Written by: Kenneth Kwok
It seems like the market for netbooks are growing all over the world. Many companies have jumped on the bandwagon, be it a trend or a complete change in technology. Taking the success from early starters like Asus, many have entered into this seemingly crowded market. Today, we will take a look into the Sylvania g Netbook Meso.
Sylvania is a major manufacturer of assorted electronics such as light bulbs. It's surprising to see such a company to join the legions of netbooks, but it is only a good thing since more competition leads to better and cheaper netbooks for all. Under Digital Gadgets, Sylvania's subsidiary, they have created the new Sylvania g Netbook Meso (Also known to some as the Amtek Elego). Their past products include the Sylvania g Netbook but better known as the Everex CloudBook.
So first and foremost, let's take a look at the physical appearance of the Netbook Meso closed. As seen above, they come in four unique colors: Black, Yellow, Pink and White. Judging by the pictures, it seems to be made of plastic with a mirror coating applied on top.
Next up is the appearance of the screen and the keyboard. The keyboard looks a little small and seems to be about the same size of the original Asus Eee PC 701. The 8.9 inch screen is placed well and looks like it has a glossy finish on it. The webcam is located above the screen at the very top. It's design isn't the most attractive or smallest but the inclusion of it isn't terrible. The speakers are located under the screen and seems pretty standard to most netbooks. The trackpad which is located in the standard place below the keyboard doesn't look appealing but the inclusion of 2 separate buttons may allow for less mistakes when trying to left or right click. Finally, there are 3 LEDs at the bottom left of the device, quite similar to the Asus Eee PC 701.
Now let's take a look at the specs of the device (Above). This netbook runs on either Windows XP Home or Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which is a simplified version of Ubuntu for netbook users. The ever present Intel Atom is included as well as the 945 integrated graphics based on the 945 chipset. The inclusion of the 80GB hard drive packs alot more space on this device and also helps keep down the cost. Although, more and more netbooks are losing their low price status, it's still good to have such companies as Sylvania introduce low cost netbooks for average users. The 4 cell battery looks promising vs. the standard 3 cell. Overall the specs are not especially good or bad but performance will be determined in the future.
Ultimately the Sylvania g Netbook Meso, doesn't look too spectacular but the average retail price of $399 will help it sell. It's use of Ubuntu Netbook Remix will be a big selling point. We are currently in contact with Sylvania about getting one of these babies in our office, to give a better review on this product.