And Now, the Sexy
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You can see the various I/O in these shots as well as the curves that really give the device some appeal.
Initial Thoughts
Admittedly we are really only seeing the OpenBook as a press release for now, but in our recent talks with VIA they seem to be very excited about the possibilities for this new device and some of the has been migrating it way to me as I write this short piece up. The VIA OpenBook mini-notebook has some advantages over other current offerings like the Eee PC including a possibly lower power footprint, many more wireless connectivity options and the fact that this is a platform that many OEMs could adopt. In fact, VIA will have the CAD drawings up on http://www.viaopenbook.com/ very soon to allow potential customers to work out their own design options for faster time to market.
And that is exactly what VIA needs here: speed. The original NanoBook was first, but only in being announced, and was beat to mainstream audiences by the ASUS Eee PC and we can all see how that turned out. VIA needs to get partners on board with this SOON and get product in the channel just as quickly. I wouldn’t even be opposed to seeing some VIA branded product hit the market if we could see some work done to setup a decent customer service outlet in the US. Current pricing estimates I am seeing put the OpenBook in the $400-600 price range depending on your options (HSDPA, etc).
The VIA OpenBook looks fantastic and has a feature set that would make most current full-size notebooks envious. All VIA needs is a big dose of execution and the OpenBook could really take off.
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