TechSpot - PC Technology News and Analysis

Gigabyte just became the latest in a growing list of PC makers to enter the “netbook” market ignited by Asus late last year with the Eee PC. But while most competitors have been pretty much stuck to the same basic idea – a small, entry-level notebook with a somewhat affordable price tag – Gigabyte is trying something a bit different with its 8.9-inch laptop, the M912V.

Besides the less-than-catchy name, this ultra-portable laptop from Gigabyte features a touch screen display (with LED backlighting) that can rotate 180 degrees to transform from a traditional notebook form factor to a tablet PC. The M912V packs a 1.6GHZ Intel Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive offering up to 250GB of storage.

Other features include a 1.3 megapixel Web cam, integrated stereo speakers, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, an ExpressCard slot, and a choice of Windows XP, Windows Vista, or an unspecified flavor of Linux. Though availability and pricing details were not given, a report by PCLaunches.com suggests the M912 will reach store shelves this month at $699.