Hercules launches new 10-inch Linux and A8 eCafe netbooks

The netbook was flying high in the darkest days of the recession over the last few years as consumers that needed or wanted a new computer flocked to the cheap machines rather than full on notebooks. As the economy improved, the market moved back to notebooks that are more powerful and with the advent of the tablet, many that would have bought a netbook opted for a tablet like the iPad instead.

Hercules has already offered an eCafe netbook in the past but it was really more of a me too offering that was basically the same as hoards of other netbooks on the market at the time. We reviewed the eCafe about this time last year. Hercules has now come back to the netbook market with something a bit different in a new couple of new eCafe machines including the Slim HD and the EX HD.

The Slim HD is under an inch thick and weighs in at 1.9 pounds making it very portable and the EX HD is a bit larger at 1.1-inches thick and 2.5 pounds. Both of the netbooks have 10-inch screens with 1024 x 600 resolution and HDMI outputs. The rigs also both run a custom Linux version and have ARM Coretex-A8 processors inside. Storage is to either 8GB or 16GB of flash and they have 512MB of RAM. I just don't see these things luring anyone considering a tablet back to the netbook realm.

[via Engadget]