litl webbook

The litl webbook is a new small laptop by litl, a company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It has a 12" screen, is powered by an 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, and comes with 1GB of RAM, 2GB flash storage, camera, microphone, two speakers, HDMI output, WiFi b/g, headphone jack, USB 2.0, and two infrared ports.

The webbook can be used in standard laptop and in "easel mode" by flipping screen and keyboard around its patented hinge so the device stands upright. The bright screen features a 178-degree viewing "cone", thus not only one person, but a group of people can clearly view what is displayed at the same time.

According to OSnews and the technical details page on Amazon the operating system called litl OS is based on Linux with some highly-modified GNOME technologies on top of it. litl OS is a self-updating operating system with focus on the Web, it features a built-in browser and a search box that replaces traditional file management. Gone are menus, folders and icons. Data is stored in the cloud, synced and backed up.

Annoyingly, there is no single mention of Linux in litl's software description at the time of writing, which reminds me a bit of ASUS who apparently have a problem with their Linux past.

Arguably with a 12" screen the litl webbook doesn't fit in the netbook category, but its hardware specs and proposed use cases like browsing the Web, watching video, listening to music, and viewing photos suggest otherwise. There remains one litl problem though, the US $699 price of the webbook feels like a joke, but isn't.