Low-Cost Laptop Cheat Sheet
March 20th, 2008 by Joanna Stern
Here at LAPTOP we’ve had a hard time keeping the all the potential low-cost laptops or Eee PC “killers” straight. Some of these machines are coming out in just a few weeks, some are slated for the summer, and others don’t have an ETA at all.
And there are a lot of manufacturers on this list that you have probably never heard of. GeCube and Elonex ring a bell? Not for us either. To help you sort through the clutter we have created a cheat sheet below on all the low-cost laptops expected to hit the market.
| Laptop Name | Price | Operating System | Processor | Storage | Display Size/Resolution | Webcam | Available in US? |
| Asus EeePC 2G Surf (700) | $299 | Xandros |
800 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 | 2GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
No | Yes |
| Asus EeePC 4G Surf (701) | $349.99 | Xandros | 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 | 4GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
No | Yes |
| Asus EeePC 4G | $399.99 | Xandros | 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 | 4GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
0.3 megapixels | Yes |
| Asus EeePC 8G | $499.99 | Xandros | 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 | 8GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
0.3 megapixels | Yes |
| Asus EeePC 901 | $499.99 | Xandros/Windows XP | Intel Atom | 8GB SSD -XP 12GB or 20GB SSD - Linux | 8.9 inches/ 1024 x 600 |
0.3 megapixels | Yes (April) |
| Comes Aristo Pico 740 | $699 | Ubuntu/Windows XP | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 40GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 400 |
0.3-megapixels | No |
| ECS G10IL | TBD | Linux or Windows | Intel Atom | SSD or HDD | 8.2 or 10.2 inches | 1.3 megapixels | TBD |
| Elonex One | £99 (~$198) | Linux Linos 2.6.21 | 300-MHz LNX Code 8 Mobile | 1GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
No | TBD |
| Everex Cloudbook | $399 | Linux gOS | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 30GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
0.3 megapixels | Yes |
| FIC CE260 | TBD | Linux or Windows XP | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 30GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800×400 |
No | TBD |
| GeCube Genie | TBD | Linux or Windows | TBD | 2GB SSD | 7 inches/ 800 x 400 |
No | TBD |
| MSI Wind | TBD | Linux or Windows | Intel Atom | SDD or HDD | 8 or 10 inches | Yes | Yes (June ‘08) |
| Norhtec Gecko | $300; $225 when purchased x100 | Lipus Linux Lite | 1-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 40GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
Yes | Yes |
| Packard Bell EasyNote XS | 350 to 600 euros (TBD US) | Windows XP Home | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 30GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 480 |
Yes | TBD |
| Stone UMPC | £350 (~$700) | Windows XP Tablet Edition | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 40GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 400 |
Optional module | TBD |
| Zyrex Ubud | $545 | Windows XP Tablet Edition | 1.2-GHz VIA C7M ULV | 40GB HDD | 7 inches/ 800 x 400 |
Yes | TBD |
Editors’ note: Though we have confirmed system specs, we have not been able to confirm US availability for many of the laptops listed on the chart. We will fill in the information as it comes in.
What are we missing? Let us know…
March 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Errr… you are missing the EeePC itself, which I thought you would include in a list of all low cost laptops.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Good idea, but hard to appreciate without actual Eee. Please revise chart to include 2G, 4G, and upcoming 700 and 900 specs… (thank you!)
March 27th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Perhaps you could put a link to where we might find more information or the manufacturer’s web sites?
March 30th, 2008 at 8:31 am
The HP 2133 = missing
April 10th, 2008 at 1:18 am
I don’t see the OLPC XO-1 on the list yet. That was the device that spawned this new class of low-cost, extra-portable laptops. Even though it’s not available for sale commercially (not yet, or “not anymore” if you consider the Give One, Get One program that was run late last year), it’s a device that deserves to be mentioned on any comprehensive list of low-cost laptops.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
It is April and no news on eeePC 901 coming out in US…
April 15th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I am maintaining a comparison matrix of low-cost laptops suitable for the K-12 education market for my school. I do not yet have some of the announced but not shipping models in this matrix, but you may find value in perusing what I have:
April 25th, 2008 at 10:47 am
This is a good, focused chart. However, I have a couple of possible suggestions. One would be to also include the length x width x height dimensions, as well as the weight. It might be nice to see some kind of statement as to the size of the keyboard. For example the HP is widely reported as “92% the size of a full-sized keyboard” (even though what that effectively means isn’t clear).
April 26th, 2008 at 1:13 am
How about a link to the homepage for each so that we can follow up on our interest?