NEC looks set to further expand its line of ultraportable LaVie Light netbooks with the introduction of yet another Intel Atom-based model featuring a 10-inch display. The new system, dubbed LaVie Light LUI, has recently been tipped off on by the Tokyo-based company, and comes as yet another standard netbook featuring a list of technical specifications similar to those of most competitive systems currently available on the market. Expected to go on sale in Japan, the new netbook looks to provide some benefits with a touted 8.5-hour battery life.

Although it comes at a moment when the netbook market is already overcrowded, the LaVie Light LUI seems set to compete with all those Atom-based systems that are currently available. Packing an Intel Atom N280 processor, clocked at 1.66GHz and coupled with 1GB of RAM, the 10.1-inch solution features the same technical specifications as the latest netbooks to leverage Intel's Atom platform. In addition, the system has been featured with 1GB of RAM memory, a 160GB hard drive and the less-appreciated integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics chip.

On the connectivity side, the netbook offers pretty much what you'd expect from a PC in its category, namely a 10/100 Ethernet LAN port, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1, an SD memory card reader and also a 1.3MP webcamera. Boasting Microsoft's successful and familiar Windows XP SP3 operating system, the new model is said to provide users with a battery lifespan of 8.5 hours, which is quite impressive even for a netbook.

Weighing in at just 1.32kg, the new NEC solution is expected to become available in Japan next week, on July 9. Unfortunately we have no details on the netbook's pricing and whether it will be made available in some other parts of the world.