Gigabyte is getting ready to launch its first CULV based notebook, or Booktop as the company seems to want to call it, a name derived from one of its netbook products. The reason for the Booktop name is that it comes supplied with a dock, but this time it's not a vertical dock, but rather a more conventional horizontal dock.

Docking stations have been available as an upgrade option for corporate notebooks for many years, but never became popular on consumer level notebooks due to the extra cost. We doubt that the M1305 from Gigabyte is set to change things as we know it, but this dock is more than just a port replicator.

The notebook itself uses Intel's GS45 chipset which has enough graphics power to play back HD video, but it's not a good solution for games or anything 3D related. So what Gigabyte has gone and done is to implement a second graphics card in the dock which is powered by an Nvidia GeForce GT220 GPU with 1GB of DDR3 memory. We assume that this is a mobile part, but Nvidia doesn't list such a product on its website at the time of writing, but it's unlikely a desktop graphics card would fit in the slim dock.

The notebook itself features a 13.3-inch display with 1,366x768 resolution, it will come with a selection of CPU options from Intel's low power CULV range, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, up to a 500GB SATA hard drive and a built in optical drive. It also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, an HDMI port, an eSATA/USB combo port, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, a D-sub connector, a pair of audio jacks, a memory card reader, a 1.3 Megapixel webcam and a fingerprint reader.

The dock adds another six USB 2.0 ports, a D-sub connector, a DVI port, an HDMI connector an Ethernet port and a pair of audio jacks. Another neat feature is the fact that the optical drive can be swapped for a secondary battery that adds up to four hours of battery life. The standard 6-cell battery is rated at 3,800mAh which Gigabyte claims is good for up to 6.5h of usage.

Overall this is a pretty impressive setup, but it might just turn out to be a little bit too expensive for your average consumer that is considering a CULV notebook. However, if you're looking for a thin and light notebook that offers some extra graphics power when at home or in the office, then this might just be the option that you've been waiting for.

The product page can be found here and below is a quick hands on video courtesy of netbooknews.com