Due to an ongoing litigation battle over use of the term “netbook” involving Psion Teklogix, Intel and Dell, LG Electronics will be releasing its new X120 ultraportable PC product to the retail channel beginning next week, marketing it instead, as the LG X120 Whatchamacallit.
Shawn Snobelen, director of sales for LG Canada’s IT and commercial sales division, said the X120 is LG’s second generation product in its ultraportable PC product category. The X120 is a 10.1-inch LED backlit LCD screen display product which will replace LG’s X110 10-inch ultraportable PC, which was released last November.
“The X120 has a completely new chassis and design with new feature sets and a new screen,” said Snobelen. “It’s a practical and fun lifestyle piece that’s easy to use and affordable to buy.”
He said LG is currently holding a naming contest for the X120 Whatchamacallit and anyone can go onto LG’s Web site to suggest a name for the product. The winner will receive prizes such as the X120 as well as bragging rights for naming the product.
“We want to create consumer interest and get ideas,” Snobelen said. “It will be going to market as the X120, but we’ll be looking for a pet name to go along with it for later in Q2 when the (naming) contest ends on June 10.”
LG will not be marketing this product at any specific industry vertical because Snobelen said the X120 is a product that really anyone can use.
“We’re realizing the ultraportable space isn’t owned by one particular (customer) demographic,” he said. “X120 is an application-based product for the consumer who wants something ultraportable, a small form factor and functionality.”
The X120 will be available in two colour choices: a translucent white casing with either pink or lime trim. A black translucent casing with either silver or white trim will also be made available later this summer.
The X120 runs on Microsoft’s Windows XP Home OS and uses the Intel Atom processor. It also features a 4-in-1 multimedia card slot reader, has a built-in 1.3 mega-pixel camera and runs on a six-cell battery, which Snobelen said can provide users with up to seven hours of use. The product weighs only 1.26kg and also comes with a one-year limited international warranty. Snobelen said the X120 also features SmartOn technology, which gives users instant access to applications without having to boot up the full operating system. This only takes about five seconds, Snobelen said. Users can also take advantage of LG’s SmartLink connection, which enables users to connect the X120 to another PC via a USB cable to be able to access folders and share resources.
Future Shop will be the first retail store to receive the X120 within the next week or two, Snobelen says, with more availability expanding later this month to independent retail shops and other online partners. Retail pricing for the product will be set to $549 at time of launch.
Moving forward, Snobelen says LG will introduce additional models to its ultraportable PC category later this year, with hopes to go to market with a 3G model sometime around the back-to-school timeframe, he added.
