It's been at least 24 hours since we saw a new netbook and -- being complete Eee addicts -- we were starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Thankfully, our friends at Maplin have just unveiled the 'minibook' -- yet another low-cost crotch-top. Phew.
According to the Maplin Web site, the minibook's packing a 7-inch, 800x480-pixel display, 2GB of flash storage, 3 USB ports, speakers and a mic, an SD/SDHC card reader, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Unfortunately it also uses a paltry 128MB of RAM and an XBurst 400MHz CPU. We've never tested a machine with such a specification, but we don't expect it to be much faster than a pocket calculator.
We also know the minibook uses a Linux-based operating system and includes word processing and spreadsheet applications courtesy of Open Office. The chassis measures a fairly petite 222(l) x 165(w) x 29.5(d) mm and weighs less than 1Kg.
We've asked Maplin to send us one for a full review, but in the meantime you can pop into your local store to check it out for yourself. Be quick, though -- it's only on sale until 30th September. -Rory Reid
Discuss: Maplin minibook: Yet another netbook
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.