A couple of months ago we covered CPU maker, VIA’s quest to
jump-start a new category of portable device: the NetNote. NetNotes – a mash-up between a netbook and standard notebook offering the best features of both devices – were to be initially made available in China through VIA’s GMB Alliance. We’ve previously shown pics of the devices, but it looks like
PCHome.net has actually managed to get their hands on one of the reference designs to tear down and benchmark.
You can check out all the images and benchmark screen shots in the gallery below, but here are a few of the highlights from the PCHome.net team’s hands-on:
The 12.1” screen was a big hit, along with the keyboard and touchpad, which were comfortable to use. Good range of I/O and the option for HDMI is a big plus. There was also praise for the 5hr battery life which they attributed to the VIA Nano processor inside. Not so impressive was plastic portions of the device, which felt a little flimsy – one would hope that that was related to the “reference design” nature of the unit they had, and not something that’s going to turn up in finished products.
In terms of benchmarks, the NetNote did fairly well, more than holding its own against other brand name netbooks and beating them out in the multimedia area thanks to the graphics and video abilities of VIA’s latest VX855 chipset.
Finally, a few of the innovations appearing on this particular NetNote were praised. The external MP3 player (with remote) that is able to operate even when the device has been shut down was considered a nice touch – although they pointed out that an LCD display next to the external controls would be handy. And the CMMB-supported digital TV receiving functionality was listed as likely to be attractive to consumers.
Conclusions:
A reference design is often very different to the end product consumers can buy in stores, so I’ll hold off making any firm conclusions, but if PCHome’s hands-on is anything to go by, the NetNote category could prove quite popular, offering all the benefits of a netbook along with better multimedia and a more useful sized display.
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