More details on Dell's summer-bound netbook

Although everyone and their first cousin twice-removed has dished out their own netbook at Computex, Dell's wee darling (it's still unnamed, officially) still has the attention of most. At a recent media briefing at Dell's HQ, APC Mag was able to get a little time with the unit and grill execs with a flurry of questions -- many of which weren't answered. Still, a few key tidbits did seep out, like the "due out by the end of this summer" thing and the omission of Fn keys on the keyboard. Wait, wha? You heard right -- Dell has decided to make the alpha keys roomier by nixing the line of Fn keys entirely, and while this definitely won't matter to some, it'll really get under the skin of others. On a more positive note, it was suggested that the little fellow would boast a VGA output and three USB ports, but outside of that, Round Rock is remaining mum.

[Via Liliputing]

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 12:59PM]

I'm not jumping to conclusions re the function keys. I bet there still there, but you will have to use a key combination to get them. If so, it would be similar to the differences between a standard keyboard and a laptop keyboard how the number pad is accessed with the Fn key.

I don't think that would be such a bad compromise really, as with a machine of this size there has to be compromises. If you work in Photoshop, Illustrator, etc... a lot with hot keys, then this probably isn't the right machine for you. But if that's your needs, then you're probably going to be on a Mac anyway, or a Wacom pen-enabled tablet, or are going to want a bigger display.

Presumably, the idea of a netbook (I like that we're going with netbook to describe these sub notebooks) is that it's not going to be your primary machine. You're going to use it on busses, trains, in coffee shops, in the car, generally on the go, with wireless broadband, or wherever you can get wifi. And you're going to be using it for browsing, email, social networking, and light document work. And migrating to relying more on web services such as Google Docs and less on loaded software with one of these machines.

If you go from Windows at home, to Linux on one of these, you're going to have to leave behind some software you're probably addicted to. But it's doable for most people for most of what they need to do on the go.

I don't like to compromise and I use a lot of small utilities that I can only get on Windows, and I am quite happy and comfortable with XP, but I have used Linux a lot too and would consider Linux on one of these machines. As a writer / blogger, I'm really anxious to jump into a netbook, as I think they would be great for my needs. But I'm waiting to see what all the manufacturers come up with.

What I don't like about what I've seen so far is that manufacturers seem to think that if you go with Linux, it's because you are more price conscious and therefore, they also are often reducing the RAM and hard drive capacities on the Linux machines. I do want lots of RAM, because I do run numerous programs simultaneously, lots of browser tabs, and image editing tools. I can work in Linux, but that doesn't mean I want less power. On the hardware end, why the VGA port? That's something we can live without. If this isn't my primary machine, I'm not going to use VGA much if ever, and USB LCDs are cheap now. I guess they think you're going to need it to run projectors at client sites.

What I want, little compromise on performance, long battery life, a full or nearly full size keyboard, a display that maximizes the space, USB, and a slot for a broadband wireless card. I can compromise on hard drive space using web services, on the OS, and outputs, but not on input and performance.

[Wayne Posted Jun 5th 2008 1:09PM]

I was hoping the function key would change the number row to F-keys, but:

"the function keys have been dropped *altogether*: the Fn modifier activates hardware-related shortcuts mapped onto the keyboard, with no facility to call up the usual F1-F12 keys."

And just like that this think is DOA to me. :-(

[xenigo Posted Jun 5th 2008 1:16PM]

Here's what absolutely KILLS me about these devices. Who the FOCK puts out a notebook in 2008 that doesn't have a damn HDMI port? Or how about DisplayPort for that matter? It's 2008 for damn sake! Analog ports are GONE! No monitor on the shelf comes without a digital interface (ie HDMI or DVI) anymore, and every television made now has HDMI or DVI inputs as well. I don't want to plug this thing into my 52" LCD's lame-ass circa 1988 VGA port. Why don't they just throw in a parallel port, serial ports, and PS2 ports while they're at it!??!? Totally stupid. That alone makes me want to avoid this device entirely.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 1:41PM]

You make a lot of sense. Angry and a little rabid... but that appeals to me.
I agree with you totally. If we are talking about excluding legacy items then lets go the whole hog. Display port is coming in, by year end it will be the default.... but I think that this is how the PC business works... redundancy.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 1:47PM]

except...I would buy this in a heartbeat. It will have Dell's excellent service and reliability. I am happy to pay a $100 premium for the Dellness.

By March, this will be in my daughter's bedroom, and I will fork out another $600 for the latest one.

I am budgeting around $1800 per year for Netbook purchases. This will still be less than the $3500(CDN) (USD$ 90000) I paid in one shot for my Dell D600 way back when...

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 1:20PM]

Yep. Vote from me: Move the Function keys to become a "Fn" of the first row of letters. (This will definitely stop me accidently hitting F1 when I never mean to).

I agree with the other comments regardning getting rid of other legacy keys too.

I would even get used to one of the "Ctrls", "Shifts", "Alt's".

I often swap between European Keyboards, UK keyboards and US keyboards... OK I sometimes lose track of the @ and the " but it's not so bad.

About time really.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 2:32PM]

bah they just ruined it.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 6:27PM]

DO NOT PASS GO. GO DIRECTLY TO FAIL.

there HAS to be something in there for the function keys. I mean if you ever need to go into safe mode you are screwed short of pulling out an external keyboard that is. Hell what about getting into the BIOS? Nope they have to have something hard encoded.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 5th 2008 6:28PM]

ok then. so when is Engadget going to stop refering to things as "mum" -there's no expression that creeps me out more than "mum", I just get imeges of what steve jobs' mother could look like in my mind.. freaky shit!

please, stop this nonsense....

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2008 12:27AM]

Why do you only hear from Dell when they want to sell you something? I'd settle for a returned support call or email.

[TheHoldSteady Posted Jun 7th 2008 4:57PM]

I keep wondering if everyone would be so jazzed about this if the one demo unit ever seen was NOT red; Ferrari picked that color for a very good reason...

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 8th 2008 12:43PM]

Waaaiiiit, wait wait wait wait wait. A moment of silence for the fallen Function keys... okay, lets go.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 15th 2008 12:42PM]

If this little guy has a long battery life - say ~5 hrs or more, it would be a very nice platform for schoolers. performance is fine for the kind of work they do, but shlepping around all those power cords and fighting for outlets would be a distraction.