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Gigabyte Boasts its 13.3-Inch Good-Looking UMPC

The tiny offering comes with Intel's Core 2 Duo processors

Apr 25, 2008 09:23 GMT  ·  By
The Gigabyte W348M packs a lot of muscle under a good-looking shell
   The Gigabyte W348M packs a lot of muscle under a good-looking shell

Hardware manufacturer Gigabyte might not be a reference name on the mobile computing market, yet it managed to score pretty high with its upcoming 13.3-inch sub-notebook. The company has previously released some UMPC devices built on top of VIA's low-voltage offerings, and other Atom-based models are on the hose.

The newest model backed at the company's headquarters is a 13.3-inch model, also known as the Gigabyte W348M. As far as the pictures can tell, it will come in a sleek case with metal inlays surrounding the touchpad and the palm rest. The company focused on its design and managed to give the UMPC a business-class cover.

Under the "serious" hood, Gigabyte has stuffed an Intel mobile platform comprised of GM965 chipset with integrated graphics, paired with a choice of Intel CPUs. Customers can opt for Celeron M, Pentium Dual Core and Core Duo or Core 2 Duo chips, in order to match the device's price with the required computing performance.

The anti-glare 13.3-inch display is able to work at maximum resolutions of 1,280x800 and is alleged to do just fine while operated in direct light. Other goodies include a built-in optical drive, Wi-Fi connectivity in multiple flavors (802.11 b/g/n), two memory slots for a total memory capacity of 4GB of DDR2-667 as well as a single 2.5-inch hard-disk drive bay.

According to the manufacturer, the Gigabyte W348M UMPC will weigh a little above 2.3 kilos when the battery is mounted and comes in a 318 x 237 x 37-millimeter form factor, which should be enough even for business users who are mostly on the road.

Other connectivity options include a D-sub, three USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, an obsolete modem line-in, as well as audio connectors fastened on the notebook's front panel. Photographers can rest at ease, as the new model will also feature a built-in SD and MS multimedia card reader, conveniently placed on the front panel for facile access.

There is no word on pricing or availability, but the device is expected to ship soon through the company's retail channels.