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Another dirt cheap netbook surfaces

by on29 July 2008

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$130, available now


Yesterday we told you about the first sub-$100 netbook, here. It's an Eee PC knockoff which, hardware-wise has more in common with PDAs then contemporary ultra-portables. Now, we stumbled upon a somewhat more serious and a tad more ugly Chinese netbook, the $130 Impulse NPX-9000.

Unlike the underpowered $99 Jointech, this thing at least has some half decent hardware inside. First of all, it's based on a 400MHz MIPS processor, hardly breathtaking, but coupled with 128MB of RAM and 1GB of flash storage it should be able to cope with the pre-installed Linux OS. Like all ultra-cheap ultra-portables it's got a 7-inch screen and we're pretty sure it's 800x480.

Furthermore, it's got an SD card reader as well as 3 USB ports, which should allow you to easily add more storage. Its biggest drawback is the lack of onboard LAN or WiFi, but you can get an optional dongle. As a netbook without LAN or wireless doesn't make much sense, you'll probably have to get it. This will probably raise the price a bit and a WiFi dongle sticking out of such a small machine is not something you might call elegant.

The Impulse NPX-9000 is available on Alibaba.com and the $130 price applies only if you order 100+ units. If retailers manage to keep the price  under $150 in retail it will still end up twice as cheap as the Eee 701, although you'll have to cough up a few bucks for the wireless dongle.

Last modified on 29 July 2008
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