14 DAY TRIAL // Everex, the notebook manufacturer, has confirmed that the company is going to ship an new UMPC to compete Asustek's Eee Notebook PC. Sources from within the company say that the 'Cloudbook' UMPC is likely to be shipped with the gOS Linux distribution. The notebook model will come with a 7-inch screen and is going to be powered by a Via C7 ULV processor clocked at 1.2GHz. What makes it more special in the low-end and UMPC segment is the availability of a 30 GB hard disk drive.
Everex also plans to ship a "Developer" version of their UMPC to incorporate a touch-screen panel. The model was annouced for early availability, but the company rescheduled its release date as they were experiencing major shortage of 7-inch touchscreen panels. The UMPC will also come with the gOS source code and toolchains. The operating system is alinux distribution financed by Everex and optimized for best performance with Google Apps.
The notebook will enter mass-production in January and will be available in two models. Rumor has it that one of the models will also incorporate a 1.2 megapixel webcam. Although the company refused to mention when the new UMPC model is going to be presented, it is likely that they will first show it at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 7th.
The Cloudbook is announced to compete the Eee PC and will use the same 7-inch WVGA (800x480) LCD display, as well as an identical keyboard, but wearing different colors. While the Eee architecture is built around a 900MHz Celeron processor, Everex Cloudbook will ship with a Via C7 ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor to work at 1.2GHz. The unofficial configuration also stipulates 512MB of RAM, built-in wired and wireless Ethernet interfaces, a 4-in-1 card reader, a pair of USB 2.0 ports and DVI-out to connect to different multimedia consumer products, including projectors.
The standard version of the Cloudbook UMPC is expected to emerge no earlier than January 15 and will bear a price tag of $400, while the Developer edition will likely arrive on January 1st, at an undisclosed price.
