Pepper Computer and Hanbit Electronics released today a new version of the Pepper Pad Web player, a model which is said to offer three times faster Web browsing than the previous Pepper Pads and other enhanced features.

The device benefits from advanced Pepper 3.0 software which allows users to download and stream music, videos, movies, and photos or to browse the Web, and also write e-mails. The latest Pepper also includes longer battery life, faster Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and a built-in Web camera.

The manufacturer guarantees for the browsing speed of its Pepper Pad 3, saying that, as it is running the Linux Kernel 2.6 embedded operating system, it has a three times faster Web browser than the award-winning Pepper Pad launched last summer.

Moreover, the device is based on the AMD Geode LX 800@0.9W* processor, which is said to deliver the best performance per watt overall solution in the 32-bit x86 industry today, and the lower power consumption of the AMD Geode processor, connected with a new lithium ion battery and enhanced power management, will provide up to 50 percent more battery life.

"Pepper has had the advantage of four year's experience to fine-tune the Pepper Pad 3 to the specific consumer requirements for a handheld Web player", said Do-gyun Lee, CEO of Hanbit. "They were able to build that knowledge into the third version of the Pepper Pad, resulting in an elegant, powerful product precisely aimed at today's market."

As it weighs only 2.1-pounds, and it has an ample seven-inch touch screen, a full QWERTY keypad, a 20-gigabyte hard drive, and built-in speakers, the new cheaper Pepper Pad 3 is smaller and more portable than the previous Pepper Pads. But the great thing about Pepper Pad 3 is that it allows users to visualize full-screen videos and full-width Web pages.

The new Pepper Pad 3 model will be available on the retail market starting August at a suggested price of $699.