15K Laptops - Here at last!

[MetalheadGautham]

OK, I will update this post from time to time, but for starters:

Rs. 15000 range laptops have finally hit india. ACi Has made a laptop based on VIA's NanoBook specification available for indians @ 15K. It has 1 GHz ULV proccy, 40 gig HDD, 512 MB ddr2 ram, 7" 800x400 screen.

HCL is releasing a 14K EEE Like notebook with 2GB flash, and the rest like the one above.

Data:

1. HCL MiLeap


* Intel Celeron M Processor clocked at 900MHz
* Intel 915GMS Chipset
* 512MB DDR2 RAM
* 7″ (17.7cm) Wide 800×480 Resolution LCD
* 2 built-in stereo speakers
* 2GB Solid State Drive (SSD) NAND Flash Storage
* Built-in Microphone
* Headphone, Mic-in, AC-in ports
* Integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet
* Keyboard, Touchpad,
* 802.11 b/g WiFi
* 2 x USB 2.0 ports
* 4 hrs battery life under idle state with the 6-cell battery pack
* Linux Operating System
* Dimensions: 245mm x 196mm x 44mm
* Weight: 1.44kg with 6-cell battery pack
* Price: Rs. 13,990 + Taxes




The ACi Ultra Mini

* 7-inch LCD screen
* VIA 1.0 GHz ULV Processor
* 512MB Memory
* 40GB HDD
* WiFi & Bluetooth
* Webcam
* No Optical Drive




Acer Aspire 3680



Here are THE specifications of the Rs. 20,000/- laptop, the Aspire 3680:

* Intel Celeron M processor 430 (1 MB L2 cache, 1.73 GHz, 533 MHz FSB)

* Mobile Intel 940GML Express chipset

* 256 MB of DDR2 533 MHz memory, upgradeable to 2 GB using two soDIMM modules (dual-channel support)

* 14.1″ WXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution

* Intel’s GMA 950 graphics core with up to 224 MB of shared system memory (Support for DirectX 9.0)

* Intel HD Audio, S/PDIF output, Two built-in stereo speakers, microphone

* DVD/CD-RW combo drive

* 40/60GB HDD

* 5-in-1 Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS PRO, xD)

* 802.11b/g WiFi, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 56k Modem

* Three USB 2.0 Ports, VGA port for External Display, S-video out, PC Card Slot II, Headphones/speaker/line-out jack

* 6-cell 44.4 W 4000 mAh Li-ion battery pack providing 2-2.5 hours of battery life

* Size - 341×251x28~35 (mm)

* Weight - 2.4Kg (5.28 lbs.)

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Yuck , who would be as foolish to spend 15K on a Laptop that's almost useless .

Better buy a usable desktop for 20k .

[MetalheadGautham]

Dude! You don't know what you are talking about. Ever heard of the XO-1 Laotop and the EEE PC ?

The VIA NanoBook reference design has also been implemented by Everex, makers of the gPC in their CloudBook, set for sale this year.

[victor_rambo]

I am waiting for Jan 28-29 when Asus EEEPC will be launched in India! I am also looking for lternatives that would come with greater hard disk capacity.

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by rohan_shenoy

I am waiting for Jan 28-29 when Asus EEEPC will be launched in India! I am also looking for lternatives that would come with greater hard disk capacity.

1. the EEE in India won't be as successful as the HCL Lappy, as its not "made for the nation"
2. Its flash, not hard disc.
3. This ACI Book looks quite good, as far as specs are concerned.

[superczar]

If you hunt around, I guess you should be able to get hold of a single core Yonah (Celeron-M) based lappy for around 20K which will be immensely faster and responsive than a Via ULV proccy

[Pat]

^^Its not only about the cost and/or price..We are talking about ultra-portability here!

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

1. the EEE in India won't be as successful as the HCL Lappy, as its not "made for the nation"
2. Its flash, not hard disc.
3. This ACI Book looks quite good, as far as specs are concerned.

I believe EEE will be the most successful of the lot! What do you mean by "made for the nation" ??

And being based on flash memory is a big advantage over normal hard disk drives..I have read that they are soon launching 16G with 16 GB flash memory onboard! I am eagerly awaiting its launch..And will probably buy it in a couple of months time!

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by Pat

^^Its not only about the cost and/or price..We are talking about ultra-portability here!



I believe EEE will be the most successful of the lot! What do you mean by "made for the nation" ??

And being based on flash memory is a big advantage over normal hard disk drives..I have read that they are soon launching 16G with 16 GB flash memory onboard! I am eagerly awaiting its launch..And will probably buy it in a couple of months time!

EEE in india may not be as cheap as expected. So I said it may suck. But now that HCL and ACI launched their books(but ACi is a NanoBook, not a FlashBook), Asus may decrease costs in india.

If it comes here for 16-20K, nobody will buy it, thats all.

And flash is not as recomended as HDD due to the fact that it has limited write cycles. Ofcource, the laptop can easily come with the OS stored in a Flash/ROM, and all its configuration files in another small cartridge. This way, the booting will still be fast and the life still long. A HDD here serves general storage perposes.

Anyway, for news:

[img[http://priceguru.in/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/aci-14999-subnotebook.jpg[/img]

Edit: Posted pics. Man, the HCL is a real looker. May make the perfect gift for anyone. I wonder if it has a slot for a HDD too, as 2 gig flash is rather low.

[ray|raven]

The HCL is a real looker?
Dude, that thing is too damn fat, i dont know if we can even call it a ultra portable.

The Acer Aspire on the other hand looks a better deal IMO.

[Pathik]

The EEE ll be more popular than them all imo.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

EEE in india may not be as cheap as expected. So I said it may suck. But now that HCL and ACI launched their books(but ACi is a NanoBook, not a FlashBook), Asus may decrease costs in india.

If it comes here for 16-20K, nobody will buy it, thats all.

And flash is not as recomended as HDD due to the fact that it has limited write cycles. Ofcource, the laptop can easily come with the OS stored in a Flash/ROM, and all its configuration files in another small cartridge. This way, the booting will still be fast and the life still long. A HDD here serves general storage perposes.

Anyway, for news:

[img[http://priceguru.in/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/aci-14999-subnotebook.jpg[/img]

Edit: Posted pics. Man, the HCL is a real looker. May make the perfect gift for anyone. I wonder if it has a slot for a HDD too, as 2 gig flash is rather low.

HCL has the worst design of all..Looks wise,I find EEE PC to be the best (we are yet to see proper ACI UMPC pics..so cant comment on that)

Given a choice between HCL for 15k and EEE PC for 17-18k, I would definitely opt for EEE PC any day!

And as we are discussing UMPC, flash storage seems perfect for that..Faster performance, shock proof and also helps in a better, sleeker design!

[Pathik]

Yep. Also the EEE PC has more online support than any other sub laptop.
The HCL looks like a Baby's Lappy. The ACi doesnt look very reliable too.

[infra_red_dude]

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

And flash is not as recomended as HDD due to the fact that it has limited write cycles.

These are not the regular flash modules you see in you "pen drives". They are much much much more reliable and guarantee thousands of times more read and write cycles. This is the reason why they are very expensive unlike the dirt cheap USB Flash drives. a 16GiB flash drive would be priced insanely high and its foolish to invest in such a product at this time.

[ax3]

its nice ....... bt more features in lappy will get more lappy sold ......

[Pat]

^^More features like ??

[superczar]

^^Its not only about the cost and/or price..We are talking about ultra-portability here!

For a highly price conscious user , ultra portability isn't all that important

A typical ultra portable buyer is one who already has at least 1 full blown desktop , and very likely a regular 14.1"/15.4" laptop

For a budget buyer, it is very likely this one machine needs to be something that fits all his/her needs....Which is why a first time budegt buyer would be better off buying a low cost and decently capable mainstream 14/15" laptop rather than a ultraportable

[goobimama]

I'd much too much prefer the EEE PC over this thing. The screen size might be 7", but the bezel seems to make it a whole 10"! I think it's the size of a regular laptop with the specifications of an ultra portable....

[ax3]

bole toh more ram, light weighted .... almost same as costly 1`s ........

[Pathik]

Originally Posted by goobimama

I'd much too much prefer the EEE PC over this thing. The screen size might be 7", but the bezel seems to make it a whole 10"! I think it's the size of a regular laptop with the specifications of an ultra portable....

@Goobi, Nope it still isn't.
Check the attachment.
EEE on a 13.3" Mac

[Charan]

^^ EEE riding on a MB

[goobimama]

^^ That's a 15.4" Macbook Pro (if it isn't a 17" one that is...)

[gary4gar]

i like the Asus one but i miss Optical drive on it, its a big disappointment

[Pathik]

Jo bhi ho yaar.
Check out the Ultra portable factor.

[goobimama]

Originally Posted by gary4gar

i like the Asus one but i miss Optical drive on it, its a big disappointment

I seriously don't understand people's fixation with an optical drive. And what's more puzzling is that they want an ultra portable to have the power and features of a high end gaming desktop.

[Pathik]

^^ hehe. True but didn't you use the same line in the MB Air's defence?

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by goobimama

I seriously don't understand people's fixation with an optical drive. And what's more puzzling is that they want an ultra portable to have the power and features of a high end gaming desktop.

Exactly. I am with you mate. I for one, don't mind the lack of a big hdd and an optical drive. With casing for the drives and an extra dvd drive at my house, I can always use the USB ports to my advantage. Nobody will want to write a DVD on their laptop while on the move unless they are some seriously short on time guys.


To me a cheap UMPC must be within 15K, and must be able to do everything ecept phoning that a Blackberry can, along with other basic computing tasks. These are somewhat like a combo of a PMP like the iAudio or the iPod, a high end PDA minus the phone, a portable gadget to play simple games like in mobiles, PSPs, GBAs, etc and a tool to keep in touch everywere, as well as an ebook reader to read books the way I do with real paper ones in the toilet.

Originally Posted by Pathik

^^ hehe. True but didn't you use the same line in the MB Air's defence?

forget the mb air. its not even worth looking at for cheap and mobile solution seekers.
(got it? worth. Its worth a lot )

[Charan]

Optical Dirve!!! .. I have 1 DVD Combo + 1 DVD writer + 1 CD Drive .. all 3 disconnected from past 3 months. I only connect it if I need to install any OS. and coming to laptop , I have one which has a DVD RW but I havent used it much. if I need to watch a movie or install something on the laptop then I do it over the network.

In this age of high capacity HDD's, highcapacity flashdrives and faster networks, do we really have to consider a lack of optical dive a "Big" negative point? .. comon external drives are available right from the plain 4x CD drive age.

[Pathik]

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

forget the mb air. its not even worth looking at for cheap and mobile solution seekers.
(got it? worth. Its worth a lot )

Arey haan yaar. Even i am a very big EEE supporter.

[Pat]

Me too..Its gonna rock in India too I will most probably be travelling to germany next month! The stays gonna be very long! Will buy it over there

[Pat]

Any news about the HCL MiLeap ? It was supposed to be launched on 26th January! There is absolutely no talk about it anywhere! I am not surprised they could not keep their word!