ECS's Android Netbook: Under $500

By Jane McEntegart
published

With all the excitement about Acer’s promise of an Android netbook in Q3 of this year, ECS’s prototype has been a little overlooked.

(Image credit: gottabemobile)

Granted, this is just a really attractive dummy so we cant actually see how the whole thing runs, but based on the specs and the design, we’re completely sold.

Computerworld puts the T800 8.9-inch device at 2.2 pounds even with its metallic casing. Running on a 1 GHz OMAP3, CW reports that ECS will offer a second device running at 800 MHz. Size and power aside, you’re looking at 512 MB of RAM, a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD, and a pair of internal Mini-PCIe slots for WWAN cards, 2x USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and an audio jack.

All in all it’s a sexy looking netbook that reminds us just a little of Sony’s not-a-netbook UMPC. That said, it’s got a decent enough (well, better than $900) pricetag along with Android, which is enough to tempt us. ECS is currently looking for OEMs to take on the device but expects the T800 to be available some time in Q4.

Jane McEntegart
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • doomsdaydave11
    I was interested until I saw it was ECS.
    Reply
  • judeh101
    Don't cha think it's a bit "overpriced much"?
    Reply
  • archange
    ECS wants to jump on the Asus EEE bandwagon... That said, it's still overpriced.

    Design stems from the McCookBook :)
    Reply
  • anamaniac
    ECS netbook... I'd have to have a reason to buy it then. I like their mobos because they're cheap...

    What does this have?
    Junk, junk, junk, $$$.
    Reply
  • mirkos
    In those gadgets you don't pay for the specs. You pay for the ultra portability and the nice design(!). Companies sell, but its us who decide what we need and where to spend our $$$.

    Let's wait for the Q4 and see it thoroughly


    Reply
  • mforce2
    It's too expensive if you ask me. I'd love one of these new ARM netbooks but for that price I can get an Atom netbook. It weighs the same as well and it's more powerful than this.
    I don't care about Windows and stuff but if it's Windows capable I don't mind. This isn't and you can get the Acer netbooks for about 200 $ which are Windows and Linux compatible. As for Android, it's a mobile phone OS and I'd rather have a decent Linux distro with KDE 4 and all of its programs running on my netbook.
    Reply
  • Kill@dor
    Its not that bad...but i can't wait to see what Acer has to come...
    Reply
  • sublifer
    needs to be around $300 or less or its just not going to fly. Those specs look pathetic... the current $300 crop offer the 1.6GHz atom and 1GB ram so this ought to be more like $200ish.

    Jane: Where did you hear that $500 figure? Are they insane?
    Reply
  • For such a low specs like the ram and CPU speed, and it seems like a single core device; the hardware is the hardware of a $200 computer.
    The casing and design looks like a bit expensive.
    Then there's the battery life; which I expect to last long. At least 7 hours under light use..
    I'm sure that I'll be dissapointed in the price. I'd not pay over $250 for a device like this.
    Why? Because the Atom EeePc 901 has the same specs, faster CPU, 1GB of RAM, and gets sold for around $300.
    So they'll have to try hard to get in the market with this device.
    And I think in the netbook market there's a push in the area of capabilities of the device much over the design.

    Build a great looking netbook, with an ARM 250Mhz processor and 128MB RAM, and try to sell it for $300. It won't sell.
    Reply
  • WheelsOfConfusion
    Keep in mind, it's pretty pointless to compare MHz across completely different CPU architectures. A 1GHz ARM core and a 1GHz x86 are not going to be anything alike. Another difference is that the OMAP3 is a complete System-on-a-Chip design: you get your CPU core, your graphics, and your device interfaces all in the same real estate. With the Atom you have the CPU, a separate memory controller, and a separate graphics unit. The ARM-based design is geared for low temperatures and much lower power consumption, which is why it's a standard choice for smartphones (which Intel's Atom hasn't been able to penetrate yet due to its power and heat differences). All that is something to consider when talking about the price of this versus the price of an Atom netbook.
    The choice of the OMAP is probably so that there's less effort involved in porting Android. Right now the x86 version is still very much an alpha.

    That said, I do think "under $500," which I assume is somewhere around $499, is a little too expensive for a device like this.
    Reply