Blue sneaks in Helium T31 Mini-Notebook

Just discovered a new netbook from Blue Digital at one of the shelves of a PC Corner store this afternoon — a 10-inch Blue Helium T31.

The sales people tells me the Helium T31 is a new product that came out this month though I could not find it in the official Blue website.

The specs:
10″ display screen
Intel Centrino 1.2GHz
1GB RAM
80GB HDD
WiFi
56k modem
LAN
2 USB ports
Firewire port
6-cell battery
Windows XP Home Edition
External DVD-Writer

The price: Php 21USD 0.36INR 30EUR 0.34CNY 3, 998 (approx. $475PHP 27,876INR 40,256EUR 452CNY 3,457)

This is the first netbook that came out with an Intel Centrino. Blue’s shift from VIA to Intel is a good move and the price point is just right. An external DVD writer alone could cost Php3,000USD 51INR 4,334EUR 49CNY 372 so it’s a good bargain.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

15 Comments

ralph says:

16 years ago

sana internal yung dvd
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kouji says:

16 years ago

interesting. i still wish it were cheaper though. :D
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Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco says:

16 years ago

I don’t understand why they keep saying Centrino Processor, Centrino is not a processor! The guys there had NO idea what the processor actually is. I’m betting it’s a Pentium M which would either be too slow or too power hungry
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Abe Olandres says:

16 years ago

@ Lucien – it could also be the ULV Core 2 Duo that recently came out. I think they range from 1.2 – 1.6GHz. Not really sure and I asked for the specs sheet which they said is missing.
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Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco says:

16 years ago

I’ll go and snoop some more for you. I’ll ask them to let me peek into the BIOS for more detailed information. :-P

Oh, and I hope you’re right. I’ll go get it if it’s a ULV C2D processor, but not if it’s a Pentium M. The old Centrino logo they used isn’t very promising though.
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Num Lock says:

16 years ago

@ Lucien, currently, I’m using a Pentium M (w/ ATI X700 128mb VRAM) laptop which will beat any core 2 duo laptop w/ shared VC.

It’s a great package provided that you’ll use the DVDRW. I hope that they will release an affordable 12″ laptop which is a good balance between usability (7″ to 10″ netbook doesn’t appeal to me; i’ll go blind he he) and portability.
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Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco says:

16 years ago

Numluck – I believe this one has shared VRAM. I’m betting the IGP is a lowly GMA 900. :-D
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taksan says:

16 years ago

@ ralph
if the dvd was internal, then i think it would just ruin the purpose of being a netbook. if an internal dvd is something you are looking for then i think a regular laptop would do the job. :D

but overall, this device is very competitive with the bundled external dvd writer.
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felipe says:

16 years ago

“sneaked in”. i wonder why? is it to avoid sharing the limelight with the much cheaper (and more advertised) deep blue?
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Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco says:

16 years ago

It’s a Pentium M, confirmed it Yesterday when I dropped by and asked if I can check the BIOS. No information on the chipset though, they won’t allow me to boot the pre-installed Windows O.S.
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Maurice B. says:

16 years ago

hmmm. As far as i know Blue doesn’t produce its own line of product. Instead, they order these units from china or taiwan from a OEM Manufacturer of Netbooks and Notebooks. All they do is repackage or rebrand this units and sell them cheaper against the big boys.

This netbook is a bombshell! Im gonna save up to buy this baby.
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bench says:

16 years ago

maurice i think it will be nice to save money and wait little longer..ASUS 100HE is coming..not to mention another type of netbooks which is 3G ready..no need to put the usb 3G to connect to the net..para na syang GSM kasi mailalagay mo na mismo sa loob ang mga simcards na 3G na..
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Cezar C. says:

16 years ago

Ako may binibenta 14k (slighly used) upgraded na memory to 2gig and with Genuine OS.
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neomaniac says:

15 years ago

ano kaya ung sim nya? globe or smartbro? sayang maliit lang hdd nya 80gb lang and lumang centrino logo ang nakalagay. parang portable dvd player pa ang looks.
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Iron Rust Removal says:

13 years ago

i am personally using Blue sneaks in Helium T31 Mini-Notebook, and i think its great.
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