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NigelS
Senior Member Member

Canada
1339 Posts

Posted - 06/03/2008 :  14:25:58  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I thought I would start a thread regarding exciting developments for the so-called netbooks market. I am pleased to see some manufacturers stretch the envelope a little from the starting point of the Asus EEE... like this entry from MSI:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/msi-wind.aspx?page=1

With so many manufacturers throwing their hats into the ring this year, it can only mean good things (new lower prices, for one) will start to come from this corner of the PC market.

Edited by - NigelS on 01/10/2009 21:55:45

nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/04/2008 :  01:39:47  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Dell and Acer have new models in the pipeline, also. One of the manufacturers of flat panel displays expects the low-cost subnotebook market to grow to 10-15 million in 2008 -- up from only a few hundred thousand units per year. Click on the thumbnails to view larger images.







Exclusive: Dell Mini Inspiron, Their First Mini Laptop
Something from Dell at D6
Is this the Acer Aspire One MiniNote?
Dell and Acer to enter mini-notebook arena
AUO expects low-cost notebook market to reach 10-15 million units in 2008
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/04/2008 :  01:55:17  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
... and 10" models from Asus and GeCube...

ASUS Eee PC 1000 specs leak: 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD



WORLD EXCLUSIVE: GeCube's 10.2” Eee PC competitor


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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/04/2008 :  11:04:54  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
... and maybe Sony:

Sony Appears Ready to Ship Via-based Mini-laptop
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mr1
Average Member

USA
724 Posts

Posted - 06/06/2008 :  03:31:26  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Looks like lots of pressure for Fujitsu.

MR1
5010D-60G HD,1GB RAM XPP
12/2005 P1510 30GB (Upgraded to 60GB HD)1GB Ram XPT BT Portreplicator
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/11/2008 :  11:20:59  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The 10" Eee PC is now available in Taiwan for the equivalent of ~$625.



ASUS' Eee PC 1000H goes on sale in Taiwan (engadget)
PC 1000H XP-10 (shopping.pchome.com.tw)
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/11/2008 :  11:41:33  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
AMD is planning to release a next-generation Raon Digital Everun:



AMD jumps into the netbook game, challenges opponents to a duel (engadget)
AMD's netbook really a next-gen Raon Digital Everun (engadget)
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/13/2008 :  13:18:26  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Laptopmag published a review of a pre-production Acer mini-notebook: Acer Aspire one: An In-Depth Look
  • 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 512MB RAM, 8GB flash
  • 8.9-inch, 1024 x 600 display
  • web camera
  • 89% keyboard
  • 3 x USB 2.0, VGA out, Ethernet, dedicated SD slot, 5-in-1 media card slot
  • 2.2 pound
  • 9.8" x 6.7" x 1.1"
  • available in white, black and blue
  • $379 with Linux, $399 with Windows
  • optional 6-cell battery
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/13/2008 :  14:16:27  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Engadet posted some presentation slides on Dell's new 8.9" and 12.1" entry-level notebooks: Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop.

The base model Dell E will be $299 and come with an 8.9-inch 1024x600 display, 1.6 GHz Diamondville processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB flash, 802.11g wi-fi, and Linux. Other configurations include 1GB RAM, 8GB or 12GB flash, Bluetooth and a webcam.

Regarding the hardware configurations and selling points:
  • With 12GB maximum flash storage, hopefully the data bus to the SD slot will support high transfer rates (~20 MB/s). Many internal card slots max out at 2-3 MB/s, making the slot a slow alternative for supplemental storage.
  • If "Always Connected" is a primary product attribute, maybe there's an opportunity to partner with wireless carriers.
  • The Blacktop functionality looks encouraging. Engadget states, "... while it's not clear if there's a full-featured Linux OS onboard, there does seem to be an instant-on, Foleo-esque Linux included on all of them called BlackTop."
The slide When to Buy is extremely interesting. Dell is downplaying performance and positioning the Dell E and E Slim as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs):
  • "The MID is not a true notebook, so running XP with Office on a MID will sacrifice performance"
  • "While XP can be installed on a MID, if a customer needs the usual XP experience then they should look to Vostro or Latitude"
Dell is targeting the 12-inch E Slim at the "pro-sumer" market, which does not seem appropriate for an entry-level device. I'm not sure the E Slim is a better buy than a $400 Vostro.

Also refer to Dell E netbook emerges: what are the differentiators? (jkontherun)

Edited by - nomo on 06/13/2008 15:09:28
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/17/2008 :  09:43:56  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Laptopmag posted a preliminary review of the 10" Eee PC: Asus Eee PC 1000H Mini Review

  • 10-inch, 1024 x 600 display
  • 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor
  • 80GB HDD, split into two 40GB partitions
  • Black glossy finish
  • $679 $649
Click the thumbnails to view larger images.


Edited by - nomo on 06/19/2008 08:57:01
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/19/2008 :  09:09:23  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Here's the full review from Laptop Mag: ASUS Eee PC 1000H (Windows XP).
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/27/2008 :  00:34:27  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
ASUS Eee PC 1000H vs. MSI Wind: 10-inch Mini-Notebook Face Off (laptopmag)
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 06/27/2008 :  00:52:45  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Internals of the MSI Wind (click thumbnails to view larger images):





MSI Wind hits FCC (jkkmobile)
User Manual
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mr1
Average Member

USA
724 Posts

Posted - 06/27/2008 :  02:32:56  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
MSI Wind looks pretty tempting!!!

MR1
5010D-60G HD,1GB RAM XPP
12/2005 P1510 30GB (Upgraded to 60GB HD)1GB Ram XPT BT Portreplicator
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 07/07/2008 :  11:20:40  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Gigabyte will soon release an 8.9" convertible tablet for $600-$700:
  • Atom 1.6GHz processor
  • Intel 945GSE chipset
  • 1GB DDR2 RAM
  • 160GB HDD
  • 8.9-inch 1280 x 768 LED backlit LCD panel with touch screen and 180° rotation angle
  • 80 key keyboard
  • 3x USB ports
  • Dual 1.5 watt speakers
  • 1.3mp webcam
  • Bluetooth, 802.11BG wireless
  • Li-ion 4500mAh battery (3.5 hrs)
  • Windows XP, Vista Home Basic or Linux
Click the thumbnails to view larger images. Note the optional Partridge Family color scheme. (Come on, get happy!)




Hands-On with the Gigabyte M912 (laptopmag)
Gigabyte M912V- 8.9 inch Tablet PC for $699 (jkontherun)
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NigelS
Senior Member Member

Canada
1339 Posts

Posted - 07/10/2008 :  12:12:52  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Gorgeous new ECS G10IL - http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/12839/13863/ecs-hsdpa-broadband-laptop-notebook.phtml (Apple should be jealous.) Does anyone think this 2008 flurish of ultraportable R&D will also soon become a Lost Golden Era for the 10inch machine? I mean that it seems as if all this over-production of innovative ultraportable eee-inspired design and marketing will simply soon be gone. If Fujitsu & Sony & LG couldn't get the mainstream masses excited about the form factor - what makes ALL these manuacturers so sure cheap prices will do the trick? The eee was supposed to be merely philanthropy (digital access to the world's marginalised). I'm quite surprised to see HP & Acer getting in on this. More on the ECS G10IL http://www.engadget.com/tag/g10il
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oion
Advanced Member

USA
2231 Posts

Posted - 07/13/2008 :  02:19:31  Show Profile  Visit oion's Homepage  Reply with Quote
So. What's a netbook? It seems like a silly piece of marketing jargon since most people end up using their laptops for Internet access and word processing, but anyway...

Boy, cheap! I'm still waiting for those expanding/collapsible LCD screens, though. Sony Picturebook was damn sexy, but nigh impossible to use comfortably.
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NigelS
Senior Member Member

Canada
1339 Posts

Posted - 07/13/2008 :  23:55:49  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi oion! Yeah, I guess ultraportable is too unwieldy or old school or something. It is marketing. I finally visited a store today with the white eee, the black eee and the HP. The white eee is so trashy (cheap plastic looking) up close it is just nothing I would be caught using. The black one seemed to camouflage the seamy style Asus came up with and offers much less initial style offense. The HP is more business-elegant than even even in photos. The HP keys are gigantic and over-kill and I have to struggle with them (but the ideal for me is still the P2000 keyboard, I'm weird that way.) The eee keyboard ROCKS. It is so solid and perfectly sized and offers the PERFECT amount of resistance. The eee screen is poor quality but strikingly readable. The HP screen is clean and elegant like the rest of the machine. Neither of these are machines I would use a lot so 'no sale' but they offer some serious excitement. It's like 2002 all over again.

Addendum - it appears the eee has already upgraded to a slicker look and a larger keyboard (rats).

Edited by - NigelS on 07/14/2008 13:11:56
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EB1
Average Member

USA
774 Posts

Posted - 07/14/2008 :  00:09:20  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I suppose some people use the small notebooks on the internet. I try to avoid the internet as much as possible when using my P series.

EB
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NigelS
Senior Member Member

Canada
1339 Posts

Posted - 07/14/2008 :  12:56:59  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Fujitsu netbook coming - (I think they should call it "the Penguin") http://www.liliputing.com/2008/07/fujitsu-siemens-jumps-into-netbook-game.html
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oion
Advanced Member

USA
2231 Posts

Posted - 07/15/2008 :  18:10:05  Show Profile  Visit oion's Homepage  Reply with Quote
@NigelS: Right, leave it to Intel marketing. Or Microsoft. Yes, everything is plastic these days. Kinda sad. I still haven't been able to let go of my "loaded" P-2040 yet despite having this P-7k for a while now. I'm just being nostalgic. Also, I had to stop myself from snickering when reading your "eee" post because I kept pronouncing it in my head as a squeal "eeee!" instead of triple-E or whatever.

I also admit to being completely turned off by the marketing efforts to target young children with these small devices. Actually, it pisses me off. Parents these days seem to think that distracting their hyperactive offspring with video games and television programming and nifty gadgets is equivalent to "good parenting," but I see those technologies as just pathetic excuses to get the kids out of their "busy" parents' hair. (I'm referring to the thumbnail up on the Asus site and some articles out there.) People want everything faster and more convenient, and this includes child-rearing, AND kids who are "raised" by the Internet have stupid entitlement issues, like expecting all things must be free and instant (including IP, plagiarism). Heck, the audiovisual tools out there including "child-friendly" software and TV programs only rewire young brains to expect more stimuli faster, regardless of quality ("A.D.D." my ass; there's good research showing that video-rearing is bad for kids).

But I digress...

@EB1: I haven't looked at specifics, but I wonder what the battery life is on those things. I'd love to see some real hardware innovation in the future. By that, I mean competition. I usually left wireless off my P-2k simply because it was an extra step of inserting the PCMCIA card and such, but since getting my P-7k with bay battery, I usually left it on. But that has a lot to do with the nature of work, I guess.
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 07/15/2008 :  19:26:19  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I interpret "netbook" to denote the modest capability of these computers; they're good for surfing the internet but not much else. Most PC manufacturers were probably surprised with the success of the Eee PC and decided to jump into the market. Not sure there is enough demand to support 7-8 competitors. A few products will do OK but most will likely find alternative uses:



With respect to marketing to kids... don't be surprised if the equivalent of a My First Sony PC is introduced (although I think that's what this might be).
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NigelS
Senior Member Member

Canada
1339 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  01:02:01  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
LOL - what is that thing? (other than a doorstop, I mean) - A friend of mine would be able to produce an even MORE outrageous sight-gag as yours, he refers to his prior machine as the "boat-anchor".
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tmt
Advanced Member

2769 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  10:13:22  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I believe that's a Sinclair ZX81!

Tom.
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oion
Advanced Member

USA
2231 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  10:32:50  Show Profile  Visit oion's Homepage  Reply with Quote
@Nomo: Hahaha! That gave me a good laugh. Yes, I don't know about competition within a potentially niche-only product, but I was thinking of competition within the more basic hardware arena--particularly AMD versus Intel. I suppose the market isn't mature enough for that just yet. And I have no idea what AMD is doing these days anyway.

My first thought on your doorstop gag? "Man, they really don't make things like they used to. We could do that with old stuff, but the plastic stuff these days would be instantly crushed! Why, we had this all-steel VCR from the '80s that weighed thirty pounds..."

(Whoa, tmt, you've beaten me in the post count. Congratulations! I wonder what all this P-8k business is about. )

But back to topic. While the whole "netbook" thing is interesting to me at first glance, I probably won't sign on personally unless AMD or another chipmaker got involved (and I suppose they wouldn't call it a "netbook" if it was coined by Intel). I checked out a chart containing battery life figures, and I have to say that it doesn't look that impressive. Hmm.

I should probably set up my P-2040 for sale. It's pretty much just a netbook anyway, ignoring the need to be plugged in.
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nomo
Average Member

814 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  11:49:46  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Yeah, that's none other than the Sinclair ZX81. It's not my photo but I did have a ZX81 when I was younger. It was a great little machine that came with a whopping 1K RAM. When I ordered a memory expansion module someone asked me, "What are you going to do with 16K?"

Other than the LCD display, the Sinclair computers were about the same form factor as today's netbooks, and sold for about the same price. (The TS1000 was $100 -- equivalent to just under $300 in today's dollars). Timex Sinclair later introduced the 2068; a larger, silver version with a bigger keyboard and better performance... Why does that sound so familiar?

ZX81 versus Eee 701:



2068 vs 2133:


Looking at it from a business perspective, netbooks are sometimes viewed as a dispruptive technology: "innovations that are lower in performance and lower cost" that will be "successively moving up-market through performance improvements until finally displacing the market incumbents." I'm not sure how disruptive it's going to be. The first problem is that as netbooks move upmarket they compete with full-feature notebooks that provide much better performance and value. The second issue is that as big computer companies release similar products it becomes less likely that any market incumbents will be displaced. I'll be happy if the emergence of netbooks motivates Fujitsu to incorporate less expensive RAM and HDDs into the next generation P16 and drop the price by about $500-$600.

Edited by - nomo on 07/16/2008 12:46:38
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