DreamBook Light IL1 runs on VIA, won't run ASUS out of business
By Paul Miller 
posted Feb 8th 2008 6:20PM
posted Feb 8th 2008 6:20PM
[Via jkkmobile]
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Someone really needs to ditch the huge bezels.
Mcfly You Bojo! Those bezels dont work on water!
Haha, that bezel is a beast. I remember getting all excited when
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/02/lg-debuts-ebook-concept-laptop-with-oled-screen-liquid-fuel/
that was on engadget, but it looks like its still far away because the bezels just keep getting bigger.
and bigger...
and bigger.
Hi guys,
Here is the website for the Dreambook, if you click on the "build your own" you will get a list of the options & prices, it is only $25AU for wi-fi, it also comes standard with a 40GB HD. Check the link out below.
http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/products/info.asp?c1=3&c2=12&id=2458
I just don't get why these companies put these disgusting, huge bezels on these things. Just make the screen a tad bit bigger, or the machine in general a tad smaller! God!
Also: no WiFi for an ultra-portable = FAIL
Larger screens cost more. Smaller computers make the already cramped keyboard unusable. By now somebody should have had a 10" option, but there's a reason the bezel is unavoidable in some cases.
I'd gladly pay the extra 15-50 dollars that it would cost to add 1.5" - 2" of screen real estate. Huge bezels make this thing look like a speak and spell with a hinge.
Atleast the aussies are getting options
Apparently North America is just getting a CloudBook sometime this year?
The bezels are there because the keyboard has to be usable size.
It's a give and take, from most of my work, it's still $70 for a good 7" LCD panel.
I give em credit for putting something on the shelves, at the very least.
And if you actually went to the site referenced:
"Wireless: 802.11b/g; USB I/F, on module board"
Even if you could pay for the extra few inches, nobody is manufacturing them at the moment.
Specialized sizes of LCD run into 100k unit order requirements, and those are just bare panels.
You're saying that no one makes an 8" LCD panel? That's just not true. Also charging 25 USD for something that should be included by default, as it is basically required to meet the definition of a ultra-portable, is ridiculous. Yes I know you can option it on, however charging for it and not including it on the base model = fail.
Nathan-
If it were as simple as paying $15-20 for more screen space, I think everyone would. The problem, as was already mentioned, is you'd have to buy a ton of them, and then there's the fact that an extra area of screen space is really quite a bit more. Especially when you're talking about a 7 inch screen, you're probably looking at at least 20% more screen area. I know how to do the math to figure it out exactly, but I don't really feel the need to do the exact numbers to prove the point here. If you're looking at area, which you should be, it'd be more than $15-20 more per screen. I'm writing this on my eee, and it isn't that bad. Just get the black one so the bezel blends in and doesn't look like a toy like on the white ones. It would also be very tough to make the whole package smaller in either case, because they are pretty small as they are. If you made the eee any smaller the keyboard would be un-usable. So that would leave you with the bigger screen, which would be too expensive to make the eee appealing anymore, at least for me. I do see what you're saying, and sure, a bigger screen would be nice, but it would probably not be too affordable.
not that I'd particularly want one, but for that price I can get a Inspiron 1525...
The ASUS eeepc here in Australia is $500 AUD also, so it ends up being the same price point.
I say good, competition will hopefully just make the EEE better.
actually u can add WiFi through the build ur own option and other upgrades too.
We shouldn't have to this is 2008 wifi should be standard on everything now especially UMPCs.
And toasters too.
ESPECIALLY toasters! How else am I gonna make a delicious Italian panini / eggo waffles in grid-lock traffic?
Did anyone notice the specs say the chipset is VIA VX800U. This is not even released by VIA (soon). This makes the chipset a little more exciting because it uses a more powerful integrated graphics option from what the typical VX700 board uses. (as found in CloudBook, wibrain, ...)
There is no excuse for a bezel that wide. None.
What does this have in common with the MacBook Air? It doesn't have Wi-Fi.
Yes, please. Lets have a price-features war in this market. But can we please up the screen size in the process without raising the price too much?
Did anyone read the descriptions for both of Pioneer's ultra-portables?
"Asus EeePC's killer (Asus won't work with Vista)."
"Much better than Asus Eee PC"
They're not at all over-confident, are they? (And before you start flaming, please note that was sarcasm, I'm an Eee fanboy...)
Its hard not to compare similar styled and priced UMPC’s to the Asus Eee PC. The Eee seems to have a good thing going, fair price along with a good setup and most important a loyal following, however the newest competitor may fall a little short. www.investmentsnigeria.com
For all the people complaining about the bezels: Do you have any idea how much stuff you can mod into the bezel area? I could jam Bluetooth/802.11 AND omni-directional antennas for each in that kind of space. It's not wasted space or ugly. It's "room for improvement."
Add wifi, up the ram to 1GB and order it with pre-installed dual boot with ubuntu and XP professional. Comes to $A887 - about $US793. About $US170 of this amount is the cost of XP. Still it leaves you with a more versatile machine.