One thing bothers me about many ultraportable laptops and netbooks is that tend to reduce the optical drive to save weight and reduce costs. The problem is that there are still times when an optical drive is really necessary for many of us. Gateway has introduced a new ultraportable EC14D packets called an optical drive in a small package.

The notebook has a 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 resolution high definition screen and uses an Intel Pentium ULV SU4100. The machine has 4 GB of RAM, 320GB storage and optical drive is an 8X Super Multi Drive. The machine has a memory card reader and three USB ports as well.

Other features include WiFi 802.11b/g/n, an integrated webcam, Touch Pad multiple tracks with gesture support, and HDMI output. Power comes from a standard 6-cell 5600mAh battery. The EC14D be delivered later this month for $ 629.99.

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