Everex CloudBook sells out... before going on sale

In the most mangled product launch in recent memory, the Everex Cloudbook has managed to sell out. This according to Zareason who claim to have sold their 'initial allotment" -- however many that might be. Of course, to the best of our knowledge the CloudBook has never actually been on sale with Everex's own site once again showing a Feb 15th launch. So if these in fact shipped then we ask you dear readers, where are the unboxing pics, reviews, and head-to-head comparisons with the Eee for us to fawn over? Bueller?

[Thanks, Jamerican]

[JAmerican @ Feb 7th 2008 6:33AM]

ZaReason was only offering preorders. They don't ship until the official release date of February 15th. A lot of people who are getting Cloudbooks that own EEEs stated they will be doing comparative reviews :).

JAmerican

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 7th 2008 6:41AM]

you've gotta give it up to this thing, it reall 1-upped the Eee

this thing looks really cool

[Mark @ Feb 7th 2008 6:57AM]

I think it's one-upped the Eee in some ways but not others. For example, the larger HDD is great (assuming you are prepared for the trade off in noise / power consumption / fragility it might entail), but I think the Eee PC looks a lot nicer than the CloudBook. The off center screen and weird hinge on the CloudBook just looks wrong. The Eee PC also has a small track pad but it looks much larger than the CloudBook's. I think that gOS will probably work better than the Eee's slapped together Xandros solution.

Other issues such as battery life, screen, wifi connectivity, power charger size etc. probably have to wait for comparative reviews.

So probably its a mixed bag. As an Eee owner I can recognize both machines have some faults. I'm happy with what I have though I wish they would fix the most glaring issues in the OS which are mostly usability annoyances.

[dvdivx @ Feb 7th 2008 9:23AM]

The only thing it improves on is an actual HDD. I don't want to take up a SDHC slot just because they don't want to have sufficient HD space or use a non standard drive. Unlike the EEEPC you can replace the drive in this. They need to add a better resolution screen though. I wonder when the first manufacturer will figure that out.

[pagesix1536 @ Feb 7th 2008 9:53AM]

Engadget is asking US to review the product? Doesn't that seem a little backwards?

[gork @ Feb 7th 2008 11:39AM]

Engadget, let's be clear....ONE vendor has sold out of there known allotment of CloudBooks that they are scheduled to receive. Walmart probably is going to have some. With that said,

I DO see people snapping this badboy up. In fact, even I want one too.

[z-man @ Feb 7th 2008 12:10PM]

Is it me, or this thing is really fugly no matter what its functionality?

[Jason @ Feb 11th 2008 9:35PM]

Yes, it's quite ugly when compared to the Eee PC I'm using now. While I do like the 30GB HHD, this also means it'll drain more battery, generates more heat, and becomes much more fragile than a SSD-based notebook.

[saturnine @ Feb 7th 2008 12:15PM]

Why would you purchase this when you can get a new "real" notebook for the same price? Dell's low-end Vostro 1000 is routinely on sale (e.g., now) for $399 and you get:

* AMD X2 Dual Core TK-53 1.7Ghz
* 15.4in XGA LCD
* 1GB RAM
* 120GB HDD 5400 RPM
* 8X DVD+/-RW
* 802.11g wireless
* ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 256MB
* One year warranty
* 6.3 lbs
* Windows XP or Vista Home Basic

Sure it's larger and heavier, but you get a lot of what's missing from this and the Eee -- for the same price.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/vostronb_1000?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=bundlestab

[Cagrino @ Feb 7th 2008 1:16PM]

It seems like everytime the Eee or the Cloudbook is mentioned someone will drag up this same old argument. Don't you get it???

This 6.3 lbs. monstrosity will not fit into my shoulder sling bag like my Eee 8G does. I can carry it with me without any significant weight or bulk added to my normal routine.

Please, SIZE does matter!

[SteveMB @ Feb 7th 2008 1:30PM]

One word: portability

[sinjinn @ Feb 7th 2008 10:26PM]

i agree with saturmime. infact i would go 1 step further. why carry a $400 smartphone with you when you caould buy this 15.4 inch widescreen dell system instead. just add a hsdpa modem and it could do eveyrthing your smartphone can do.just strap it to your back.

[saturnine @ Feb 7th 2008 3:44PM]

No, I don't get it. My smartphone already gives me portability and limited functionality. I can't see paying (again) for more of the same.

[Jason @ Feb 13th 2008 2:26PM]

Well, a smartphone usually isn't compatible with Word, Excel, PowerPoint. It also doesn't run Skype with webcam. Sure, it can access online info but still nowhere near a full functioning browser like Firefox. So, in terms of functionality, it's not even close to UMPC such as Eee PC or the CloudBook.

At $399, maybe a 15.4 inch notebook does sound attractive. But at 6.3lb!? That's more than 3 times the weight of Eee PC. And the battery? It probably wouldn't last more than 2 hours with a AMD X2 DC 1.7Ghz and a 15.4 LCD. Eee PC runs 3.5 hrs and the CloudBook runs up to 5 hrs.

Now, if you can find me a so-called "real" notebook with a 5 hour battery for $399, weighing at 2 lb or less, I'll be the first one to order it.

[Randavance @ Feb 7th 2008 4:03PM]

I could never do advertisement.

I simply could never bring myself to understand consumer.

I think a lot of people are going to get a bad taste of Linux from the GOS and it's going to scare them away.

[ReggieW @ Feb 13th 2008 4:55PM]

Oh Please!
Most of us are going to yank gOS, install Ubuntu/XP and Frankenstein the H3LL out of it.
Just like we did onthe eeePC!

[spookthehamster @ Feb 7th 2008 5:00PM]

This computer has been on sale for ages! Listen to meeeeeee! It's been in PC World in the UK since at least the beginning of January. I've held one, I've played with one, I've emailed you telling you all about it. This wasn't at some show or company HQ, it was in a smallish store of a major retail chain!

[maicol @ Feb 8th 2008 1:44AM]

spook,

So spill it, don't keep it to yourself, hey you could even (dun dun DUN) put it on the web!11!ONE!11!

That's what Engadges's asking -- don't just "email" people!

[spookthehamster @ Feb 8th 2008 10:57AM]

I sent them info on their tip address, what more can I do? I don't own any webspace and I described what it was like to use, and the fact that PC World sell it badged as a Packard Bell with XP installed (the only Linux computer they sell is the eee).

Look, here's the link to it on their website: http://www.pcworld.co.uk:80/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1250816113.1202486128@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccgfadedfgigfhgcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=622061&category_oid=-27757

If it doesn't work, go to Laptops -> Laptops for the move.