The guys over at Engadget spied a cheap smartbook at the CeBIT show in Germany this week. The best thing about the Coby NBPC722 isn’t its performance, looks, or wow factor — it’s the price. The little smartbook will sell for just $85 (USD).

You can’t expect much for that price. You get a small 7-inch screen and the rig uses a 624MHz Marvell PXA303 processor, 2GB of flash storage, and the machine runs Windows CE. Honestly, I am surprised to see any flavor of Windows on a machine costing less than a C-note. I figured the thing was running Linux. This would be the perfect first computer for my daughter; if she and Barbie beat the thing to death, it wouldn’t be that big of a loss. The machine is expected in America this spring.

[via Engadget]

Measuring in at 13mm thick, this portable GPS is definitely one of the slimmest units I’ve seen. Although last time I checked, my iPhone 3GS is actually a hair slimmer at 12.3mm thick, but I suppose that’s splitting hairs. Regardless, as standalone units go, this one could be the thinnest. The compact GPS features a 5-inch diagonal LCD touchscreen, and is powered by a SiRF-Atlas III processor. The device runs on the Windows CE 5.0 operating system, and takes map files loaded onto a MicroSD card. The system offers voice guidance, 2D and 3D map modes, as well as day and night modes for the display.

In addition to its GPS capabilities, it can play media files in MP4, AVI, 3GP, MOV, WMV, M4A, WAV, MP3, WMA and even SWF formats. There’s even a built-in FM transmitter so you can send the audio to your car stereo. And it does all this for just $100 (USD).

So that sounds okay, right? Well, here’s the bad news. According to Chinavasion’s product description: “This model is compatible with most brands of GPS software – however hardware specific software such as Garmin may not run on this unit. As the wholesaler, Chinavasion provides the GPS- enabled hardware only, not the software. Chinavasion provides no warranty or customer support regarding GPS software. Chinavasion cannot provide downloads / links / advice regarding GPS software. Any software installation you undertake should be performed or supervised by a professional… Actual GPS voice and display languages depends on the GPS software package.” So unless you know where to go digging for Windows CE-based GPS applications and maps, it sounds like this super-thin GPS could be pretty much useless.

If you’re feeling adventurous and don’t mind trolling around some Torrents looking for GPS software, you can order one here. Just don’t blame me when you drive your car into a drainage ditch.