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About LinkBacksRead more.A market researcher predicts we?re just at the start of the netbook boom.
Read more.A market researcher predicts we?re just at the start of the netbook boom.
Only if one assumes that the devices are primarily going to be used to access cloud/web-based services; the increase in storage capacity among more recent devices (160GB hard drives etc) plus the increase in form factor would indicate to me that rather than the cloud these are more likely to be used to access local applications and services.in which it suggested that while netbooks are bad news for companies hoping to make a decent margin from selling hardware or operating systems, they benefit newer niches like cloud computing and web-based services.
It's all about portability, specifically portable web access. Mobile phones have tried - and largely failed - to grab this territory because the screens and keyboards are too small. A typical small laptop is too large, heavy and power hungry, to say nothing of the cost. The netbook is the solution - they are already great for WiFi and just need to have 3G HSDPA integrated to be complete - I don't understand why this has not happened already as it's such an obvious next step. Using Linux, particularly the increasingly popular, and capable, Ubuntu variant, means that the operating system comes free - and if all it's going to be used for is to run Firefox and Open Office - it does the job fine, no big learning curve (although getting a USB 3G dongle to work under Ubuntu is not exactly simple yet!). The Atom processer - twin core, 1.6 MHz - is well up to the job and will happily deal with full-screen video playback. Solid state drives give robust data storage, better battery life and low noise. Microsoft are rapidly getting cut out of this market and are going to be the real losers. Most computers are only used for a fraction of their capability anyway, so I can see more and more people getting netbooks, and just plugging in a keyboard and screen for desktop use.
1) HSDPA modules usually cost around £90-£120 a pop. That's a non-trivial addition to the cost of a netbook; in fact up until now, about the only bunch who've been going down that route are the mobile phone companies like Voda, subsidising machines like the Dell Mini9 with integrated HSDPA, but locked to Voda. It may be obvious for people who only want web access, but I'd suggest that there're a lot of people buying these machines who will be using them for basic WP/Spreadsheet/Office-y type stuff, or for accessing locally held content - hence the greater number shipping with non-SSD storage - and they certainly won't want their shiny new netbooks to be £100-odd dearer to keep the "everything's in the cloud" weenies happy.
2) Atom != dual-core, at least not in the netbook/MID variants (N270 and Z5XX series). The 330 is dual-core, but that's for nettops (desktops). The N270 and some of the Z5XX series do support hyperthreading, though. I fink you may have meant 1.6GHz, too...
3) Microsoft's problem has been that Vista performs like ****, so they've had nothing newer than XP to offer in the netbook/nettop segment. Windows 7 appears to run as fast as or in some cases faster than XP on most recent-ish hardware, including netbooks based on the N270. MS are not going to get out of that segment, especially when the shipments of netbooks/tops with XP have at least kept pace with, if not outstripped, those with Linux.
Personally, I think netbooks are more a toy than a true usable notebook, the original price points have not been met, the original battery life promises have yet to be reached, functionality is limited, usability is challenged, retail return rates are horrendous and the user has no HD capabilities at all. What does this all add up to, COMPROMISE! Netbooks force consumers to compromise, they set expectations and rarely deliver.
If all a users wants to do is check email at Starbucks, great a Netbook is for you, BUT, if a user wants any functionality at all, ultraportable notebooks are the product best suited to purchase! They have 4+ hrs of battery life, FULL HD abilities on HD-capable panels and monitors, larger screens, and optionally, discrete ATI Radeon graphics to play today’s latest games they are thin and really light and have MSRPs as low as 599$ and 699$ USD, they are among the best notebooks available (end of March) in the market. Check out the HP Pavillion dv2 on HEXUS TV.
Ian "Cabrtosr" McNaughton
Twitter: IanMcNaughton
Well, '3' broadband seem quite happy to supply me with a free HSDPA dongle and 5GB/month for £7:50 a month, presumably they'd be happy to subsidise netbooks in the same way - I'd just like to be able to put the SIM card directly into the netbook.1) HSDPA modules usually cost around £90-£120 a pop
Strange, then, that the N270 in my Dell Inspiron 910 netbook reports two processors...2) Atom != dual-core, at least not in the netbook/MID variants (N270 and Z5XX series)
I did mean 1.6GHz though...
Who needs Microsoft? On a netbook, the main application is a web browser, and Firefox works very well under Linux. Furthermore, the latest version of Ubuntu Linux is very usable and includes Open Office. Why pay when you can have something that works OK and costs nothing?Microsoft's problem has been that Vista performs like ****
1) I assume that you're on an 18 month contract, and that they expect to recoup the cost over the course of that - certainly, looking at their website, the only 5GB deal with USB modem appears to be 18 months.Originally Posted by greenalien
2) I believe that I actually gave the example of a mobile company subsidising HSDPA-equipped netbooks? The Voda Mini9? The point being that you have to sign up for two years with them - OK you don't have the upfront cost, but they spread the cost over the course of your contract, as do 3 with their packages based around the Compaq min-700 netbook and others. If you want to see how much an integrated HSDPA module costs, retail, then see the cost of a Hewlett Packard HSDPA module, or the Lenovo equivalent, or the equivalent from Dell . There's a lot of variation as you see (the HP card is RUINOUSLY expensive), but it's still a costly option.
No, not strange, because the N270 is a hyperthreading processor, which like all hyperthreading Intel processors will report an extra processor core to the OS.
That's YOUR idea of what the main application is; the fact that lots of netbooks are shipping with 80 or 160GB hard disks, Windows XP and are running Office or something like it (OpenOffice, maybe) suggests that a lot of the purchasers are seeing a good bit more functionality there than you do, and that they are not simply using these devices to access "the cloud". I don't disagree that Linux is very capable on netbooks, but in light of the fact that Windows XP ships a lot of copies on netbooks, that a fair few ship with Vista on, and that Vista's inadequacies of performance appear to be well remedied in W7, talk of Microsoft getting out of the market is probably premature.
I'm sorry but this is utter tripe and if you work at AMD as indicated in your profile it's poor attempt at downing a competitor who has a very popular product you don't.
For most users netbooks do everything the need. Most users don't play games and don't give a crap about full HD.
They want something easy to use, that can do web/email/photo's etc. For this the netbook is perfect. Not to mention being very cheap.
We have two of these in the house. One is used by my partner as her only computer. She went from a mac mini to a netbook. Not once has she needed any feature from the mac mini with big screen.
The second is used by my parents for travelling with. It means they can sling it in their hand luggage without any excess size or weight.
For the cost of these two netbooks (£350) you couldn't buy a decent laptop let alone an ultra portable.
Without exception whenever visitors and friends see the netbook they are amazed at what it can do and for what cost.
Last edited by Gordy; 02-02-2009 at 03:53 PM.
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