Sub-$300 notebooks about to debut

EVEREX, THE MAKERS of the sub-$200 notebook are now working with a startup called Zonbu to bring you a sub-$100 PC and a sub-$300 15.4 inch notebook in Q1.

Both are based on the Via C7 chips, and both are running a variant of Gentoo Linux. Zonbu adds a bunch of services to the mix, and subsidizes the PCs as well. The MSRP of the laptop is $479, but Zonbu will subsidize it to $279, or $99 for the desktop.

What Zonbu does for the subsidy is to provide remote storage, presumably seamlessly, internet backup, OS updates and tech support. They do this for $14.95 a month, some of which is kicked back to you in the form of a cheaper laptop.

If you don't want that, you can just buy the laptop outright, it is your call. If you do, for that $279/479, you get a 1.5GHz Via C7-M ULV CPU, a 60GB HD, 512MB DRAM and a 4 or 8G flash drive. Since it is not running Vista, this will be more than enough to do most everything you need, and at only 15W power draw, battery life should be pretty good.

Overall, it is an interesting proposition. You get a cheap laptop, and if you want your hand held via a subscription, you can get an even cheaper laptop. Nothing is forced if you don't want it, so at worst, you can pick up a very usable $479 laptop. µ