VIA OpenBook hands-on

We got to spend a little bit of time with a prototype of VIA's new OpenBook reference design, and while it's not going to revolutionize anything, VIA does seem to have a pretty good grasp on the balance of value, size and power necessary to compete in the subnotebook game. They were showing it off with Vista (though it will be available in XP and Linux versions as well), with an interface that was plenty responsive, and while the video we saw wasn't an incredible display of multimedia showmanship, it was neat to see on the C7-M all the same. Our two main gripes are the seeming thickness of the device -- 1.4-inches might be par for the course, but with this small of a laptop it seems awkwardly thick -- and the itty-bitty, cheap-looking keyboard that doesn't utilize the whole width of the laptop. The hope with a reference design is that some manufacturer might even be able to improve on VIA's version, and we'd say the first problem point to address is the keyboard. That said, we're quite impressed that VIA's crammed as much inside the OpenBook as it has, and perks like 3G / 4G connectivity, a trio of USB ports and a media card reader are making that MacBook Air look positively last century. Now the waiting game for one of the dozens of OEM types to start pumping these out of factories and into the arms of cherub-faced mini-note fans the world over. Video is after the break.

Gallery: VIA OpenBook hands-on

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[SneAKz @ May 27th 2008 7:47AM]

Yeah, it does look pretty thick.

[Logical_Luke @ May 27th 2008 9:18AM]

'That's what SHE said' :)

[Valgas @ May 28th 2008 2:40AM]

I wish she'd say that to me. :(

[Sarig @ May 27th 2008 7:56AM]

"and perks like 3G / 4G connectivity, "

4G? o.O

Did I miss something recently?

[michas_pi @ May 27th 2008 8:21AM]

It supports WiMax, which is 4G connectivity.

[chickenator @ May 27th 2008 8:27AM]

we need more pamuk!

[Howdy Doody @ May 27th 2008 8:00AM]

Erm...isn't that supposed to be the Cloudbook MAX?

http://www.engadget.com/photos/everex-cloudbook-max-hands-on/730012/

[michas_pi @ May 27th 2008 8:20AM]

The Openbook is just a reference design.

[Kizorblade @ May 27th 2008 8:17AM]

Look at the ports and then the body and you get a feel for how small this thing is. 'Tis tiny!

[Dennis @ May 27th 2008 8:29AM]

Eee PC is the reference.

[Dennis @ May 27th 2008 8:02PM]

Funny how you are low ranked if you say something against this VIA PC.
When I used to build and repair PCs, the most problems were with VIA chip sets.

[Richard Lai @ May 27th 2008 8:56AM]

Whilst on the topic, did you guys know that HTC's founder and chairperson, Cher Wang, is also the acting chairperson of VIA Technologies (which was founded by her husband, Wen Chi Chen)?

Brightest couple in the world or what?

[IrishGandalf @ May 27th 2008 9:18AM]

VLC FTW!!!!!

[Sean @ May 27th 2008 9:24AM]

VIA's CPUs are sh*t, they can't even play RMVB smoothly.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ May 27th 2008 4:16PM]

remember the isiah chip?:http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/18/preliminary-benchmarks-have-vias-isaiah-besting-intels-atom/

[010111 @ May 27th 2008 9:48AM]

something with a VIA C7-based subnote is really being compared to a MacBook Air? really?

you can keep your chiclet keyboard and card reader (how many card formats do people use on a daily basis?)... i'll keep my Core 2 Duo and normal size keyboard.

WiMax is nice i guess... though where would one even find WiMax to use? hardly ubiquitous at this point.

basically... the two machines aren't even in the same class. nice baiting though. worked on me.

[0megapart!cle @ May 27th 2008 10:00AM]

Did you see the video, or are you just a stupid fucking troll? The C7-M seems to handle Vista fine, so how, exactly, is this notebook not in the same class as the Macbook Air? If you said, "Because this is a notebook where some actual work can get done, while the MBA is a toy.", Ding Ding Ding, you would be correct!

[Paul Miller @ May 27th 2008 11:20AM]

They are certainly different categories of computers -- the MacBook Air is at least three times as expensive than the OpenBook -- which is why I made the comparison. A bit odd that a cheap little subnotebook can have 3G and a card reader when the MBA can only manage a single USB port. I own a MBA, love it, and use it daily, but there's certainly some irony there.

[ichheissesuperfantastisch @ May 29th 2008 7:52PM]

how much is it gonna cost and when's it coming out?

[kccboy2004 @ May 27th 2008 10:22AM]

These comments about the MBA are not well founded and could be really hurtful to MBA owners.

You should especially be careful when I infirm you that most purchasers of the MBA are children and young girls. If you were in front of one of them you would not use the same language.

The MBA is perfectly good for surfing the Web. That is what it was designed for and that is what the children who buy it, use it for.

So lay off them ! Be kind.

[Taling Hallenthur @ May 27th 2008 11:05AM]

AFAIR the NanoBook had a DVI port and I have no clue why they got rid of it in this thing.

[Doctor Nick @ May 27th 2008 4:01PM]

Is the BIOS open source?

[Phoenix @ May 27th 2008 5:12PM]

What is the point of an exterior webcam on a device like this?

[philos.bonacci @ Jun 10th 2008 7:40PM]

Where is the outside link? Link the sources please.

[COM-4 @ Jun 20th 2008 6:09AM]

If they sell this thing for $500 or less it would be very popular. If not it would surely flop.