OCZ Jumps into Netbook Market with Neutrino

Over the last 18 months, the netbook market has become a jungle in terms of brands, sizes, and hardware specs. For OCZ, however, the netbook is still underpowered and lacks significant storage options.

Enter the OCZ Neutrino. From the outside, it appears to be a netbook comparable to the likes of Asus, Acer and MSI. For the most part, this is a fair observation. From the 1.6 GHz Atom processor to the 2 GB of RAM to the 10-inch 1024x600 screen, the Neutrino might impress, but it won't revolutionize the market.

However, there are two options that do raise an eyebrow. For starters, the Neutrino can pack a 250 GB OCZ SSD (2.5-inch), a rarity in the netbook sector. Most similar offerings from other companies top out at 64 GB. Go any higher with an Eee PC or Aspire One and it's a spinning magnetic hard drive for you.

The other interesting feature is that the Neutrino is part of OCZ's "DIY" (Do-It-Yourself) product line. OCZ's DIY products allow for the user to upgrade RAM and storage on their own without voiding the warranty. Sure, most of you reading this article upgrade components on your own anyways, right? Well, in this case, if the motherboard or webcam dies after you've cracked the case open, you won't be held responsible.

Expect the Neutrino to hit the U.S. sometime in the next two or three months, in both Ubuntu and Windows XP flavors. Also, if you're interested in other OCZ products at CeBIT, check out their new Z Drive, which connects one terabyte of SSD goodness to your desktop through a PCI Express connection.