Alpha 400: the crappiest netbook you'll ever hate
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted December 8th 2008 12:06PM
posted December 8th 2008 12:06PM
[Via jkOnTheRun]
posted December 8th 2008 12:06PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
The n97 or the iPhone is more powerful than that.
Whats that gotta do with how powerful it is.
Even if you're looking at devices not on contract this still looks bad.
The iPod Touch surpasses it slightly (has around 440Mhz processor I think) and can be had for around the same price. And the Cowon S9 (500Mhz dual core) can be had for around the same price with 8x the storage!
$197 at Walmart!
i wasnt aware there was a price for the cowon yet?
I wasn't recommending the N97 or iPhone I was talking about power.
My Dell Precision M90 Mobile Workstation is also a lot more powerful. However, it costs about 20x more than this device. You're comparing apples and oranges. Especially when comparing a basic netbook to a top-of-the-line phone.
Hows that iPhone for typing quick papers. Hell for that matter it's got the iPhone beat in screen real estate. Linux isn't a resource hog so I doubt it is too slow for typing and browsing the web. It is cheaper than most netbooks too. I won't touch netbooks until I can get something like the Eee 900A or Acer Aspire one for under 200 anyway. You should be reporting this as hey an actual netbook for less than 3 Benjamins.
You know, deep inside, you are an Apple fanboi. I don't blame you.
I liked it!
My bottom line with this thing is how well does it browse the internet.
My first PC was a HP Pavilion 8570C and it only had a 450mhz processor + 256 MB of Ram + 20GB HDD.
I still use it to clone DVD's.
This thing sounds like it could blow that computer away.
That whole engadget we don't like it line is bull. If this had a Mac logo on it you would have stiffies.
Becoming elitists, Engadget?
A few years ago I bought Sharp Zaurus CL1000 in Japan, which had a smaller 3.5" screen, less RAM, but had a touchscreen and the same notebook-like form factor with a full QWERTY. I spent $350 on it and use it until now as a tiny netbook. And people around are still excited about it. It is essentially a PDA but looks like a miniature laptop.
So Alpha 400 has better features and costs less. As I can see the web browsing looks good on it, what is more to ask? I might get one as a companion to my Samsung Omnia phone. The only problem I see with it is a large size. The device should be smaller and the screen size should be like 4-5".
I think you are wrong Joshua, do not mix up an oversized PDA and a Netbook!
I like the idea, but not the 802.11b part. I use it on my PSP, and it's awful.
I didn't know you could still get WiFi modules that don't support g.
@KarlW:
802.11B sucks? 11 Megabit Nominal, 6 Megabit under normal conditions and good signal.
The average broadband internet connection is 3 Megabit, my cousin has 1.5 Megabit DSL.
Hate to call you out, but misinformation is a plague.
If you are having problems, its probably a microwave, your internet connection, or your wireless router.
I like it. I want a small, cheap, websurfing machine in the living room that runs something other than Windows. Currently I use my work Thinkpad which is big, clunky, slow, and violates the Windows rule.
Beats the hell out of my first computer in 1993. Back then, 1G of storage was unimaginable.
Check the Features/Specifications on http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ALPHA-400&cat=NBB
# Supports External Hard Drive up to 160 GB
# Supports File Sizes up to 8 MB
...WTF?...
and the spec I am looking for in a battery ISN'T:
# Battery Charging Time: 4.5 - 5 hours
---Worse Than Fail?
At this point do you really need another internet connected device? how many do you have now?
@ feildcar
not to be a party pooper
but i get 20 megabit internets :)
And you use that 20gb ethernet connection for what? Unless you are running servers or torrenting, that's a waste. No server will let you download at that kind of speed.
I was going to defend it, but then I read the specs. This thing sucks.
My favorite part: "Uses: Flash games and movies" Ok - it can probably do youtube. But seriously, what are the chances of this thing actually being able to view videos from say, Hulu? Flash videos of any decent resolution use a lot more processing power than a lot of people realize.
dont cell phones have more power
do cellphones have 7-inch "display" ?
I find it hilarious this thing has more USB ports than the Macbook Pro...
funny because you cant use more than one without it freezing... ?
Big deal. Let me know when it has more Firewire ports and I might care. USB can take a hike, as far as I am concerned.
it also has an Ethernet port! No Adapters here!
@Daren
Umm.. Macbook Pros have always had Ethernet ports. You're thinking about the Macbook Air..
@Precurse
Hey moron, we know that. Macbook Air has (a) USB port too
He was pointing out that MBP's have two USB ports (which pretty much EVERY consumer device uses), less than a device that costs less than 1/10th of the price.
@Freak
Judging by your other comments, you should probably take anger management. You can learn more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger_management. Just don't vandalize it, or Santa will give you coal for Xmas..
If you didn't read the OP, he was comparing this netbook to a MACBOOK PRO. How does mentioning anything about an 'adapter' make sense, when it has zero relevance in this case. IF they were comparing the MBA with this new Alpha400, I wouldn't have commented.
kthx bai!
I just bought one!
really?
No.
I just bought one also. Hey, Engadget, let me know if you want a followup report on this thing!
i hate all netbooks, i really dont see any use for them unless you cant afford a real computer i suppose.
They're extremely portable. And, the choices in the 8.9"/2.5 or less lbs form factor are pretty much:
1. Netbooks
2. Used Fujitsu P1xxx machines (and the Transmeta-based ones are much, much slower than netbooks)
3. New Fujitsu P1620/1630 (which costs an arm and a leg)
but for that price you might as well use an iphone right? Portable computer, and it looks more powerful than this anyway.
There the biggest eye crushing con job products around.
At least there's one manufacturer out there who is actually bringing the price of netbooks down to where we expect them to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huyzCJvS6UQ&eurl=http://www.videosift.com/video/Screen-Savers-1-64-mg-Ram-is-all-youll-ever-need&feature=player_embedded
they're running xp on that thing?
If you bailed on the MS OS and crammed some Linux on there (assuming there's driver support) you could get some reasonable speed out of this thing. The real question is, can you upgrade the RAM or SSD? That would make this a good alternative for those that need email, web and office apps on the go. Can you say Ubuntu/Firefox/OpenOffice?
On a MIPS? Not a chance
I can, but not at the same time...
You should see what my friend Gary sold me for $80 USD. This laptop is like 400mhz (My PSP is 333) and it has 128 megs of RAM, with a 4 gig HD....
And it runs XP.
2K would work ok on that.
As long as you can check emails, watch some short clips, and run some productivity apps I think this is sufficient.
I think the general netbooks available on the market is useless, low resolution screen, minimum processing power and untypeable small keyboard... but yeah the pricetag are unquestionable good. We will only get what we're willing to pay for, right? :)
I guess I don't mind to pay a little bit more to have a better ultra-portable computer.
Engadget, why don't you go ahead say "It won't play crysis!!!!!!!!!! wah!!!!!!! and it's slower than that other one!!!!!!!! wah" Then you can back it up with a "First post, in soviet russia gadget sites know there are different types of devices for different types of people."