Genesi is giving the Efika MX Smartbook a pretty serious price cut. When the company introduced the ARM-based mini-laptop in September, it was priced at $349. Now you can pick one up for $199.
The Efika MX looks like a typical netbook with a 10 inch display, but where most netbooks have an Intel Atom chip, this model has an 800 MHz Freescal i.MX515 ARM Cortex A8 processor. Since Windows isn’t yet available for ARM-based chips, the Efika MX runs Linux, although it’s probably possible to port Android to the platform.
The mini-laptop has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of storage, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, optional 3G (which drives up the price by about $50, Bluetooth2.1, 2 USB 2.0 ports, a 1.3MP camera, mic and headphone jacks and a speaker as well as a microSD card slot for expansion. It supports 3D graphics and HD video playback and weighs just over 2 pounds. The computer uses less than 12W of power.
Genesi has also lowered the price of the Efika MX Smarttop, a tiny desktop computer with similar specs but no monitor or speakers and just 8Gb of storage. The smartop runs on 5W of electricity or less.
The Compaq Airlife 100 may have made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas in January, but it has yet to land on retail shelves in the US. The device is one of the first so-called smartbooks to hit the market. It has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs Google’s Android operating system. It’s sort of a cross between a smartphone and a notebook. And it’s not available in the US.
But you can pick one up in Spain, and now you can also grab one in Chile, thanks to Movistar which is offering the device for the just under 250,000 Chilean Pesos, or about $377 US. Movistar also offers mobile broadband data plan for the Airlife 100.
The Compar Airlife 100 has a 10.1 inch. 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of flash-based storage, and SD card slot, 3G and WiFi connectivity, a VGA webcam and GPS. It also comes with NDrive navigation software preinstalled.
September 3rd, 2010
Tanya
Want to get your hands on a smartbook with an ARM-based chipset but don’t feel like waiting for Toshiba or HP to bring their models to the US? Genesi USA has you covered.
The company has launched a mini-laptop with a 10.1 inch display and an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU. The smartbook is called the Efika MX, and while it may not have the fastest ARM-based chip around, it’s powerful enough to handle 720p HD video playback.
The device has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of storage space, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an optional 3G modem, as well as a 1.3MP camera, SD card reader, and mic and headphone inputs.
The Genesi Efika MX weighs about 2 pounds and measures about 0.8 inches thick. The computer runs Linux and uses less than 12 watts of power. It runs just $349, which sounds pretty good… until you realize that you can get Windows 7 netbook for about $50 less. On the other hand, I have yet to find a Windows netbook at this price that weighs just 2 pounds.
Pioneer Computers Australia unveiled a VIA-powered Smartbook in the market. Unlike similar products in the market that run Windows 7 Starter, this smartbook comes with Windows CE (or Android OS).
Specifications: 10.1-inch 1024×600 display, VIA-8505 533MHz processor, 128MB RAM, upto 4GB RAM, 0.3MP webcam, LAN, SD slot, 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1800mAh battery, Windows CE or Android and optional 3G
God, what would one do on a Android machine with 4GB RAM, when even 512MB RAM is more than enough for a mobile OS! We would rather like to see Chromium running on that.
The Efika MX looks like a typical netbook with a 10 inch display, but where most netbooks have an Intel Atom chip, this model has an 800 MHz Freescal i.MX515 ARM Cortex A8 processor. Since Windows isn’t yet available for ARM-based chips, the Efika MX runs Linux, although it’s probably possible to port Android to the platform.
