EastLife: Zepto Notus A12

The Zepto Notus A12 is an innovative notebook which combines a very usable WXGA display with a low power CPU to give adequate performance with all-day battery operation and a cost lower than other notebooks with similar characteristics.

Readers of my reviews may recall that I was enthusiastic about the Sony G11 which had a 12.1" display, 1.13kg (2.49lb) weight and offered 9 hour battery life in return for accepting compromises on performance (link to that review). I can't be the only person who wants a lightweight portable notebook with very good battery life for basic tasks while on the move but doesn't want a very small display.

The Notus (right) outside next to the Sony G11 (left). The glossy screen can be used as a mirror! (and I could get a wireless connection to the router inside the house)

Reasons for Buying

I haven't bought the Notus. I just borrowed it so that I could share my findings. However, if I hadn't bought that Sony G11 last year then I would be very tempted to buy the Notus for the same reasons as I bought the G11.

The 12.1" Zepto Notus between the 14.1" Zepto 6024W and the 12.1" Sony G11 (all displays at maximum brightness)

The Notus's display next to the 10" display of the Fujitsu P2020

What's in the Box?

The Notus came in a small box containing:

The Zepto Notus notebook
The PSU, power cable, a battery and a modem cable with a European phone socket adaptor
A sheet of paper with getting started instructions
A driver CD (including the 145 page manual as a PDF file)
Operating system DVD (if Notus ordered with optional operating system)
A small microfibre cleaning cloth

The review machine was supplied with Vista Business and the optional Samsung SE-T08L slot-loading external optical drive. Purchasers may select one of the various versions of Vista or no operating system at all. Windows XP is not offered since the display size of the Notus makes it ineligible for Microsoft's continuation of XP for the small, low-powered notebooks.

Hardware Specs: Zepto Notus A12

The standard configuration comprised the following hardware and specifications:

CPU: Intel A110 (800MHz) with Intel 945GU chipset
Display: 12.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) glossy LCD with LED backlight
Memory: 1GB (1 x 1GB) DDR2 RAM running at 400MHz
Hard Disc: 80GB 4200rpm 1.8" HDD (Toshiba MK8009GAH)
Graphics: Intel GMA950 integrated GPU
Optical Drive: None built in, optional Samsung SE-T084L USB optical drive
Network: Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth: Cambridge Silicon Radio USB Bluetooth
Modem: HDAUDIO Softdata fax modem
Wireless: Zepto 802.11abgn wireless (Atheros AR5008X)
Ports: 3 x USB 2.0, gigabit network (RJ45), modem (RJ11), VGA, microphone, headphone, 1 x PC Card slot (Texas Instruments PCIxx12)
Media card reader: Texas Instruments PCI 7612 controller supporting SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC
Audio: Realtek ALC262 high definition audio + 1 x 1W loudspeakers and microphone
Touchpad: Synaptics touchpad 50mm x 29mm
UPEK fingerprint reader + TouchChip fingerprint coprocessor
Smartcard Reader: Texas Instruments GemCore based SmartCard controller
6-cell battery (10.8V, 5100mAh = 55.08Whr)
45W (15V, 3.0A) power supply with 2-pin connector
Dimensions: published:- 296 x 209 x 13.5mm, actual 296 x 205 x 21~36mm (10.9 x 8.43 x 0.8~1.4" (including feet)) . The size is almost the same as an A4 sheet of paper. The advertised thickness is misleading:
Weight : published = 1.3kg, actual = 1.36kg (2.47lb) with 6 cell battery
Travel weight including PSU and cables 1.65kg (3.64lbs)
Price: £752.35 and up