A few weeks ago, start-up Jolicloud announced that it would soon be releasing a netbook based on its eponymous operating system, and sure enough, that time has come. The company has announced that the first Jolibooks are now available from various retailers and should be in customers' hands by the start of next week.
The system - which is being made by Vye - is fairly standard in terms of hardware, featuring a 10.1in 1,024x600px display, a dual-core Intel Atom N550 CPU, 1GB DDR3, a 250GB HDD and a claimed 7 hour battery life. Otherwise, this is a very normal looking netbook - except for the 'vibrant' lid, of course. However, it's the Jolicloud 1.1 operating system that separates this device from the pack.
The OS is built on the netbook edition of Ubuntu 9.04 and features a very app-centric approach. The HTML 5-based Dashboard treats online services more like programs than web pages and other software can easily be installed from the built-in App Centre. There's also deep integration with social networks and the ability to easily sync files across multiple cloud-based storage solutions.
The Vye Jolibook is available to order now from directly from the manufacturer or from Amazon for £279.99, making it one of the cheaper dual-core netbooks on the market. Neither has a specific shipping-date listed, but the founder of Jolicloud has promised via Twitter that purchasers will have the systems in their hands by next week.
For anyone unwilling to take the plunge on a new platform straight away, you can get more details on the OS on the Jolicloud website, as well as try out a browser-based version of the interface. It's also compatible with the vast majority of existing netbooks, so you're free to test it without having to buy a new computer.
