Sure, I’ve poked fun at the Litl Easel “webbook” which looks like little more than an oversized, overpriced, underfeatured netbook. But the company does seem to understand the blogosphere. A few days ago they sat down with CrunchGear to provide an extensive look at the software running on the computer. And now, rather than waiting for some enthusiastic customer or tech reviewer to get their hands on the Litl Easel and post an unboxing video, Litl has uploaded its own short movie showing the computer’s retail packaging.

There’s nothing too surprising. You get an AC adapter, the computer, an optional remote and/or HDMI cable. The box with the laptop has a sort of manifesto describing the “internet computer” that rests inside. The funny thing is it specifically states that the machine is “not a laptop.” Fast forward a few seconds in the video and you’ll hear the Litl employee refer to it as… a laptop.

In place of a user manual, the machine ships with 14 cartoony cards describing how the Litl Easel works and how it’s different from other computers.

You can check out the video after the break. Litl also put together another video talking about the history of the webbook, complete with a couple of early prototypes including a transluscent prototype that made it easier to see what was going on inside.  I’ve embedded that ivdeo after the break as well.

via Netbook Choice

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Still confused about the Litl Easel webbook? It’s an internet and entertainment-centric laptop that doesn’t behave like a typical laptop, even though it looks an awful lot like a laptop. The folks at CrunchGear got to sit down with the developers recently and they’ve put together a 16 minute demo showing just what the device can do. You can check out the video after the page break.

In a nutshell, the thing that sets the Easel apart is the operating system. Litl OS is designed to behave more like a TV or internet appliance than a traditional computer operating system. There are no folders or desktop shortcuts. Instead you have a series of “cards” that you can flip through to perform different actions. And every program opens in full screen mode.

In other words, it’s a dumbed down internet appliance that has the guts of a fully functional netbook, but which is designed to do less… not more. And for that, Litl wants to charge $699, or about twice the price of a typical netbook.

Is it worth it? I guess that depends on how much you hate normal computers. If you’re reading this web site though, my guess is you’re more interested in the Litl Easel because you’re wondering if it can be hacked to run Ubuntu, OS X, or Windows XP. After all, it does have a few interesting hardware features such as a display which can be folded to a 178 degree angle to let you use the laptop in a sort of picture-frame mode and a GPU which can handle HD video and HDMI output.

You can find the CrunchGear video below.

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Litl has officially pulled back the thin veil that had been covering the company’s new Easel computer. The Easel is basically a laptop with a 12.1 inch display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and a graphics processor that can handle H.264 video at 720p resolutions and output video to an HDTV via HDMI. It has 1GB of RAM, and 2GB of Flash memory, 802.11g WiFi, mic and headphone jacks and a USB port. It also has 2 infrared ports for using a remote control to operate the computer.

But while the specs aren’t particularly impressive, Litl is marketing the Litl Easel as an entirely new class of computing device, thanks largely to its custom user interface. Litl OS is basically a web-connected operating system that you navigate by clicking on thumbnails and navigating through a search box. There’s no file browser. There are no folders. Your data is automatically stored online so you can access your information from any Litl Easel.

The Easel is designed to be used in two different modes. In laptop mode, it functions like a laptop and you can navigate with a touchpad and keyboard. When you fold the screen down and prop the computer up you can navigate using a wheel built into the machine or a remote control. And web developers can design custom “channels” that will show up when you use the Easel in channel mode. For example, the weather channel web site shows up as a normal page in laptop mode, but in channel mode it can show you the current weather conditions and other information in full screen.

Overall, the Litl Easel seems like an interesting device. But there’s one problem, and it’s a big one: Litl wants to charge $699 for the Easel. That makes it about twice expensive as the average netbook with nearly identical hardware specifications. You could also make the case that a typical netbook can do more, since it runs a full desktop operating system such as Windows XP, Windows 7, or Ubuntu Linux. But that kind of misses the point of the Easel, which is meant to be used as a new class of device, not as a traditional laptop. But charging twice as much doesn’t seem like the best way to convince consumers that they need a new device that changes the way they interact with the web when it’s not at all clear that people are unhappy with the current paradigm.

Oh yeah, that remote control? It costs another $19, bringing the total price to $718.

You can find a boatload of additional photos and information at Litl.com.

via Netbook Choice

The Litl Easel is a low power laptop with a 12.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display that’s set to launch on November 4th. But you can already find a ton of information about the computer including the user manual and a series of pictures on the FCC web site. In true FCC fashion, there are even photos of the computer’s innards.

The laptop will run a custom operating system and has very little RAM built in. Add that to the fact that Litl refers to the Easel as a “webbook,” and it seems pretty clear that the Easel isn’t supposed to be a PC replacement, but rather a device for cloud computing. As long as it’s got a web browser and access to web apps like Gmail, Zoho Office, and Picnik, what do you need a bloated desktop operating system for? OK, right… desktop apps are probably a must-have feature for a lot of users, but they’re clearly not the folks Litl is targeting this laptop at.

The machine features a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, US15W chipset and GMA 500 graphics. It has 1GB of RAM, 2GB of flash storage, an HDMI port, a single USB port, 802.11b/g WiFi, a 0.3MP webcam, and a 3 cell, 28WHr battery. The Easel measures 12.6″ x 9.25″ x 1.06″ and weighs 3.38 pounds.

The Easel’s keyboard looks like it was designed for children, and there’s a decent chance it was. But the laptop does have one really nice feature — the ability to fold the screen down to what looks like a 270 degree angle so you can prop it up… like an easel, and watch videos. Of course, you could also watch videos with the laptop in clamshell mode, but then I suppose you’d have to acknowledge the existence of the keyboard.

While there are no pictures of the operating system yet, it looks like the OS is arranged as a series of “cards” that will allow you to perform different functions. For example, there are “web” cards representing web pages that can be opened in a Mozilla-based browser. There are also “channel cards” for widgets such as an alarm clock or news headline ticker. And there’s a “Family and Friends card” for communicating with your contacts.

via Engadget

Most netbooks with 10 inch and smaller displays lack optical disc drives for 4 reasons:

1. It helps keep down the cost
2. Fewer moving parts to break
3. There’s not a lot of room in most netbooks for a disc drive
4. Microsoft only makes low cost Windows XP licenses available to PC makers for netbooks that meet strict specifications, and a disc drive isn’t on that list of specs

If you guessed the last item on the list was one of the most important, you’d be right. The other three items aren’t exactly insurmountable. And if you happen to be operating in Shenzhen, China, neither is the fourth. A company called Imore is introducing a 10 inch laptop called the Webbook that will sport a CD/DVD drive. There’s no mention of the operating system, but this netbook likely either runs Linux or an unofficial copy of Windows XP.

Of course, disc drives aren’t as important as they once were. You can download most software from the web, and you can also download music and movies. Still, if you have data stored on a disc that you want to access, or like to listen to CDs or watch DVDs on the go, a disc drive can come in handy.

Aside from the disc drive, the Webbook has all the usual netbook specs including a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160Gb hard drive, 802.11/b/g/n WiFi, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It has just 2 USB ports, tanks to the disc drive which uses up a fair amount of space. But there is still room for a flash card reader and VGA output.

The laptop has a 2600mAh battery and measures 10.2″ x 7.6″ x 1.2″.

via Shanzai.com

Despite my earlier skepticism, it looks like the Elonex Webbook is real. And it’s shipping. The folks at Pocket Lint got their hands on one one of these 10.2 inch laptops that Carphone Warehouse is offering for free with a wireless subscription. And here’s what they had to say (nutshell version):

• The Webbook ain’t the lightest or heaviest netbook you’re going to find, but at 1.3kg, it’s a lot easier to carry around than a 17 inch laptop.
• The case is black on the outside, silver on the inside, and has a big Webbook logo on the top.
• As with other laptops with a VIA C7-M CPU, the Webbook is pretty good for web surfing or basic office document work, but it’s not a multimedia or multitasking powerhouse
• You get about 2.5 hours of battery life

You can pick up an Elonex Webbook for about $525 without a contract, and it sounds like the computer might just barely be worth that price. But the idea of getting a Webbook for free with a wireless contract is much more appealing. Unfortunately, this deal is only available to UK customers.

The Elonex webbook looks interesting enough on paper. The laptop packs a 10.2 inch display, 1.6GHz VIA C7-M CPU, 80GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, runs Windows XP, has 3 USB ports and weighs just 1.3kg. Oh, and you can pick one up for £264 or about $525 USD or get one free when you sign up for a wireless data plan with Carphone Warehouse.

The only thing that gives me pause? The fact that the computer in the pictures seems to have a real keyboard and a digitally rendered display. Call me silly, but I’m always a bit wary of placing orders for a product that doesn’t actually appear to exist yet.

[via Cloudbook UMPC]