VIA unveiled OpenBook reference design to gain some share in the emerging mini-laptop market. The new design comes with 8.9” screen, three USB ports, VGA out, multi-card reader, webcam, WiFi and option of WiMAX, HSDPA and EVDO. The mini-notebook can support up to 2GB DDR2 RAM and 2.5” hard drive. The design uses VIA VX800 chipset with C7-M ULV processor and graphic acceleration for multimedia. The laptop will use four-cell battery and give up to three hours battery life. VIA has released the design under Creative Commons license as a CAD file, basically meaning that OEMs can take the design and start making laptops based on the design without needing permission from VIA. The OpenBook reference design is available now from VIA, but there is no word whether any laptop maker is working on a sub-notebook based on this design.
[Via Engadget]