14 DAY TRIAL // Since AMD finally released a noteworthy platform for netbooks and ultraportables, it makes sense that system builders would start to make systems based on it, as proven by Fujitsu, whose latest Brazos laptop has just been detailed.
Intel may have placed a sort of limit on how large netbooks based on the Pine Trail platform may get (10.1 inches), but AMD did no such thing with its own CPUs and chipsets.
Granted, the new mobile computer that Fujitsu was revealed to have constructed is more of a cross between a netbook and a notebook.
In other words, the Fusion APU used in its making showed up in several entry-level systems already, but the overall feature set is not actually low end.
The AMD Fusion Brazos E-350 lies at the heart, with two x86 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz and the AMD Radeon HD 6310 built-in graphics (DirectX 11 compliant).
Said APU is backed up by 2 GB of RAM while the 11.6-inch display is an LCD with a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels.
Additionally, a hard disk drive provides a fairly large storage capacity, of 500 GB to be exact, meaning that one will be able to store and carry around quite a few movies or files of any other sort.
Gigabit Ethernet is absent, in this case, but the 10/100 LAN should prove more than enough for whatever tasks one would expect such a notebook to carry out.
Other specifications include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, an SD card slot, USB connectivity and an HDMI output (for streaming high quality media to TVs or monitors), among other things.
Finally, all these components are kept operational by a 5,800 mAh battery and somehow fits inside a 27.5 mm-thick package whose total weight is of 1.5 kg.
Unsurprisingly, the operating system which runs on this particular product is Windows 7 Home Premium.
Unfortunately, initial availability of the Fujitsu LifeBook PH50/C will be restricted to Japan, where it will sell for the arguably steep price of what translates into $950.