$99 Notebook Is Just A Bloated PDA, Critics Say

July 30 news: A senior official in charge of the development of the $99 notebook revealed to the media on July 29 that the operating system of the $99 notebook is Microsoft Windows CE 5.0, which is commonly used in smartphones or PDAs. Its hardware configuration is also comparable to such smartphones or PDAs; the $99 price is the wholesale price for "at least several thousand units," and the final price at the consumer level will be much higher.

PDA "Transformed" into a Notebook

On the same day that IT consulting firm Gartner released its report stating that "notebooks under $100 will still need at least three years," a Chinese company named Jointech launched the $99 (approximately RMB 675) notebook JL7100.

Let's take a look at the specifications of this JL7100. The JL7100 uses a Samsung 400MHz processor, has 64MB of memory and 64MB of storage space, and can expand capacity via a USB interface. It features a 7-inch display with a resolution of 800*480, and comes in four colors: black, pink, white, and light blue. Its lithium battery can last over 4 hours, and it weighs 680 grams including the battery, paired with the Windows CE 5.0 operating system.