Maybe the Asus Eee PC never hit the mythical $200 price point, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick up a laptop style device with a 7 inch display for a low, low price. In fact, Jointech appears to have even the OLPC project beat. While the XO Laptop still costs somewhere between a C note and $200, the Jointech JL7100 can be yours for just $99.
What’s the catch? While the JL7100 looks like a laptop, it’s got the innards of a Windows Mobile PDA. Like the Eee PC, the device has a 7 inch 800 x 480 pixel display, VGA output and 3 USB ports. But it also has just 64MB of RAM, 64MB of storage and runs Windows CE 5.0. In other words, my 3 year old Dell Axim x50v PDA can probably run circles around the JL7100 performance wise. And the Axim fits in my pocket. On the other hand, even though the Axim has been out of production for a year or two now, I doubt you’ll find one for as cheap as $100 on eBay anytime soon.
Here are some of the Jointech JL7100′s other specs:
- Samsung Chipset
- 7 inch 800 x 480 pixel TFT display with support for 64k colors
- Dimensions: 225 x 165 x 36mm
- Weight: 680 grams
- Comes in black, pink, white, or sky blue colors
- Battery charges in 4 hours, runs for 4 hours, lasts 72 hours in standby mode
To be honest, I would have been all over a device like this a few years ago. Windows CE may not be a full fledged OS capable of running software like Firefox or Photoshop. But it has its benefits. Instant on and off functionality, for example. And $99 isn’t a bad price for a PDA, even by today’s standards. But once you’ve gotten used to carrying a fully functional computer with a 9 inch screen and 30 second bootup around with you, the desire for a PDA with a clamshell, laptop-style form factor kind of wanes. I think I’ll keep my Dell Axim a little longer for my PDA needs and stick with a laptop for my mobile computing.
[via Engadget]
powered bygdgt
- key specs
- reviews • 0
- prices
- TypeMobile / embedded OS
- Source modelClosed, w/ open source
- Released11/06/2006
Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5
Pingback: laptop » Blog Archive » Jointech JL7100: A $99 laptop or a glorified PDA?
Pingback: For Daughter- sub-$100 Laptop « wish list.