CeBIT 2008: The Best of the Rest

Gigabyte Mobile Internet Devices

While the Expansys shop that sells Gigabyte notebooks in the UK is still quite new (and very difficult to find through the Expansys site), Gigabyte is pushing its mobile division hard and has jumped on the Intel Atom brand with both feet.

The new Gigabyte M528 is a nice size between the typical VIA C7-based MIDs like the OQO Model 2 or the Gigabyte U60 (which are about 7-inches in long) and the much smaller iPhone or Blackberry devices – it's far smaller than the former and far more functional than the latter. While we don't expect this to be unique to Gigabyte as more companies start to support the new Intel Atom processors, it was a great experience to get to play with one.

It includes a touch screen as well as nipple mouse on the right (not great for us lefties) and while the keyboard buttons are small they are nowhere near as bad as those on a Blackberry. It won't replace a notebook for heavy typing but it's still very capable of notetaking, email, blogging or whatever you do on the go and it's no bigger than a Nintendo DS. And while we’re comparing to the DS, it’s just 40g heavier at 300g too.


The device is powered by an 800MHz CPU with 512MB of memory onboard and 4.8" LCD with a 4GB or 8GB SSD – very similar to an Eee PC. Also similar is its custom Linux OS that looks like a cross between bits of various distros, MacOSX and the iPhone. For example it featured something similar to the object dock at the bottom, and also rolling, smooth scrolling and turning photos as you turned the device. The only thing missing was the pinch function. As an engineering sample the unit was certainly very nippy, but we don't know if this was a performance mode or how long it will last with a 3060mAh, 3.7V battery.

The M528 comes with two cameras – a 300K pixel CMOS camera facing the user for video conferencing etc, and a much more powerful 3MP CMOS autofocus camera on the back to emulate a camera phone. As you'd expect connectivity is very good with Bluetooth and 3G built in. The HSDPA option is a mini card module via USB, while the 802.11b/g WiFi option is available via the SDOI port.

Currently expected to launch in black and white, the M528 should retail for about 700 Euros when it arrives in a few months.


The new M704 updates the current U60 UMPC and features the same 1.2GHz ULV VIA C7-M CPU, 768MB memory, a 7" LCD at 1024x600 and a 40-60GB hard drive. This only has a single 1.3MP camera and a two cell 3.9Ah battery that offers around four hours of life.

At 780g its significantly larger and heavier but the benefit is that it has far more expandability. Options available include a digital TV tuner and a docking port, while it also runs on Windows XP. Arriving in May at 850 Euros, it won't break the bank either but it's still quite an investment – if you're looking for an ultra portable notebook (11" for example) most start at £1,000 upwards. Is it enough to replace the current £590 Gigabyte U60 though? It has an increased resolution and display size, but we're struggling to see the significant benefit.