Mac clone laptop packs in features
Vertegri Research announces the first fully licensed Mac clone mobile computer to ship with a superfast 604e PowerPC processor.
The imediaEngine is a relatively bulky mobile computer, weighing between 10 and 12 pounds, but it packs powerful, workstation-class features including a 604e PowerPC processor running at 240 MHz, a 14-inch LCD active-matrix LCD screen, a 10X CD-ROM drive, and hard disk drive capacity of up to 6GB.
The newest Apple 3400 notebook, by comparison, uses a less powerful 603e processor and uses LCD screens no larger than 12.1 inches diagonally.
Though there have been Mac mobile computer clone vendors in the past, such as Outbound, this is the first fully licensed mobile Mac clone, according to Paul Gossen, head of Vertegri Research.
Outbound did not have a license and therefore could not produce an authorized mobile clone. The company's line of computers were eventually discontinued.
According to Gossen, the 200-MHz version, the imedia V3, will ship in April, while the V7 model with a 240-MHz processor will ship in May.
Currently, the company is planning to ship the units with version 7.5.3 of the Mac OS preloaded on the system. Vertegri will not ship the system with version 7.6 of the OS since the company has not verified that this version is completely compatible with the Motorola Tanzania motherboard the company is using in the system.
The V3 model with a 200-MHz 604e processor, a 12.1-inch active-matrix LCD screen, a 10X CD-ROM drive, 16MB of memory, 4 speakers, and a 1.3GB hard disk drive will be priced at $4,987.
The V7 model with a 240-MHz 604e processor, a 14-inch active-matrix screen, 10X CD-ROM drive, 64MB of memory, a network card, and a 2.1GB hard disk drive will sell for $7,894.
One shortcoming is the lack of battery support. The imediaEngine does not work with a battery as most mobile computers do.