Via Laptop Aims Open Source WiMax

Via Technologies releases new laptop design with WiMax support.

Via Technologies on Tuesday released a new hardware design for low-cost laptops with WiMax support under an open-source license.

The recent move is intended to make customization easier and shorten design cycles for system manufactuers.

Known as CAD, computer-assisted design, the files for the OpenBook reference design can be downloaded for free and made available to anyone under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license. The terms of this license allow the CAD files to be freely copied, shared and modified.

The only requirements are that use of the design is attributed to Via and changes made to the design can only be distributed under the same license or one that has similar terms.

"We're hoping we'll get some interesting feedback, and look forward to seeing what the community thinks about this concept," said Richard Brown, vice president of marketing at Via.

Other features of the 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) OpenBook include a full-size keyboard, up to 2G bytes of DDR (double data rate) memory, a 2-megapixel camera, a memory-card reader, and a 4-cell battery that offers up to three hours of life. The laptop is designed to run Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Linux, including G/OS, SuSE Linux, and Ubuntu.

The OpenBook systems will likely cost between $500 to $800 with the first products likely hit the market during the third quarter.