BenQ launches JoyBook Lite U102, rights wrongs
July 1, 2009 by LG Nilsson
BenQ’s first netbook, the JoyBook U101 wasn’t exactly a huge hit and it was also one of the first netbooks to offer the awful 10.1-inch 1,024×576 resolution 16:9 aspect ratio display. However, BenQ’s second attempt at making a netbook looks a lot more promising, but somehow it also looks familiar.
The JoyBook U102 has a standard 1,024×600 resolution display and this in itself makes it a much better option than the U101. Only two features really stand out about the U102 and it’s the track pad and the weight. The track pad doesn’t have any buttons as such, instead you have to click the lower left and right corners of it which is a novel idea, but we’re not sure how well it works in praxis. The U102 is quite light as it’s only 1.05kg, but this is of course with a 3-cell battery.
The spec includes an Atom N270 or N280 processor, the 945GSE chipset, 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. The U102 also has a 1.3 Megapixel webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a D-sub connector, an Ethernet port and two audio jacks, as well as a hard switch to turn on and off the WiFi with. Speaking of WiFi, the U102 features 802.11b/g WiFi and it’s also available with optional Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and an optional built in 3.75G modem (that’s HSDPA and HSUPA), although we’re not sure what speeds this modem will offer.
The 3-cell battery is rated at 2,250mAh which BenQ claims is good for 3h of usage, while the optional 6-cell battery is rated at 4,500mAh which seems a bit low for a 6-cell battery, although BenQ only claims it’ll last 6h, so don’t expect great battery life from the U102. The U102 measures 260×186x18.5~22 mm(WxDxH).
Oh, and that feeling of Déjà Vu wasn’t unfounded, as it turns out that we shot a video of the U102, or rather, the Compal KTV00 at Computex, although the Compal was running Moblin V2 back then, but it’s definitely the same machine.
You can find the product page here and the U102 will be available in China, Taiwan and Thailand from about now. No word on other markets or pricing.
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