ZaReason Verix Notebook

One year ago we reviewed the ZaReason Ion Breeze computer that was built around NVIDIA's ION platform with an Intel Atom CPU, but today we are looking at our first ZaReason notebook and it boasts some very high-end hardware. The Verix 1656 is one of ZaReason's highest-end notebooks and its powered by a quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU (with Hyper Threading to make for eight logical cores in this mobile computer), a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M GPU, and a 15.4-inch 1680x1050 display. The ZaReason Verix 1656 also has a very nice brushed-aluminum exterior.

Features:

- Premium black brushed aluminum finish
- Bright glossy 15.4" LCD display @ 1680x1050 pixels
- Nvidia GTS 250M dedicated graphics with 1GB DDR3 video ram
- Speakers on both sides of the keyboard for quality sound output
- 802.11 draft-n WiFi included
- Bluetooth included
- Combo CD-RW and dual-layer DVD-RW drive included
- 3-in-1 card reader -- MMC, SD, and MemoryStick supported
- ExpressCard 34/54 slot for extra expansion
- 1.9 megapixel (1600x1200) webcam included

Contents:

The ZaReason Verix arrived in a modestly sized cardboard box with the notebook itself resting between two Styrofoam molds. The accessories for the notebook were contained inside within a smaller cardboard box. Included with the ZaReason Verix notebook was an Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64-bit CD, several Ubuntu and Linux stickers, the ZaReason documentation, an external power supply, and the notebook's six-cell battery. As has always been the case with ZaReason, they are a very open company and stand strongly behind Linux. ZaReason also includes a small screwdriver with each of their computers as a sign that you can open up your computer and that you have the freedom to change out the software and/or hardware without voiding the warranty or losing ZaReason's support.