NetBooks
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Switched On: Windows 7, Non-Starter Edition
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Microsoft is making many well-received improvements in Windows 7, but may be in for a black eye on its Starter Edition because of growing misconceptions that it has optimized and recommended the limited Starter Edition for netbooks. For instance, the ad copy for the Apple commercial jabbing Starter Edition almost writes itself. "Hello, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a PC." PC is trying to juggle. "Hey, PC. What's with the juggling act?" "It's my new operating system. See, it only lets me run three programs at a time so I need to stop doing one thing when I want to do another. Really keeps me on my toes thinking about which three programs I should use. Of course, I could upgrade to a more expensive version that gives me the capabilities I should have had from the beginning." PC drops the balls. "Hmm, really? Every Mac lets you run as many programs as you want out of the box." "Well, that would be nice. I'd sure like to send someone an e-mail about that." "That's a good idea, PC. Why don't you?" "Because I had to quit my e-mail program to say that." PC starts trying to juggle again. Cut to iMac with "Mac" desktop
Verizon netbook webinars starting soon -- launches imminent?
We've known for months now that Verizon was looking to add WWAN-enabled netbooks to its growing repertoire of devices, and now it looks like hard facts are about to flow. An internal Verizon Wireless announcement has informed employees that managers will be required to attend a sure-to-be-invigorating netbook webinar to explain to them exactly what these not-at-all-recognized machines are. The lower level folks will have to suffer through the same slide deck a few days later, which leads us to believe that the carrier is just hours, days or millenniums away from spilling more details about this whole initiative. Can we offer a pinch of advice, VZW? Subsidize 'em deep, offer more than two and cut the asking price on your HTC Touch Diamond by at least 50 percent.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Switched On: A netbook Apple could love
Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Last month, rumors swirled that Apple had purchased a large quantity of 10" touch panel displays, leading many to believe that Apple is creating a netbook to compete with small, inexpensive Windows PCs later this year. Netbooks -- which have been driving most of the PC sales growth the past few months -- have proven a delicate balancing act for manufacturers that want to portray them as a second or even third computer. However, nearly all consumers have opted for netbooks with Windows, which makes them compatible with the same software programs being run on more expensive notebooks or desktops. So far, Apple has abstained from the netbook trend to the benefit of its profit margins and the detriment of its market share, but the company has a unique set of assets and design philosophy that could lead to a netbook that better embraces the concept than those of its competitors. Among these assets are its own operating system available for both PC and mobile configurations and computing requirements, its own fast and modern browser and productivity suite, and local (via iTunes) and WAN-based (via MobileMe) synchronization. In the mobile space, it has a thriving developer community excited by, if occasionally frustrated by, its application store that has spawned responses from Microsoft, RIM and Nokia. Apple is also strong in the education market, and students have been among the best target markets for netbooks. What, then, would Apple bring to the table?
Samsung's 2.1-channel rocking N120 netbook now available for pre-order
While most complain about slow CPU speeds on netbooks, the thing they universally lack is a decent sound system. If nothing else Samsung's N120 could be an improvement there, featuring enough bezel to house a pair of speakers, and there's room for what must be the world's smallest subwoofer in there somewhere. Of course, all that bezel was really to make room for a bigger keyboard, but we already knew that, and we now know the thing is showing up at retailers across the web for pre-order at prices falling in the $450 - $475 range and colors at either end of the light spectrum: black or white. With that keyboard, those speakers, and 10.5 hours of battery life, this sounds like a solid entrant to the netbook races, especially for anyone more interested in sound than color.
Microsoft hoping gimped Windows 7 Starter on netbooks will drive upgrades, revenue
When all six versions of Windows 7 were announced, we couldn't help but recoil in horror -- most still don't have all the flavors of Vista straight and now we all have to learn a new recipe for confusion. Microsoft, however, is quite confident that this array of offerings will fix one of its biggest woes: netbooks. If the wee things are running Windows at all it's usually XP, an issue that the company thinks Windows 7 Starter will address, acting as the low-cost intro Vista never was. With Starter's ability to run only three applications simultaneously, MS believes users will get quickly frustrated and then pony up extra cash to move to Home Basic or Home Premium. Will it work? HP at least has pledged to offer Win 7 on its netbooks, and we found the beta ran quite well on our VAIO P, so the shift from XP seems inevitable. Whether Starter Edition will push more people to Home Basic than to Linux, however, remains to be seen.[Thanks, Dilan]
Apple rumor roundup: aluminum Mac minis and supersized iPod touches
Listen, you know the drill by now: Macworld is less than a week away, and that causes a Cupertino-sized rumor mill to fill up with hints of new / refreshed hardware of all shapes and sizes. The crew at TUAW claim they've heard from sources that a new Mac mini will be unveiled with an aluminum finish, a Time Capsule-esque "lip," and a SATA optical drive that can be customized as a second HDD instead. Additionally, TechCrunch says it has three independent sources that confirm there's a large iPod touch is coming next Fall with a 7 or 9-inch screen. There's no indication if they expect a Macworld announcement here, but if true, we expect the cargo pants industry to react accordingly. Finally, and possibly related to the TechCrunch rumor, a Taiwan news site claims Quanta Computers is expecting to add Apple and Sony (is that you, Vaio P?) as clients for manufacturing netbooks in 2009. For those playing along at home, at some point next year we should expect a bigger iPod touch, a netbook, a smaller iPhone, a revised iMac, a revised Mac mini, and absolutely no love at all for the Mac Pro.Read - Large form iPod touch to launch Fall '09Read - Rumor watch: new Mac mini go for launchRead - Quanta expects zero YoY NB shipment growth in Q4, 2008
Switched On: Alpha 400 pays a high price for low cost
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When a recent fake news story claiming that Coby Electronics would enter the netbook market with a $100 PC included a quote I had given two years ago, I smelled something fishy. But before I questioned the validity of the article, I questioned the validity of such a product. Because for at least those expecting some semblance of a modern PC, the fascination with a $100 notebook might turn to disappointment when they realize the considerable compromises needed to achieve that alluring price.For as life quickly moved to imitate art, the aftermath of Cobygate saw news of the Alpha 400, which is smaller, lighter and, at $170 at Geeks.com, about $100 less than online pricing for the Eee PC 2G Surf. With no hard drive and no fan, it runs so coolly and quietly the only noise the product makes is when you open and close its creaky hinge, which allows the screen to lay flat parallel to the keyboard. Its brand-free top surface is glossy black, but the rest of its plastic body has a finish so dull that the product could pass for one of those plastic laptop props used in furniture stores.Like the original Eee, the Alpha 400 has a 7-inch screen, an SD card slot, three USB ports, and a keyboard (albeit one that is even smaller than the one on the first Eee). From there, almost all the specs take a dramatic step down. The Alpha 400 has only 128MB of RAM and 1GB of local storage. It has no webcam and supports only 802.11b although it connected consistently to my home network, something that has not been true of some other Linux-based netbooks. With the Alpha 400's extremely limited driver support, very few USB peripherals will work with the device. Some USB flash drives, for example, would not mount and USB audio is not supported.%Gallery-39953%
BenQ Joybook U101 launches, gives almost no joy
The BenQ Joybook Lite U101 we spied back when it was announced in September has just launched, and though there's nothing incredibly exciting here, we thought we'd give you a quick rundown, because we're just cool like that. The U101 boasts completely standard netbook fair -- an Atom N270 CPU, Intel 945GSE chipset, 1GB of DDR2 memory, with 80-160GB mechanical drives and 4-16GB SSD options. It's also got a 16:9 display with a 1024 x 576 resolution (rare for a netbook), a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and three USB 2.0 ports. The sassy little number comes in blue, pink, white and black, and it can be yours for €398 ($503) in Taiwan right now, but we've got no word on when it will be available elsewhere. Dip this puppy in gold or something and then maybe, just maybe we'll bite. [Via Fudzilla]
AMD says it's "ignoring" netbooks, will focus on ultraportables
It seemed earlier this week that AMD's new Conesus chips would take on Intel's dominant Atom platform in the netbook market, but it sounds like that was just wishful thinking -- according to CEO Dirk Meyer, the chipmaker is "ignoring the netbook platform" in favor machines "above that form factor." AMD says that it's seeing high return rates on netbooks, a phenomenon it's chalking up to an unsatisfactory user experience on smaller machines. Of course, that doesn't quite jive with the sales numbers being posted by Acer, ASUS, and HP -- and although return rates are indeed higher for Linux machines than for XP, we're puzzled as to why AMD cares about anything other than raw chip sales to OEMs, since we were under the impression that that's how AMD makes money. Of course, really smart companies don't just sell what people want, they convince people to want what they sell, and that seems to be AMD's tactic: it says that the higher-powered, dual-core Conesus with ATI RS780M graphics will deliver a full-featured user experience that more people will spring for, even if it's in a slightly larger package. We'll see if this strategy plays in the market -- while we'd love to see a machine like the Inspiron Mini 12 with some real horsepower in it, it's hard to argue with a $280 Atom-based Eee.
Switched On: REDFLY seeks your green before Halloween
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. A special note this week; this post marks the fourth year of Switched On columns for Engadget, and we'd like to give a big thanks to Ross for all his hard work and intriguing ideas. We're looking forward to the next four! -ed. Palm's abandoned Foleo had a split personality. It was positioned as a smartphone companion, but it was also a new platform. Consumers expected to pay less for the former and saw no need for the latter. But the idea of a small, inexpensive notebook computer certainly struck a chord and now many major PC manufacturers sell Linux and Windows-based "netbooks" that generally start at $499 or less. They are even starting to migrate toward the 10-inch screens that Foleo champion Jeff Hawkins promoted as ideal for accommodating a full-sized keyboard. However, ceci n'est pas une Foleo. While the big boys have pursued one part of the Foleo's promise, Celio Corp. is taking on the other part. The REDFLY "smartphone terminal" (a description that leaves no doubt off the bat that this is currently an IT-focused product) looks like a small notebook PC, but it does not have any processing capabilities of its own. Instead, it uses the operating system and wireless connectivity of a growing list of supported Windows Mobile smartphones. Wrapped in a smooth rubbery plum coating, its industrial styling includes an 8.3-inch screen that runs at a resolution of 800 x 400. Its slightly cramped keyboard is on par with those of 9-inch netbooks and certainly more comfortable than that on the Eee 701. And its short but very wide trackpad tops has two large buttons where you'd expect them to be.After downloading a video driver for a supported Windows Mobile smartphone, the REDFLY must initially connect to a Windows Mobile smartphone via a USB cable; after that, you can use USB or Bluetooth for a wireless connection with the phone. Almost any application that can be used on the phone will accept input from the REDFLY keyboard and trackpad and display on its screen. But not all applications are, of course, created equal.
Asus, Intel launch WePC website, ask community to design PCs for them
True power is derived from the people, yes? Asus and Intel know this well, so they've launched a website called WePC, where users can draw up concepts and specs for new netbook and notebook models then argue about how fantastic or utterly impractical they are. In a sense cooperative laptop design is not new -- we've seen groups of companies work together to develop products, and Best Buy's Blue Label is somewhat similar to this -- but Asus and Intel are going full-on populist (or at least the appearance of it) with WePC. The promise is that designers will lurk on the site and implement some ideas -- probably (and thankfully) not including the ones that are completely whacked.
IDC says 2 million netbooks sold in Europe, Middle East and Africa in Q3
We've seen plenty of evidence of netbooks' impact on computer round here (like the image above), and market research firm IDC has now found that the situation is much the same in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (otherwise known to market research-types as EMEA), and it has some numbers to back it up. According to the firm, it estimates that there were more than two million netbooks sold in the EMEA market during the third quarter of 2008, which is a hefty chunk (more than 7%) of the 27.9 million laptops and desktops sold during the same time period. Of those, IDC found that ASUS and Acer had corned a hefty 80% of the market, with broadband-equipped netbooks offered by cellphone carriers also helping to boost those two companies in particular. Not surprisingly, it only sees things going up from here, and it estimates that sales could potentially double to a full four million in the fourth quarter of this year.[Via Register Hardware]
Lenovo's X200 pictured, compared, measured, feels inadequately small
If you've been looking for more information about -- and pictures of -- Lenovo's diminutive X200, you've come to the right place. Crave got their hands on the laptop, compared it with its bigger brothers, and even supplied some measuring tape for the size-conscious like some poor, chopping-block-destined farm animal. For review, the 3.5-pound machine sports the Centrino 2 platform, measures just 0.8-inches thick, runs around $1,200, and early reviews are positive.
