Tired of looking at netbook after netbook with the same specs? Come January, it looks like you’ll be able to pick up something a bit different, courtesy of CTL. Sure, the next version of the CTL 2Go PC will have the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and 1GB of RAM that all the cool kids seem to have these days. But it will also have a touchscreen that can be folded over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.
The only other netbook class device with a tablet-style touchscreen right now is the Gigabyte M912 which sells for $699 or more. The CTL 2Go PC, which is based on Intel’s Classmate PC reference design, is expected to run $500 or less.
This won’t be CTL’s first foray into netbook territory. The company already sells netbooks at Amazon
and other retailers based on the current Classmate PC at Amazon. But to be honest, the Classmate PC design is really intended for educational markets, not consumer oriented netbooks. The Classmate is typically a bit bulkier than other netbooks. And while rugged is good, it also makes the Classmate PC look a bit more like a toy than a computer. At a time when there’s no shortage of $300 to $500 computers with similar specs, there hasn’t been much reason for consumers to pick up a CTL 2Go PC instead of a netbook from Acer, Asus, HP, Dell, Lenovo, or MSI.
But to date, very few netbook makers are offering touchscreens, let alone tablet-style netbooks. So if CTL can hit its target date of January, it may have the market practically to itself. And I could see a lot of people opting to pay a few extra bucks for that tablet functionality.
The CTL 2Go PC will have a 60GB HDD, 802.11b/g and n WiFi, and an acceleramoter for automatically adjusting the display when you switch from clamshell to tablet mode and back again. There are more pictures of the upcoming 2Go PC at Engadget. You can also see a video of the netbook in action after the break.
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6 Comments on "CTL to launch sub-$500 tablet-style netbook in January"
I like the features and the price. A tablet style, rugged little notebook, with the standard netbook specs is quite tempting and I am not a kid… I hope someone can offer a version just a little more of a grownup look… and I might get my third netbook. I already have an EeePC 701 and a Lenovo s10, which offer different levels of portability. Now if it can just do Linux and the screen rotation at the same time.
Flip-and-fold is very nice — it’s nice in my OLPC, too. But what this doesn’t have (and I haven’t found any netbooks that do, though some old Sony’s did …) is a camera that can be turned to the front, so the user can see what’s being recorded, while it’s being recorded *in front* of the user. I’ve never much gotten into webcams-as-mirrors 🙂
timothy
Agreed with Garamond. I love the idea of a tablet netbook — it just seems ideal. But I’d like one that’s not geared towards little kids. Something with the appearance of the Gigabyte, but lighter and cheaper. If my Acer Aspire One A150 just had a swivel touch screen, I’d be in netbook heaven!
That sound like really good machine with verry bad/ugly disgne.
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I love this netbook! Swivel tablet has always been my ideal form factor, because you get the best of all possible worlds. Add to that the rotating camera and the rugedness of it, and you’ve got a winner for a price that makes sense!
Now, I’m not a fan of the “kid friendly design” per se, but I don’t buy computers based on looks – I buy them based on them doing what I want them to do.