Hands on With ECS's G10IL Mini-laptop With 3G

Tag : HDD Disk

Of the many Taiwanese companies developing mini-laptops for globalmarkets, only Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) was prescientenough to build 3G (third-generation telephony) capabilities rightinto its offering, the G10IL netbook .
Last week, I had a chance to try one out at ECS's offices in Wugu,Taiwan, just outside of Taipei.
The ability to surf the Internet wirelessly over 3G airwaves viaHSDPA and HSUPA (High Speed Downlink/Uplink Packet Access) is oneof the things that sets the G-series laptops apart from rivalofferings, such as Micro-Star International's Wind laptop and Asustek's Eee PC .
The G10IL I tried out was a standard G-series model, around US$500,with a 10.2-inch screen, six-cell battery for around five to sixhours of run time, an 80G-byte hard disk drive (HDD), a Web cam, 2Gbytes of DRAM, an Intel 1.6GHz Atom microprocessor and Windows XP.Different configurations, including substituting a Linux OS, willcost less. The mini-laptop can also connect to Wi-Fi networks.
The company's J-series, for example, is the low-cost series ofECS's netbook family. It will still come with the 10.2-inch screenand HDD, but will skimp on other features to try to knock $100 ormore off the price, ECS representatives said. Both the G-series andJ-series come with options for a Linux OS from Linpus Technologies .
The way the software and other operations ran on the G10IL weregenerally similar to other mini-laptops. That's largely to beexpected since most of them run on the same components, includingIntel's Atom microprocessor. Like MSI's Wind and the Eee PC , the devices are made for general office-type software and surfingthe Internet, such as data input and some multitasking, but notvideo editing and other heavy programs.
The design of the G10IL looks nice, with a similar feel to MSI'sWind, about half to two-thirds the size of a mainstream laptop PCand weighing about one kilogram.
But boot-up time on the G10IL was slow at around 40 seconds. Oncestarted, the netbook handled multiple programs easily and wasgenerally easy to use.
One issue was the keypad, but it's an area all the mini-laptopshave trouble with. On the G10IL, I found it difficult to hit theright keys. Companies have made the keypads flat with keys bunchedtogether. There's not much space between keys for your fingers tofeel around and navigate. You need your eyes to do so.
Over the course of trying out mini-notebooks it seems clear thattyping on them is a bit different. My habit is to rest the heels ofmy hands on the laptop as I type, but on mini-notebooks you can'treally do that without interfering with the mousepad.
I found that lifting the heels of my hands off the laptop andholding them up a bit helped hit the keys right on. It takes a bitof getting used to.
Having said that, my favorite keypad so far is on the ClassMate PCthat ECS let me try out. The keys are raised and are spaced outmore, so even though the keypad is smaller than the G10IL, it'seasier to feel when you're moving from one key to another. TheClassMate's keypad by far trumps the other models I've tried,including the Eee PC 901, MSI's Wind and ECS's G10IL.
ECS's G10IL mini-notebook will be sold by mobile phone serviceproviders in Europe by September or October. The prices they setare unknown because if the mini-notebook is bundled with a 3Gcontract, it could be cheaper than the hardware price, aroundUS$500.
People interested in the new laptops need not look for the ECSbrand, however. The laptops will likely be marketed under the namesof the mobile service providers.