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The 3K Longitude rode the bandwagon after the Asus EEE PC broke ground as the first mini notebook to hit the market and other companies have followed suit and came up with their own versions of the now popular EEE PC series. US-based 3K Computers released its own Longitude mini notebook, which is priced at a little below $400.

 

Does the 3K Longitude satisfy its targeted market’s needs? With the Asus EEE PC as well as other competitors in existence, will it be able to stand on its own and gather a number of loyal followers? The biggest question would be whether the features installed by 3K into its UMPC offering are worth the price tag.

 

SPECS	AVAILABLE OPTIONS
CPU	Ingenics 400MHz 32-bit single core mobile processor
RAM	512MB
Screen Size	7-inch
Operating System	Linux
Connectivity	Integrated WiFi 802.11 b/g, 3 USB connection ports, and Ethernet 10/100 LAN port

 

Pros

Obviously modeled closely after the more popular EEE PC, this little computer is aimed at getting people the same package for the same price. It is very light: the notebook weighs less then 2 pounds thus making it very easy to carry around. You could even put this inside a small shoulder with enough cushioning, and you’re good to go.

 

The Longitude has a 7-inch LCD as well, which is a must in order for users to clearly see what they are working with using the computer. It has a flash-based memory of 4 gigabytes, again mimicking the specifications of the Asus EEE PC. Just like the original, 3K has fitted its mini notebook offering with a random access memory capacity of 512 MB.

 

Cons

Clearly, people will be pointing to the fact that 3K decided to put in a 400MHz processor for its Longitude 400 ultramobile portable computer offering. This is considerably slower compared to the original Asus EEE PC. 900 MHz and 400 MHz are clearly two worlds apart, despite the “energy saving” tag that it assigned to the Longitude. Plus, the processor is not manufactured by processor giant Intel but rather by China-based manufacturer Ingenics.

 

Despite the fact that it is running a version of Linux to power its processes, the Longitude 400 decided to take a turn different from other Linux-based mini notebooks by installing different office suites: it has AbiWord and GNUmeric and relatively unknown PDF reader and email client instead of the more widely accepted OpenOffice suite by Sun Microsystems. OpenOffice could have helped people who are used to Windows to adjust quickly to the shift when using the Longitude, but 3K decided differently.

 

Conclusion

For its features, it is best said that the Longitude 400 is merely a clone of the Asus EEE PC without its own features to boast of except for the disappointing 400MHz processing speed. This puts it behind its competitors that have managed to come up with more powerful units like Surcouf’s La Revolution that has a processor of up to a 1GHz and a 60GB hard disk. For a $399 price, users are better off purchasing an Asus EEE PC instead.

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Tags: light notebook, Longitude notebook, UMPC

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 8:27 am and is filed under Other, and is tagged with light notebook, Longitude notebook, UMPC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.