NEC is the latest PC maker to get in on the dual core Atom action. The company has just introduced a new netbook in Japan with a 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core CPU, 2GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. The NEC LaVie Light BL550 netbook also has a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel HD display and runs Windows 7 Home Premium.
As you’d expect from a netbook with those specs, the LaVie Light BL550 comes with a premium price. It’s expected to sell for about 85,000 yen, or about $1010 US. Even when you consider the fact that notebooks typically cost more in Japan than the US, that’s still an awfully expensive netbook.
NEC is also luanching a new single core model called the LaVie Light BL350 which will have a 1.83GHz Intel Atom N475 CPU, 1GB of memory and a 250Gb hard drive. This model will run Windows 7 Starter Edition and run about 70,000 yen or about $832 US.
For over a grand, one can get a notebook with the latest core-i cpu. The high selling price really go against the notion of netbook. By definition, netbook should be low cost, lightweight, have a long runtime and most of all a good looking chassis.
It looks like it is from 2008! Moreover, few users needs a 300+ GB drive on a netbook. In addition, it is high-res on a screen too small for that to matter.
I’d say a dual core Atom isn’t really all that handy either when you could just thin & light with a AMD Athlonâ„¢ II Neo K125 or Intel Core i3 mobile that would cost less.
High res does matter. That’s exactly why apple released iPhone 4 with retina display (and htc, etc. released all the newer android phones with 800×480), and exactly why I have a 8.9″ with 1280×768 res hooked to a 1080p tv. The extra vertical space you get with that extra 168 or so pixels cannot be underestimated.
It seems like a high price for a netbook. Netbooks are suppose to be low priced and small?