RSS Feeds
Computers
HiVision Shows Off Sub-US$100 Linux Mini Laptop
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 2:21 PM on September 10, 2008
China's HiVision has debuted a Linux-based laptop that makes the OLPC seem ridiculously expensive. For US$98, you get a MIPS-based processor, 1GB flash storage, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, an SDHC card reader, WiFi, audio in and out, voice-chat and Firefox browser support on a Linux user interface. No word who this is being marketed towards, but with a price tag that low, maybe this will end up being the device that fulfils Nicholas Negroponte's much criticised mission. The video above is Tech Video Blog's review of Hivision's miniNote (hmm, naming conflict with HP in the near future?) at IFC 2008. [ Tech Video Blog via The Earth Times]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
MsJaye
Posted September 11, 2008 3:23 PM
Not to pick or anything, if you're going to post an 18 minute YouTube video on your site, perhaps the automatic page refresh you've got going on every few minutes isn't really such a good idea. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's really irritating, as the video starts again from the beginning.
Tedious.
David
Posted September 14, 2008 11:21 PM
Hey just wanted to say thanks for the review. Very Kool! very informative. Also is the reviewer Nicholas Negroponte's? wanted to say you're a crackup(in a good way haha!). good stuff
Adam420
Posted 3:01 PM 10/9/08
Most annoying voice EVER I couldn't even watch it.
Adam420
the_amazing_doug
Posted 2:54 PM 10/9/08
it's firefox. it looks like firefox. it has wi-fi browsing fun. and a firefox icon. which looks like... firefox.
oh, it's a real laptop. with a menu. a real menu. kind of like linux. with an icon that says firefox.
the_amazing_doug
Junginator
Posted 2:49 PM 10/9/08
Is it pink?
Junginator
comp_wiz101
Posted 2:41 PM 10/9/08
@SomeoneUKno: Funny, I didn't realize Borat did tech reviews...
comp_wiz101
PC+Mac Coexist
Posted 2:38 PM 10/9/08
"It has a browser icon that says Firefox."
Enough said.
PC+Mac Coexist
SomeoneUKno
Posted 2:33 PM 10/9/08
Wow. That guy in the video isn't annoying at all.
SomeoneUKno
atoxic
Posted 3:37 PM 10/9/08
Oh fak, other than the thick accent, this is awesome. Why is HTC Dream and the EEE so much more expensive than this?
@Junginator:
I think so...
"back to my wi-fi browsing fun"
FUN
atoxic
zixyon
Posted 3:35 PM 10/9/08
wow.. whats wrong with that guy ?
zixyon
2-7offsuit
Posted 3:14 PM 10/9/08
@Junginator: Looks like it.
How big is the screen?
2-7offsuit
whiteknight89
Posted 3:49 PM 10/9/08
@musubi: So does that mean no Crysis?
;)
whiteknight89
zixyon
Posted 3:45 PM 10/9/08
wait dosn't he sound like hat wow pala guy leet king ?
zixyon
Cultivar
Posted 3:45 PM 10/9/08
Dude says it's 120 dollars.
But then, he also says it has wifi to connect to the Internets and an icon that says Firefux. So frankly I'm not sure what he says carries a lot of weight.
Cultivar
whiteknight89
Posted 3:43 PM 10/9/08
Wow, he sounds like he put himself through Google's translator page. I lol'd, then cried, then my ears bled.
Why did they leave out the completely-full-of-lead-to-poison-poor-American-children part. Communists bastards.
*If any of you are wondering... yes, I do quite often partake in stirring up shit for the hell of it.*
whiteknight89
musubi
Posted 3:41 PM 10/9/08
have fun with your 480 px wide screen and 64MB of RAM:
[www.engadget.com]
musubi
regnez
Posted 4:23 PM 10/9/08
@musubi: The 480px is actually the height of the screen, not the width. And 800x480 is the resolution of the first round of Es; it's not great, but it is manageable.
Now, that "generic" 400mhz processor and 64MB of RAM do, in fact, render this computer absolutely useless for any sort of real-world use. With those specs, $100 seems much too high-priced.
regnez
Hvedhrungr
Posted 4:21 PM 10/9/08
I tried watching that yesterday, and thought about tipping off the Giz about it, but that guy is insufferable. Three minutes in I stopped the video and rinsed my eardrums. Twice. With soap.
Hvedhrungr
bjarnia
Posted 4:16 PM 10/9/08
18 minutes? EIGHTEEN MINUTES?
bjarnia
skulldriveshaft
Posted 5:07 PM 10/9/08
It's competitor to the to the peek ;D
Or is it a partner?
The foleo will never know...
skulldriveshaft
xxenclavexx
Posted 4:59 PM 10/9/08
I love the part. Wifi browsing, Fun?
Inflection is everything
xxenclavexx
japroach
Posted 5:23 PM 10/9/08
FIA-FOCKS!
japroach
strider_mt2k
Posted 7:17 PM 10/9/08
I think I'll still take my Internet Tablet, thanks.
strider_mt2k
SgtToastie
Posted 9:41 PM 10/9/08
Seriously dude, get a fucking real accent. We all know you made this one up.
SgtToastie
LoganSix
Posted 10:17 PM 10/9/08
It would be better if he had the Ferris Bueller voice to go along with the looks.
And yeah, he did say it was $120.
LoganSix
Superevil
Posted 10:56 PM 10/9/08
It would have been funnier is 'eh' was every fifth word out of his mouth.
Superevil
SerleWinecor
Posted 12:07 AM 11/9/08
he said this one was 120, but the girl said that the next one was going to be $98.
That PWS800A from Engadget that Musubi posed says that it's only 64MB of Ram with linux or Windows XP?
This PWS700A/B is up to 128MB of Ram with linux or Windows CE?
XP would be dog-slow on this, and CE is useless for any laptop functionality. Their linux looks snappy enough, however it looks limited. Maybe if they offered an actual well-known linux. such as Gentoo, which looks compatible.
My brother just bought a 8GB flash drive for $15, and it's one of those small ones that barely fit inside the USB port. Why can't they include something like this?
As a side note, did anyone else notice that the "firefox" web browser doesn't have the usual icon? it's the firefox fox eating the internet explorer icon. You can see it pretty blatantly in the first minute or so.
SerleWinecor
UnderLoK
Posted 11:54 PM 10/9/08
The one they are coming out with next month is only $98...
@comp_wiz101: ROFL
UnderLoK
Y2KGTP
Posted 11:47 PM 10/9/08
I think you would get more functionality out of a Nintendo DS.
Y2KGTP
schmere
Posted 12:24 AM 11/9/08
@SerleWinecor: Because then it wouldn't be sub-$100.
schmere
Dabbler
Posted 4:15 AM 11/9/08
Oh, yea... iPhone's Safari doesn't do Flash either ;)
Dabbler
Dabbler
Posted 4:14 AM 11/9/08
get over the accent... that's so picayune! love competition driving the price down.. I know several people who get lost in Windows or OS X, for email and browsing these minis are great! There are grandmothers out there who want to get online but don't want the complications of navigating the Windows interface. I actually got a chuckle out of this guys report!
Dabbler
surkh
Posted 5:21 AM 11/9/08
This guy/video is a goldmine of soundbites!!
"I kill it... and it's gone!!"
I wonder when the remix is coming out!
surkh
twophrasebark
Posted 4:57 AM 11/9/08
ROTFLMAO.
Get that guy an agent. He is new Borat.
twophrasebark
macrumpton
Posted 7:17 AM 11/9/08
$100 is the wholesale price for large quantities.
Comparing it to the olpc is kind of bogus, as it has no webcam, no mike, no ebook screen or folding mode, smaller screen, no gaming buttons, no mesh networking, no water/dust resistance or shockproofing, no advanced power management etc.
That being said it is pretty amazing, and it hints at the nearly disposable computers that are coming soon.
I would buy one for $150 in a heartbeat.
macrumpton
nintendude
Posted 7:36 AM 11/9/08
HAHAHAHAHA Boy this dude is hilarious! I rarely, if ever, make fun of an accent, but he's just funny!
And "wifi browsing FUN" yeah that's what she said.
nintendude
transws6am
Posted 8:37 AM 11/9/08
Looks like Linux, smells like Linux.... MUST BE LINUX!!!
transws6am
transws6am
Posted 8:37 AM 11/9/08
This guy is the Archos version of the ZuneFanGuy (or what ever that loser called himself). This clown will never admit to any of the 10 billion Archos issues, bugs, and crashes.
transws6am
rjbuddyboi
Posted 4:55 PM 11/9/08
They both talk funny ;-)
rjbuddyboi