Dreambook
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Modder swaps touchscreen into Everex Cloudbook
Not content with just ordering a touchscreen-packin' Cloudbook from Japan, Azazel decided to take matters into his own wonder-working hands and hack up his vanilla unit to include the oh-so-coveted touch support. Based on his reports, disassembling the rig and stuffing the new panel in was a lesson in simplicity (save for one quick round with a soldering iron), but actual usability proved to be somewhat of a letdown. It was noted that using the small screen with just a fingertip was challenging, and while relying on a pen did make things marginally easier, we'd think long and hard about your needs / wishes before taking the plunge.[Thanks, David]
"Dreambook" mod gives the Cloudbook GPS, flash storage
While it seemed touch and go for a few months there as to whether the Everex Cloudbook would ever hit store shelves, what's never been in doubt is the fact that hackers are going to have a field day with the thing. The first major hack is courtesy of Azazel from the Cloudbooker forums. His "Dreambook" mod incorporates an internal four-port USB hub to add all sorts of fun stuff like GPS, Bluetooth and 4GB of flash storage. He removed the webcam for the time being, and is having some trouble getting his replacement WiFi card to work, but it's certainly a promising hack. Next on the agenda is another small hub to support 802.11n WiFi and some 3G connectivity -- we like where this is headed.[Thanks, David]
DreamBook Light IL1 runs on VIA, won't run ASUS out of business
The Eee PC has certainly turned into a sort of rallying point for obscure laptop manufacturers and OEMs, and now Pioneer Computers Australia is getting in on the action. From what we can tell, the DreamBook Light IL1 is a relatively unique shell wrapped around VIA's reference C7-M design. The 7-inch LCD runs at 800 x 480, and the 1GHz processor is backed by up to 1GB of RAM. Most interesting here is the absolute configurability, from OS choice (including Vista, XP and Ubuntu) to connectivity, but unfortunately it comes at a price: the $499 AUD ($446 US) base model doesn't even include WiFi. Looks like this round goes to ASUS, but we like where this all is headed. [Via jkkmobile]
Pioneer Computers' quad core DreamBook Power D90 SLI laptop
While it can't claim to be the first quad-core laptop, Pioneer Computers' new DreamBook Power D90 SLI can at least claim to be one of the few. This rebranded 17-inch Phantom D900C hails from Australia, and although it features a lot of the same gear -- like the 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600, dual 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 or 8800 cards in SLI, and up to three (yes, three) hard drives which can operate in RAID 0/1/5 -- it's not exactly identical. The company will build these to order, but the base model is considerably stripped down, sporting a measly Core 2 Duo and only 512MB of RAM. To step up to the full on Quad Core experience it's going to cost you (somewhere near $8000 AU, or $6878 US), but who can put a price on lap-searing, jaw-dropping, nosebleed power?
