SlashGear

Pegatron’s Smartbook prototype has made another appearance, this time squaring up to one of ASUS’ Eee PC models in order to flaunt its slender chassis.  The Smartbook – here in touching, emotionally-available, secure-in-its-own-masculinity pink – is considerably thinner than a netbook (the 1005HA) that until now has helped lead the pack in terms of slimline scale, and it’s not an unfair battery comparison either.  The Pegatron may only have a 2-cell, 4,400mAh battery, but thanks to the low-voltage components inside it’s rated for around eight hours runtime.

It’s also fanless and comes with integrated WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0; there’s no sign of the 3G WWAN initially lauded when the niche-within-a-niche segment was first launched.  Other connectivity for the 8.9-inch 1,024 x 600 machine includes a VGA output, two full-sized USB 2.0 ports and another micro-USB.  Storage is all on an SD card, which does put a limit on how much you can carry around, but the idea with these Smartbooks is that you rely a lot on the cloud for the bulk of your data.

ITProPortal report a few issues with the prototype – which is running Ubuntu 9.01 – but seem generally satisfied.  The aim is still to get the machines onto the market by the holidays, and if they can keep to the roughly $200 price tag first mentioned then they could steal a whole lot of netbook buyers.

[via Netbooked.net]