Energy-Efficient Everex Notebook Comes to Wal-Mart Stores

The StepNote NC1500 is being sold only at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) stores and at Wal-Mart online for US$498. Its 1.5 GHz Via processor consumes a low 12 watts, Everex said.

Better Battery Life

The chip is equivalent to a Celeron 370 processor and is embedded on the motherboard, according to John Lin, vice president of sales for Everex. Celeron is Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) low-end value line of processors; the Celeron M 370 is a 1.5 GHz chip.

The StepNote NC1500 is the first Everex notebook to use the Via C7-M processor, Lin told TechNewsWorld, and provides a 20 percent improvement in battery life over comparable systems.

"It uses a lot less energy, it's a lot more energy efficient, which makes your battery last longer, and when you plug it in it uses less energy than a regular notebook," he explained.

There's been a general trend in energy-efficient notebooks in recent years due in part to the rising costs of electricity and oil.

Power-Saving Tech

Everex's new notebook uses Via's Enhanced PowerSaver technology and Via TwinTurbo, which allows it to dynamically transition between intermediate power states. This technology accounts for the longer battery life.

It includes a 15.4-inch, 1280-by-800 (WXGA) LCD display driven by Via's Unichrome Pro with Chromotion CE Video Display Engine and DiamondBrite technology.

The machine ships with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows XP Home edition, built-in wireless LAN and a DVD burner. It also has 802.11b/g WiFi wireless networking, two USB 2.0 ports, headphone/audio output and a built-in microphone.

The notebook comes with 512 MB of memory, 60 GB of disk space and weighs 5.3 pounds.