The long-awaited Sylvania $99 Netbook was unveiled at CVS today. In Bristol, there are four CVS stores, and by 1:35 p.m., they were sold out. Well, actually, there was one left, and I bought it! I claimed it on the phone, and headed that way immediately to get it.
Why a 7" Netbook
I have always wanted a 7" netbook. Since I got my original laptop, I have wanted one. I am online almost 24 hours a day. I am writing or working constantly, and my laptop travels everywhere from the porch to the bathroom. I go to bed either working on my laptop or researching on my Blackberry. I wanted something in between.
The specs
This little 7" netbook has:
- Operating system: Windows CE 6.0 professional Plus Version
- RAM: 128 MB
- Internal Storage: 2GB Nand-flash
- SD Card Slot: up to 8 GB
- 8.4 v 1800 mAH built in Lithium battery
It is criticized somewhat for accessing mobile sites, but that's ok wih me. I did quickly try it out, and it worked on traditional sites, too. There may be a problem on a heavy download or complicated website.
Here is a site dedicated to the Sylvania Netbook from CVS for $99.
Too good to be true?
Is a netbook that will get you on the Internet for under $99.00 impossible to find? KMart featured an Augen netbook during last year's Black Friday Sale which took off with a bang, and landed with a flop. It had inherent problems, and most people returned them immediately. The only one left in one store I visited was a return, and the sales clerk said all the "other returns" had been sent back.
KMart was back in the news again with the inexpensive Augen Tablet running an Android operating system. It made news when Google refused to allow access to the Google application store through the Augen models, although the models received a little more favorable press than the previously released netbooks.
Sylvania sounds safe
If you grew up in America, you may well have watched a Sylvania model television. You may feel safe with Sylvania, and it always helps when you can pronounce the name. This netbook was featured on the front page of today's CVS circular, and it is already being reviewed online. It is getting good reviews for the type of device that it is. It is not a laptop, and it is not even a high-powered netbook, but it is a pretty good deal for the money, according to the limited users so far.
Bristol must think so
I started calling CVS stores at 1:35 p.m. I was getting the same answer; they had just sold the last one. Then I called the Volunteer Parkway Store, and they had one left. I asked if he would hold it until we got there right away, and if we could use our CVS bucks. "Yes and Yes."
Just like ketchup
I got it home, and opened the box. I plugged in the ac adapter to charge the battery. The instructions say you need to charge it the first time for 12 hours to assure a long life for the battery. I cheated a little, and checked to see if it would work on our wireless network, and it did. It was actually quite impressive.
Then I made myself wait until the appropriate 12 hour charging period to use it. Tick tock......tick tock.....
Oh, the anticipation.
I will keep you posted!
Sylvania $99 netbook at CVS Part 2
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Comments
Please do. I've hated the keyboards on the models my friends use. Hopefully something small and affordable will come around that is good for my younger kids playing games on the Internet. They like Roblox and Lego Designer. But even my older laptops can't always run Lego Designer.
I bought one i do like it but the OS is like amix of win98 and winXP thats very watered down but a perfect on-the-go machine and perfect for low income familys i like it but ill probably in stall ubuntu and expand the memory
I bought one i do like it but the OS is like amix of win98 and winXP thats very watered down but a perfect on-the-go machine and perfect for low income familys i like it but ill probably in stall ubuntu and expand the memory
From the specs, this seems much closer to the old-school "palmtops" from nearly ten years ago, than the true "netbooks" of today. It's running Windows CE. And as such, you can only run the built-in apps, or (possibly) add new ones designed for Windows CE, Pocket PC, or Windows Mobile.
But at least it has that 2GB of internal storage, most earlier palmtops were limited to the 128MB of NVRAM and you had to use up the SD card slot if you needed more storage. It also seems to have the newest version of Windows CE, another improvement over the palmtops of old. Not to mention the WiFi and RJ45 networking ports, USB, and other niceties.
I can see where this might be good for light word processing or mobile Web access.
I bought one at CVS today, and everything is very impressive...BUT, it will not connect online with my USB Modem...I called the toll free # at 3pm and office hours are until 5:30. I left a msg. but haven't gotten a response.
I called my ISP, and the rep. is unfamiliar with Windows CE mini-netbook. She asked me for their toll free #, I gave it to her, she put me on hold and came back saying she didn't get an answer either! I really want to be able to use this little gadget. If anyone knows how to install a usb modem, please help... THX
I'm trying to see what the model number/name is so I can do some on-line research, too.
this netbook sucks bigtime. don't ever buy this one. was given one and it had this ancient windows mobile ce os that looks like win 3.1.
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