Compal Santa Rosa Notebook

Original equipment maker Compal is joining in the fray of notebook makers readying for Intel's Santa Rosa platform, according to leaked specs and photos. The company, whose barebones systems are frequently resold in the US under different names, is planning equal pairs of 14-inch and 15.4-inch widescreen systems that use the faster 800MHz bus as well as updated CPUs and graphics. The 14-inch IFT01 serves as the baseline with up to 4GB of memory, Intel's updated X3100 graphics, a 3-in-1 card reader, a 2-megapixel webcam and 802.11n; its more advanced cousin, the IFT00, adds a 512MB GeForce Go 8600 for relatively fast graphics in a small system.

The 15.4-inch models (pictured) share the same general hardware split, with the basic IFL91 using Intel's video component while the IFL90 opts for NVIDIA's graphics. Both larger notebooks, however, will have the option of a higher-resolution 1440x900 LCD compared to the 1280x800 standard across all four systems. A fingerprint reader should be standard on the top-end IFL90.

Prices of fully assembled models with processors, memory, and storage will vary based on resellers and exact trim levels. However, Compal has already set European prices for the core systems at $638 and $821 for the two 14-inch systems, and $685/$835 for the two main 15.4-inch PCs. A special high-end version of the IFL90 with the sharper LCD option will cost $909. [via Notebook Italia]

By Electronista Staff