BenQ Launches 13.3-inch AMD-based Netbook
BenQ has just launched a 13.3-inch laptop which the company is insisting on calling a netbook.
The Joybook Lite T131 weighs in at just under four pounds, measures 1.1-inches think and runs on AMD’s Yukon chipset and Sempron processor. The Joybook Lite packs a 13.3-inch WXGA (1280x800) display complete with anti-glare, 1 GB of RAM (upgradable to 2 GB), a 250/320 GB hard drive, 2 x USB 2.0, a microphone, headphone jack, a 2-in-1 card reader, built in 802.11b/g/n and ships with Windows Vista Home Basic, with an option to upgrade to Windows Vista Business.
There’s no word on pricing or a U.S. release as of yet but consumers in the Chinese market should be able to get their hands on this machine at the end of the month.
If you’ll remember yesterday, we said we weren’t too sure about the 11-inch EeePC because 11 inches seems a little on the large side for a netbook. The Joybook Lite’s size and OS has us feeling exactly the same way. That said, if they can price it like a netbook, we’ll let this one slide.
Check out the product page here.

BenQ should stick to projectors.
Vista
Not low enough power CPU
Screen resolution I would actually like
Just because they managed to make a cheap notebook that also has too few USB ports and no optical drive does not mean its a netbook. Even if it is small, wait, its not - macbooks are this size too (I only use the M word because they are the most common laptops at this size, other companies prefer 15.4" for the most part)
Take a look at these links:
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/32262/135/
http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8409249
http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Product_Datasheet_Final_Pid_34134A.pdf
If it looks, feels, smells, and tastes like a notebook, it's a notebook.
If that is the one they are using then it is a good choice. Now I am going to have to go look at some benchmarks to compare with Atom.
As far as power goes, a Sempron 200U most certainly ain't a mainstream chip; it's very clearly in the Atom realm, with an 8w TDP, and a clock rate of 1000 MHz. Probably even weaker than the lower-end Atom N270s you see packed into other netbooks. Similarly, the use of DDR2-400 also is definitely unlike a notebook, where you'd expect more proper DDR2.
All we really need to see now is the price. It's treading on a bit of thin ice by sticking us with what is clearly netbook-level horsepower, but coming bulkier than the market's common netbooks. If we get netbook-level pricing, (no more than $500-600US) I'm sure plenty will eye this as a good tradeoff of bulkiness for a screen big enough to use. But if it costs too much, it's just going to be a small notebook that does nothing terribly well.
OK, let's call it a NUTbook, for the nutjobs who think it's a netbook
10" has been determined to be the sweet spot for netbooks.
Personally I'm waiting for the dual-core Atoms to become more available. That with 720P output will make for a really portable streaming video machine.
That is only the case because elderly and visually impaired people haven't yet realized they need a netbook. When they do, they won't buy one because they can't use the screen.