An overview of notebooks available in the US with Linux pre-installed.
Dell
Dell has been selling consumer notebooks pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux since May of 2007. They started selling the notebooks as a direct result of customer demand on their IdeaStorm site. Since the initial launch, Dell has sold several notebook models with Ubuntu and they continue to expand their offering. Currently they ship the following notebooks with Ubuntu 8.04 and full (legal) DVD playback support. All of Dell’s Ubuntu offerings are available at Dell’s Ubuntu site.
Inspiron Mini 9
Dell’s entry into the netbook market. It looks very promising and features a special version of Ubuntu that Dell calls “Mini OS”.
Starting Price: $349Buy from Dell
Inspiron 1525N
This entry-level notebook features a 15.4” display. You can customize this notebook with a variety of upgrades.
Starting Price: $599Buy from Dell
XPS M1330
One of Dell’s most popular XPS notebooks now comes with Ubuntu Linux! This high-end notebook is both stylish and highly customizable.
Starting Price: $1.399Buy from Dell
XPS M1530
This is the XPS M1330’s bigger brother. While not as light as the M1330, it is cheaper and sports a larger screen.
Starting Price: $1,269Buy from Dell
Asus
Asus made a big splash in the notebook market in 2007 when it started shipping its Eee series of netbook computers pre-installed with a customized version Xandros Linux. The combination of small, low-cost notebooks and a simple to use interface made the Eee a huge success. There are now Eee clones from a variety of manufactures (see below).
The Eee PC 901 features a 8.9” display, Intel Atom N270 processor, 802.11n wireless, bluetooth, 1GB RAM, 20GB solid-state drive, and a camera.
List Price: $599.99 Asus product page Buy at Amazon
The Acer Aspire One features a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, 512MB of RAM, and an 8 GB solid-state drive. The Aspire One comes pre-installed with a customized version of Linpus Linux Lite.
List Price: $399Acer product page Buy at Amazon
System 76
System 76 offerers a full line of notebooks and desktops that come pre-installed with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. Visit System 76 to view their full lineup of computers.
Darter Ultra
The Darter Ultra is a lightweight notebook featuring a 12.1” screen, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, a fingerprint scanner, and built-in webcam.
Starting Price: $995System 76 Product Page
Pangolin Performance
The Pangolin Performance is a desktop replacement notebook featuring a 15.4” screen, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, wifi, bluetooth, and built-in webcam.
Starting Price: $869System 76 Product Page
Serval Performance
The Serval Performance is a desktop replacement notebook featuring a 15.4” screen, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, an nVidia 512 MB GeForce 8600M GT video card, a 3 in 1 memory card reader, and a built-in webcam.
Starting Price: $999System 76 Product Page
Lenovo
ThinkPad R61
Lenovo has announced that they will begin shipping select notebooks with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10. Their first offering is the ThinkPad R61 which features a 14.1” widescreen display, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, integrated Intel graphics, and DVD burner.
Starting Price: $866Buy from Lenovo
Everex
CloudBook
One of the first companies to get into the netbook market, Everex offers this tiny machine pre-installed with the gOS Rocket operating system (an Ubuntu derivative). The CloudBook features a 7” screen, VIA processor, 512MB of RAM, 30GB hard drive, and webcam. The Cloudbook is available at WalMart and New Egg.
Price: $299Cloudbook Product PageBuy at Walmart.comBuy at Newegg.com
gBook
The Everex gBook is a full-sized notebook that features the gOS operating system (an Ubuntu derivative). It comes with a 15.4” screen, VIA processor, 512MB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, wireless, and DVD burner.
Price: $399gBook Product Page
MSI
MSI Wind
The MSI Wind is one of the more talked about Linux based netbooks. Unfortunately, the Linux versions of the Wind do not appear to be in stock in the US at this time.
