I've been looking at the norhtec.com website or a few hours now and i really liked the idea of the Gecko SurfBoard and the Gecko Edubook as well. However, some things aren't quite clear to me as of now.
- Does the Gecko Surfboard also have a replaceable Main-Module (CPU+RAM, I believe you called it an 'Xcore86-module') or will I then be stuck to the module that comes with it when i buy it?
- Does the Gecko Edubook come with a WiFi adaptor when you'd buy the 'Basic Configuration' for $199,- it would at some point of view be a logical idea, as it is possible to put any USB wifi adaptor on the inside yet it does seem rather 'odd' for a NetBook not to come with WiFi by default.
The "third world laptop" concept is fundamentally flawed. If such markets exists: then why so many usable computers (say, Pentium) get destroyed each year because nobody uses them? A kid in Africa requieres as much processing power as everyone else as long as he is to run contemporary software. Either write a new, efficient operating system from scratch (ideal) or give people real computing power (less ideal). You'd be better off replacing the x86 module with a modern Cortex A9 MP ARM module.
It's very impressive. You've made a lot of smart design decisions, especially considering that you're targeting developing countries. I will consider buying one in the near future.
The RAM is now included on the Xcore86 module. The choices are 256, 512 and 1GB. The RAM is DDR2. Today, we are shipping 512 as standard. 1GB is possible but only by using double density RAM which is proportionately more expensive but is likely to be less in the future.
The goal is to offer upgrades to the module that would include new generation of processors with RAM included. Hopefully, one will be able to buy a CPU upgrade and RAM upgrade at the same time. This is currently a goal.
The only $98 Netbooks I have seen: Have 7 inch screens with 800 x 400 Use Chinese Risc CPUs -- not x86 Have 128 MB RAM Have 1GB Storage Require 1000 to sell at that price. The Edubook is available at QTY 1 for $199.95 with 8.9 inch screen with 1024 x 600 1Ghz X86 CPU 8GB Storage 512 MB RAM 4 hour battery life 1000 Qty pricing to dealers will be very attractive
We have been shipping preproduction units to potential dealers since early June. We are shipping the xcore86 modules, carrier boards and power supplies to customers doing their own development. The production Edubooks will ship 20 September. The price is $199.95 with 8GB SD, WIFI, batteries, power cord, 1Ghz CPU and 512 MB RAM. I should post some new videos running Linux soon. We are still looking for dealers.
I only see the 512MB RAM version available on the website so far. Will the 1GB and 256MB RAM versions mentioned on the datasheet also be available at around September 20th, or will that be on a later date?
We will not produce 256 unless some customers want a special -- low cost edition. For expample, Puppy Linux runs fine with 256 MB RAM. If a customer wanted an utra low cost version with 4GB of storage, 256 MB RAM and Puppy, we could do that with a quantity order. The same thing is possible with potential CE customers.
512 puts us under $200 with a very nice configuration and 512 is good enough for the light weight work the Edubook is designed for. If we add 1GB the price gos over $200.00.
Although this laptop should technically be available by now, I have found no unboxing videos, reviews, or anyhing of the sort anywhere on the web. Is it even available yet?
im 12 and my parents computer is slow so i got a compaq presario laptop and its the cpu i use all the time the only problem is its huge so laying down on a bed with it is annoying and especialy with the fan cause it gets really hot so im really looking forward to getting one of these cause its cheap but it can still surf the web i have been looking at netbooks and the vaio p is small but youtube vids wont load so im wondering how long it would take to load a youtube...
vid like would it be as fast as a regular computer or would it take a few minutes to load and i like the idea of it being able to add storage with a sd card and i like the batterys
good question. if this is to appeal to younger users in middle-income countries (and not just developing countries) the chip needs to be fast enough to run youtube and other flash videos well. I doubt that this can do HD video, though that's obviously not what this laptop is intended for.
May I say that you have got a wonderful product on your hands here friend. I worked with building a similar system-on-a-chip for running mobile video servers for railcars (!)
I wanted a netbook anyway, but I REALLY want this. got one with 1GB RAM, and can you ship to Japan? This product would sell so well here in Japan... Any way I could help make that happen, let me know! Also I'd like to talk to you about other device ideas as well--I do mobile multimedia production here.
We will have benchmarks and other reports soon. Product release is about June 10 or so. From the testing we are doing now, we can say that the performance is slightly better than the Geode LX800. The sound is HD sound so the quality is very good. The graphics is on a local bus inside the CPU with an external RAM chip for graphics memory. The graphics can support 1280 x 1024. The chip can support TV out as well as LVDS and VGA/DVI out.
We will work with customers who want us to build them small devices. The module that is used in the Edubook will work in a different carrier board which will be quick and inexpensive to build. We are talking to customers now wanting a variety of handheld devices.
We have plans to build a 16 hour netbook in the near future. I have been talking to our partners about a "OS agnostic" mobile phone .
can i use normal alkaline batteries in it
ongchorcool 6 months ago
can i install alkaline batteries in it!
ongchorcool 6 months ago
which linux does it ship with? wattOS or puppy linux
cdguy47 8 months ago
Yes. A new faster module will be ready in March.
norhloudspeaker 1 year ago
Hello
I've been looking at the norhtec.com website or a few hours now and i really liked the idea of the Gecko SurfBoard and the Gecko Edubook as well. However, some things aren't quite clear to me as of now.
- Does the Gecko Surfboard also have a replaceable Main-Module (CPU+RAM, I believe you called it an 'Xcore86-module') or will I then be stuck to the module that comes with it when i buy it?
BetaOmegaMu 1 year ago
- Does the Gecko Edubook come with a WiFi adaptor when you'd buy the 'Basic Configuration' for $199,- it would at some point of view be a logical idea, as it is possible to put any USB wifi adaptor on the inside yet it does seem rather 'odd' for a NetBook not to come with WiFi by default.
BetaOmegaMu 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
The "third world laptop" concept is fundamentally flawed. If such markets exists: then why so many usable computers (say, Pentium) get destroyed each year because nobody uses them? A kid in Africa requieres as much processing power as everyone else as long as he is to run contemporary software. Either write a new, efficient operating system from scratch (ideal) or give people real computing power (less ideal). You'd be better off replacing the x86 module with a modern Cortex A9 MP ARM module.
zhagoox 1 year ago
Comment removed
zhagoox 1 year ago
looks nice , durability ?
NewsCry 1 year ago
smallest netbook in the world.
oh yeahhhhhhhhhhh
JohnMikhaelXPP 2 years ago
@JohnMikhaelXPP
The electronics are very durable -- no
moving parts. Case is pretty standard
replaceable. Everything is modular.
pritextguest 1 year ago
Can batteries be charged inside the laptop, while you work ?
blueslonopotam 2 years ago
Yes. The system comes with batteries and they charge inside the EduBook.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
what are the hardware specs on this
SteelCity1981 2 years ago
I want one :)
Intosia 2 years ago
It's very impressive. You've made a lot of smart design decisions, especially considering that you're targeting developing countries. I will consider buying one in the near future.
fimblemccrumblewitz 2 years ago
intel atom killer?
coolwaterdvr 2 years ago
Is Flash working on the edubook? Can we expect to be able to watch video on it? Youtube? VLC?
pahool 2 years ago
The excellent inexpensive kid-notebook :), in USA 200 $, and in Ukraine 400 $,-
It is our reality here,-wild business :(
muscky100 2 years ago
Excellent product - waiting anxiously for it to hit the shelves here on Canada!!
What are the chances that it can accept off the shelf sodimm memory?
elvinrxfriends 2 years ago
The RAM is now included on the Xcore86 module. The choices are 256, 512 and 1GB. The RAM is DDR2. Today, we are shipping 512 as standard. 1GB is possible but only by using double density RAM which is proportionately more expensive but is likely to be less in the future.
The goal is to offer upgrades to the module that would include new generation of processors with RAM included. Hopefully, one will be able to buy a CPU upgrade and RAM upgrade at the same time. This is currently a goal.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
that's not the lowest cost the 98 dollar is better
lewisvz 2 years ago
siamquilter 2 years ago
We have been shipping preproduction units to potential dealers since early June. We are shipping the xcore86 modules, carrier boards and power supplies to customers doing their own development. The production Edubooks will ship 20 September. The price is $199.95 with 8GB SD, WIFI, batteries, power cord, 1Ghz CPU and 512 MB RAM. I should post some new videos running Linux soon. We are still looking for dealers.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
well you do have a good point maybe one day i will buy this laptop.
lewisvz 2 years ago
I only see the 512MB RAM version available on the website so far. Will the 1GB and 256MB RAM versions mentioned on the datasheet also be available at around September 20th, or will that be on a later date?
Good luck with your search for dealers.
AiluropodaPanda 2 years ago
We will not produce 256 unless some customers want a special -- low cost edition. For expample, Puppy Linux runs fine with 256 MB RAM. If a customer wanted an utra low cost version with 4GB of storage, 256 MB RAM and Puppy, we could do that with a quantity order. The same thing is possible with potential CE customers.
512 puts us under $200 with a very nice configuration and 512 is good enough for the light weight work the Edubook is designed for. If we add 1GB the price gos over $200.00.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
I was just thinking...
Although this laptop should technically be available by now, I have found no unboxing videos, reviews, or anyhing of the sort anywhere on the web. Is it even available yet?
RABBIDGamfan 2 years ago
im from poland and i want to buy this netbook, but i dont know how
much is going to cost sending it to Poland.Buy 1 or 2 and send me
kobalt456 2 years ago
Comment removed
kobalt456 2 years ago
im 12 and my parents computer is slow so i got a compaq presario laptop and its the cpu i use all the time the only problem is its huge so laying down on a bed with it is annoying and especialy with the fan cause it gets really hot so im really looking forward to getting one of these cause its cheap but it can still surf the web i have been looking at netbooks and the vaio p is small but youtube vids wont load so im wondering how long it would take to load a youtube...
zonemad96 2 years ago
vid like would it be as fast as a regular computer or would it take a few minutes to load and i like the idea of it being able to add storage with a sd card and i like the batterys
zonemad96 2 years ago
good question. if this is to appeal to younger users in middle-income countries (and not just developing countries) the chip needs to be fast enough to run youtube and other flash videos well. I doubt that this can do HD video, though that's obviously not what this laptop is intended for.
random21000 2 years ago
thanks for the reply
zonemad96 2 years ago
May I say that you have got a wonderful product on your hands here friend. I worked with building a similar system-on-a-chip for running mobile video servers for railcars (!)
I wanted a netbook anyway, but I REALLY want this. got one with 1GB RAM, and can you ship to Japan? This product would sell so well here in Japan... Any way I could help make that happen, let me know! Also I'd like to talk to you about other device ideas as well--I do mobile multimedia production here.
starrwulfe 2 years ago
please have a vid of it outside. I really would like to use one sitting on my swing outside, none of my laptops can do that until it gets dark out.
teknowil 2 years ago
Would be interested to see how flash performs on it (aka the youtube test) & sound quality.
Ideally it should probably ship with a linux distro that boots to RAM, like a puppy variant, or tinycore. Then it would fly!
kerpob 2 years ago
We will have benchmarks and other reports soon. Product release is about June 10 or so. From the testing we are doing now, we can say that the performance is slightly better than the Geode LX800. The sound is HD sound so the quality is very good. The graphics is on a local bus inside the CPU with an external RAM chip for graphics memory. The graphics can support 1280 x 1024. The chip can support TV out as well as LVDS and VGA/DVI out.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
Any plans of powering more mobile devices with these DoC-chips like smartphones?
It seems pretty quick for a low power 1.2 GHz CPU, can it handle basic 3D rendering?
SgtH3nry3 2 years ago
We will work with customers who want us to build them small devices. The module that is used in the Edubook will work in a different carrier board which will be quick and inexpensive to build. We are talking to customers now wanting a variety of handheld devices.
We have plans to build a 16 hour netbook in the near future. I have been talking to our partners about a "OS agnostic" mobile phone .
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
i wish that PC coming to here japan!!
TAKA727 2 years ago
There is no reason that the unit might not be available in Japan. We just need an order for a few hundred to allow us to do a Japanese keyboard.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
Comment removed
TAKA727 2 years ago
oh,,sorry that would it be
but in my case ,,dont need japanese key bord
so i should be going to abroad over sea
meant by i must go any country around any asia
wizout jp,,,hahaha
TAKA727 2 years ago
really amazing!
hmbrz 2 years ago
Thank you
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
Give me one too
ishenkoyv 2 years ago
I'd buy one.
reiku5000 2 years ago
but i dont think that price after release will be so small =(
Flcnfalconmain 2 years ago
Teh release price for quantity 1 fully configured with 512 MB RAM is $199.95.
norhloudspeaker 2 years ago
price is excelent, that netbook for me can be like a toy ;D
Ramsas154 2 years ago