When I spotted the LimePC at CES in January, I was told that this little netbook with a small screen, tiny keyboard and touchpad, and ARM-based Freescale CPU would sell for around $199 if and when it hit the the streets in the US. And while it’s not the most impressive mini-laptop I’ve ever tried, it’s hard to argue with that price.

But one eBay seller apparently didn’t get that message, because you can now pick up a LimeBook on eBay for $500.

The seller doesn’t explain where this item came from or why the price is so high. He also doesn’t have much ebay feedback, which doesn’t instill me with a whole heck of a lot of confidence. My guess is this is a prototype received from LimePC for one reason or another. And if you’re a collector of pre-release netbooks, maybe it’s worth $500 to you. But if you really want a LimePC for a decent price you might want to wait and see if a US based computer distributor or wireless carrier decides to adopt the platform.

thanks Joseph!

FreeScale Semiconducter announced last month that it’s 600MHz to 1GHz chips were ready to power Linux-based netbooks. The company put out a reference design with Pegatron that demonstrated the platform’s ability to support Ubuntu Linux. Now Freescale is announcing broader support for its chipset.

Freescale says its netbook cosystem can support Google’s Android operating system, HyperSpace quick-start software from Phoenix Technologyes, and Xandros Linux. The platform also includes support for 3G wireless connectivity.

It’ll probably be a little while before we see many devices using the Freescale i.MX515 CPU. The company says the processor is being sampled by some netbook makers. Volume production will begin in the second quarter of 2009, which means that you may be able to find something on store shelves by the fall.

I did find one Chinese netbook maker that was showcasing a mini-laptop with a Freescale processor at CES lst month. The LimePC is a $199 netbook running a custom Linux operating system called LimeOS. To be honest, it felt a little sluggish. But I can’t say for sure whether it was the operating system, CPU, poor wireless connection or prototype-ness of the unit I was looking at that accounted for the poor performance.

It turns out Pegatron isn’t the only company pushing a netbook model based on a Freescale CPU. I ran across the LimePC booth at CES operated by China’s Tinsghua Tongfang Co. The LimePC platform combines a Freescale chipset and a custom version of Linux called LimeOS. The company is pushing a netbook (LimeBook), a small form factor PC (LimeBox), and an all-in-one PC (LimeView) as well as a 5.6″ UMPC (LimeNote). 

The products are already available in China, and the goal is to distribute them in the US, Europe, and other countries as well, either under the LimePC name or by partnering with distributors that may rebrand the computers or the operating system.

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