What are you willing to compromise for mobility?
The strength and popularity of the mini-notebook (re: netbook) craze still impresses me. I thought that once these things started showing up in user’s hands that interest would start waning as it does with most tech phenomena. Of course I would never have believed that folks would still be lining up for iPhone 3Gs weeks after its release, either. There is no question that smaller, lighter, cheaper notebooks are a big draw for folks who are looking to add mobility to their lifestyle. Notebooks are a known entity unlike handheld UMPCs without greatly usable keyboards so the interest level is high. If you are thinking about working while mobile netbooks are a natural avenue to consider.
Most of these cheaper notebooks are built around compromises from their larger siblings, full notebooks. These compromises are in a number of key areas that can affect the utility of the devices in question. Smaller screens have lower display resolutions, smaller keyboards can border on not providing a good typing experience, and slower processors can restrict some types of activities that larger notebooks can tackle with ease. We always say to use the right tool for the job at hand so these compromises might not be factors in the work for most people and that’s good. The important thing is to analyze your intended uses for a netbook and make sure that you won’t be adversely affected by these compromises.
There is no question that netbooks are the most mobile solution for the price point. You won’t find small and light devices for a few hundred dollars in any other category. But if money is no object for you there are some high dollar options from Sony, Lenovo and Apple that are just as mobile without the compromises I’ve mentioned. Of course most of us are not willing nor able to spend a few thousand dollars on them so netbooks are the perfect compromise. We just have to remember that they are not as fully capable in comparison so we must make sure they will do what we need them to do. Most of them will work fine for most of us and that’s why they are such a hot topic. But some people I hear from have some tasks that I don’t think these netbooks will do a good job performing, and those folks better steer clear. Those of us who can get by with them are lucky indeed as they are the most cost effective mobile computers ever produced. And that’s music to a geek’s ears.
What does Apple offer that comes close to a 7″ display-based netbook? The iPhone/iPod Touch?
Sony, sure. They’ve got the UX, the old U-series, and arguably the T-series. Lenovo’s even dipping into both the MID and Netbook spaces. Apple, though? Really?
Apple’s got this huge, nasty divide between the iPhone and the MacBook Air that I’d describe as a wasteland. There’s just nothing at all there, and in many cases, footprint counts for more than thickness. Currently, I can’t really fit a rigid manila envelope in my bag, so the MBA actually *fails* to provide adequate mobility.
I would LOVE a proper small-footprint ultralight from Apple, but it doesn’t exist, and jacking up the price on a slimmed down MacBook just isn’t going to do the trick for me.
Are you talking about cheaper devices like the Asus Eee PC because the Sony UX-series certainly doesN’T fit the niche of cheaper alternatives that you mention.
My EeePC 702 was and my new 1000H is one of my toys that just happens to do navagation in my car, plays movies and what have you. I am not a touch typist so the keyboard isn’t all that important. I’m not a gamer so processing and graphics power are not important to me. The ability to watch movies or surf from the couch or the backyard is important. I do have a Touch that I use for watching video podcasts while I am sitting in a waiting room as I do twice a week as part of my volunteer work. I also have a mobile phone that is just a phone with a not very good camera.
I’ve had an Acer Aspire One for a few weeks now. I didn’t much like Linpus, but now that I have XP running on it, I like it a LOT. It’s small enough to take with you when you wouldn’t take a full size laptop. Yet it can do almost all the same jobs. I wouldn’t have it as my only computer, but it fills a niche that’s very useful to me.
Basically, I still look at the original proposed spec of the Origami and think that they may have been on to something – i.e. a good compromise between mobility and function. The problem being that MS were not able to hold onto the OEM’s attention long enough to deliver the killer product. A few quick points on specific issues.
Battery: We’re still not any closer to the 7/8hr holy grail. In fact, seeing the poll on Chippy’s site recently and the fact that 7/8hrs wasn’t even a choice illustrates the size of the failure. The Atom and Via’s new chip have not solved the problem – I think its time for OEM’s to look at this problem more holistically.
GUI/OS: XP and Vista are no match for the touch experience on the iphone/touch. I feel like Apple have the right GUI on the wrong device and that XP/Vista while giving me the full MS experience is still just a laptop OS on a smaller device. If Apple offered me the touch/iphone OS for my Q1 – “officially” – I would make the transition and I’m sure many others would follow.
Tablet/Keyboard: I find it funny that many of the ppl who original frowned at me for going keyboard-less on my UMPC now rave about going keypad-less on a iPhone/Touch. I think Apple have shown conclusively that ppl are ready for touch if done properly. I can’t help but find it frustrating how much better the keyboard interface is with the Apple Products than with dialkeys on my Q1. I think this argument between consumers/OEM’s/developers ruined the Origami concept and is a major fail for MS who provided the OS in the first place. That said, I’d like to think that this argument helped create the space for MIDs and the netbooks.
Weight: Again ppl laugh at me for banging this particular drum constantly, but if you want someone to hold a device in their hands for a couple of hours – 1KG is too much. I can remember how mobile phones marched to below 100g and I feel like the UMPC needed to march at at least sub 500g before a real impact would be made.
Strangely enough I’ve compromised on all of these for my mobile experience but it doesn’t stop me wishing that OEM’s will focus on these to deliver a better mobile solution.
My HTC Advantage has been my constant companion for almost a year now. I’ve been pretty faithful, not really looking askance or lusting after other devices (though the iPhone did tempt me, I resisted).
I’m most interested in the Redfly, though, ’cause I’ve been watching for a very thin notebook/slimbook that would run Windows Mobile. WM seems to do everything I need: surf the web (Opera), watch movies (CorePlayer), play music (PocketPlayer or Windows Media Player), and use MS Office documents (SoftMaker Office).
The Redfly could be a good way to get WM on a laptop-like device with very long battery life and without running XP or Vista or Linux and their attendant viruses and other issues (for now, anyway).
I tried an HTC advantage, loved the screen but the magnetic keyboard or getting out a folding keyboard too much hassle.
The redfly looks great but with an enterprise focus.
I just want my non enterprise life in a device which is what a Windows Mobile device can pretty much do now thanks to 10 odd years of software development but give me a bigger screen, a decent keyboard and the big one – instant on.
Come on Microsoft wake up! You have the product just needs the deployment.
Windows Mobile running on an Asus 900 with an arm processor – simple and maybe saleable too.
This is Tyrany of the “Or”. I’m not sure the question is whether I should choose my laptop or my mobile phone or a netbook. More likely we’ll be deciding that we need all these things and will choose which we use for a specific task. OTOH, I think there is a category between laptop and mobile phone that’s not been addressed. That’s where the netbook and a bunch of other choices try to fill the gap but don’t in my opinion mostly because they try to replace the laptop or the mobile phone.
Wrote this up a few weeks back here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/benriga/archive/2008/07/23/my-next-gadget-i-wish.aspx
I’m a full-blown notebook junkie, but used to the desktop experience. To that end, I’ve been torn between the 17″ models that offer the wuxga goodness and the more portable 8.9″-12″ models with the battery life for going the long mile.
Granted, I’m so used to the numpad and screen real-estate of the 17″, I frequently game and do a lot of CPU-heavy tasks that for 99% of the time my laptop is “anchored”. Also, since I’m at a desk or table when I’m using it, and only carry it seldom (from table to table) so the 7-9 lbs weight is not a factor.
The point I’m getting at is – I’ve yet to see a 17″ notebook out there that offers the double-stacked external batteries that you find on smaller models. A 16-cell battery combined with a 32-cell slab battery would provide the extra power that would be ideal for a 17″ laptop, and let you use it places where there’s no AC plug in sight. So many times I’ve wanted to take my 17″ to spots where I could set it down to use, but the lack of AC and limited battery kept me from enjoying the power and luxury that my 17″ offers.
Yes, HP has options like this for their business models with 12+ hour runtimes, but none yet for consumers. Yet I’m sure I’m not the only person out there that has a notebook that is 1.) kept on a desk most of the time 2.) has the performance they need 3.) could definitely use it in places where there’s no AC, and 4.) would most benefit from a 24-cell reserve of battery power.
Perhaps if I had the knowledge, I’d put a li-ion pack together myself. A few extra pounds of battery would allow you to use that 17″ beast in so many more places, and so much more LONGER!!! Why doesn’t somebody realize this potential?