One of the engadget folks was at the official launch event of the Red Fox Wizbook N1020i netbook which was announced just recently. The following is what he stated on engadget.com about his experience.
I was able to snap a few photos as well as try out the demo units for a few basic Windows tasks. All of them had Windows XP Home Edition SP3 pre-installed, and I believe this will be the case for all retail units that will ever be sold here in the Philippines.
The Red Fox Wizbook N1020i is actually more of an upgrade to the original Wizbook 1020i instead of being a new model altogether, but still, it has enough merit to be a distinguished model and after all, it is one of the very few netbooks left which still have ExpressCard/34 slots and it is the very first in the world to feature Bluetooth 3.0. Read on for my first impressions after the break.
The Red Fox Wizbook N1020i is actually more of an upgrade to the original Wizbook 1020i instead of being a new model altogether, but still, it has enough merit to be a distinguished model and after all, it is one of the very few netbooks left which still have ExpressCard/34 slots and it is the very first in the world to feature Bluetooth 3.0. Read on for my first impressions after the break.
The Red Fox Wizbook N1020i netbook features run-of-the-mill netbook specs: 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 3 USB ports, mic/headphone port, 4400 mAh 6-cell battery, 1GB of RAM (with support for up to 2GB), 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 screen, a/b/g Wi-Fi, built-in webcam and card reader. What possibly sets it apart as even just a little bit better than most other netbooks out there are its ExpressCard/34 slot and its support for Bluetooth ver. 3.0.
ExpressCard/34 slot and Bluetooth 3.0
With this ExpressCard/34 slot, users will be able to upgrade stuff much more easily depending on their liking. They could fit this with a TV tuner, SSD for additional memory, e-SATA port, FireWire 800 and a few others more. Basically, this makes upgrading it that much more fun than just taking the screws off the lid underneath the body and replacing the factory hard drive or RAM.
At the same time, Red Fox touts that this netbook features support for Bluetooth 3.0. I was eager to try it out, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to during the event. I should be receiving a review unit from Red Fox in a couple of days, though, and I should be able to test it then.
(To eliminate any confusion from whether it will actually achieve a data transfer rate of 480Mbit/s or not with Bluetooth 3.0, keep in mind that this is only the max theoretical bit rate that can be achieved with Bluetooth 3.0, the same way that 802.11g’s theoretical bit rate is 54Mbit/s and 802.11n’s is supposedly 600Mbit/s. In real world usage, these are all unlikely to be met.)
ExpressCard/34 slot and Bluetooth 3.0
With this ExpressCard/34 slot, users will be able to upgrade stuff much more easily depending on their liking. They could fit this with a TV tuner, SSD for additional memory, e-SATA port, FireWire 800 and a few others more. Basically, this makes upgrading it that much more fun than just taking the screws off the lid underneath the body and replacing the factory hard drive or RAM.
At the same time, Red Fox touts that this netbook features support for Bluetooth 3.0. I was eager to try it out, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to during the event. I should be receiving a review unit from Red Fox in a couple of days, though, and I should be able to test it then.
(To eliminate any confusion from whether it will actually achieve a data transfer rate of 480Mbit/s or not with Bluetooth 3.0, keep in mind that this is only the max theoretical bit rate that can be achieved with Bluetooth 3.0, the same way that 802.11g’s theoretical bit rate is 54Mbit/s and 802.11n’s is supposedly 600Mbit/s. In real world usage, these are all unlikely to be met.)
Size and notes on hardware
In this side-by-side photo with my Eee PC 1000HE, the Wizbook 1020i appears to be a little short. But note that in this picture, the Wizbook 1020i is not equipped with a battery, and that if it was, it would probably be just as tall as the Eee PC because of the its battery’s bulge.
Both the keyboard and trackpad are smaller than what they could be, based on my observation. The keyboard’s keys are rather cramped, and the dry plastic feel can be felt all around. Being used to netbook keyboards, though, I did not find this to be that much of a problem. But the touchpad doesn’t support multi-touch, which is an even bigger issue at hand. At first, I didn’t really care much for this feature, but after finally figuring it out, I’ve come to prefer it to using a mouse (as it also saves me battery life).
I wasn’t able to hang around long enough to see just how long the the N1020i netbooks last on a single charge with their standard batteries, but I was told that they work up to more than 4 hours straight with moderate to heavy usage. I should be able to start on a review in the next couple of days so tune in next week to see the full review with most other aspects of the netbook’s performance covered.
In this side-by-side photo with my Eee PC 1000HE, the Wizbook 1020i appears to be a little short. But note that in this picture, the Wizbook 1020i is not equipped with a battery, and that if it was, it would probably be just as tall as the Eee PC because of the its battery’s bulge.
Both the keyboard and trackpad are smaller than what they could be, based on my observation. The keyboard’s keys are rather cramped, and the dry plastic feel can be felt all around. Being used to netbook keyboards, though, I did not find this to be that much of a problem. But the touchpad doesn’t support multi-touch, which is an even bigger issue at hand. At first, I didn’t really care much for this feature, but after finally figuring it out, I’ve come to prefer it to using a mouse (as it also saves me battery life).
I wasn’t able to hang around long enough to see just how long the the N1020i netbooks last on a single charge with their standard batteries, but I was told that they work up to more than 4 hours straight with moderate to heavy usage. I should be able to start on a review in the next couple of days so tune in next week to see the full review with most other aspects of the netbook’s performance covered.
So that sums it up for today folks, lets wait for what engadget.com has in store for us tommorro. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.
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