Up close with the Dr. Mobile Freestyle 1300n

Up close with the Dr. Mobile Freestyle 1300n – Video

drmobile-freestyle-1300n

Dr. Mobile first introduced the world to the VIA Nano-powered FreeStyle Mini at CES in January. Now the company is preparing to launch a new model with an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 screen and a VIA Nano 1.3GHz CPU and VX800 chipset. The Dr. Mobile FreeStyle 1300n may have a bigger screen than its predecessor, but it measure less than an inch thick and weighs just about 2.9 pounds.

Here are a few more highlights:

Operating System: Windows XP or Windows Vista Home Basic
RAM: Up to 4GB (2GB x 2)
Storage: 2.5″ HDD/SSD
Connectivity: 802.11b/g, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, optional WiMAX or HSDPA/HSUPA/EVDO/CDMA modem
I/O: 3 USB ports, VGA, SDHC card reader
Battery: 3600~3800mAh
Dimensions: 11.3″ x 7.8″ x 1″
Weight: 2.87 pounds

The laptop should be available in June.

You can check out a video overview of the Freestyle 1300n from VIA’s How To Be Mobile site after the break.

Posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009, 2:03 pm by Brad Linder

oddone

At the very least it's nice to have a higher resolution available and the possibility of 4 gigs of ram for a 64bit linux distro. It also helps that they're easy on the eyes. Screen size is pushing it, and that lower clockspeed has me worried…but I bet it's not too bad. Price?
http://www.good-win-racing.com Brian Goodwin

I like it. I went through several 10 inch Netbooks and the Dell Mini 12 before retreating to a very old Sony Ultra portable because I prefer the 10.6 inch 1366 x 768 resolution screen. Going to 11.6 inches with the same resolution and the same UNDER 3 pound weight sounds great to me. The clock speed of the chip is rather meaningless given the architecture differences….the head to head tests with 1.6 Atom chips have shown this should be a competitive unit in terms of power and the superior viewing experience makes it stand out from the dozens and dozens of me-too 10 inch netbooks.
TL

oddone,

The CPU technology is different from in order Atom… this CPU at 1.3ghz outperforms an Atom N280, with a TDP of 8W (vs N280 of 2W). VIA's chipset, though, draws less power than Intel's. Overall, the VIA machine should pull just barely higher performance per watt compared to Intel solutions, while also being able to get work done faster. We'll see how battery life ends up.

Oh – and 720p video performance should be no problem with the CPU and chipset combination, with MPEG2 or x264.

That said, if this little guy can get at least 3 hours of battery life, even if an extended battery is necessary and available, it looks like the mini notebook I want finally exists and I will buy a number of them.

(Specifically: 1366×768 or higher resolution display, keyboard with usable pgup/pgdn/home/end (this one uses right Fn key and arrows, the only mini notebook solution I've found that is good so far), between 10-12″. It doesn't have a pointer mouse but I can live without that.)

Let's hope color options are available – I'm not hot on the orange accents but I can live with them.
TL

Actually, I am just reading Li-Poly battery… if it is not removable / replaceable, this may be a major turn-off for me, despite otherwise being the best fit for me as a travel rig on the market.

And re: colors, it looks like there will be options available
TL

Gah, I responded too soon! Sorry….

The battery is located in the front…so extended batteries would be pretty nasty.

Also, the keyboard has a very critical flaw for me – the Fn key is in the lower left hand corner! So my search for the perfect mini notebook for a decent price continues…
TL

oddone,

The CPU technology is different from in order Atom… this CPU at 1.3ghz outperforms an Atom N280, with a TDP of 8W (vs N280 of 2W). VIA's chipset, though, draws less power than Intel's. Overall, the VIA machine should pull just barely higher performance per watt compared to Intel solutions, while also being able to get work done faster. We'll see how battery life ends up.

Oh – and 720p video performance should be no problem with the CPU and chipset combination, with MPEG2 or x264.

That said, if this little guy can get at least 3 hours of battery life, even if an extended battery is necessary and available, it looks like the mini notebook I want finally exists and I will buy a number of them.

(Specifically: 1366×768 or higher resolution display, keyboard with usable pgup/pgdn/home/end (this one uses right Fn key and arrows, the only mini notebook solution I've found that is good so far), between 10-12″. It doesn't have a pointer mouse but I can live without that.)

Let's hope color options are available – I'm not hot on the orange accents but I can live with them.
TL

Actually, I am just reading Li-Poly battery… if it is not removable / replaceable, this may be a major turn-off for me, despite otherwise being the best fit for me as a travel rig on the market.

And re: colors, it looks like there will be options available
TL

Gah, I responded too soon! Sorry….

The battery is located in the front…so extended batteries would be pretty nasty.

Also, the keyboard has a very critical flaw for me – the Fn key is in the lower left hand corner! So my search for the perfect mini notebook for a decent price continues…

Up close with the Dr. Mobile Freestyle 1300n – Video

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