Everex teams with VIA for NC1500, the "world's most energy efficient notebook"

We try not to get embroiled in these "world's bestest" sort of arguments, mainly due to the sort of research and journalistic integrity it would require on our part. That's why we're not going to get caught up in this "world's most energy efficient notebook" claim of VIA and Everex regarding the new StepNote NC1500 from Everex, but it is what it is, and we sure wouldn't mind some sort of performance-per-watt showdown between Intel, AMD and VIA, all vying for our holiday laptop dollar. However, the biggest news about the 1.5GHz VIA C7-M lappy is its price. Going for a mere $498, and coming to a Wal-Mart near you, the NC1500 packs in 512MB of RAM, a 60GB HDD, DVD burner, 1,280 x 800 15.4-inch LCD, 802.11b/g WiFi and includes VIA UniChrome Pro integrated graphics. Not a powerhouse by a long shot, but at 5.3 pounds, with a 1.5-inch to 0.9-inch taper, it's pretty hard to complain about this unit. Of course, we found a way: Everex includes a 3-cell lithium-ion battery that "averages +1.5 hours of mobile computing." Ouch.