RISCBook Laptops

Centrino mobile technology
meets RISC OS

NB. Centrino is NOT Celeron.
Celerons are usually slow,
Centrino machines aren't!

The RISCBook is the first solution to marry the latest mobile computing of Intel's Centrino technology with the RISC OS operating system. The Centrino platform uses high-performance/ low-power processors (a concept highly familiar to existing RISC OS users!) to provide longer battery life, and also incorporates technologies such as wireless networking for a truly mobile computing solution.

With battery life comes high speed

The CPU at the heart of the Centrino platform is able to offer high performance even at relatively low Mhz ratings. For example, the entry level RISCBook uses a 1.4Ghz processor, yet equals (and even outperforms) the desktop 2600+ systems. The classic Artworks apple renders in under 2 seconds at 1024x768 in 32,000 colours using AWViewer, which is amongst the fastest times recorded for a RISC OS 4 machine. Not bad for a system which offers up to 5 hours battery life!

At the Manchester User Group in Jan '04, the standard RISCBook was demonstrated rendering Artworks illustrations, and found to be faster than the most high-end desktop (pure-ARM) RISC OS machine currently available...

What this boils down to is an extremely fast laptop computer, capable of running RISC OS and Windows, with wireless networking (and normal networking) and good battery life (around twice that of Pentium4-based laptops). As you might expect, Centrino laptops command a price point towards the higher end of the market, yet we are able to offer the RISCBook with both RISC OS and WindowsXP for £899 inclusive of VAT and UK delivery, a price normally associated with purely-Windows Centrino machines.

Common features

The RISCBook range shares a number of features in common - some of these are listed below. Be sure to check out the individual machine pages (available down the right hand side) for additional information. Please also bear in mind that we offer quite a few other variants with slightly differing specifications, so if you are looking for a particular feature, we strongly recommend telephoning us on (+44) (0)1925 755043.

• Intel Centrino mobile platform which runs RISC OS substantially faster than a StrongArm RiscPC (most benchmarks are 2x or more!)
• RISC OS 4 and WindowsXP
• At least 256Mb of RAM (512Mb on many models)
• At least 40Gb hard drive
• Wireless networking (and wired networking)
• 56k modem
• DVD drive and CD-rewrite combi drive (DVD rewriteable option)
• 3x USB 2 ports, 1x firewire, plus a PCMCIA slot for expansion
• VGA (external monitor) and TV outputs
• around 2.4kg weight (with battery installed) which is comparatively light
• Mains charger unit
• Antivirus/firewall software, DVD software, and CD writing included
• UniPrintVA is included free of charge, allowing printing to almost any printer

Customers should note that because the RISCBook is a truly mobile computer, legacy ports such as parallel and floppy are not present. This ensures low weight, and is made up for by other inbuilt technologies, and there are ways to circumnavigate this if the user desperately needs specific ports (please contact us for more info).

Additional variants available

The models listed in our Product Range to the right represent just a few more common models in our range. We encourage potential customers to phone us on (+44) (0)1925 755043 to discuss other variants if they have particular requirements (eg. particular ports, ultra-high resolution screens etc). The speed of change in this market means that we are often able to introduce new features, higher speeds, and more, so don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to know more.