Everex to Challenge Asus’ EEE PC

The rumored Everex Cloudbook will sell for the same amount as the EEE, but improve on hard drive and processor specs.

What goes around comes around. After Asus dropped a hot-seller on the ultra-mobile computing market with its EEE PC, an imitation of low-cost PCs like the Intel Classmate, the manufacturer’s success has spawned another imitator to challenge the EEE for low-cost supremacy.

According to LinuxDevices.com, an inside source at budget PC manufacturer Everex says the company has developed its own low-cost notebook, dubbed the Cloudbook. Everex first made waves with the $200 gPC it sold through WalMart, which included its own Linux-based OS, gOS. The Cloudbook will make use of the same Google-reliant operating system to keep both price and system requirements low.

Although the system will use a 7-inch screen similar to the Asus EEE’s, other rumored specs will take the Cloudbook a step above its competitor. For instance, the Cloudbook is expected to come with a 30GB hard drive, compared to the EEE’s 4GB, and it should also gain a speed advantage on the EEE by using a 1.2GHz Via C7 ULV processor rather than the 900MHz Celeron that Asus uses.

An official announcement of the Cloudbook is expected to come at the International Consumer Electronics Show in early January, with the machines going on sale just days later on Jan. 15. The anticipated price for a 30GB model: $400.