12 inch Netbooks are coming. Dell has the Inspiron Mini 12, Samsung will unveil its 12 inch netbook model to the U.S. shortly, and more are coming. And Intel isn’t happy about this at all.
In fact, the whole Netbook market may be making them nervous. Despite the fact that they power most of these devices with their new Atom chip that handles some PC chores well and uses a lot less power (so batteries are smaller and last longer). Intel sees Netbooks as devices for people who can’t afford normal laptops, or as second devices. But it’s clear that a lot of people are buying them instead of normal dual core machines, despite their very serious limitations.
That means that for the most part, every Netbook sold is one less Dual Core that Intel can sell at a higher price and higher margin. Which explains exactly why the company has been publicly criticizing the performance of the machines. “If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out,” said Intel VP Stu Pann at an event last year.
Intel also wants to keep Netbooks at 10 inches or less. Some PC companies we’ve spoken with say that Intel doesn’t want Atom chips in devices bigger than 10 inches, and puts incredible pressure on them to keep Netbooks at 10 inches or less. Dell’s Inspiron uses an Atom chip anyway, but Samsung is using Via’s competitive (and less expensive) chip, the Nano.
We asked Intel if they forbid manufacturers to build Netbooks with larger than 10 inch screens, which is what those manufacturers are telling us (Dell notwithstanding). Their answer: “Intel defines a netbook as a 10″ or smaller screen size. We recommend that OEMs and netbook manufacturers use that guideline as well in order to get the best user experience.”
That’s a nice statement but it’s complete rubbish. There is no performance loss with a 12 inch screen v. a smaller screen (other than power usage). A 12 inch Netbook is just as fast or as slow as a 10 inch one. The only difference is that the user is even less likely to buy a low end laptop with a dual core.
Netbooks are clearly here to stay, and the new models with larger screens and larger keyboards solve two of the three problems I have with them (the last issue is Vista and XP, which runs poorly on these devices, but people are fixing that problem, too).
We’ll soon see 13 inch and larger Netbooks, despite the pressure Intel is putting on manufacturers to keep them at 10 inches. Intel may not agree to have their chips in these devices, but Via, with their excellent Nano competitor, seems more than willing to fill the void.
For years chip makers have been over-selling consumers on processor speed. Despite the fact that spinning HDD has long been the performance bottleneck for day-day usage, un-savvy consumers still only gleam at the GHz figure to determine performance.
This trend is finally starting to crack…down-ward cannibalization is a damn tricky animal to manage.
“This trend is finally starting to crack”
…thanks to stripped down Linux operating systems.
I hope that wasn’t a knock on Linux
I mean if they ran XP (which some do), or Ubuntu 8.x, Its about the same as far as resource consumption is concerned.
Linux systems help the trend, especially those instant-on ones; but I’d say the real catalyst is web apps, the all-you-need-is-a-browser reality that Google is building.
Linux netbooks aren’t the ones selling, according to Gartner (not me). The only ones selling well are the Windows XP versions. That could cast doubt on the new $199 ARM-based netbooks being discussed at CES.
“Linux netbooks aren’t the ones selling, according to Gartner (not me). The only ones selling well are the Windows XP versions.” That’s because people don’t realize how bad they are until they actually use if for the first time. Even normal linux is too much for these machines, imo.
@Patrick
Linux notebooks were selling well till MS got scared about this trend and reinstated XP from the grave.
When was the last time you saw a system with Linux installed in a retail store, netbook or otherwise? Even major online stores like Dell don’t sell a lot of these.
A Google search would spit out the reasons fairly quickly. But suffice to say, if you sell a lot of Linux, Redmond gets mad.
I think 10 inches is plenty when you’re on the road.
Then sell us on the power-savings, how green is your chip? Less power means smaller batteries, less heat, less noise, we like that.
People will still buy for speed though, for games, Photoshop filters, 3D modeling, right?
If intel won’t adapt they’ll lose heavily to arm
“Which explains exactly why the company has been publicly criticizing the performance of the machines. “If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out,” said Intel VP Stu Pann at an event last year.”
To be fair, he’s absolutely right.
so it makes sense to promote bigger screens.
I’ve actually been using a netbook as my one-and-only computer for the past 3 months (due to a water-spilled-on-MacBook failure) and I found it to be a great tool provided it’s used for what it does well.
Here’s how I go about making the most of it:
1) Performance: I mostly use Skype + Firefox + Winamp on a daily basis (most other applications I use are web-based) so performance definitely isn’t that much of an issue
2) Screen & Keyboard size: while at home or at the office I plug the netbook on an external display + keyboard (I used to do this with my MacBook as well), the small screen makes for a perfect Skype desktop & the big one for web browsing
3) Form factor: the small & lightweight laptop is ideal when I’m at conferences, classrooms, basically whenever mobility is key. The small screen & keyboard aren’t that much of an issue when used only occasionaly
I bought an Asus EEEPC 900 and had I waited a couple more months I’d probably have bought a 10” or 11” model to benefit from the slightly bigger screen & keyboard – but still, I can definitely see those laptops be used for daily tasks without hassle (I’m running Windows XP on it by the way).
Intel definitely has a reason to be worried about selling less of its top-of-the-range chips, though I’d be surprised if they didn’t try beating VIA down on prices at a later stage – or maybe by offering computer makers who buy their higher-end chips discounts on Atom ones.
This talk from Intel about screen size is all smoke. My theory is that Intel is more anxious about the looming competition in the name of VIA, the Taiwanese chip producer that seems have decided to embrace this niche of the business.
In this tight economy, netbooks are a better fit for people’s wallets. Frugality is getting to be the new fad, imagine that!
Netbook producers wish they had a Steve Jobs clone on their side, because they need someone like Steve who knows how to make a product sexy enough to create an insurmountable wave, so the word “netbook” can be permanently legitimatized as the third leg of personal computing, as in, you have your monster-rig desktop at work, your laptop when you go on business trips, and then your netbook which you carry around in your house.
Large screen for netbook. Why not? However, intel might put license agreement only to use Atom with netbook less than or equal to 10 inch. they might enforce it and sue any one who did not follow.
Not necessarily – as your article rightly points out, a bigger screen means that more people may be choosing the cheaper 12″ netbooks over the vastly more expensive 12″ high-end laptops.
This may be perfectly fine in itself, but what if consumers buy the 12″ netbooks initially thinking it is a decent alternative, but eventually tire of its performance (of lack of)? The slow performance may directly affect Intel’s brand and image, and consumers may avoid the “Intel Inside” logo which they see on their netbooks.
What I would suggest is that Intel wants to (rightly) influence how netbooks are marketed and ensure that consumers’ expectations are correctly managed, and they are doing this to protect the most valuable asset of any business – their brand.
I don’t think, therefore, that they are doing this because of a stubbornness to changing consumer behaviour, as your article seems to imply.
I have a 13 inch macbook, I cant use it for 45 consecutive minutes without wanting to see if it will blend .. 10-12 inches would be tantamount to Chinese water torture
Great expression of frustration.
but a big screen can be heavy on your laps, also could be tiring to carry around all the time. but i guess it’s a good exercise.
Create or join a crunchie’s chat group at http://groups.im/
10 inch netbooks are too small, but if it was larger, then I want one.
Couldn’t Intel raise the price on the higher end to make up for the netbooks?
as a consumer you aren’t supposed to be concerned with Intel’s margins. And Intel shouldn’t be putting pressure on manufacturers to limit the size of netbooks. Their performance argument is BS.
“We’ll soon see 13 inch and larger Netbooks” – which raises the question: What really defines a netbook?
I’d go for a usage-related definition rather than a specifications-based one: “a low-cost computer primarily designed to allow its user to browse the internet comfortably while on the move”.
* A computer: well, this one probably is obvious
* While on the move: thus a laptop rather than a tower
* Low-cost (could have been affordable): about half the price of usual laptops
* Designed for the internet: specifications good-enough to browse the web without hassle – but not much more (no video processing nor videogames)
The MacBook Air wouldn’t be defined as a netbook according to this definition since it’s not cheap enough… But another 13” model matching all other criteria could be.
The term, UMPC, is better suited than netbook imho, “ultra mobile” defines its key physical characteristics and leaving its utility, be it web-browsing or note-taking or what not, to consumers.
That’s my question as well Kasper, at what point do these netbooks become laptops?
When people stop buying them
When they include an optical drive?
Never.
As a bookkeeper using QBs, sometimes several versions open at once, I’m with Intel on this one.
My desktop has Quad core & I can really tell the difference. Of course this is with using resource hog QBs as I stated above.
Love my hisband’s new netbook, but it just doesn’t seem to be the mobile solution for my needs.
Nobody’s saying that Intel should stop making Dual-Core CPUs.
Yes, I realize that. I’m just stating that as much as I love my husband’s Netbook, it doesn’t seem to be powerful enough to handle my needs in a mobile situation.
Haven’t shopped for a new laptop for my needs lately, but would like to find one a little smaller with the resources available to run several resource hog programs at once with ease be it QBs or some other.
for some reason you seem to think that if your husband’s computer had a bigger screen that it would perform even worse than it does now.
Keep in mind it is a netbook it is used for Internet stuff, browsing and listening to music, maybe a movie. I dont ever think that it was designed for multiple instances of quick books. I loved my netbook when I had it. Ofcourse i never ran anything that was a big resource hog on it, like Windows so it ran pretty smooth.
Intel is on the works of its UrbanMax mobile concept at 11.1″ running on Centrino 2 CPUs
My newly acquired 10 inch netbook under XP does a lot of things better than my short battery live laptop even than my desktop under XP…
Hours without a connection. I can sit in my garden or on a terrace.
I feel the same sort of liberation that I felt with the first portable telephones in the late 80ies. And those were heavy.
Right on, mobility is what it is chiefly about.
@JoshL & Kasper G
What is actually happening is consumers are perfectly happy with the performance of Atom chips. As Michael mentions whether it is a 10 or 13 inch screen it does not matter. Consumer acceptance of Atom processor speeds means that competition is shifting to being cost focused vs performance.
Intel has know for years that they need specialized chips that perform niche functions to keep margins at current levels. It appears that they are going to have a hard time going forward.
The problem is that you asked Intel the wrong question. It’s not about forbidding manus from building netbooks with larger-than 10in screens, it’s about forbidding manus from building Atom chip laptops with larger-than 10in screens. The way you asked it left them a big hole to run their definition of “netbook” through. You should be familiar with this tactic from page one of “The Donald Rumsfeld Interview Guide.”
If you’re the type of person that is going to use a netbook for more than an hour or so a day then performance issues (ala gaming, fast graphics etc) probably arent an issue for you anyway. I can’t imagine a developer or ‘pc power user’ using a netbook to work on all day – they seem more geared toward web browsing/blogging/’laying on the couch’ type of users.
I bought one for my 9 year old daughter (one of those Asus eee pc’s running xp) – for her it’s perfect and when she goes to bed it’s perfect for me while I catch up on Discovery Channel on telly and browse the web at the same time.
The argument about netbook performance suffering if the screen size is bigger is just plain stupid – but a larger screen would make the machine less of a ‘netbook’ and more of a ‘workbook’ – the smaller form factor of these machines is what makes them appealing (imho).
Exactly. You hit the nail on the head.
DH’s is also the ASUS Eee pc and it’s perfect for his needs. Surfing, email, IMs, shopping, this and that while doing other things at home or out on the road.
He’s on the road several times a week and this one is very light to pack inside his other suitcase. No need to even carry an extra bag.
I have an HP Mini 1000 running XP with an 8GB HD and 1GB of RAM. I watch Hulu, develop with Aptana, installed XAMPP, make video calls with Skype via the built-in webcam, edit MS Word docs, etc. The only problem I’ve encountered is frame rate issues when playing 1080 Flip Mino HD vids and the expected shorter battery life.
These are great little machines for $350. Unless you’re doing some serious gaming, they’re perfect for tasks most people are trying to accomplish with larger and more expensive hardware.
That being said, I don’t think Intel has anything to worry about because most consumers aren’t educated enough to make a thoughtful comparison. So Dual Core units will likely continue to sell well without being cannibalized by the Atom line.
I bought and use an Acer Aspire 1 – took it on the road for blogging at the Macau Grand Prix – producing text and light photo editing. The other journalists were laughing but I gave it a good bashing over four long days and it did just fine – why carry a load of heavy kit? But then I drive a smart car – exploit low-cost technology!
Yep. The reason why the netbook market is booming is because anyone that’s lugged a laptop through more than one country on a trip know what a pain in the arse it is. My next portable business thingy will be a netbook, no question.
Also, I don’t really see the ’small KB size’ as a problem. Compared to a Blackberry for example…
Michael- what’s the latest with your tablet PC? http://is.gd/25nP I think it’s a brilliant idea; part Kindle, part Netbook. I am tired of propping my laptop with funny screen angles just to read TC.
HP “bucked the trend” today in a big way with their HP dv2.
Not only does the HP dv2 have a 12.1″ screen but also plays Blu-ray movies, HD videos, play real games, and yes, can do the web, too. Oh yeah and it’s priced $<700, too.
I got to play with a pre-production unit over the holidays and wrote up my experiences here: http://budurl.com/HPdv2
Are you getting cash for this plug, or does your last name explain all?
Yeah Intel are unhappy about the new netbooks, but they’d be stoked about a techcrunch tablet.
13inch netbook – oxymoron. It’s a cheap ass notebook. A netbook is small to carry and use in cafe shops, max. 10inch.
I think the only real threat concerning these small books is the impact that Dell is going to have on the laptop market. The smaller they are the better Dell’s economies of scale, and the better they are the more monopoly Dell will have on the notebook system. I’ve never seen a Dell with anything but Intel CPU’s though, so I don’t really see the problem for the long run.
Or, they could make better chips for the Netbooks. I don’t mind paying more for performance. Its the size thats a huge attractiveness to netbooks imo.
intell are screwed because would they rather sell a chip or let a competitors chip be in a machine.
if the likes of ARM get serious about this market they are going to have a bigger problem. Phone makers are used to working with companies like ARM and we are bound to see crossover devices.
I am guessing if nokia does a netbook it will not atom powered.
For the life of me, I don’t understand where this frustration over netbooks comes from. If a 9″ or 10″ or 12″ screen does not work for you, fine, great, go get a laptop. For others like myself, this thing is a marvel.
I have been using an Acer Aspire One for over 6 months and it has fully replaced my big laptop. I can use Office 2007 with Outlook along with many other business applications with ease.
Is there a compromise with the screen? Sure there is. Is there a compromise with power? Well, yes. But honestly, the processor works just as well as the Dell 2650 I have sitting in a corner that I bought 4 years ago and was, at that time, good enough to run Office 2000 and later 2003.
For those who would hate working daily on a netbook, you would be amazed at how fast you adapt. And besides, watch your kids. They love these things and are quick to adopt them.
As for Intel’s thoughts, fine. We’re racing to the bottom here and Intel is not happy about it.
Well put. The perspective of “And besides, watch your kids. They love these things and are quick to adopt them.” is refreshing as well.
I haven’t checked in detail, but I would expect that Intel will only allow the Atom to be used in larger than 10.2″ laptops if those come with Windows Vista and not Windows XP.
Since I am expecting that Microsoft has a limitation on Windows XP netbook edition licences only beeing sold to laptops that have a maximum of 10.2″ screen.
We all know and this article is well put, Intel and Microsoft are extremely scared to let the market lower laptop prices too quickly. They will keep up their high margin laptop segment dominating sales for as long as possible. There is no money to make for Intel and Microsoft if everyone buys $200 laptops as their main laptops.
“You cannot watch YouTube videos on a Netbook”. Intel should just advertise this fact and sales will tank.
no, Flash video works absolutely fine on both the Atom and Nano chips. Its the ARM chips that can’t handle it.
I suggest you check the Archos 5 devices. They run ARM + DSP solution by Texas Instruments. They play Flash videos just fine. I would say they play Flash better then Atom chips, cause the DSP kicks in and displays the flash video in beautiful full screen mode automatically, hiding all ugly flash controls and focusing on the video. Watching Youtube videos on the Archos 5 is a truly instant, smooth and cinematic experience.
Sure Flash Lite for ARM laptops will not perhaps support Action Script 3 right away unless Adobe is FORCED to do a decent port of Flash for embedded devices. I believe there is a conspiracy theory with Adobe = Intel = Microsoft to block alternative platforms.
My 12″ Dell Mini 12 comes in the mail next week. No more Mac.
What about that segment of the market that needs these smaller devices – high school students, college students, third world countries, even the disadvantaged in our ‘advanced society’? When are we going to let the technology be available to all?
I share your sentiment. To me, a partial transaltion for “these smaller devices” would be conveniece. But “to all” would be unpractical.
I’m looking for a computer for my mother who is 82 years old. She wouldn’t know what to do with a CD or DVD in a computer. She only wants access to online email and to an online newspaper. She needs something simple, easy to use and reliable. Her current computer is on its last leg. I think a netbook is the answer as a replacement. We looked at one today. A 12″ screen would work better for her though, so that would be the preference.
What do most people that buy dual-core laptop use them for? For exactly the things that the netbook is designed for. So indeed why bother buying a heavy laptop when you can get ultra-portable netbook performing the same tasks as an ultraportable laptop only 3-4 times cheaper. Netbooks are really the death of expensive laptop and I’m happy they are going to drag the overly inflated prices down
Another thing, my Samsung NC10 netbook performs as good if not better than my 3 years old Presario laptop and I use it for more than just ‘web browsing and text edditing’. I run programs like Mathematica, Matlab, Maple, sometimes heavy calculations and it does just fine. How do you think people managed to do all complicated tasks BEFORE the coming of the 1GHz processor? The only ‘problem’ with the netbook is the smaller screen but you get used to it and you look at it closer than regular laptop so it’s just fine.
I can really spend a whole day on netbook just like on my laptop and I am going to sell my laptop which I use for calculations/work, simply don’t need it anymore.
The size of the netbooks makes many people imagine they are inferior to laptops. Well a 1.6GHz netbook and laptop are equivalent HELLO! When people buy a netbook they are ’surprised’ that actually it acts just like the equivalent laptop. Of course it will it’s the same thing only smaller.
I would really suggest some of you buy a netbook and see that for not too extraordinary operations like ‘parrallel supercomputing’ lol netbooks are just fine and yes I’m sure my Samsung can do programming and edition just like any other laptop with 1.6GHz processor.
“The size of the netbooks makes many people imagine they are inferior to laptops.”, that sort of imagination seems unfounded, do you honestly think most people judge a book by its cover? I don’t know, hope not.
Hard to believe but YES people are THAT dumb! Just read the comments in the beginning of this written mostly by people that never owned a netbook and then contrast these with the owners of netbooks all saying that a netbook is a perfect substitute of the equivalent laptop. Netbooks are advertised for “doing simple tasks like sending email, browsing internet or writing a text document”. Give me a break, ever heard of an equivalent 1.6GHz laptop running at the same speed and with the same parameters denigrated like that ???
What is going on actually is that the manufacturers are trying to separate the market in two. Its like saying: Look if you need a serious machine for serious work, buy a laptop, but if you need to send emails or chat in the coffee shop, get a netbook. Apparently that slides with the consumers because as someone said it before me, most consumers are not intelligent enough to make educated decisions. And don’t ask the educated geeks either. They always need to have the latest CPU and the latest Windows and use all that power play computer games, nothing really serious and nothing that actually requires a dual core LOL
As I responded to another comment, I think the term, netbook or netbooks, is inaccurate, but probably better for marketing for it kind of sounds cute. Personally I’d prefer the term, UMPC. Havne’t seen a lot of such ‘cutie’ in cafe though, hmm, isn’t that odd?
It’s about the size for the price. Until the netbook came along, if you wanted a 3 lb notebook to carry and use everywhere, you were stuck buying an ultraportable for ~$2k. Since most road warriors who want that do basic email, browsing and document editing, rather than gaming or video editing, $2k is a huge price to pay. Now, for ~$350, you can get great portability with basically a bigger screen and a keyboard compared to using your iphone.
I’m waiting for a convertible XP tablet 12″ netbook to come out to use it as a paper notebook replacement. Basic note taking with OneNote or Evernote. Basic email, browsing and RSS reading where I don’t have to multitouch to read anything on the page and light document editing for storage into the cloud. Tether it to my phone for cellular access in non-wifi spots and I’m golden. All in a 3lb package that I can pretty much take anywhere without lugging a huge laptop bag.
thats fantastic news! intel mostly wants easy money delivered to its HQ in large chunks, and make that in direct deposit if you could, please.
thank goodness for competition we see netbooks, or the atom processor! thanx to amd for increasing competition in chip space, thanx to ati and intel to reduce prices in the gfx chip front, thanx to asus for netbooks, etc etc, the list is long, and we wouldnt have seen any of these without competition.
there’s only one area that goes unchallenged in computing space, and eats chunks of our dollars – OS, someday in my lifetime, i hope to see MS squelched.
“OS, someday in my lifetime, i hope to see MS squelched.”
How about google for search?
I want one!
I see their point – I bought a Asus eee pc earlier this year and it handles most of my applications (dreamweaver, office…) extremly well. I think the second and third generation is even much better.
Buy one running on linux as the battery will last longer.
Ask your self what you use besides:
- Internet browsing
- Word processing
- Spreadsheet
- Presentation
- Youtube
The OpenOffice data can be saved under MS Office format on a USB memory stick and be read by MS Office running on a Windows XP machine.
Intel will be forced to changed this policy or loose business. With the advent of AMD’s Athlon Neo aimed squarely at the premium netbook market sector. 12 and 13 inch display based netbooks would definitely sit in at the premium end and thus represent a target market for AMD. Intel is unlikely to leave that door open for AMD to march in unchallenged and thus will have to change it’s policy.
Intel needs to be very careful in this space as it will likely be squeezed from the top by AMD and bottom by ARM, it will make for a healthy competitive netbook market for buyers.
Another useless article by Michael Arrington, your a hack and you have no idea what users really want. I read your old article from Nov which absolutely killed netbooks and despite your doom and gloom they have sold like hotcakes. I bought a netbook for 3 members of my family installed OSX on 2 and Ubuntu on the other and my mostly computer illiterate family couldn’t be happier.
I really dislike your style Michael, you suck
Settle down, it’s only a blog.
of course U may not like what he wrote but he has the right to his personal opinion which i think it is the definition of a blog
A chip maker wants to dictate the pc world? They probably could before AMD but not any more. Why do they still think they can? stupid capitalists.
Intel wants to sell uber processors, and capability that most people don’t need. Even those that need it, don’t need it 95% of the time.
When you’re flying, hopping around coffee shops or public transport, the netbook is perfect. Small, light, capable enough and rugged.
Ultra portables have been seriously overpriced for too long now – bring on the netbooks!
Thats an crappy INTEL statement, having anxiety about how to well the atom is adapted in netbook surely its not that kind of frighting for their stocks to plunge oh no.
I say please please I say an atom is an atom small cheap power efficient. I cant connect with the idea of intels lost. Someone like still needs power LOTS OF IT BRU HAHAHAHAHA HAAAAA. LOL
soon it will be at amazon!!!!!!!
http://amazonbest.blogspot.com
IS THAT OWNED BY AMAZON?????
Well, I like the netbook idea and wanted one. But I’m a dedicated Mac user and waited for the new mac laptops to come out.
Now that they have and Apple has shown it’s a no laptop for less than $1000 (sorry, $999.95 is still $1000) company so I’ve started looking around.
Especially nice is the msi wind and hp s10 since I can put osx on them and keep all or most of the features.
I also waited for the iMac and Mac Mini announcements on Jan 6th but nothing happened. So instead of paying big bucks for “new” old technology I’m buying an old used iMac for a lot less and one of the netbooks I can put osx on!
HP is coming out with dv2, 12″ and runs AMD Neo + ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410. I am waiting for that!
Intel VP Stu Pann’s comment is bunk. I LOVE my MSI Wind. I have used it for HOURS at a time. No Problems!
Michael, you pick the best fights.
Intel cannot win this battle, but they can (and likely will) win the war. Intel will just fire up the marketing monster and go to the consumer. Then they’ll squeeze the manufacturers with chipset changes and a new “performance” version of the Atom until prices rise.
- Curtis
http://ShipItOnTheSide.com – Build a software startup as a side job.
Sony has gone the other way, smaller. Nevertheless, they have jumped on the netbook bandwagon too:
http://www.netb...ced-more-at-ces
OK, now for the real question: a core2duo costs like $100 right? and an atom costs $20…
So why arent there any 10 inch netbooks running around with core2duos for $80 more? duh.
I used to have a 10-inch fanless Sharp laptop that I loved. Actually had two of them in a row. Dropped both.
I now have a 12-inch Dell Latitude D420 with a loud blowing fan as I type. I hate it, but it was the smallest I could find at the time. The Sharp notebook had been taking out of production.
As a journalist I work on my laptop 8+ hours a day, seven days a week. Portability and silence are priorities for me.
I have been waiting for more choice in ultra-small laptops for years. Finally we now have these Atom-powered netbooks. I was not surprised they are a sales success. I’ll probably buy the Asus Eee PC 901 next month.
People whining about keyboard and screen size keep ruining it for the rest of us. Tech reviewers and gamers looking for power, first time laptop users migrating from big old desktops and clueless senior management at companies like Dell seem to be conspiring to constantly make laptops bigger and heavier.
Apple follows the same thinking with their oversized, but ultra-thin (why?!) MacBook Air.
When my second Sharp crashed computer stores told me it was an American thing: “Americans want big laptops”. I knew that was BS from the response I got on my Sharps in cafes and on the road, but here we go again I guess.
looks cool
The specs quoted are basically the same as my two year Gateway NX100X. Solid machine but it never got any great reviews and (I’m guessing) it didn’t sell well. It think they sold them for a year or so. Maybe people will spend $500 on one of these instead of the $1200 Gateway was getting (a bargain compared to others selling at $1600 to $2400) . BTW, it’s been great machine other than not being able to find a replacement 9 cell battery (good for 4 hours when new).
A few observations:
1. I replaced a dead lappy with a MSI Wind and love it. Lightweight, does everything i need, and boots faster than any other PC i have.
2. Unfortunately, AMD is expressly NOT targeting the netbook space. They do not see the ‘profit pool’ of netbooks as large enough to justify the R&D investment. Until AMD seriously enters the market, I think Intel will try to (ab)use its market power to artificially constrain Atom shipments to prevent cannibalization. I do not believe VIA is a viable threat.
3. The potential wildcard is Windows 7. Early claims are that it can run with less memory and CPU power than Vista *and* XP.
Without Intel’s FUD and artificial constraints on shipments, the market would probably segment into power-users (using multiple QB, or Photoshop and gaming) and vanilla users, similar to embedded graphics versus graphics add-in cards. With Atom system ASPs less than half similarly configured Core systems, obviously Atom would account for a vast majority of the units.
No wonder Intel is scared.