Gigabyte UMPC goes tablet style

Darius Chang | Jul 07, 2008

Better known for manufacturing mainboards than end-user systems, Gigabyte has just announced its latest entree into the Atom banquet.

The last foray in the UMPC market wasn't exactly an astounding success. Though the Gigabyte U60 was not exactly a bad machine and had more expansion options than its competitors, the high price didn't seat well with most consumers. The latest addition to the UMPC family is the M912 which, in the style of Kohjinsha mini-laptops, is a convertible tablet PC rather than a slate Mobile Internet Device or a clamshell Netbook. Based on the Atom chipset with a 1.6GHz processor, the 8.9-inch touch panel is lit via LEDs and powered by an integrated Intel graphics processor.

Feature-wise, the Gigabyte M912 doesn't break any new ground, going with a standard 2.5-inch harddisk, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth radios as well as an integrated Webcam. Weighing 1.3kg, which is rather hefty for a device this size, it does not have an optical drive under the hood unlike the Kohjinsha SX3.

Though pricing details are not given, word on the Net is that the M912 is expected to retail for around US$699 (S$953.64). Singapore users can expect to see these units in stores come early August, though availability in other regions are not available at this time.

Filed under: Notebooks
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