Cheap as chip Hardware of the Day

UK
Browsing through the latest PC World , mag October 2004, I did not fail to notice a £399 inc. VAT still unannounced laptop from Tiny.com. The Mediabook E2400 is a much more powerful laptop as compared to what is available either second hand or at other places. There is no information about the processor being used though we strongly doubt that it will be a VIA C3. At worse, it will be a Celeron which is still far more powerful than VIA's best performing C3.

The laptop comes with 256MB memory, a DVD/CDRW combo and a 20GB hard disk. A 14-inch TFT screen and a 56K modem are also included. You will probably get Windows XP home with that or at worst Linspire. From the smallish photo I have, you can guess that the color of the laptop will be greyish and that its size makes it look more like a desknote rather than a notebook. If you are looking for something peculiar, then I would advise you to go for a barebone laptop.

The Elite A980 black barebone laptop will only need a CPU, memory and Hard Disk. It doesn't have a monitor but will prove to be the ultimate DIY notebook. It is unfortunately compatible with P4 Northwood CPU rather than AMD Athlon ones and can accept 533MHz FSB. Surprisingly, it apparently comes with the Geforce 420 GPU though the SIS650 chipset has an integrated 256-bit SIS315 graphic module. The A980 is equipped with only one DIMM and allows for one 2.5-inch har disk.

It has a large array of transmission ports - modem, four USB 2.0, a firewire port, ethernet jacks, PCMCIA ports. Last but not least, even though it does not include batteries, it does come with 5.1 channel built in and enhanced stereo chambers. £156+VAT might be a little expensive until you consider that it can save you some serious money. Log here for more. µ

USA
If you want a Tablet PC but don't want to pay the price, then try this gem from pcsurplusonline. It is not the expensive Tablet PC that you see in high street stores. This one is cheap at $550 but is based on a Celeron 500 MHz rather than on a Centrino platform. The Fujitsu Stylistic LT C-500 is a touch screen pen tablet with 128MB memory, a shock proof 6.0GB ultra ATA hard disk, a 8.4-inch colour SVGA display, everything beautifully housed in a 2.3 pounds, 1.1 inch thich pen tablet enclosure. Its small size does not prevent it from having a Compact Flash and one PCMCIA slot, one USB and two PS2 ports as well as full audio and micrphone jacks. The new tablet PC comes with a docking station, Windows 2000 preloaded with COA and manual as well as the unit's battery, AC adaptor and charger. The monitor can display up to 262,000 colours and has a maximum resolution of 800x600. Back in 2001 when it came out, the system costs a hefty £2780 pounds, nearly $5000. The battery provided is a 3.1Ah battery which ads a little bit weight but keeps the laptop running for more than 200 minutes. Some users have succeeded in istalling 512MB RAM on it with Windows XP, a 60GB hard disk and more importantly a wireless 802.11g card. The superb TFT screen is coated with anti reflective coating providing a more than decent readability even in sunlight. µ

Singapore
At S$209 at Hardwareplace, the IWill EVO XP4 is the cheapest SFF barebone in Singapore. It supports the Northwood and Willamette version of the Pentium IV as well as the Celeron One and is based on the i845GV, the entry level chipset at Intel Corp. No AGP port and integrated graphics means that its use will be more or less restricted to office use. You won't build a gamer's rig with this one. Additionally, one DIMM socket is available as is one PCI slot. Connectionwise, one Realtek Ethernet chips and four USB 2.0 offers plenty of possibilities as well as sound support for AC97 codec. It offers only one external full size bay and one fixed internal 3.5 inch bay. This means that you can't even put a floppy disck or a multicard reader unless you are daring enough to force your way in. It is build of thin grade aluminium which helps it keep its weight at 2.5KG but makes it feel flimsy as compared to others. So, it you want to a very cheap but portable computer, the EVO XP4 might be the one to look for. Else, go for a more elaborate but expensive model. µ

France
After USA and UK, here is the first - or rather one of the first - Linux Powered PC to be offered in Tesco-like outfits thanks to Europe largest supermarket company, Carrefour. The Compubox is equiped with MandrakeLinux, it is based on an AMD Duron 1.8GHz coupled with VIA's KM266 integrated chipset in an Asus A7Vx-MX, and comes with a Excelstor 7200rpm 40 GB hard disk, 256MB memory PC3200 and a Samsung 52x CDROM Drive. On top of that, it does offer SPDIF out and two speakers. Expansivity is excellent wth two PCI ports available, seven front bays available and one AGP port. Up to six USB 2.0 ports, two PS2 ports, one parallel port and one LAN interface will help it communicate easily with the outer world. Note that there is neither a modem nor a floppy disk drive. Softwarewise, it comes with Open Office 1.1, Mandrakesoft Discovery 10.0, Konqueror, Kontact, The Gimp, Totem and a lot more software. The mouse is an optical one and a standard plain vanilla keyboard is also provided. The price, €299, £164+VAT. µ