Is this Intel's Netbook?

We're not exactly sure what to make of this one just yet, but the photo above seems to indicate that Intel may be hopping on the quickly growing sub-$400 laptop bandwagon. Reportedly spotted at an undisclosed OEM facility, the so-called Netbook would weigh less than three pounds, arrive in June and feature a 900MHz Celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, 9-inch display, built-in WiFi / Ethernet and a convenient carry handle à la Eduwise. We know, you've no idea how you're going to contain your excitement over another budget priced lappie, but feel free to tap the read link for a couple more snapshots.

[John @ Mar 18th 2008 9:07AM]

Perhaps it's the new iPhone

ooooh Engadget boner, time for 40 posts and 70000 pictures

[Jeff @ Mar 18th 2008 9:09AM]

Lose the handle and I'll bite.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 9:17AM]

Maybe lose the Celeron while they're at it.

[Deputy Doffoos @ Mar 18th 2008 11:43AM]

Why someone would like to have a 900!!!!MHz!! CELERON!!! inside is way beyond me.

[Hung @ Mar 19th 2008 12:14AM]

@ Chewba

Celeron doesn't refer to the architecture of the processor, simply Intel's division of budget products.

These Celerons, in particular, will be single-cored C2D's with disable features and less cache. It's still faster than a VIA processor with doubly multiplied clock and twice as much cache.

[Homeboy @ Mar 18th 2008 9:13AM]

The specs are pretty good but the goofy design is a bit of a turn off and reminds me of the Laptops Compaq design 5-10 years ago.

[Ryan Trevisol @ Mar 18th 2008 9:37AM]

+1000 on the design, but 900 Mhz Celeron and a 40 GB hard drive? Reminds me of general laptop specs 3-4 years ago.

[Homeboy @ Mar 18th 2008 12:41PM]

You have to remember that this is an ultra portable 9 incher for under $400 so you can't be too tough on the specs.

[Hung @ Mar 19th 2008 12:16AM]

@ Ryan Trevisol

"Celeron doesn't refer to the architecture of the processor, simply Intel's division of budget products.

These Celerons, in particular, will be single-cored C2D's with disable features and less cache. It's still faster than a VIA processor with doubly multiplied clock and twice as much cache."

Also, what about cost? How much was a similarly spec'd laptop in 2004?

[Craig @ Mar 18th 2008 9:13AM]

Meh...I saw laptops with better specs than this for $299 in the newspaper circulars this weekend. Not sure why I should care about this, really.

[ssuk @ Mar 18th 2008 10:34AM]

The price is uncertain, it just says that it COULD be under $400.

[Matthew C @ Mar 18th 2008 11:16PM]

$175 o ebay got me a 1.2ghz Dell ultraportable that was well over $3000 (as configured) when new. It fits my needs for a lightweight lappie for school, and I would never even think about getting a worse machine for over 2x the price.

[aardvark sandwich @ Mar 18th 2008 9:17AM]

Meh, I'm done with single core CPUs.

[Nate @ Mar 18th 2008 9:30AM]

In other words, they're going soup up the Classmate PC (http://www.classmatepc.com) a little bit and call it good.... makes sense.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 9:37AM]

Is "MEH" the new "WILL IT BLEND?"

I weep for the future.

There must be more creative ways to show discontent.

[Mike D @ Mar 18th 2008 10:02AM]

What the hell are you talking about? The word meh has been popular for years.. since before will it blend was.

Meh.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 10:11AM]

I don't care if "meh" dates back to cave paintings, it's the frequency with which it's being used that's ridiculous.

[Mike D @ Mar 18th 2008 10:20AM]

The word has been used frequently for years. It can answer many questions and be used in almost every situation. Just because you noticed its high frequency of usage now does not mean that it has just recently become more popular. If anything usage of the word has fell over the years.

[Chris Aubeck @ Mar 18th 2008 10:21AM]

My great-grandfather almost certainly said "will it blend?" around 1904, though I understand that he said "meh" from time to time too. Did he say "will it play doom"? That would require more research, for which I lack adequate funds.

[Jake @ Mar 18th 2008 10:46AM]

I'm sure there's a government grant that would fund your research. I, for one, would really like to know if your great-grandfather asked "will it play doom."

[riggs @ Mar 18th 2008 11:01AM]

meh motherfucker. better?

[patsy @ Mar 18th 2008 11:19AM]

Even sheep have been saying "meh" forever, so what's your beef (or mutton)? The bigger question is, what's up with your emaciated alter ego, and will it blend?

[Paul @ Mar 18th 2008 11:20AM]

Meh.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 11:37AM]

"If anything usage of the word has fell over the years."

Mike D. Meh Scholar.

[Andir3.0 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:55AM]

I feel the word "a" is overused. I'd rank it right up there with "the" in the overused department. (damn, I used it again!)

[Mike D @ Mar 18th 2008 12:48PM]

Meh Scholar .. has a nice ring to it.

Reality is, I have been using the word quite a bit since 2002-2003 when I first heard a lot of others using it. I have seen, in my experience, the word being used less often. However, the word isn't an uncreative way of showing discontent. Meh is just "The verbal equivalent of a shrug of the shoulders" to quote one of the top posts on Urban Dictionary for the word. What's your problem with it? Meh is yet another word/phrase from one of the best animated television shows, The Simpsons, we use in our everyday lives.

[Bumpermeat @ Mar 18th 2008 9:40AM]

It's called the Classmate. Paul Otellini, Intel CEO, has shown this many times in the past year. It's a quasi-competitor to the OLPC.

[ScOObyDoo @ Mar 18th 2008 9:52AM]

No, that is NOT the classmate. It's an entirely different machine.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 10:12AM]

...he said authoritatively.

[Harbo @ Mar 18th 2008 10:10AM]

its fugly, looks like something from Vtec

[Jake @ Mar 18th 2008 10:47AM]

Vtec - nice call. Vtec or Leapfrog.

[Griz @ Mar 18th 2008 10:16AM]

This thing definitely looks like one of those learn to spell computers for kids.

[riggs @ Mar 18th 2008 11:02AM]

i laughed at there being a "learn to spell" COMPUTER.

[Scott Culp @ Mar 18th 2008 10:21AM]

The handle appears to be (p)leather and if it is detachable could actually be a good thing.

Processor spec is low but the 9" screen and hard drive sound nice. Sometimes you just want that extra storage space. Flash RAM or SSD would be great for durabilty but cost and the lack of impact on battery savings don't seem to justify. I wish someone would do an "instant on" feature like some of the Asus motherboards.

Anyways...competition is good and lets hope this helps to drive down costs and improve features.

[Pete Steege @ Mar 18th 2008 10:32AM]

In some ways I don't like seeing multinational corps benefit from what started as a noble cause. But mainstream adoption of cheap notebook PCs will ultimately help the most people through economies of scale and accelerated learning curves.

storageeffect.com

[Aaron @ Mar 18th 2008 11:12AM]

Spam much?

[Pete Steege @ Mar 18th 2008 10:32AM]

Flash is titillating, but rely on a good ol' 40GB hard drive when you need to just get the job done - reliably and cheaply.

storageeffect.com

[Fed @ Mar 18th 2008 10:39AM]

What a horrible looking piece of junk. The specs are even worse. I feel bad for people who can't afford a real laptop. Its nice to get top of the line laptops every 3 months at my job.

[IndustrialJones @ Mar 18th 2008 10:42AM]

Dude, I got a Dell with an AMD Turion Dual Core 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, 15.4" screen, wireless G, modem, 10/100 network for $399 from their outlet store.

[Icchansan @ Mar 18th 2008 10:49AM]

@_o; where? theres a online outlet page or something?

[AMc @ Mar 18th 2008 10:49AM]

A 9" screen and a basic spec make for a genuinely portable computer with good battery life at a very low price.

A 15" screen etc. makes for a more powerful computer you can even make get it cheap but it's a PIA to lug the thing around.

Horses for courses - I don't want or need 15" and dual core for webmail and word processing...

[Aaron @ Mar 18th 2008 11:15AM]

You surely need more than a Celeron 900 to make email and word processing a nice experience though. At this point in time with computing, my patience involving waiting for anything to open/move/process has been rendered to nil. It's infuriating to work on out of date slow hardware even if you're just doing what you mention.

You still have to boot the OS, deal with the cramped screen and keyboard, navigate the start menu and use windows explorer, spell check, view large attachments... none of which run nicely with 900MHz of Celeron goodness under the hood.

[IndustrialJones @ Mar 18th 2008 12:29PM]

http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

Check it. I kept going back every month or so over a 6 month period before I found one I liked. Oh yeah, it also has the ATI Radeon 1150. It's shared ram, but at least I can play WoW on it when I take it out of town.

[snowglyder @ Mar 18th 2008 10:56AM]

I didn't know Intel and Mattel merged...

[Andir3.0 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:57AM]

It was shortly after Mattel helped Microsoft design XP's default theme.

[MosquitoControl @ Mar 18th 2008 11:00AM]

Exactly. I have a 15.4" laptop. It isn't much fun to drag around, weighing around 8 lbs and requiring a large bag, and it isn't nearly as functional as my desktop.

The next laptop will be small and light. I can either spend $2000 for a 2.5 lbs Dell or $400 for something like this. Clear choice, considering it will be used exclusively for classroom notes and web browsing. The old laptop will be used for couch surfing, and the desktop for everything else.

[Paul @ Mar 18th 2008 12:23PM]

You complain that your current laptop is too large, too heavy, and doesn't perform as well as your desktop.

This is a cheap laptop therefore it is not going to be slim and even though it has a 9" screen it has a lot of plastic around it so probably takes up the same amount of space as a 14" laptop. It is going to be made of cheap large heavy parts and the specs are probably worse than your current laptop, of which you have already complained about having poor performance (even though you admit to only web surfing and taking notes with it).

[Ethan @ Mar 18th 2008 11:18AM]

I think my fingers could fit on that keyboard. this isn't heading into a market that doesn't exist like the XO, I don't really thnk it has a use.

[MosquitoControl @ Mar 19th 2008 10:52AM]

Perhaps you missed the "3 lbs" in the original post, vs the "over 8 lbs" I mentioned. When you're lugging books around weight becomes your primary concern.

I do not care about the performance, as I mentioned, but if I'm going to have the weight I would want performance. Instead I got the weight for nothing.

[Kyle Jackson @ Mar 18th 2008 7:40PM]

is it just me or is that handle made of pleather. looks like it was ripped off of a briefcase ans stuck on the back of the laptop. I think this pic is a farse.