Everex launches $399 CloudBook ultraportable

Everex this morning helped draw CES to a close by introducing the CloudBook, its first ultra-small notebook. The unveiling confirms an early leak and reveals that the system is a direct challenger to ASUS' Eee PC. It shares a similar 7-inch, 800x480 screen that defines its small size and reduces its weight: the entire system with battery weighs just two pounds, the company says. It also uses Linux rather than Windows; like Everex's desktop gPC, the CloudBook uses the company's custom gOS that provides quick access to tools such as OpenOffice or RhythmBox for work and music but also websites like Facebook and YouTube.

The CloudBook is potentially faster and more capacious than its ASUS rival. Though equipped with the same 512MB of RAM, it uses a 1.2GHz Via C7-M processor (versus the 900MHz Celeron of the Eee) and relies on a larger 30GB hard disk in place of the 4GB of flash storeage from its competitor. The Via CPU helps the CloudBook run for up to five hours on a charge, according to Everex's own estimates. It likewise brings DVI out to connect the system directly to a flat-panel LCD instead of the ASUS notebook's VGA.

Just a single CloudBook model, the CE1200V, will be available; the system is priced to match its most obvious competition at $399 and should go on sale no later than January 25th at Wal-Mart's online store and may appear as early as the 20th in physical stores at Wal-Mart and elsewhere.