The rich man’s ‘$100′ laptop for e-booking? Stylish little Vista laptop includes tablet capability
For e-book lovers, the tiny OLPC XO-1 endearingly offers a tablet mode. At seven inches, its screen might actually be better for certain people’s recreational e-reading than the much-larger displays of some Tablet PCs.
So what would a rich man’s version of the XO-1 be like?
Vye’s stylish Mini-v S41, weighing just 2.75 pound and featuring a screen about the same size as the XO-1’s, just might qualify as such as machine. Price is $1,499—actually $300 less than the listed one for Apple’s MacBook Air—from Dynamism. Vye’s company motto is “Living life to the full,” a cheery line appearing on the home page with a beach scene.
As long as OLPC’s less in love with Linux…
The Vye Mini runs Vista Premium, a distinct negative for Linux fans. But, heck, we keep hearing that the XO-1 people are destined for XPdom, at least as an option on new machines.
Back to the Mini.
There’s the expected trackpad. Plus, you get a seven-inch touch screen with at least an adequate res of 1024 x 600 pixels as well as built-in WiFi and an Intel Intel A110 800 MHz chip cruising at 800Mhz.
A bit skimpy in the RAM Department
RAM, alas, is a mere 1G, with just 2G max ($179 for the upgrade), a way to keep you in touch with your eco-budgeted buddies. But at least storage is 80G and presumably you can read your Project Gutenberg DVDs with a Super Multi drive. Oh, and the keyboard is said in the New York Times to be “standard,” whatever that means.
Dynamism is now accepting “preorders.”
Also sold by Dynamism: The ASUS Eee PC 900: “8.9″ WSVGA, 2.18 lbs, 12GB Solid State or 20gb HD, WiFi, Webcam.” Cost: $550 with your choice of Linux or XP. Shipping is said to be set for mid-May.
Note: I’ve lightened up the photos so the details will be more visible.
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