Gateway Reveals 11.6" Ultraportable With Core i5 Processor

The ultraportable market gets more interesting by the day. For years, 11.6" machines were very, very expensive, mostly because it was costly to squeeze components into a shell so small. But then netbooks were introduced. Recently, some 11.6" netbooks have creeped up into a higher range category, with prices hovering between $500 and $600. Not exactly a bargain netbook, but these machines are usually plenty capable for most common users.


Now, Gateway is looking to revive the high-end 11.6" machine with the EC19C-A52C/S laptop. It's a sleek new ultraportable that pulls no punches, and it's not afraid of charging a lot despite a wealth of netbook options being available as well.


There's a 1.33GHz Core i5-470UM (dual-core) processor, an 11.6" panel with a 1366x768 resolution, 2GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, VGA and HDMI outputs, an integrated Ethernet port, 1.3MP webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, Wi-Fi, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), Bluetooth 3.0 and a 6-cell battery. The machine will ship first in Japan for around $775, though the extra cash over a netbook definitely gets you a more powerful CPU and more expensive extras like BT 3.0. There's no word on the machine shipping elsewhere, but it should make its way over soon.