ViewSonic may be better known for producing TVs, monitors, and photo frames than computers. But the company is no stranger to small computing devices. A few years back, ViewSonic had a moderately successful line of Windows Mobile PDAs (although I think the OS was called Pocket PC at the time).
Now ViewSonic is entering the netbook market, with a product called the VieBook. To be honest, it looks pretty generic as netbooks go. While other companies are experimenting with touchcreen displays, instant-on software, and even glowing touchpads, The VieBook is an average, run of the mill Intel Atom-based netbook.
It features a 10.2 inch display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, a 4-in-1 card reader, a 1.3MP camera, and Windows XP Home Edition. The netbook will be available in February for around $429.
via NetbookTech and Engadget
Strangely, this isn’t a new netbook it has already been on the market for quite a while as the Epson Mini Endeavor here in Japan. It’s ugly no doubt!
https://portablemonkey.com/article/viewsonic-jumping-into-netbook-arena/
Sometimes it almost makes me happier to see a longtime player step in with a product like this. It looks to me like they’re willing to enter the market but they’re not putting all the marbles on whatever they’re able to get out the door in the first iteration.
We’ve got enough players pushing the boundaries by this point. Once we passed, oh, fifteen actual manufacturers getting into the game it seems to me that it’s time for folks to just start growing the ecosystem and hopefully saving the radical stuff for versions 3 or 4.