
OCZ is claiming read speeds of 120-143Mbs adn write speeds of 80-93Mbs, with seek times running less than 0.35ms, making them incredibly fast when compared to current mechanical drives.
At $479 for a 128GB SSD, this is easily less than half of what existing SSD drives are running for in this capacity (it’s even less than half of what OCZ’s existing 64GB SSDs are selling for).
This should really shake up the market (and quite frankly, I’m surprised we saw such low-cost SSD with this capacity so soon - I expected late 2008 or into 2009 at the earliest).
Read:
- AOL / BusinessWire
ECS: G10IL Sales, European Mobile Connectivity
June 27, 2008
PC World is running a couple of articles about the ECS G10IL, which is the netbook entry from Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS). It’s a 10-inch or 8.2-inch ultraportable notebook powered by an Intel Atom CPU and either Microsoft Windows XP or Linux. They expect to ship one million ECS G10IL units along with Intel Classmate PCs (which they are under contract for). August or September are the earliest some versions of the G10IL will be shipping.
ECS is branching the G10IL into two lines - one is the “G” series that will come with a 3G mobile/wireless module that allows for decent speeds over mobile phone networks. It will have a 6-cell battery, 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB Hard Drive. The G version is going to be distributed through mobile phone providers (they are looking at a September or October timeframe for G10IL’s with 3G options). They are looking at around $500 for the G series, but that may vary - it could be lowered / subsidized depending on contracts signed by mobile phone customers.
The “J” series will offer, in addition to the 10.2-inch version, an 8.2-inch version (that’s not a typo, it’s 8.2 inches), along with smaller hard drives and lower-capacity batteries. It might start out at around $400.
Read:
- ECS Eyes 1M Netbook, Intel ClassMate PC Sales
- ECS Signs Netbook Deals With European Mobile Operators
