Meet the CloudBook - ASUS Eee killer from Everex

We saw last week that ASUS could sell nearly 4 million Eee PCs next year. Numbers like those start to get people’s attention. Therefore it is not unexpected to see competitors entering the ring. The first is Everex and its CloudBook, with expected delivery mid-January:

- Everex prepares ‘Eee PC-killer’ ultra-mobile PC

- Everex to Challenge Asus’ EEE PC

The CloudBook will have the same kind of 7-inch screen as the Eee. The CloudBook processor will be faster (1.2GHz vs. 900 Mhz). It will have a “real” 30GB hard disk rather than the 4GB in a Flash drive in the Eee. The CloudBook may also have a memory card reader. It will use Linux like the Eee in the form of the gOS that Everex uses on its $199 Wal-Mart desktop machine. Probably at the same price point of about $400.

With a “real” hard disk, the CloudBook machine might be heavier than the Eee (the HD weighs more than Flash, and it needs more battery power, so the batteries may be bigger). So the Everex machine starts looking more like a “real” laptop. It should be interesting to see if people embrace it. If they do, then it is easy to imagine just about every kid in the country having a laptop in the not-too-distant future.

See also: News on the Eee PC

See also: Is this the beginning of the end for Microsoft Windows?

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PS - 30 GB hard drives are about to get really small: Samsung to launch 1.3-inch hard drive at CES