We think we’ve just seen the perfect hackintosh machine. This little iiView A2 netbook, from the Singapore manufacturer of the same name, will ship with a copy of Vista and be eligible for an upgrade to Windows 7. But the tiny machine looks so much like a mini-MacBook Air that it’s begging to have OS X forced onto it.
Inside, it’s just another netbook: Atom 1.6GHz processor, 320GB HDD, and Intel’s 945 chipset. Outside, things start to get a little more interesting. A 12.1-inch screen is larger than you normally find on a netbook, running a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The usual VGA-out is replaced by mini-HDMI, and the mic and headphone jacks are combined, just like a MacBook. Stranger still, these ports are hidden inside a flap, also like the Air. The price for this white MacBook clone is a reasonable $470, and it even has a removable (six-cell) battery.
The only thing that needs to be known is will it hack? Some netbooks are better than others as FrankenMac projects. We’re looking forward to seeing just how compatible the A2 might be. And one more thing: The otherwise annoying Flash-based site plays the five digit tune from Close Encounters. Dork-tastic!
Product page [iiView via CNET]
Watch out, Flip, Kodak’s in town, and he’s a’gunnin’ for ya. Kodak’s new Zi8 pocket video camera comes in at $20 less than Flip’s Ultra HD and manages to beat it in almost every way. The Kodak shoots 1080p, the Flip just 720p. The Kodak has built-in image stabilization (electronic, not physical), a microphone socket and an SD card slot for adding up to 32GB of memory (although it ships without a card in the box and just 128MB internal memory). The Flip doesn’t. The Kodak even has ther Flip’s trademark flip-out USB plug and snaps five megapixel stills.
