ASRock had a surprisingly large presence at
CeBIT this year, so it follows logic that it would bring along some new kit to show off. The MultiBook G12 is its 12-inch offering to the bursting-at-the-seams netbook arena, and while it didn't look all that different from the units it's going up against, we suppose a little more competition can't hurt matters. Details on specs were rather scant, with ASRock only telling us that it will ship with a dual-core Intel CPU, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated graphics, a 12.1-inch panel (1,280 x 800), room for a single 2.5-inch SATA drive, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, audio in / out, a built-in optical drive, four USB 2.0 ports, a 56k modem, VGA output and a fancy-ish design on the lid. The on-hand rep wouldn't give out a hard price to quote, but he did say that it would be priced "very competitively" when it ships worldwide in the April / May time frame.
posted March 5th 2009 4:43PM
Would 12 inch screen and Dual Cord processor system be considered a netbook?
It depends on the thickness and composition of the cords.
Oops, note to self: spell check before posting
OHHH!!! Soooo slow.
is this really a netbook? seems more like a really good 12.1 inch laptop
1280x800, that's the same res as my macbook :|
Apple Rip off
Multibook G12....Come on at least give it a better name.
looking at it more and more, it reminds me of the old 12" iBook
if the price is good this could be a really great little machine
Above 700$, I'm not buying it.
I just got an Acer aspire one with 1 GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Its great! except for the battery...
Wow man, it comes equipped with a 56k modem!
I'm still rocking some 9600 baud
I need to get with the times
Does it come with a ctrl key too?
Good job the graphics are integrated...
Sounds great. Is there a formal definition of 'netbook' and who said it has to be limited to 10" displays? If I like this product at 12", why do I care if it is or isn't categorised as a 'netbook' anyway? First of all, great resolution for proper 720p and more screen height for webpages etc. rather than netbook 1280x576 nonsense. Secondly nice features with gigabit ethernet, wireless-n, and 4 USB port (oh, and proper dual core too!). Massive bonus points that the Ctrl key is bottom left with the Fn key inside it (the other way around drives me nuts). I'm personally happy not to have a DVD drive nowadays but I guess it can't hurt that it has one. Only downer as far as I'm concerned is that it only has VGA out. HDMI would have been the killer for me....
Weird that ASRock has netbooks too since they're ASUS.
If this has DVD-RW, weighs in at 3lbs max, is easily upgradeable (like the ASUS or Dell Mini series), and comes in at $650 or so, this could be the ultimate lightweight Windows 7 machine.
Does Anyone Know, Which manufacturer was the first to come out with a White plastic-cased laptop/notebook ?
I see manufacturer after manufacturer employing this dated look.
Just curious to know who started that.
I heard it's going to be less than USD500. Seems to be very competitive.
Will other manufacturers take note? I want one with a Core 2 Duo, low price, 1280x800 display, low weight. N270 or N280 insufficient for medium-level audio synthesis software. Integrated Graphics I can tolerate. Prefer ExpressCard Slot or FireWire (or both), again for audio applications. 4 USB ports is nice. No need for modem. DVD not needed most of the time; would be nice if it can be taken out to reduce weight when not needed. This G12 is close, although it looks like it is a N330 and I'll need to see some benchmark to convince me it will offer more processing power for audio app (word is this dual core does not work too well). It has instant-on OS though, which may be nice if implemented properly--but I suspect it won't be done properly... Well, let the competition move towards the netbook-notebook crossover segment!
I was worried until I saw that 56k modem.
Thank goodness it has that "10/100/1000 bps LAN"... that's just about 1 Mbps!!!