Packard Bell has announced the launch of its new EasyNote XS, a 7-inch notebook featuring supa-dupa advanced portability that's a fully featured PC running Windows XP Home Edition.

Measuring just 30mm thin and weighing in at 950 grams this is about as ultra-portable as they come.

Designed to be your "everyday mobile companion", it's the mid-ground choice for mobile users that find full-sized notebooks too big and PDAs too limited.

"For all of us who wants to stay connected in a comfortable way, this is the perfect companion" says Emmanuel Fromont, sales and marketing vice president, Packard Bell.

"It has all the functionalities of a notebook – it just happens to be very small."

Working on the VIA C7-M Ultra Mobile Platform, is boasts a full size keyboard, built-in Wi-Fi, a VGA webcam, 4-in-1 memory card reader, two USB ports and stereo speakers.

There's up to 1024MB of RAM and 30GB hard drive. It runs the same full version of Windows XP Home Edition as a desktop PC does.

The ultra-low power consumption of VIA Ultra Mobile Platform claims to give the XS extra-long battery life – more than 3 hours with Wi-Fi on.

Our sources for Packard Bell here in the UK say that pricing and availability are all yet to be confirmed, although it's hoped it will hit the market before the end of the year.