AMD’s upcoming ‘Nile’ platform will see itself sit in at least one upcoming Eee PC netbook: the ten inch 1015T. The core hardware will feature AMD’s latest 1.2GHz AMD V105 single-core processor, 1GB of memory (max 4GB), a 320GB hard drive (although there maybe 250GB options as well) and probably most importantly, ATI Radeon HD 4200-class graphics with HDMI output.
The Radeon graphics hardware is the most significant upgrade as it includes ATI’s second generation Universal Video Decoder (UVD2) hardware that takes the load off the CPU for 1080p HD h.264 playback. Obviously the 1024×600 netbook display designed for portability isn’t enough pixels for real HD content, but plug in a HDTV via the included HDMI port on the side and you’ve got a portable HD playback device!
While battery life versus the Intel Atom solutions does apparently take a slight hit, the graphical ability is far greater, so if you’re into a splash of casual gaming while on the go and need to keep up with your WoW raiding, then the 1015T finally gives a small netbook the capacity to do so.
So it’s great to see more diversity in the netbook range, and ASUS continuing to commit and expand to its popular Eee PC line and having noticed the 1015T will be available in black, white, blue and red, it got me thinking and reading into something else: tech colour.
Whatever the tech hardware, black, white and silver always sell more for any electronics gadget, but what’s wrong with a splash of blue or red instead? The answer is, nothing really, it’s entirely down to the self-perception of what the colour stands for and the personality of the person using it.
Most people will opt for the ‘authoritative and professional’ black or ‘high-tech and fresh’ white that has overtaken the favour of silver in tech respects. Blues and reds have the opposite effect to each other of calming and exciting respectively, and tend to reflect the personality of the user rather than a statement of purchase. Likewise, the Karim Rasheed Eee PC’s in brown and pink might not have been traditionally popular colours too, but in conjunction with the textured surface, they were designed specifically to appeal to those with a more fashion-centric and extrovert personality.
Ultimately, like the choice of hardware that goes inside your netbook (AMD vs Intel), choice of colour is just as important and always a good thing!