At first glance, the Workhorse Certeza MC10 looks like any other netbook with a 10 inch display. But Laptop Magazine got a chance to check out a pre-production unit, and reports that there are a few things that set it apart from the competition – and most of them have to do with the company behind the netbook, not the hardware itself.
Firts up, the computer ships with a choice of Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Linux. The Vista version carries a higher price tag, with a starting price of $549. You can knock $100 off if you get a different operating system. While I can’t think of many reasons most people would want to run Windows Vista Home Premium on a netbook instead of Windows XP or Windows 7, the option does open up some other possibilities, like the option to purchase this netbook with 2GB of RAM. Microsoft prohibits computer makers from selling Windows XP on systems with more than 1GB.
Windows Vista boots a bit slower than Windows XP on most netbooks, but it runs reasonably well and does offer more security features, which could be attractive if you’re looking to purchase mini-laptops for a school or business. And those are the groups that Workhorse PC is really targeting this computer toward. It has space on the lid for you to put your company or school name or logo. Another feature that could make this system attractive to business customers is the inclusion of an ExpressCard slot. The only other netbooks I can think of that have this feature are the HP 2133 Mini-Note, HP Mini 2140, and Gigabyte M912 (and other upcoming models from Gigabyte), all of which sell for higher prices than consumer oriented netbooks.
The Lenovo also has an express card slot.