Low-cost Everex laptop works with Sprint's WiMAX

Everex Systems is displaying a new, low-cost laptop PC at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas this week, able to connect to telecom operator Sprint Nextel's Xohm WiMAX wireless broadband network at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas this week.

The company is offering live WiMAX demonstrations using the CloudBook Max laptop at the show, but doesn't expect to start selling them for another year, it said in a statement. The laptop will also connect to Wi-Fi 802.11b/g networks and can upload or download data wirelessly via Bluetooth.

The CloudBook Max is made to be carried around, weighing less than 2.2 pounds with an 8.9-inch LCD display. The laptop boasts four hours of battery life, using a low-power 1.6GHz Via C7-M ULV (ultra-low voltage) microprocessor. It runs Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Basic OS.

The laptop includes a GPS receiver as well as a built-in 2-megapixel Web cam. Up to 2GB of DDR2 (double data rate, second generation) dynamic RAM can be added to the CloudBook Max, and it can carry a hard disk drive as big as 80GB.

Pricing on the CloudBook Max was not immediately available, but Everex specializes in developing low-cost PCs. The CloudBook Max's cousin, the CloudBook, sells for less than $399.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.