EMTEC to bring 10-inch Gdium netbook stateside

Portable device maker EMTEC is due to release its Gdium Liberty 1000 netbook in the US in the near future, according to a Tuesday report. The Mandriva G-Linux-based netbook, set to debut at CES next week, offers a 10-inch display with 1024x600 resolution, and should weigh just over 2.6lbs. Processing power comes courtesy of a 900MHz Loongson CPU and 512MB of RAM. As there is no permanent onboard storage, the Gdium will ship with a G-Key: a USB drive that stores the Linux operating system, and all applications and personal data. Users will need to plug it into the netbook before the latter will boot up.

This generally limits storage space to 8 or 16GB, although it can be expanded up to 32GB or more using an SDHC card or another storage solution. The G-Key will also be compatible with any other Gdium netbook, and come preloaded with Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, ClamAv, Spam Assassin and other programs. Other preliminary specs for the Liberty 1000 include a a webcam, a Wi-Fi module and three USB 2.0 ports, one of which is reserved for the G-Key.

The 1000 is being built in black, white or pink, and is expected to ship to the US in January at earliest, though the date is not confirmed. When it does arrive, its price is expected to sit near $400. [via Engadget]