Everex is showing off its next generation Cloudbook at CTIA. On paper, this thing looks sweet. It has a higher resolution screen, a faster processor, and it doesn't have that big ole gap between the keyboard and screen that the original Cloudbook has. And heck, it even has a real touchpad.

Here are the specs:

• 1.6GHz VIA processor
• 80GB HDD
• 2GB RAM
• 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel screen
• Windows Vista
• 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, and an integrated GPS receiver
• 2 megapixel webcam
• 4 hour battery
• S-Video output
• WiMAX support

Something tells me this puppy's going to sell for a few bucks more than the original $399 Cloudbook when it's released next year.

[via Engadget]

Everex has finally released a disc image with everything you need to restore a Cloudbook laptop to factory condition. While Asus has been shipping a restore disc with the Eee PC since day one, the Everex Cloudbook has not come with a similar disc.

These days it's not uncommon to buy a laptop without a restore disc, but I think it's especially important to include one when you're selling a Linux laptop targeted at mainstream consumers and not Linux ubergeeks. The simple truth is that while Linux is often touted as a more stable operating system than Windows, any time you find yourself using an OS you're not familiar with, there's a good chance you're going to mess something up without knowing how to fix it. A system restore disc is a nice option to have. And from a customer service standpoint, it's probably a lot easier to include a system restore disc than to have customers constantly shipping their "broken" computers back to you.

Anyway, right now you need to download a 1GB disc image from the Everex support site and burn it to DVD yourself. Hopefully in the future we'll see Everex include a disc in every Cloudbook box.

[via Cloudbooker]

Everex has apparently launched a souped up version of its Cloudbook laptop computer in Japan. The new version bears the same model number as the US version, but it costs ¥59,800 or about $600, which is about $200 more than the US model. What you get for that price increase is built-in Bluetooth, a touchscreen, and 802.11a connectivity (as well as 802.11b/g which is available in the US version). The Japanese model also appears to come equipped with Windows XP SP2, which means Japanese users hopefully won't be plagued by the same OS-related problems early Cloudbook testers have experienced in the US.

[via Engadget]

While the Everex Cloudbook has been getting mixed reviews for its funny trackpad and buggy operating system, there's at least one group of users who couldn't care less about these limitations: hardware hackers. Why complain that a computer doesn't come with GPS, Bluetooth, or more storage when you can just add your own?

Azazel over at the Cloudbooker forums has posted some pictures of his work in progress: a Cloudbook hack with an internal 4 port USB hub, a GPS unit, and a 4GB flash memory stick. He removed the Cloudbook's webcam to make some room on the inside, but I suspect that any day now we'll be seeing someone mod a Cloudbook to include a webcam, GPS, Bluetooth, 802.11n, extra memory, and perhaps an internal TV tuner for fun. OK, maybe not the TV tuner, but it looks like the Cloudbook's insides are relatively roomy and there's plenty of space for tiny USB add-ons.

[via Engadget]

If you're still trying to decide whether to spend $400 on an Everex Cloudbook, you should really check out NotebookReview's excellent writeup of the Cloudbook. It's by far the most thorough review I've read to date, with a number of benchmarks and comparisons to the Eee PC and other subnotebooks.

Here are some of the things I learned from the article:

• There's no RAM access panel, which means you need to disassemble your unit and void the warranty to upgrade or replace your RAM
• There's a Windows driver that allows you to scale your display resolution to 1000 x 600 pixels, a widescreen virtual resolution that has so far eluded Eee PC hackers.
  
• As you'd expect, the 30GB hard drive gives you far more storage than the 4GB SSD found in an Eee PC, but the read/write speeds are much slower
• While the Via 1.2GHz processor has a higher clock speed than the 900MHz Celeron processor in an Eee PC, benchmarking tests show it lags behind the Intel chip in performance

Overall, it probably makes sense to pick up an Eee PC if you want a $400 ultraportable today. Or if you want a bit more oomph, you might be best off waiting a few months. Asus and Everex both plan to offer updated models later this year, and several other companies will get into the low-cost ultraportable business by the end of 2008 as well. Still, I'm kind of jealous of that virtual 1000 x 600 pixel display driver. I really wish it worked with the Eee PC. While there's a hack that will sort of display 1024 x 768 pixels on the Eee PC's 800 x 480 screen, thats like fitting a square peg in a rectangular hole. In other words, it's really hard to read any text.

After months of evaluating the differences between the Asus Eee PC and the Everex Cloudbook based on nothing but spec sheets, it's time to see what the two devices look like side by side. While I've resisted the temptation to pick up a Cloudbook myself, the tiny computers have been shipping for about a week now.

Ant, the guy behind the popular EeeUser and Cloudbooker web sites got his Cloudbook today. And he's gone to town updating his Cloudbook blog. His latest post features a whole bunch of pictures of the two computers sitting next to one another.

Basically, Ant says the Cloudbook is slightly larger, but you'll have to look pretty hard to see the size difference. He says it also feels a bit sturdier, which is funny since the Cloudbook has a hard drive, which is more susceptible to jostling damage than the Eee PC's solid state memory. I'm still waiting for someone to put a Cloudbook through a torture test.

Once customers started actually receiving their Cloudbook computers in the post you knew it was just a matter of time before someone would take the thing apart and post photos of its innards on the web. And that's exactly what CloudBooker forum member Azazel has done. He's also been kind enough to post instructions for anyone looking to get inside their Cloudbook case. Now let the hardware hacking begin!

[via CloudBooker]

After a series of delays, it looks like Wal-Mart is finally selling the Everex Cloudbook today. You can now order one for $399 from the Wal-Mart website. And I'm guessing that you may be able to find a few units in select Wal-Mart stores if you're lucky and/or bored.

Right now, that means Wal-Mart is the only place you can get a Cloudbook. The other day online retailer ZaReason announced that it would no longer sell the tiny laptop. And other retailers including Newegg and TigerDirect won't have any in stock for another week or two.

If you're itching to get your hands on a Cloudbook, I'd suggest holding off for a few weeks anyway. The early reviews have not been particularly positive, and it sounds like a future batch may ship with improved software that fixes problems such as large windows not fitting on the computer's small display.

[via Cloudbooker]

The only company that's actually managed to ship any Everex Cloudbook computers has apparently decided to get out of the Cloudbook business. ZaReason got their first shipment of Cloudbooks last week and immediately shipped as many computers as they could out to customers who had placed preorders. The company plans to make sure everyone who preordered a Cloudbook gets one, but ZaReason will no longer accept new orders.

ZaReason sent a letter to its customers saying that the company has lost money granting refunds thanks to bank transaction fees, and has decided to focus instead on selling computers the company builds itself.

If Everex can hit their latest release target, you'll be able to pick up a Cloudbook at Wal-Mart this weekend. And odds are Everex will sell far more laptops through Wal-Mart than through an online retailer that most of us had never heard of until they started carrying Cloudbooks. But it's still kind of sad to see one of Everex's few partners pull out so early. As far as we can tell, this has nothing to do with the lukewarm reviews the computer has been receiving over the last few days.

It looks like the folks at Laptop Magazine aren't the only ones with a Cloudbook anymore. ZaReason sent out their initial shipment a few days ago, and early adopters are starting to receive their orders and at least two customers have posted their initial reviews.

Overall, the reviewers are confirming what we already knew: The keyboard and screen are small, but no smaller than what you'd find on the Eee PC. The trackpad is placed in an awkward location, but you can get used to anything. And the gOS version of Ubuntu is a bit... quirky.

We already knew that early Cloudbooks would be shipping with an operating system that doesn't seem to be optimized for the computer's low resolution 800 x 480 pixel screen. Some program windows extend below the bottom of the screen, making it difficult to set up or use applications. And apparently it's difficult to configure the WiFi settings as well.

Hopefully some of these issues will be addressed in future releases. JamFish has also confirmed that the Cloudbook doesn't ship with any sort of software CD. If you want to install applications, load Windows drivers, or restore your system to factory default you're going to have to spend some time fishing around the Everex website. In fact, while I found Windows XP and Vista drivers, I wasn't able to find any sort of system restore or gOS installation software.

Oh, and not that this should come as a surprise to anybody, but the claimed 5 hour battery life was a bit optimistic. JamFish writes that you'll probably get closer to 3.5 hours with WiFi on.

[via Cloudbooker]

A few more details about the Everex Cloudbook launch have been released. First up, it looks like the initial batch, including the review unit Laptop Magazine is playing with have an early version of the software with some annoying bugs, like windows that are too large to fit on the cramped 800 x 480 display. That wouldn't be so bad except that anybody who buys a Cloudbook because it's supposed to be easy to use is going to have some trouble right away, starting with the configuration screens if they aren't Linux savvy.

A new batch with a fix for the large windows should be available soon. Computer World reports that Wal-Mart should have units in stock on Feb 21st, while NewEgg and TigerDirect should have some Cloudbook inventory the first week of March. Everex is reportedly also talking to two more distributors about carrying the Cloudbook.

But it might be worth waiting a little while before picking one up if you want to make sure you get one with any software upgrades. Hopefully Everex will offer updates for existing users as well, but you never know.

Meanwhile, Avram over at Laptop Magazine has been continuing his adventures over the weekend, and he posted the video you see above showing the Cloudbook's boot process. Apparently it takes a good three minutes from the second you hit the power button to the time you get a working desktop. Part of the problem is that you have to enter a username and password during the login process, which is pretty much par for the course with most Linux distributions. But since the Cloudbook is running Ubuntu and GNOME, I'm guessing you can get around this by following these simple steps:

1. Go to the System menu
2. Select Administration
3. Select Login Screen Setup
4. Under the general tab, select "Automatic Login" and choose the user you want to auto login.

That should save you some typing and shave a few seconds off your boot time. But just a few seconds.

And the Cloudbook has been delayed. Again. This time the Everex web site shows that it will be available on Feb 21st. For most of the day, the website said it would be available today, which was pretty obviously not true.

While no official explanation has been given, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the company is performing some more software tweaks. The review unit that Laptop Magazine received obviously has a few quirks that will make the Cloudbook baffling for your average consumer. Can the kinks be worked out in a week? Eh, maybe. But I'm not holding my breath.

[via Cloudbooker and Mike Cane]

Related Posts

• Cloudbook review units are shipping
  
• More Cloudbook hijinks
• Cloudbook to use GNOME instead of Enlightenment
• Everex planning Touchscreen, SSD Cloudbook models
  
• Everex: Cloudbook will be available Feb 15th
• Everex Cloudbook launch delayed
  

Avam from Laptop Magazine just sent me a note pointing out another big problem with the Cloudbook: It doesn't ship with any sort of restore disc. Or at least the press review unit doesn't.

Avram tried to extend the Ubuntu desktop by configuring it to work with an external monitor. And he ran into complications. Serious complications. Like BSOD complications. Now, I'm pretty sure there's a way to bring up a terminal and fix his problem via the command line. But I'm not enough of a Linux guru to talk him through it. If you've got any ideas, make sure to let Avram know.

But since they just got the Cloudbook today, I'm guessing they hadn't spent too much time customizing their system. So I figured the easiest thing to do would be just to restore the operating system using any install disc Everex shipped with the Cloudbook. And that's when he told me that Everex didn't include one.

And that is just ridiculous. Not only does the Eee PC ship with a restore disc (that also happens to have Windows drivers), but there's a protected partition with all of your operating system files. That means novice users who somehow mess up their systems can easily restore their factory default settings in just a few seconds by holding the F9 key during a reboot. While I wouldn't necessarily have expected Everex to go that far, a system restore disc doesn't seem like too much to ask for.

Overall, it seems like the reviewers at Laptop Magazine are having one problem after another with their Cloudbook. And while they seem to have a review unit with an earlier version of the Cloudbook's operating system and software, I'm starting to feel pretty good about my decision not to rush out and buy a Cloudbook for myself. Not yet anyway.

It's February 15th, and you know what that means: The Everex Cloudbook should be available today. Well, last time we checked there's a page up on Newegg, but no way to place an order. ZaReason is still sold out. And I haven't wandered into a Wal-Mart, so I can't tell you if they're in stores yet. If you happen to see one, let us know in the comments!

But that doesn't mean the Everex Eee PC "killer" is nowhere to be seen today. ZaReason did post a photo of a developer unit that they received. And the folks at Laptop Magazine got a shiny new review unit, which they proceeded to unbox, photograph, and fiddle with.

The first thing they noticed when they got it up and running is that The Cloudbook is running the GNOME desktop environment, not Englightment as had originally been planned. This isn't a huge surprised, as we'd heard a rumor to this effect a few days ago. But there's one bigproblem: The setup screen for Ubuntu has a series of windows that don't really fit on an 800x 480 pixel screen. And that means that as soon as new users turn their Cloudbooks on, they're presented with a setup screen that they can't really fill out, because the OK/Next boxes are all below the bottom of the screen.

There are two ways around this problem. You can plug in an external monitor, or you can use Alt+click to drag the window around the screen. You still won't be able to see the whole window at once, but you can press all the buttons you need by Holding down the Alt buttonw hile you click and drag the window around the screen.

It's a bit ridiculous that Everex wouldn't have tweaked the open source operating system to make the windows fit to the screen before shipping. The Laptop Magazine reviewers were baffled until I sent them a note suggesting they used Alt+click and drag. I imagine most people who walk into a Wal-Mart to pick up a Cloudbook aren't going to figure this out for themselves.

Online computer store ZaReason reports that it has sold out of Everex Cloudbooks. The interesting thing is the Cloudbook isn't actually scheduled to go on sale until next week.

I assume what's happened is that ZaReason was accepting preorders. The company will only be getting a certain number of units in stock initially, and rather than continue to take orders on units that they might not be able to ship promptly, ZaReason has decided to mark the item as sold out.

Of course, it's anybody's guess whether Everex will actually ship the Cloudbook on Feb 15th. The computer has already been delayed once. On the other hand, there's a small chance that ZaReason actually did have some units in stock and plans to ship them out so that they'll be arriving at customers' doorsteps on the 15th.

[via Engadget]

LAPTOP Magazine scored an interview with Everex marketing director Paul Kim. And they got a few interesting details about upcoming Cloudbook models.

First up, Everex will be releasing a version with a touchscreen to developers within two months of the Cloudbook's Feb 15th launch. The company could bring a touchscreen version to market in Q3 2008. Asus recently killed its plans to produce a touchscreen version of the Eee PC, claiming there wasn't strong consumer demand for such a device. It'll be interesting to see if Everex can prove Asus wrong.

Kim also says the company is considering using SSD instead of a hard drive in future models. The Eee PC's SSD is sort of a double edged sword. On the one hand, by using flash storage instead of a hard drive, Asus was able to build a machine that boots up quickly, has no moving parts, and is generally sturdier than a machine with a hard drive. On the other hand, flash memory is still pretty pricey, which is why you can only pick up an Eee PC with 2, 4, or 8GB of memory right now. The first Cloudbook to hit the streets, meanwhile, will sport a 30GB hard drive. Kim says if flash prices drop over the next year, we could eventually see Cloudbooks with SSD, but I'm guessing that means the company plans to wait until it can cram higher capacity SSD in there without raising the price significantly.

Now for the crazy part. Kim also mentioned that Everex is planning to produce Cloudbooks in a variety of sizes. We've already noted that the company is working on a version with a 9-inch screen. But Kim says a 22-inch model is also in the works. It's quite possible he meant that Everex is working on an all-in-one desktop PC with a 22-inch monitor that will compete with the recently announced Asus E-DT. Or maybe he meant to say 12-inch screen. The folks at LAPTOP Magazine didn't ask him to clarify, but I can't imagine Everex is really going to put out a low-cost 22 inch laptop anytime soon. Or ever.

Everex will also be releasing Cloudbooks in several different colors. It's not clear what those colors will be yet.

In case you were wondering what the Everex Cloudbook looks like when you pan a shaky camera over it, Everex has gone and posted a short promotional video on YouTube. There's really nothing new to see here, but you can check out the Cloudbook from a few different angles and see how pretty the gOS dock looks when you scroll your mouse over program icons.

The most interesting part of the video is the very end when Everex writes "Coming Feb. 15th." Sure, that's the same date that's listed on the company's website right now, but considering the release date has already been pushed back once, it's nice to see that they're at least confident enough in the new date to include it on a promo video. Even a really cheap looking one.

[via Cloudbooker]

Update: As one reader has kindly pointed out, Everex seems to have realized that this poorly produced video might not be the best way to promote their upcoming video and has pulled it. Fortunately you can still find the video online if you know where to look.

Related Posts:

• Cloudbook will ship with Windows XP driver disc
• Everex Cloudbook gets new release date: Feb 15
• Buy a Cloudbook without going to Wal-Mart
• Everex is planning a Cloudbook with a 9 inch screen
• Everex announces its Eee PC competitor

One of the smartest things Asus did with the Eee PC is to include a disc with Windows XP drivers even though the computer itself is preloaded with Linux. That way Asus could keep the price low by avoiding Windows licensing fees, while letting users who want to run Windows install it with minimal problems.

It looks like Everex is following suit and including a Windows XP driver disc with the upcoming Cloudbook. You know, if they ever get around to actually releasing the computer.

Originally the Cloudbook was scheduled to be available at Wal-Mart stores and online at ZaReason.com on January 25th. The date was then pushed back to February 15th, although there were reports earlier today that the date may be changing yet again. For a little while the Everex web site claimed the Cloudbook will be available on 1/25/2008, even though today is the 30th. Does that mean Everex meant to say 2/25? Or does it mean that an older version of the web page went live for a little while? Who knows. All I know is it'll be ready when it's ready. If it's ready.

It looks like the reports of the Everex Cloudbook's delay have been (not so greatly) exaggerated. While Everex was unable to meet its original release date of Jan 25th, the company's website now says that you'll be able to pick up a Cloudbook from Wal-Mart or ZaReason on Feb 15th.

While Everex is hardly the only company shooting to take on the Eee PC in the low-cost mini-laptop market, the Cloudbook has been getting a lot of attention for a few reasons.

1. If Everex can meet its projected release date, the Cloudbook will be the first low cost subnotebook to hit store shelves since Asus showed that there was a demand for such devices, even in developed nations.
2. Everex has already achieved some success selling a $200 desktop PC at Wal-Mart stores that runs that same gOS (Ubuntu-based Linux) operating system that will be installed on the Cloudbook.
3. On paper, the Cloudbook looks like an attractive alternative to the Eee PC because it has a faster processor and far more storage with a 30GB hard drive.
   

On the other hand, the Cloudbook has the same 800 x 480 pixel 7 inch screen as the Eee PC and a similarly cramped keyboard. There's also no trackpad to speak of. Instead there's a tiny and awkward looking pointer device. But I won't pass judgment until I've tried it. My first laptop back in 1995 actually had one of those pencil-eraser style pointers instead of a trackpad and I got used to it pretty quickly.

[via Engadget]

If you were itching to get your hands on the new Everex Cloudbook this weekend, it looks like you may have to wait a little longer. The tiny laptop was set to go on sale at Wal-Marts this weekend, but Computer World is reporting that has decided to refine the computer's software, which could push back the release date by a month or longer.

The Cloudbook is a miniature laptop much like the Eee PC. It sports a 7-inch 800 x 480 pixel screen, a 1.2GHz VIA processor, and a 30GB hard drive. But while the Eee PC runs a custom version of Xandros Linux, the Everex Cloudbook will run the gOS operating system, which is based on Ubuntu Linux.

It's not clear at this point what kind of tweaking will take place before the Cloudbook is released. Everex has already begun selling a desktop computer running gOS at Wal-Mart stores. But that computer is about half the price of the Cloudbook, so it's possible Everex wanted to ensure that new Cloudbook owners will get as robust an operating system as possible. gOS also lacks many of the software applications found on other Linux distributions like OpenOffice.org, relying instead on internet applications like Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Maybe Everex will decide to beef up the Cloudbook's software before shipping units.

Anyway we have a month to speculate, so leave your guesses/hopes/dreams in the comments.