Keepin' it real fake, part CXXXVIII: HiVision knows that even netbooks need fake friends

HiVision (also known as Shenzhen), a Chinese OEM exhibiting at IFA, is completely unabashed about its collection of netbook look-alikes, which range from 400MHz ARM-based computers that could retail for as little $150, to full featured VIA-powered affairs. Everything was as plastic as could be, of course, but the HP Mini-Note rips were almost passable as sexy. Almost.

Gallery: HiVision knows that even netbooks need fake friends

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[drumdbeat @ Aug 30th 2008 2:57PM]

Good effort, still fail.

[The Dude @ Aug 30th 2008 2:59PM]

LOL @ specs in Comic Sans font.

[The Dude @ Aug 30th 2008 3:02PM]

I was thinking, "WTF, where'd my avatar go?" Then I realized I didn't click over on "Returning." I would like to thank the coders of the new comment system for not implementing something that remembers you're a returning commenter. Thanks guys.

[OneLove @ Aug 30th 2008 3:45PM]

dude, did you click the "remember me" check box? I did, and it still doesn't work. lol.

[Silvio @ Aug 30th 2008 10:08PM]

They fixed it. Now you sound like a moron and nobody knows what the hell you're talking about.

[Flashpoint @ Aug 30th 2008 3:04PM]

Those netbooks together like that could be the makings of a Quake 2 LAN party !

[jd @ Aug 30th 2008 3:22PM]

one step at the netbook, one giant step for the humanity. now every chinese child can have their own pc

[Flashpoint @ Aug 30th 2008 3:47PM]

YOUR RIGHT. Netbooks have saved the world.

Now we just gotta work on ethnioc cleansing, genocide, systematic rape, child prostitution and starvation.

Who do you think will figure those out? Microsoft or Apple?

[Harrison @ Aug 31st 2008 7:58PM]

@flashpoint

From what I've seen so far, if Apple did it, 50% of us would go gaga over how smart they were at making the world a better place, while 25% will ask if it runs Crysis, and the other 20% will go OMGWTFn00b. 5% will not care either way.

If Microsoft did that, expect 90% bitching and moaning at how evil they were. 5% will defend them, and part of that 90% will ask if they can run Crysis, and the remaining 5% will not care.



Anyway, can it run Crysis?

[avester @ Aug 30th 2008 3:27PM]

150$ isn't that bad, if I could find a use for that.

[Mikey @ Aug 30th 2008 7:21PM]

I'm not sure the knock offs are such a great deal... My Toshiba e755 (w/ a 400 MHz ARM & WIFI) cost me less than $150 used... That was a few years ago and it can probably do as much with the extension pack ($15 extra) as this... Granted mine has a smaller keyboard & screen... I'll stick with a name brand net book if I ever get one.

[DarkLight @ Aug 30th 2008 3:28PM]

But you have to give them mad props for getting XP to run on ARM....

[Flashpoint @ Aug 30th 2008 3:49PM]

windows XP's minimum requirements are LOW.

a 233 mhz processor, 64MB RAM, 1.5 gigabytes of HD space. Video processor and sound card?

You can realisticly run Windows XP on some cellular phones such as iPhone. Even some child's toys.

[Al @ Sep 1st 2008 10:53PM]

xda guys have done it on their phone granted most of is done via some emulator.

[EdMercer @ Aug 30th 2008 3:57PM]

The one in pictures 5~8 looks much better (a lot less bad ?) than the one trying to rip off the mini-HP. Maybe it's because it looks a little Wind-y, a little Eee-ish, and those are my favorite netbooks, but the HP mini-note is nothing without it's metallic casing.

[perfectionist @ Aug 30th 2008 4:15PM]

It looks like the first one is a Razorbook 400 rebrand.
The next 2 (white/black) look like EEE PC with different hinges. (only so many ways to design a laptop from OEM parts)
The silver/black one looks like it's using the Dell netbook keyboard.

[El Taco @ Aug 30th 2008 4:48PM]

CXXXVIII

[Rhino @ Aug 30th 2008 4:50PM]

WOW~~a new touchpad button design

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Aug 30th 2008 6:04PM]

I love the fact that they're worried about their ripoffs getting.. stolen.

[Geek45 @ Sep 27th 2008 9:52PM]

I was gonna say...

[k2001 @ Aug 30th 2008 7:26PM]

Those evil Chinese how dare they enter the netbook market.........I mean how dare they ripoff the concept of mini-notebook.

[k2008 @ Aug 30th 2008 8:07PM]

You know where the first netbook came from?

[k2001 @ Aug 30th 2008 9:06PM]

Taiwan I think

[Dan @ Aug 30th 2008 10:18PM]

Hah. This is kind of like the Behringer business model. Cheap reverse-engineered versions of existing products.

[laelomo @ Aug 30th 2008 11:41PM]

is that a fake vga port? i was thinking they looked ok til i saw that

[whiskey @ Aug 31st 2008 1:52AM]

Where there's no DooM... There's FAIL!

[Fara @ Aug 31st 2008 4:45AM]

There are a few things wrong with that statement.

Number 1, XP is x86 only. But I figure you know that, and you're only talking performance wise

Number 2, A 400 MHz ARM Cpu is no where as powerful as even a 233 MHz Pentium 2. ARM CPUs are simple, low power, low performance, in-order arcitectures. The pentium II us an advanced out of order architecture, with an FPU and fast L2 cache. The architecture used in the Pentium II (P6) is still basicly what we're using in Core 2 Duos.

Number 3. ARM's were kicked out of the desktop space sometime in the early 90's or so. By significantly slower than today 486's and 586's (pentiums). Desktop CPUs have come a long, looooong way since then, as has OS demands. ARM's haven't. At least as much.