VIA Announces NanoBook UMD Reference Design

by Marco Chiappetta — Tuesday, June 05, 2007, 12:30 PM EDT

VIA to Define Mobility 2.0 with Revolutionary New VIA NanoBook UMD Reference Design

Provides rich computing, Internet, and multimedia experience in a light, ultra portable notebook delivering up to five hours of battery life

Taipei, Taiwan, 05 June 2007 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and device platform solutions, will unveil the new VIA NanoBook UMD (Ultra Mobile Device) Reference Design at VTF2007 on 6 June 2007 in Taipei. Designed to meet the needs of today's Mobility 2.0 lifestyle, the VIA NanoBook packs the performance, connectivity and functionality of a notebook PC into a sleek and light ultra portable clamshell form factor that weighs less than 850g. The VIA NanoBook is powered by the ultra low voltage 1.2GHz VIA C7-M processor and delivers up to 5 hours of battery life. Powered by a choice of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista Basic operating systems, it comes with host of advanced features, including a full keyboard, a crisp 7" WVGA screen with touch panel, up to 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, and a minimum 30GB HDD, as well as 802.11g WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet support, plus a DVI and two USB 2.0 ports.

To provide users with additional flexibility when they are on the move, the VIA NanoBook also features a USB slot next to the screen that will enable the snap-in integration of a variety of World Time Clock/Calendar, GPS, VOIP, and broadband wireless modules. "The VIA NanoBook UMD Reference Design turns my dream of creating a full featured Ultra Mobile Device that delivers a rich computing, communications, and Internet computing experience into a reality," said Wenchi Chen, President and CEO of VIA Technologies, Inc. "With its highly-functional yet ultra compact form factor and extended battery life, it will enable people to enjoy the Mobility 2.0 lifestyle at any place and any time."

Tags: VIA, Nano, CES, Book, Design, sig, IGN, K

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com