14 DAY TRIAL // The ultramobile market has just gained an extra segment with the launch of the tablet PC, specifically the Apple iPad. Still, until companies like HP and MSI manage to catch up, the market for on-the-go mobile computing and Internet access will still be mainly represented by netbooks and smartbooks. A more recent addition to the smartbook area is the Mini Swordfish, a device developed by Haleron and that is powered by a VIA processor.
Unlike other smartbooks that have come out of hiding recently, the Haleron device uses neither the Tegra platform from NVIDIA nor the Snapdragon from Qualcomm. Instead, the product is powered by a VIA chip based on the ARM architecture and with a clock speed of 300MHz. The ultramobile device also features a NAND storage capacity of up to 4GB, as well as 128MB or 256MB of memory, LAN 10/100M and WiFi 802.11 b/g. In addition, the device is built with two internal speakers and support for SD cards.
The Mini Swordfish smartbook is designed with a 7-inch TFT liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and natively supports the playback of audio files that use the MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, CAT, WMV and AVI files, among others. Furthermore, the device is equipped with three USB ports and a battery on which it may operate for up to eight hours (on a single charge), or 24 hours if left in standby.
Among the operating systems that the Haleron Mini Swordfish smartbook supports are the Windows CE 6.0, Linux and even Windows XP, although the last option will require a processor upgrade. The small product has a weight of only 700 grams, can be colored green, red, black, silver and pink and may come with an optional 3G USB module.
The product has already become available and has a starting price tag of $149. More information on the offering may be found on the company's official website.