Advent Altro Bargain CULV Notebook Takes On MacBook Air

UK retailer Dixons is preparing its own MacBook Air rival for the holiday shopping season, in the shape of the Advent Altro.  The 13.3-inch CULV ultraportable measures 21mm thick and weighs 1.6kg, and packs 3GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron processor.  Unlike the Air, however, the Altro will start at just £600 ($987; the Air retails from £1,149 in the UK).

Your money gets you WiFi and Bluetooth, together with a multitouch-capable trackpad and fingerprint reader.  A built-in webcam and 120GB shock-proof hard-drive round out the main specifications, while ports include a single USB 2.0, an HDMI, audio out and a "multifunction connector" which can be used to hook up an external port replicator.  Bizarrely, though, the replicator has just two USB 2.0 ports of its own.

A second version of the ultraportable, the Elite, stepping up to an Intel Core 2 Solo processor and with a "premium flush glass finish" to the display will also be on offer, priced at £800 ($1,316).  Each will come with Windows Vista, but be eligible for free Windows 7 upgrades.  Both the Advent Altro and the Advent Altro Elite will hit shelves in the UK from August 24th.

[via Register Hardware]