Hands-on with new Viewsonic Netbook and Notebook

Viewsonic, maker of projectors and LCD displays, is getting into the laptop market with a new notebook and netbook. The netbook (the VNB102), will start at $349, and the notebook (the VNB132) will feature Intel’s Core 2 CULV processor, and start at $799; both notebooks will be available in November.

See below for more specs, images, and hands-on videos.

Viewsonic’s netbook, called the VNB102, will have pretty standard specs for a netbook: a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600. The VNB102 will also come equipped with Windows XP Home, and have 3 USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, and a 3-in-1 card slot. Viewsonic will offer two versions: One with a 3-cell battery ($349), which should last about 3 to 4 hours on a charge, and one with a 6-cell battery ($399), which should provide about 6 hours of endurance.

More interesting is the Viewsonic’s CULV notebook, the ViewBook Pro (a.k.a VNB132). This 13-inch notebook will sport Intel’s new Core 2 SU7300 processor and 2GB of RAM. With this processor, Viewsonic expects to get 6 to 8 hours of battery life.

Its 13.3-inch screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800, which is rare but welcome in these days of 1366×768 screens that make you scroll a lot to view Web pages. Also inside the notebook will be a 320GB hard drive, on which is installed Windows 7. Ports include two USB, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, a 7-in-1 card slot, and an ExpressCard/34 slot.

Despite being less than an inch thick, the $899 version of this notebook will come with an 8X DVD Supermulti drive (which can be swapped for an extra battery); a version that lacks the optical drive will be even thinner, and retail for $799.

Hands-on with the Viewsonic VNB102

Hands-on with the ViewBook Pro