Our brethren over at
Engadget Chinese just went hands-on with the
Via NanoBook at Computex. Better yet, they seem to have unearthed the other, US-bound OEM:
FIC (First International Computer) as it's known in Taiwan, or
Everex as we know 'em Stateside. Makes sense given Everex's penchant for VIA C7-M procs in their
StepNote series of laptops. The FIC CE260 they played with even had a prototype Skype-phone module in place of that oddball world clock insert
seen previously. Also new is a date: they were told to expect the unit to show up in China and Europe (presumably under the Packard Bell branding) sometime in August. Engadget Chinese has tons of pics and first-hand impressions so be sure to click the "read" link below for a quick trip across the Pacific.
Although late in arriving, Sony appears ready to join the low-cost, ultra-portable, netbook, mini-laptop party. An apparently generic prototype based on the Via OpenBook was just spotted at the Quanta booth at WiMax Expo. It seems that a quick check of the properties revealed a 1.6GHz Via C7-M processor and more interestingly, Sony as the manufacturer. When the Quanta exec demonstrating the box noticed "he quickly closed the properties window and declined to explain." Sony refused to comment. In other words, expect to see it in Q3.
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