Everex announced in CES 2008 that its new ultra portable: CloudBook, will be available at Walmart, and I think probably in many other online stores, on January 25th and will cost US$ 399.

The CloudBook runs gOS V2 Rocket, a new Linux flavour, and could be the best suited competitor for the highly successful Asus Eee PC.

According to Everex the new CloudBook has an ultra-low power design and allows up to five hours of battery life. That's nice.

CloudBook has exactly the same weight and dimensions as the Asus Eee PC but uses a conventional hard disk, no SSD, with 30 Gb. running at 4200 RPM. This could make boot time and starting applications slightly slower than with an Eee PC but the extra space will clearly be a nice addition for many.

Everex already had some success at Walmart last year selling a low-cost desktop, the gPC, which also ran on gOS.

The complete list of features:

• Processor: 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV
• Display: 7" WVGA TFT Widescreen (800 x 480)
• Preinstalled software and links: Mozilla FireFox, gMail, Meebo, Skype, Google Documents & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Maps, Wikipedia, Google Product Search, GIMP, Blogger, YouTube, Xine Movie Player, RhythmBox, Faqly, Facebook and OpenOffice.org 2.3
• Memory: 512MB DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (1GB Max)
• Hard Disk Drive: 30GB, 4200RPM PATA
• Graphics: VIA UniChrome Pro IGP
• Audio: VIA VT1708A High Definition Audio Codec with built-in speakers
• WLAN: 802.11b/g
• LAN: 10/100 Ethernet
• I/O: (1) DVI-I, (2) USB 2.0, (1) RJ45 Ethernet, (1) Headphone/Line Out jack, (1) Microphone/ Line In jack, (1) 4-in-1 Media Card Reader (Secure Digital, Multi-Media Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO)
• Battery: 4-Cell (14.4V, 2200mAh), rechargeable Lithium-Ion
• Dimensions: 9.06" x 6.73 x 1.16" (W x D x H)
• Weight: 2 pounds
• Warranty & Support: 1 Year Limited Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Technical Support
• Suggested Retail Price: US$ 399.00