Today we spotted a pair of unique netbooks, the Lemote Yeeloong 8101_B and 8089_B, belonging to a quite unknown kind of netbooks. They don’t feature an Intel Atom or AMD Fusion processor, nor Windows OS and are not aimed at an average consumer. Instead, the geek-centric 10.1-inch Yeeloong 8101_B and and 8.9-inch 8089_B have the Loongson 2F China-made processor and GNU/Linux OS.
Loongson chips are based on MIPS architecture. The 2F runs at between 800 and 900MHz and is 64-bit compatible. It has a built-in video controller and a power consumption of 4W. It works in conjunction with DDR2 memory.
By the way, Loonson is made by a company called STMicroelectronics. The chip is a part of China’s government effort to achieve a sort of independence from foreign technologies. The chip is also used in the EMTEC Gdium Liberty 1000 netbook, released back in 2009.
Regarding software, its open-source nature is not limited to operating system and apps only, but netbook’s BIOS as well. The Lemote’s netbooks come with an unspecified GNU/Linux distribution pre-loaded, which can be replaced by any other GNU/Linux distro. They are not Windows compatible.
The Lemote Yeeloong 8101_B and 8089_B include 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, 3-cell battery, a 0.3MP webcam, three USB ports, VGA out, and a 3-in-1 card reader.
Although the specifications and design are pretty outdated and software is free, the Lemote Yeeloong mini-laptops are not cheap at all. The 10.1″ version is priced at $399, while its smaller sibling is $299.
In the Youtube video below, you can see how a Yeeloong netbook boots up.
You’re watching my YouTube video above. This is not your average netbook. It’s quite slow in terms of performance. It is very reliable and well-made from my experience so far.