Everex was one of the first companies to offer a netbook in the US. When Everex introduced its first Cloudbook the only other low cost mini-laptop on the market was the Asus Eee PC 701. And a lot of people were excited about the Everex Cloudbook because it ran a version of Ubuntu Linux. But it also had a slow processor, cramped keyboard, and Ubuntu wasn’t optimized to run on the computer’s 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel screen. In fact, some users couldn’t even get past the first setup dialog that showed up the first time they booted the computers, because some of the dialog boxes didn’t fit properly on the screen.

So when Laptop Magazine pointed out today that Everex USA has gone out of business,I wasn’t exactly that surprised or concerned. Still, the company should at least get a few points for trying ot do something different.

The Everex Taiwan and Japan pages appear to still be active, but it’s not clear whether the company, which had sold a number of cheap laptop and desktop PCs through big-box retailer Wal-Mart, will ever sell another computer in the US. You can still find a few 7″ Cloudbooks at Wal-Mart and other shops. But the $249 asking price is really far too high for this machine.

I’m still waiting for Everex to release the Cloudbook Max, which looks like a huge improvement over the original Cloudbook. But it looks like the company’s decided to offer something to tide us over while we wait. The Cloudbook CE1201V looks practically identical to the original CE1200 (which is now available or as little as $299) on the outside. But inside, it packs a larger hard drive, 1GB of RAM instead of 512MB, and Windows XP instead of gOS Linux.

The CE1201V still packs a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M CPU and a 7 inch screen. So this is an incremental upgrade at best. If you want a faster processor or a larger screen you’re best off holding out for the Cloudbook Max or looking elsewhere for your netbook needs.

According to Cloudbook UMPC, the CE1201V is currently in stock at TigerDirect and Circuit City.

Everex Systems is going to launch a new 10.2 inch netbook this November. Officials of the taiwanese OEM FIC confirmed that Everex will start shipping a new 10.2 inch version of their Cloudbook productline with 3G and an option for WiMax connectivity. Especially the 3G option should make it very appealing for service providers to bundle it with a 3G contract.
FIC isn’t sure about the cpu and chipset platform right now. It could either feature an Intel Atom or a similar VIA cpu. An interesting sitenote might be, that the Cloudbook Max should be already available at the end of August.

Everex 10.2 inch netbook

• Intel Atom or similar VIA cpu
• 10.2 inch WSVGA LED screen (1024×600)
• up to 2GB DRAM
• 1.3MP webcam
• 2x USB 2.0, express card slot, 4-in-1 card reader
• 4 or 6-cell battery
• about 1.2 kilogramms
• 263×185x32mm

[Source: Infoworld.com]

I had high hopes for the Everex Cloudbook. Really, I did. When the company announced it would be releasing an Eee PC competitor, there were few other products in its class on the market. And while the initial Cloudbook didn’t have a solid state drive, or a conventional touchpad, it did have a 30Gb hard drive, WiFi, and a screen that was nearly identical to that on the Eee PC. What it didn’t have was a user-friendly operating system.