Report says Sony is planning a netbook, apparently news to Sony

We'd heard some rumblings about Sony's plans to introduce a netbook of its own a little while back, but Sony exec Stan Glasgow seemed to put a damper on those the other day when he flat out said that the company was "not looking at competing with Asus." A report from China's Economic Daily News is now adding a bit more confusion to the matter, however, with it claiming that Foxconn will be providing at least some components for, you guessed it, a forthcoming Sony netbook. What's more, that same report also says that a number of other Japanese PC makers, including netbook nay-sayer Fujitsu, are also planning to get in on the low-cost laptop action in the fourth quarter of this year, although they apparently aren't quite ready to disclose any manufacturing partnerships just yet. Of course, it's entirely possible that these low-cost laptops could be just that, and not technically netbooks, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time that companies have jumped on a bandwagon after letting it pass by the first time around.

[Via Electronista]

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:33PM]

Sony, please bring back the C1 Picturebook for its 10th anniversary! Please?

I love these netbooks but would also like higher end models as well, like the HP 2133 Mini-Note with its higher res screen than the EEEs and Winds.

[ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:08PM]

I love how you called me a retard for not caring about this new fad of notebooks becoming ridiculously tiny and small yet you can't even use proper English.

Your does NOT equal "You're"

Last but not least your sony arrogance shows itself once again. My opinion is no less valuable than yours just because the majority of people don't agree with it. So what I don't jump on the bandwagon. That's fine with me.

Again its pathetic how much you care about what other people think of you on this website.

[rock99rock @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:47PM]

"ThePerfectCompanion" to a 5 year old wanting his mommas attention.

[cesium @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:55PM]

"Again its pathetic how much you care about what other people think of you on this website."

Someone sounds a little hypocritical if you ask me

[OneLove @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:55PM]

The Sonyeee PC

[Alan Strangis @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:44PM]

I'm telling ya, the first company to do EEE like pricing, but with a convertible tablet a la Kohjinsha's UMPC will win my vote.

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:18PM]

Alan Strangis , the closest seems to be the Gigabyte M912.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/20/gigabytes-m912-mini-convertible-tablet-gets-priced/

[SoloSalsa @ Jul 24th 2008 10:02PM]

I wish I could give you +8 instead of +1! The sad thing is that few people know what the PictureBooks are/were.
PictureBooks still go for around $200 on eBay. They had a built in camera, which was rare for notebooks at that time (especially for one so small). And PCMCIA slots and IEEE 1394, expandability you won't find in the cheapest "netbooks" of today.

[amb9800 @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:35PM]

Given that Sony's involvement in a Via OpenBook-based project is pretty much confirmed, I think all they mean by "not competing with Asus" is that they'll be in a slightly higher price bracket-- meaning along the lines of the upper-end HP Mini-Notes rather than the bottom of Asus' lineup price-wise...

I do hope it's more than just an OpenBook rebadge job. If Sony brings a solid design to market (C1 PictureBook strikes back :) ), at least matching the HP Mini-Note in design parameters but based on Via's Nano platform, they could do decently. Not as much volume as Asus, etc. will get in the consumer space or HP will get in consumer and educational markets, but Sony doesn't need that.

[Forrest @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:54PM]

That was my thought too. Sony could still produce a higher quality product at a premium price.

While their 'netbook' may have a similar form factor, saying it competes with Asus's offerings would be like saying BMW sedans compete with Hyundai sedans. I'm pretty sure those two products represent different target demographics :P

Unless of course the definition of 'netbook' is marginal power at a low price point, in which case maybe Sony really isn't producing a netbook. At some point I think it becomes a matter of perspective or opinion.

[L @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:23PM]

Oh yeah, a Picturebook revival at netbook for 500€ or less would be a killer!

[rock99rock @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:38PM]

(clears throat) subnotebook (clears throat)

/discreet

[Ryan Karolak @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:31PM]

I feel the sameway... What's with this whole new "netbook" term when we already have Ultramoblile-PC... shorter? more 'modern'?

[initialxy @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:36PM]

@Ryan Karolak, i guess it's cheaper, crappier. most subnotebooks or ultramobiles are pretty expensive.

[Benson @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:50PM]

UMPC is a term specific to MS's whole Origami platform, which included non-folding things.

If a platform is non-MS based, it's not UMPC; if it's not folding, it's not a netbook.

Also, UMPCs are to be higher-performance, more expensive, and (in practice, at least) have less battery life vs. netbooks. There's little overlap.

Subnotebook, of course, is mainly a form-factor description, and subnotebooks can run any OS, have any performance level, sell for any cost, and have any battery life. (Though not all in the same model.)

All netbooks are in fact subnotebooks; but netbook additionally imposes low-cost and low-performance (but enough for the 'net).

Some UMPCs are subnotebooks, some aren't.

[kccboy2004 @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:02PM]

@Benson,

I agree with you. These other people are so far off the mark. The "Netbook" is an industry term describing a particular configuration and usage, set by Intel's reference design. It has NOTHING to do with UMPC's or SUBNOTEBOOK. They are Totally different.

(Screws up face) Amateurs !!!!! (Screws up face)

[Cagrino @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:42PM]

What was that Sony? Huh? "A race to the bottom?"

Oh, ok just making sure I got that straight.

[Eraxes @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:34PM]

Do you belive sony is on TOP??? Ha ha ha. What a nice dream!

[Cagrino @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:57PM]

Who said anything about them being on top??

Mike Abary said the whole netbook thing was a "race to the bottom" and now they are apparently joining it.

Get your facts straight before you start to laugh.

[iHoppipolla @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:45PM]

Asus gets the credit for the netbook trend. Intriguing. I commend Sony for that.

[John @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:47PM]

Re-introduce the SRX series laptops - PCG-SRX99 - with whatever the latest fashion mobile processor,etc. (atom?).

I had a SRX years ago and loved that thing. Wish I had never let it go.

[sracer @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:50PM]

Forget a netbook... Sony, just produce a nice portable QWERTY keyboard for the PSP please. ;-)

[Almadi @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:56PM]

SONY are so paranoid they don't even trust their own. And it would be hard to trust them with all the spur of the moment releases that don't see a year before being discontinued.

I miss the Clie line.

[helloUser @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:09PM]

I have a feeling that sony will still manage to charge 40% more than next cheapest netbook with the same specs.

Unless sony changes their pricing scheme, this news is really worthless.

[ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:10PM]

Is anyone really surprised by this? sony mind and soul is consumed with Bluray at the moment and trying to make sure it succeeds DVD.

I doubt they care at all about this fad. They'll continue to focus on selling their staple consumer electrons which are overpriced in my opinion when compared to HP

Not a huge fan of Dell so I'm not even going to say they should go there....

[Kevlar @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:46PM]

Where can I buy a consumer electron? Does he shop for electron products in little electron stores? Does he pay too many electron dollars for shiny electron toys? Does he regret little electron purchases with his little electron mind?

Will he find his little electron love?

[phanbouy @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:21PM]

quark killed the electron star

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:54PM]

I do agree that many of Sony's notebooks are overpriced, some of them are quite nice, but they could reduce the price a bit.

One thing you know they'll get is make a fantastic screen and get good battery life as well.

I dislike Sony for several things, like disabling Intel VT on their computers, far overpriced accessories, etc. But they have made some good firsts, like the first to use LED-backlit displays that are the rage in the TX series, first to use glossy screens in the TR, etc.

[sockatume @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:12PM]

Sony and Fujitsu were both big players in the expensive-small-laptop game, with the Lifebook P series and so on. The Netbook market is surely consuming a decent chunk of those sales, so it's in their best interests to denigrate the product until they have their own on the shelves. When the Sony and Fujitsu equivalents of the Eee appear (no doubt modestly more expensive than the competition) they'll start trumpeting the virtues of the 90 minute online experience or whatever.

[Andrew Kim @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:24PM]

remember... they aren't competing.

if you can't beat ehm (or don't want to), JOIN EHM!!

[superkev @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:26PM]

Sony doesn't want to compete with Asus, but I bet it will produce something that looks like a netbook. It'll probably cost about $3000 though.

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:20PM]

More like $2000. ; )

I really like these netbooks, I bought a Vaio TZ in January but may have bought the EEE 1000H or MSI Wind instead if they were out at the time. Everything I do on my TZ, I could do with those netbooks and I can afford to lose some functionality in exchange for saving a lot of money.

But I also want to see higher end "netbooks" on the market, I'd like to have a C2D ULV processor instead of Atom, probably overkill for me but I'm not sure about Atom's performance....

[IsLNdbOi @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:13PM]

With all these other companies getting into the netbook scene, maybe Asus will wise up and start getting back to those low prices these EEEs were supposed to have.

[bebop @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:53PM]

"Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu and NEC are all planning to launch their own low-cost notebooks."

My goodness, the world is going to be littered with these things by Xmas!

[JayMonster @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:30PM]

Everybody seems to have missed the salient point here.

Since Sony denied it... it is almost certainly true.

If they said nothing... well then, they would have nothing in the works, but a "denial" is their way of confirming a rumor (or so it seems).

As others have said though, look for Sony's version of a "low cost" netbook to be the first to top $1K

[Eraxes @ Aug 11th 2008 5:27PM]

Ha ha ha booby bastards finaly decided to make a netbook!!! How soon!!! And we will see a new piece of shit from sony. lol