Very-basic Alpha 400 netbook costs under $200

Interesting. Geeks.com is selling something called the Alpha 400, which is probably about as close to the original concept of the netbook as it gets.

Linux operating system? Check. Low-power processor? Big check — it’s a 400MHz MIPS CPU. Small? Check. It’s got a 7-inch screen with an 800×480 resolution.

Additional accoutrements include 128MB of RAM (yes, 128MB), 1GB of storage, SD card slot, 802.11b Wi-Fi connection, 2.25-pound shipping weight (which might mean the device itself is even lighter), three USB ports, and an Ethernet jack.

By now you might be saying, "This looks pretty anemic, Doug. Why are you telling me this? These important work reports aren’t going to collate themselves. Give me the good stuff right away or I believe I’ll unsubscribe from CrunchGear’s RSS feed and get all my future news from Engadget and/or Gizmodo."

Okay, calm down you guys! Please don’t leave! The good stuff is that the Alpha 400 costs under $200. I’d be interested to try something like this out (hint, hint, Chris Herzog of Geeks.com) and see how it handles basic web surfing. After all, sometimes all you need is basic web surfing. This thing might make an okay couch computer and, who knows, maybe I could load Vista on it. Or maybe XP. No wait, maybe Windows 98.

It’s currently on sale for $170. Regular price is $190.

[via Gizmodo/jkOnTheRun]