3K jumps in the mini-laptop game with the $399 Longitude

It’s remarkable how many computer makers there are that I’ve never heard of. And all of them seem to be launching an Eee PC competitor. The latest is 3K, a subsidiary of Florida Micro. The company has just announced plans to release the Longitude 300 Mini Notebook PC.

So how does it stack up against all the other $400 mini-notebooks hitting the streets these days? Well, it’s got a 7-inch screen, but there’s no mention of the display resolution. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess 800 x 480. It’s got an Ethernet Port, and WiFi, SD card reader, and 3 USB ports.

The 3K Longtitude also has a “full size keyboard,” and weighs less than 2 pounds. It runs a “Genuine Linux Operating System,” and not one of those cheap knockoffs, and ships with AbiWord and Gnumeric instead of OpenOffice.org. That’s probably because OpenOffice.org takes up a few hundred MB, and the Longitude has a tiny 1GB solid state disk for all… I mean, none of your storage needs. And did I mention the CPU? This little guy is rocking a blazing slow “energy saving” 400MHz CPU.

Overall, I have to say, this is the new mini-laptop I’m least looking forward to. The Longitude should be available in May, but the company encourages you to pre-order now due to high demand. Seriously, that’s what the press release says.

[via Engadget]


Posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008, 7:47 pm by Brad Linder
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  • Abc
    Why buy an Eee PC, when for the same price, you can get half the CPU speed and a quarter of the flash memory! I can't wait.
  • angryearthling
    while it wouldn't be on the top of my eee pc replacement list. there are a few unknowns.

    the press release doesn''t mention battery life other than power saving cpu ie slow. if it had a much better battery life say 4-5 hours then it would be worth considering.

    i don't use the flash storage on the eee as i store everything on a 8gb usb drive. this means that whatever system i am at linux, mac or windows then i have the latest version of the data available without any messy syncs.

    i would much prefer open office over abiword but at a pinch i could get by.

    not saying your wrong but perhaps more wait and see if it fufills the needs of those who are happy with the lower spec if it has a longer battery life. however if it does have a better battery life wouldn't pr be shouting that from the roof?
  • lol. you're killing it already while it's not even a threat to the eee pc.
  • Ari
    Well, that didn't last long. I just went to the site and now the price is $499.

    http://www.3kcomputers.com/shop/index.php?act=v...
  • It is actually 4GB Solid State. Also it looks much better IMO than the others...Try checking the website...

    http://www.3kcomputers.com/razorbook400.html
  • They updated the storage capacity. When this machine was first launched it had just 1GB of solid state memory, and a much dinkier web page. It's looking a little better these days, but that 400MHz processor still scares me. I'm sure it'll help prolong battery life, but I shudder to think how this computer will handle multitasking.

    I'm also not sure why they won't list the actual OS they're using. Even if it's a custom distro, it's either built on top of another open source Linux operating system, or built from the ground up. Either way, you'd think the company would say more than "genuine" Linux.
  • GTK Linux OS version 2.4

    blog.laptopmag.com/3k-razorbook-400-mini-notebook-pc-just-a-knock-off
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