Thin Micron notebook unveiled

Micron Electronics released its first line of ultrathin notebooks.

The notebooks are a svelte 1.3 inches thick and weigh only 4.25 pounds.

The system incorporates a 266-MHz Pentium MMX processor, which

Micron's 4.5-lb GoBook with extra battery "slice"

is the fastest--and likely the last--mobile chip in the Pentium processor line. Faster chips will now appear in the Pentium II line only.

The new notebooks also include a 2.1GB hard drive, a 12.1-inch display, and a CD-ROM and can run 11 hours when a separate battery is attached to the notebook, compared to a typical life of three to five hours. With the extra battery, the notebook will weigh about 6.75 pounds.

The GoBook 233 "Lite" with 233-MHz Pentium MMX processor is priced starting at $2,599. The system with extra base battery is priced at $2,999, and a 266-MHz system is priced at $3,299. The notebooks will be available in mid-May.

Micron will target the line at the likes of Dell Computer and IBM, offering a number of features found in high-end notebooks.

Also today, Micron introduced a line of low-cost notebooks called the TransPort Trek. The entry-level Trek comes with a 233-MHz MMX Pentium processor, 12.1-inch display, 32MB of memory, and a 2.1GB hard disk drive for $1,999. The same system with a 13.3-inch display and CD-ROM is priced at $2,499, and a 266-MHz system with 3.2GB hard disk drive is priced at $2,699.