14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, a new netbook made the headlines, including our own - the Sylvania, to be more specific. The interesting thing about this new product is that it isn't provided by any of the major notebook manufacturers, but by a small company that is trying to capitalize from this emerging market. Today, we bring you more details on the Sylvania netbook, as it has just received the hands-on treatment from the journalists at LaptopMag.
First of all, we should remind you that our initial coverage on Sylvania's netbook was also prompted by a post on the above-mentioned website. Clearly, they have taken quite a keen interest in the upcoming product. With that settled, let's get down to specifics.
This Sylvania netbook is the company's 8.9-inch model, which is known as the Netbook g Meso (a 10-inch version, dubbed Magni, will also be made available). It sports a glossy black cover with a "g" logo in the center of the lid. It weighs in at 2.6 pounds and, according to LaptopMag, it is thicker than Acer's 8.9-inch Aspire One. Meso's keyboard is somewhat similar in size to the one found on the Gigabyte M912, which means you will have a tough time getting used to the cramped keys on it.
The touchpad appears to be working quite well but it's with the dedicated right and left mouse buttons that you will have some small issues. For instance, when pressed, the buttons make a loud clicking sound, which could end up by annoying some users.
Sylvania's Meso has been equipped with an 8.9-inch matte display with a maximum resolution of 1024 by 600. Apparently, the viewing angles are quite good and the lid can bend all the way back. The netbook's speakers have been positioned below the screen, which explains its overall thickness.
The tested unit was powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom, and packed 512MB of RAM and 80GB of storage space, just enough to run the Windows XP operating system. A Ubuntu Netbook Remix OS version is also going to be available. Price-wise, we are looking at a $399 netbook.