Gigabyte to roll Eee PC rival, mobile Internet device

Gigabyte will be the latest to introduce a micro-notebook in the vein of ASUS' Eee PC, company VP Richard Ma has said. Without providing full details, the executive notes that the new mini PC will use Intel's Shelton platform with a 1.6GHz, single-core CPU whose entire platform draws just eight watts. Screen size will range anywhere from 7 to 9 inches depending on the final design. As with ASUS, the unnamed system will be made in-house rather than contracted to someone else, Gigabyte says.

The Taiwan-based company also plans to use Intel's upcoming Menlow handheld processors for both a new ultra mobile PC (UMPC) as well as an even smaller and simpler portable that fits Intel's Mobile Internet Device (MID) spec, though Ma stops short of providing any additional information about these devices. Intel typically asks MIDs to run Linux instead of Windows. Shipments of the finished notebook should begin sometime in June, while the MID and UMPC should be ready in April.

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: Intel, ASUS, Eee PC, Gigabyte, Menlow