Wistron N900z Smartbook with Freescale Processor

Low-end ARM-based netbooks or Smartbooks seem to be a hot trend at COMPUTEX 2009. The Wistron N900z is one such device powered by Freescale's i.MX515 multimedia applications processor. The device introduced in Netbook News's video has an 800 MHz processor, 4GB SSD, Ethernet connector, 4-in-1 card reader, 2 USB ports, and a 3G module.

Joanna Stern who also got her hands on the Wistron Smartbook reports some pros and cons in her review at Laptopmag. The rubberized keys are well usable in contrast to the very small touchpad. Launching OpenOffice.org Writer on the installed Ubuntu Linux took about 15 seconds and running Firefox in parallel worked well, but trying to playback a video clip with the other applications running was too demanding.

Based on Joanna's and Sascha's estimates the Wistron N900z will have a battery life of 8 to 10+ hours with a 3-cell battery. Freescale expects these types of netbooks to cost less than US$200.