New shots of Intel's Netbook / Eco PC uncovered
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Mar 22nd 2008 4:58PM
posted Mar 22nd 2008 4:58PM
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It feels like its 1999 all over again.
I know, whats going on? Isn't this supposed to be a gadget website, not a belongs in a museum site. Have u seen the size on the screen and the shape of its trackpad? I'm getting seriously worried if this is what were calling gadget news.
"The Lappy 486© weighs in at an extremely portable 42 pounds and has an impressive battery life of one half of ten minutes... the Lappy 486© by Compy®™."
Taking inspiration from the 20th century isn't something I mind at all but the laptop looks ridiculous. Just look at the one with a smaller display, it looks like a toy laptop for crying out loud. I hope that Intel haven't planned on marketing it to the average guys because I would look cooler sitting at Star Bucks with a 17 inch CRT monitor and a Pentium III 633Mhz midi tower, than surfing on a 7 inch Netbook while sipping on a coffee.
5 mins?
Dude... that looks like a 5 year old's fisher price computer
Thankfully Homeboy, Intel couldn't give less of a shit if you looked cool or not. Making a cheap yet fully functional portable that everyone can buy is a tad more important then yuppies worrying about their status while sitting in a coffee house dropping $5 on a cup of joe.
Kinda Fat No?
I think it will prevent breakage be dropping as this is meant to be used by kids. If I remember right, this is a "classmate" PC.
I am working on an envelope to fit it
looks pretty bad. I am very anxious for the bigger EEE and the ECS, but this thing doesnt look like it can compete
That's soooooo THICK
thats what she said, about the laptop of course
thats what she said
...damn it! (he beat me too it)
You usually beat her to it too.
Allright, who wants some toasties? :D
Ooooh, i really like it! Yeah, it's thick, but that's 'cause it's sturdy. I REALLY like the leather cover/handle, it looks nice. I could almost see myself buying one of these!
-Taylor
Taylor.
I know who you are.
-Jack
Hah, nice. Who are you?
-Taylor
What a pretentious twat...
What's with Microsoft all of a sudden wanting to jam XP on these sub-notebooks when support for the OS is quickly nearing its end?
Untapped revenue where Vista has no place, thats what.
Besides, all that is strategic marketing. If the XP market is substantial, then it seems logical that MS would consider some support for a tried and tested platform.
Even with MS trying to push Vista, if MS can't sell Vista, then why leave the door open for Linux.
Ok, maybe I'm misinformed, but what's the advantage in buying one of these laptops over say, a Dell for $400-500. I'm asking.
Is this some kind of sick joke???
Chop that handle of and id buy it for $200, if the specs are right. Otherwise, just chuck it in the trash now!
agreed - that's what i was thinking: if this sells for 200$, and you can hop it off the wall or submerge it in water without hurting its feelings, i'll buy one and take it with me on camping trips. otherwise, er... i guess this was designed by some really tubby oblivious designer?
the Escape, fn, and function keys look like they have colored stickers on them, makes me think it is only a concept and not a product
um they are not stickers that is how it was made... also it looks like a foreman grill..lol
silly they are coloured so that the teacher can tell his students, "to calculate this press the orange key at the bottom with......."
get it??? kids see colour over esc and fn.
Shit!, My friend Joe kinda seems thinner when compared to this damn thing.. And he weighs about 220 lbs..
All trash talk aside, this could be a sweet deal-maker for those poor folks in most parts of the World.. I mean the ones who'd be getting a PC for the first time in their lives and maybe they'd get carried away by the portability of this thing, compared to a full-fledged desktop.. I wont be surprised if this costs around $250-$300..
Anybody have any links as to why they call this an "eco" pc?
They look like they're made for kids. Is that their target?
It is.
http://images.google.ca/images?q=classmate+pc&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
interesting laptop, shame about the fisher price styling, looks like a vtec ugly
Not nice at all
ok why is it an ECO pc
how is it eco friendly to produce millions of new computers?
at least if they look bad people won't buy them.
C'mon....has it got more than one port ?
If so then it beat the crap out of the Mac Book Air.
I declare the winner ....
(titter)
The further one has a striking resemblance to an older Compaq...
http://www.amazon.com/Compaq-Presario-2145US-Laptop-2-00-GHz/dp/B00008X3SF
Dude. My boss has that lappy (I just fixed it for her, damn power jack breaking)
It is no where near as ugly as these things.
I mean, its ugly, but these are just hideous.
looks like the acer aspire pc...
anyway, so thick! and that handle at the back would be really hot after use.
Erm. Look at the shape of the screen. Rectangular, no? Then look at the shape of the trackpad. A circle? That makes no goddamn sense... Seriously, who designed this thing?? I know it's for kids but surely it needs common sense?
--K
V-Tech have better designs than this
It's worth remembering that like the classmate pc before it this is probably more of a reference platform than a shipping product. The current Asus eee pc is little more than a "prettied up" classmate pc.
This new platform is almost certainly based on Intels new low power atom chip (hence the eco title) and its innards will be used to power all of the new "centrino atom" (or whatever they are calling them next week) ultra portables. This might even include the new eee's with the bigger screen.
I'll be interested to see how the benchmarks of the new atom architecture pan out, on paper it has the old celerons licked but its a whole new design (with in order execution, so a big performance hit). We wont know if these things are actually a step forward until someone actually gets hands on and runs some code.
OMG! this is terrible! the computers are looking like some from the 90th...
gr33z nd piis compr00t
http://computerpro.funpic.de
Don't worry, those are only prototypes. I've got the scoop on the REAL Netbooks/Eco PCs: http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4380/product55233qr2.jpg
i was definitely expecting that to somehow be a rickroll.
hey, at least the dude's proposal is good looking. these are for kids right? what's with the slate-grey case? do the intel designers decide, 'right, I think we'll make it the same color as the exterior wall of our office building. I love that color, and I bet kids do too' ? At least the XO green case isn't instantly depressing... but do you really need to go to MIT to be able to spot that?
It may be used by schoolkids, but it has to be purchased by achool administrators -- they'll probably like the slate-gray.
It looks like the first iBook with all the color drained from it.
you know what's funny?
I go into a store and see tacky silver and grey gloss laptops (silver that wears off after some use), some silver keyboards, some black ones, fingerprint-prone mirror-like units, ugly superfluous grilles, tacky chrome accents, hideous styling... drab colours. Nobody seems to complain.
Then I see this, a non-gloss matte laptop with a handle that protects the computer from scratches when you put it down (at least that's what it looks like it does). Ease of carrying, seems like it could take some abuse, certainly no fatter than entry-level laptops selling by big name manufacturers, and all you see is people dogging it.
That's what's funny to me.
If battery life is good on this thing, what really is the problem? Sure, the handle looks large. Sure, the designer(s) did what some fashion police think is unthinkable (?): combined white, grey and black (??). Is this really so hideous?
Compared to what's out there now?
I say hell no. It's an improvement.
Eager to learn more about it here. I'd be rocking one of these far sooner than 99% of hideous laptops out there now, assuming the basics are in place (good battery, semi-decent upgradeability, good price/performance).
I agree with you tekdroid. Just because it is coloured wrong - people hate it. I think the handle is a great idea and more laptops should have one built in. Look at the Toughbooks for example.
These things are aimed at kids so need to be easy to carry and sturdy - all the things this laptop looks like it will do. If the battery is good then another plus for it.
Look at this way - would you give a 7 year old a Macbook Air or one of these to use?
Craig
tekdroid,
What the hell is this post doing on Engadget? It makes sense and has good points. There is no room for such thinking on Engadget what with its 9 year old posters.
This is in target with the those sturdy laptops for 3rd world countries.
The Eee is great in wealthier countries, simply because it doesnt look like a kids toy. It is small, sure, and its sturdy, but when you open it up, it looks like a laptop. Even the outside doesnt look like something I would buy for an 8 year old.
In short, it wont sell in America.
I think everyone is missing the point here. The fact is the damn thing has a handle so you can beat someone on the street senseless with the friggin thing. If that can't win some kind of industrial design prize I don't know what will.
It may be tough on the outside but with Vista its broken from the inside.
Max do us all a favor and go fuck off and die. SP1 makes Vista as stable or in some cases more stable then XP and way more stable, *coughs*WIFI*coughs* then Leopard.
Do us all a favor and use the damn OS with the latest patches before you squat on it you retard.
It does look old school. What is the price point?
Shawn A Hearn
like it okay but the handle KILLS it
OT:
http://flickr.com/photos/julianweisser/2355305498/
That is a really funny easter pic I took two years ago (sadly two years before I had a decent camera- now it's digital rebel ftw!). What are you guys up to today? I am going to the relatives for a party and teaching my 9 year old cousin how to play the guitar.
Hope the picture brightens up your day!
why do all these mini pcs have dorky hinges? just cause its "eco" or "for kids" they gotta have dumb looking hinges/bezels?
As a former TI-99/4A user, how is the keyboard "ti-99esque"?
interesting handle thing
it OEM machine release in Thailand last week
under name SVOA
http://www.arip.co.th/cmt/2008/cm/pro_svoa.php.
ECO PC
- Intel Processor Mobile ULV 900 MHz
- Intel Chipset 915 GMS
- 4 IN 1 Card Reader
- Wireless connection 802.11 b/g 10 kilobit/sec or 100 kilobit / sec
- 9 inches LCD 800x480 Pixel
- Stereo 2.1 channel
- Web Cam
- 2 ports USB 2.0
- 1 year warranty
- Lion 4400mAh
- 1.5Kg (include battery)
3 different model
- 2 GB Flash Memory/512MB DDR2 9,900 Bht
- 20 GB HDD/1GB DDR2 10,900 Bht
- 40 GB HDD/1GB DR2 12,900 Bht
Not include VAT
Holy Jesus that laptop is ugly!!
for what it is I think it's nice. Could be worse. I would buy it if I had a child learning to use a computer. The handle/cover is nice because I'm crazy about scratches. Really crazy.