Alpha, the team behind the Litebook, introduces new notebook and desktop

The Litebook, an inexpensive Linux notebook, saw moderate success upon its release back in March. Alpha, the group that developed and released the Litebook, is back at it with two new devices: the Litebox, a small desktop; and the Centurion, a much more powerful notebook.

The Litebox is reminiscent of small form factor desktops like the Mac Mini and NUCs from manufacturers like Gigabyte and Zotac. The Litebox looks similar to the Litebook on paper:

• Intel Celeron J1900 CPU
• Integrated Intel HD Graphics
• 4 GB of RAM
• 500 GB HDD

While a unit with these specs will run $249, the Litebox can be configured with an Intel i5-5200U, 8 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage for $200 more. This is all wrapped in a compact aluminum case (4.5”x4.5”x2.3”) with an HDMI port, one DisplayPort, and three USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The Litebox will run Elementary OS, just like the Litebook, and is available in black, red, and white.

While the Litebook and Litebox offer less power at a lower price, the Centurion is Alpha’s “powerhouse” device. The 15.6-inch notebook has a Full HD display, an Intel Core i7-3517U CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and options for either a 480GB SSD, a 1 TB HDD, or a 128 GB SSD/1 TB HDD combo. The device will also be equipped with:

• 802.11ac WiFi
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Audio in
• Audio out
• 2x USB 2.0
• 1x USB 3.0
• RJ-45 Ethernet port
• SD card reader
• DVD-ROM
• VGA video out

The Centurion will run $429 for a base model and $549 for the top-tier.

Considering the devices are running CPUs that are several generations old, you shouldn’t expect top-tier performance. But for the price, these laptops may hit a sweet spot. Linux works well on underpowered hardware, and Elementary OS brings some niceties to the user experience. These new devices from Alpha are ambitious for such a small company; we’ll see how they fare over the next few months.

Source(s)