aware-netbook

Taiwanese electronics maker Aware Electronics is showing off an intriguing mini-laptop at a Chinese trade show this week. The A-View has a 7 inch display, which seems so 2007. But it also features a removable keyboard, which means you can use the netbook as a traditional laptop or as a tablet. That certainly makes this system stand in the crowded netbook field, but the A-View has another thing going for it: Aware Electronics says it could sell for around $150.

Now, I have a feeling that Aware is marketing this little guy at computer distributors at that price, not consumers. But even if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the A-View retail for $200 to $250, which is a pretty good price for a device like this.

The computer includes 8GB of flash memory, 512MB of RAM, and can run Windows XP or Linux, which means it has an x86 processor.

If this whole concept seems familiar, that’s because it is. In early 2008 a company called Elonex began selling similar machines with detachable keyboards in Europe for about £99. And after checking out the Aware Electronics website, it looks like Aware was either the ODM of those Elonex machines, or both companies used the same reference design.

It does sound like the new A-View will have more RAM and storage space than the Elonex One. But I haven’t seen any information about the CPU or other features yet.

via GadgetMix

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7 replies on “Aware Electronics $150 netbook has a detachable keyboard”

  1. It looks like the standard A-View / AW-300 but with a little more memory and possibly a new CPU (as pointed out elsewhere in the comments, the A-View has always used a 486 clone previously).

    And yes, Aware was the ODM for the Elonex One (as far as I know, the Elonex One was simply a rebadged A-View). Maybe Elonex will be able to get their hands on this new model too. If it weren’t for the horrible, rubber, Sinclair-esque keyboard (and equally uncomfortable pointing device), I’d be tempted.

    1. i could have sworn the elonex one never happened, i favor of the one+, a more laptop like design…

  2. Hopefully the software is better than the previous box. I wouldn’t buy it, but I could see some high schoolers or something giving it a shot.

  4. Ok, this one is strange. It’s some sort of generic 486 with the speed jacked up. And it really looks like a picture frame that snaps onto a keyboard base so it might hit stores under $200, but who would pay the Windows tax on something that cheap? $32/copy wholesale for XP/Netbook means an extra $45-50 retail. Lets hope the Linux preload is usable.

    I probably wouldn’t buy one, but if it gets into some real low margin discounters and sells for $175 or so somebody might take a chance.

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