Laptops

New Asus Eee PC Killer Spotted In the Wild: the Pioneer DreamBook Light IL1

The ultra-mobile PC is based on VIA's C7 processor

By Bogdan Botezatu, Hardware Editor

8th of February 2008, 11:14 GMT

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If you thought that the ultra-mobile PC market could not be any crowded than it is being now, you were wrong. Eee PC clones are everywhere, in a desperate attempt to seize control over as many

users as possible. Well, things are different with the new DreamBook Light IL1 from Pioneer Computers - it is not a clone, but rather a Eee PC killer.

The new sub-notebook is extremely different in terms of hardware specifications. If all the UMPC crowd uses the same "hardware recipe" based on the ultra-low voltage Intel Celeron M clocked at different speeds, Pioneer's device does not even use a standard processor.

The DreamBook is powered by a VIA C7 processor (C7-M 1.0G), combined with a VIA VX800U chipset. The processor is built using the extremely old 90-nanometer architecture and is based on the "Esther" core. The processor operates at a core speed of 1.5 GHz, which is pretty much for an ultra-portable device.

The DreamBook is small and weighs 1.1Kg, slightly heavier than the 928g Asus EeePC. Pioneer's notebook comes with a regular, 7-inch LCD display that can work at a maximum resolution of 800x600, just like the Eee arch-rival.

Despite its 7-inch display, the UMPC looks and feels like a regular notebook, rather than a sophisticated toy. The original configuration costs $499 and includes 802.11b/g wireless networking, 512 MB of memory, 2-8 GB of solid-state memory that can be optionally replaced with a 1.8-inch 40 or 80 GB mini-HDD, built-in graphics, two USB 2.0 ports and a 6-cell battery.

The processor is the most exotic part of the computer and will do a great job running Vista with an additional 512 MB RAM card. The small notebook ships with Ubuntu, but some extra bucks will let you pick either XP home, Vista, or even all of these configurations in a multi-boot environment.

TAGS:

Asustek | Eee PC | Pioneer | Via C7-M | Intel Celeron M

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User opinions:

Comment #1 by: Molly on 08 Feb 2008, 13:13 GMT

reply to this comment

just to point out a few things:

WLAN is NOT included in the basic configuration, however, on the configuration page ('build your own') is a 'special offer' WLAN for $29.

currently no other hard drives than the stock 40 GB seem to be available.

the basic configuration seems to be powered by a ridiculous 2 cell battery with 3600 mAh.

Although based on the VIA 'reference' model, the designers have scrapped the 'handle' and fitted the IL1 with a decent touchpad.

imho the Everex CloudBook ($399) is the far better deal, it comes with WLAN, Bluetooth, DVI, Webcam and a 4 cell battery.

i still prefer the Eee PC, its Celeron M CPU is based on the Dothan core and yields way better performance than the VIA chip and it can be upgraded to 2 GB RAM while the VIA models are limited to only 1 GB.

Comment #2 by: twobmf on 08 Feb 2008, 22:28 GMT	reply to this comment
Yes, I perfectly agree upon all these, but... Everex's Cloudbook is NOT available yet, and rumor has it that it will stay a no-show for quite some time. And believe me, it's for sure.

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