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VIA may be focusing its attention on the chip company’s new OpenBook reference design for tiny, low-power laptops. But it looks like some PC and electronics makers are still pumping out systems based on VIA’s older NanoBook reference design. Mike Cane spotted a new PC at J&R over the weekend that looked suspiciously like an Everex Cloudbook, but which sported a shiny new Sylvania name tag.

The Cloudbook is probably the NanoBook-based PC that’s gotten the most attention. But the early versions of this computer were somewhat disappointing. Everex used the gOS operating system, which has a somewhat unfinished feel at the moment. And the company didn’t optimize the operating system and applications to fit properly on the computer’s 800 x 480 pixel display. Some people found they couldn’t get past the setup screen because the OK/Next buttons didn’t fit on the display. (The solution was as simple as holding down the Alt key while clicking and dragging the window, but this is an awkward, clunky, and non-intuitive process).

The Cloudbook also lacked the typical notebook-style trackpad. Instead, there was a tiny thumbpad in the upper righthand corner of the devices. Overall, the first generation Cloudbook left a sour taste in many people’s mouths, and so it’s easy to not get excited when you see a new notebook that looks almost exactly like it.

But the Sylvania G Netbook (Cane found the name from the TigerDirect product page) has a real trackpad, albeit an incredibly small one. J&R is charging $450 for the G Netbook, while TigerDirect is asking $399.That price puts it pretty much in the Asus Eee PC 701 price range. And with a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, card reader, 802.11b/g and 800 x 480 pixel display, in theory the G Netbook could be a viable alternative to the first generation Eee PC.

If the company bothered to tweak the operating system to work better ont he hardware, that is. Like the Everex Cloudbook, the Sylvania G Netbook uses the gOS operating system.

Update: Here’s the official product page from Sylvania Computers.

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13 replies on “Sylvania G Netbook: The NanoBook isn’t dead yet”

  1. Hello again, I have been asked by several people where I got my “Sylvania G Netbook” from. Not because those people wanted to buy one but because they had heard that there were major problems and little or as I have heard no support from the company that sells it. This is bad news for the people who had spent their hard earned money to purchase one of these. Since I myself am one of those people I knew by experience what perspective buyers might be in for. So with that said I have passed on the info here (which can be found with some heavy digging) Included are the two listings (one in NY one in NJ) for the company. In addition I’ve included another link to the law suit info (of which I am told there are many).

    So as promised here it is folks:

    The NJ listing is:

    Digital Gadgets Llc 115 Kennedy Dirve Sayreville Nj 08872
    Customer Support Representatives are available
    Monday – Friday, 9AM to 6PM EST
    Call Customer Support at:
    1-888-571-0866

    The NY listing is:

    Digital Gadgets, LLC 575 Madison Ave Frnt B
    New York, NY
    10022-8501
    Tel:1-212-433-1098

    https://digitalgadgets.com/netbooks/support-magni-elite-notebook.htm

    To see their toll free number listing you need to go to “Support for 7in Netbooks” tab and click and go down the page more than halfway. However they do not show their hours of operation. If you want that you need to click on the tab for “Support for Magni Elite Netbooks” curious they display their hours of operation info as well as their toll free number in clear view at the top of the page of their most expensive model. (The link for which I included). Oh and by the way the company is located in the State of New Jersey. However their are two listings (The other being in New York). The NJ one is listed as the main contact and the toll free number is linked to that location.
    Again here is that info.

    The NJ listing is:
    Digital Gadgets Llc 115 Kennedy Dirve Sayreville Nj 08872

    The NY listing is:
    Digital Gadgets, LLC 575 Madison Ave Frnt B
    New York, NY
    10022-8501 (212) 433-1098

    There have also been law suits against this same company by Cisco for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act 15:1125
    I am including the link to that page here:

    https://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=58744

    There is other info which can easily be found on the web such as their suppliers in China and other nearby countries.

    I encourage everyone to look, pass around this info and join in the various law suits as I have since I have gotten no satisfaction. Not to mention loosing precious time as well as hard earned money and my patience as I am sure a great many of you have.

    Shame on them, they have shown their true colors and intentions. To deceive through omission. That my fellow bloggers geeks & net surfers is NO WAY TO DO BUSINESS! Which I’m sure you’ll all agree.

  2. WARNING: never buy a Sylvania computer.

    I purchased a Netbook G last September and never have been able to get the unit to function properly. I contacted the manufacturer and discovered Sylvania is in name only – as Sylvania essentially leases their namesake to go on these units. It has been impossible to get a refund or exchange for another less problematic model. The best they have offered is a $179.99 refund to send my computer to some third party reseller in New York – even though I paid $313. Mind you, this unit supposedly comes with a one-year warranty.

    DigitalGadgets is the company that is selling these computers as Sylvania. DigitalGagets is simply a terrible and likely soon to be non-existant company. Good luck finding a name or number or anything tangible on them. Everything is done in email and most of the responses really leave you wondering what sort of operation they are running.

    To add to the foolishness, when you contact DigitalGadgets via their online form, you get a response from Levin Consulting, a Cleveland, Ohio, company. A company that specializes in trolling the far east digging up goods already made to be rebadged as a product from a known mega-corp.

    The issues:
    * Wifi does not work
    * The CPU scaling doesn’t work – runs at 600Mhz always.
    * Video output is choppy – no driver support.
    * Sound output to headphone jack doesn’t work
    * Battery life is not anything near 4 hours due to CPU scaling not working.

    AVOID SYLVANIA PRODUCTS.

    1. I happen to have digital gadgets phone number and website info. Here it is folks:

      Customer Support Representatives are available
      Monday – Friday, 9AM to 6PM EST
      Call Customer Support at: 1-888-571-0866

      https://digitalgadgets.com/netbooks/support-magni-elite-notebook.htm

      To see their toll free number listing you need to go to “Support for 7in Netbooks” tab and click and go down the page more than halfway. However they do not show their hours of opperation. If you want that you need to click on the tab for “Support for Magni Elite Netbooks” curious they display their hours of operation info as well as their toll free number in clear view at the top of the page of their most expensive model. (The link for which I included). Oh and by the way the company is located in the State of New Jersey. However their are two listings (Te other being in New York). The NJ one is listed as the main contact and the toll free number is linked to that location. Here is that info.

      Digital Gadgets Llc 115 Kennedy Dirve Sayreville Nj 08872
      The NY listing is:

      Digital Gadgets, LLC 575 Madison Ave Frnt B
      New York, NY
      10022-8501 (212) 433-1098

      There have also been law suits against this same company by Cisco for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act 15:1125
      I am including the link to that page here:

      https://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=58744

      There is other info which can easily be found on the web such as their suppliers in China and other nearby countries.

      I encourage everyone to look, pass around this info and join in the various law suits as I have since I have gotten no satisfaction. Not to mention loosing precious time as well as hard earned money and my patience as I am sure a great many of you have.

      Shame on them, they have shown their true colors and intentions. To deceive through omission. That my fellow bloggers geeks & net surfers is NO WAY TO DO BUSINESS! Which I’m sure you’ll all agree.

  3. WARNING: never buy a Sylvania computer.

    I purchased a Netbook G last September and never have been able to get the unit to function properly. I contacted the manufacturer and discovered Sylvania is in name only – as Sylvania essentially leases their namesake to go on these units. It has been impossible to get a refund or exchange for another less problematic model. The best they have offered is a $179.99 refund to send my computer to some third party reseller in New York – even though I paid $313. Mind you, this unit supposedly comes with a one-year warranty.

    DigitalGadgets is the company that is selling these computers as Sylvania. DigitalGagets is simply a terrible and likely soon to be non-existant company. Good luck finding a name or number or anything tangible on them. Everything is done in email and most of the responses really leave you wondering what sort of operation they are running.

    To add to the foolishness, when you contact DigitalGadgets via their online form, you get a response from Levin Consulting, a Cleveland, Ohio, company. A company that specializes in trolling the far east digging up goods already made to be rebadged as a product from a known mega-corp.

    The issues:
    * Wifi does not work
    * The CPU scaling doesn’t work – runs at 600Mhz always.
    * Video output is choppy – no driver support.
    * Sound output to headphone jack doesn’t work
    * Battery life is not anything near 4 hours due to CPU scaling not working.

    AVOID SYLVANIA PRODUCTS.

  4. I’m thinking of buying this notebook but there’s things I want to find out first. OK, you use external optical drive for this one. Anyone tried to watch movies with this notebook. What video format does it support? Does it play DVD movies? Anyone tried to use the webcam and the microphone at the same time? What video format does it create? Is the video good?

  5. If you don’t know linux, stay away from this one. Its slightly better then the first cloudbook but definitely not a good choice for an average pC user. You wont be able to run most popular software and there is zero technical support.

    1. @dgray

      not true, I have called their tech support. the # is listed on the box and the website.

    2. You posted the exact same message regarding the g netbook on at least 7 different websites . You must work for Microsoft.

  6. I received the Sylvania G Netbook as a gift.. Perfect to take with me when I travel. I am eliminating one heavy bag. Great price. Is worth it.

  7. I bought this. It is awesome. It is incredibly light and comes bundled with all the top internet applications – skype, etc. They did a great job in setting up the gOS to be a real user friendly experience. The wireless works flawlessly, and with 1 GB of ram and a 30GB hard drive, I would rather have this than an iPod. The screen is nice and clear and everything fits on the display (I have read the everex horror stories). The mouse is a little small, but it is extremely responsive and I got used to it within a few minutes. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. Finally, NetBooks are a reality.

  8. Have played around with this netbook. The gOS problems seem to be gone, it worked well…WiFi was reliable and 1 GB of RAM…not bad for $399, not bad at all. Especially when Asus is coming out with $600 pieces totally unlike their mission of making a low cost portable pc.

Comments are closed.