She lives with her boyfriend and they do not use the web much. Light surfing is as deep as they go, and if not for schoolwork they wouldn’t really need connectivity at all. They’ve done without the web for a long time, but find when they need it they really do need it. They researched the costs for getting connectivity added to their apartment, and the monthly costs were pretty high.

They have their phones on the Verizon network, so they have been researching the subsidized netbooks being offered. The $60 monthly fee for the data plan on a netbook is in line with the costs they would have to shell out for fixed connectivity, and they find it makes sense to have “connectivity to go” for the price. They need to buy a notebook too, nothing heavyweight performance-wise, just a simple netbook meets their needs.

They did their homework on the situation nicely, and have determined that the Gateway netbook that Verizon is offering with a data plan subsidy more than meets their needs. The netbook will only cost them $99 with the subsidy, and the data plan gets them web connectivity which is the real objective. I have to admit they’ve researched it well, and this path is a very good one for them that meets their needs.

Although it’s been said many times and many ways (GigaOM Pro, subscription required) — yes, I’m prepping for Christmas carols — that $199 netbook is really costing you much more due to the monthly data service. If you don’t plan to use the netbook outside of the home or office where you have Wi-Fi, I wouldn’t recommend the purchase. In a more stationary case, you’re better off just buying a device at full price for $350 or $400 with no monthly fee. Having said that, I’m starting to wonder about the success, or failure, of notebook subsidies. I’d love to see some breakout numbers of how many netbooks are subsidized as opposed to how many are bought outright. I know that the subsidy model is a little more prominent outside of the U.S., but I don’t expect that sales of subsidized netbooks are very high here.

Do we have any readers that have bought or considered buying a subsidized netbook?

This is usually the season for door-busting sales, but I think this one has to do with reducing inventory more than anything. MSI is touting a new online promotion in India, the UK, Australia and Italy, and although I’m not near any of those parts, I checked it out. The promotional link took me to a deal for a free MSI Wind netbook with the purchase of an X600 notebook. The free netbook is the same U100 model I purchased in 2008 and is worth roughly $350. To get the deal, you actually have to print out the online coupon and take it to specific vendors.

Purchasing the X600 gets you a skinny 15.6″ notebook with 1366 x 768 resolution running on an Intel ULV chip and ATI Radeon HD 4330 graphics processor. The 2.1-kilogram notebook with 6-cell battery should run for nearly a full workday, and of course, you can always migrate over to your free netbook if you run out of juice.

All other labeled specifications appear to be within normal operating parameters: 1024 x 600 display, 250 GB 5400 RPM hard drive and Wi-Fi. The  keyboard looks fairly standard, but SlashGear notes that the trackpad is buttonless. The label also notes 2 GB of memory right from the get-go, so no need to spend more money on a RAM module after purchase. Of course, we’ll have to wait for an official announcement to see when that purchase will be, and for how much. Any guesses on the number of PineTrail-powered products announced at CES in January? I’ll wager a dollar on 83.

Credit: LAPTOP Magazine

A few weeks ago, I ran some battery tests on my netbook. I have  both Windows XP and Windows 7 installed on my Toshiba NB205, which takes hardware variances out of the equation. My early looks show that Windows 7 offers 10% less runtime on the exact same device. I’ve since done some additional testing, thinking that the graphically intensive Aero features of Windows 7 might be the biggest factor. Unfortunately, that’s not what I found — using Windows 7 with all of the advanced Aero features off not only makes your netbook look like a Windows 95 beta, it doesn’t help run time in any noticeable way.

Readers offered up great commentary on the testing techniques and I can’t argue that there are many ways to run these tests. But even my informal testing shows the same trend continuing. When I use XP in my normal work day, it runs longer than when I use Windows 7 on the same hardware and in the same use cases. But don’t take my word for it. Brad Linder of Liliputing confirmed the same results not long after my testing and now LAPTOP Magazine completes the trifecta.

In fact, LAPTOP put three different netbooks through the paces — and all of them offered less run time on Windows 7. They used an entirely different approach as well, one that’s more reflective of real world usage, so it’s a safe bet that you’ll see less battery life on a Windows 7 device. Will there be exceptions? Of course there will — everyone uses different power management settings, not to mention they use their devices in different ways. But by and large, it looks like there’s a small battery life sacrifice with Windows 7 on a netbook. Should that stop you from using Windows 7? My opinion, is no, but if you’re happy with XP and don’t want or need some of the new Windows 7 features, you might want to stay put.

Again, I’ll temper my thoughts with the fact that the device shown yesterday won’t officially be introduced until the Consumer Electronics Show in January. If I were involved in the project, I’d use my time between now and then to revamp the form factor. Why? Based on what we know now, the smartbook will offer a high-definition quality screen. While the exact resolution is unknown, “high definition” means at least 720 vertical lines of resolution. I’d guess the device will see 1280 x 720, which is fine — it allows for decent viewing of web pages and is far less limiting than the 1024 x 600 displays found on netbooks. But based on that resolution and the picture of the device, it sure looks like the first smartbook will have a screen size of nearly 10 inches. That’s far too big for what I’d consider a successful smartbook, for a few reasons.

First, the screen size dictates the overall device size. You could argue that the keyboard actually does this, but display panels are pretty standard, so it’s more likely that a screen is chosen first and then a keyboard is designed to fit in such a device. So if this smartbook has a 10″ display, it should offer a keyboard comparable to most of today’s netbooks. That’s all well and good, but the overall device size won’t be different enough from a netbook to make size a differentiator. I expect the smartbook to be thinner, but early reports are that it will come with a large battery, so who knows? It could be just as thick and heavy as a netbook.

Related research from GigaOM Pro: "The Future of Netbooks"

About that battery — why would a large battery be needed if the smartbook is powered by an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU? Doesn’t the ARM platform use less power than the Intel Atom used in netbooks? Sure it does, but the bigger power culprit is the display. And that’s why using a netbook-sized display isn’t the way to go for a smartbook. Essentially, it looks like this first smartbook entry will be too much like a netbook in terms of form factor. But it won’t offer the netbook’s benefit of x86 compatibility for applications.

So what benefit will it really provide? One could argue price, but remember that the smartbook will be sold through AT&T. That means it’s subsidized and you’re on the hook for $1,440 in data plan bills over two years — unless the data plan model changes with a smartbook to make it cheaper for the customer each month. I doubt that, but I’ll leave the door open for just such a change. It wouldn’t surprise me to see such a device to be free up-front. But subsidized netbooks can be had for $200 or so — so will a free smartbook entice sales? I don’t think so in most cases when the $200 alternative offers more.

Ultimately, it comes down to this — what are the use cases for a smartbook that make it different from a smartphone or a netbook? The types of activities you’d use a smartbook for are really the same as what you’d use either a smartphone or netbook for, so it’s a matter of where and how you’d use this device. And those definitions should be dictating the form factor. Let’s use the smartphone as an example:

• Easy to use anywhere while sitting or standing
• Has always-on connectivity so there’s no location limitations
• Limited by screen size and keyboard usability
• Generally runs (on and in sleep) for a full day or more on a single charge
• Users can wake device and begin using almost instantly with little hit to battery life in sleep mode
• Can be put in a pocket

Looking at the same six factors for a netbook:

• Easier to use in more places than a laptop, but not as unlimited in terms of location than a smartphone
• Connectivity is often limited by Wi-Fi locations, although there are always-on connection options available
• More enjoyable experience than a smartphone due to larger screen, higher resolution and larger keyboard
• Eight hours of run time is considered good
• Can be put into sleep, but not as instant for wake and use
• Not pocketable

For smartbooks to be successful, they need to offer the best of both worlds here and although I’m a fan of the smartbook concept, that’s going to be a tough road to hoe. To offer the runtime of a smartphone but still be highly portable, a netbook-sized display isn’t the answer. And if the devices are going to have a netbook-sized display or form factor, what’s the reason to pick a smartbook over a netbook? Price alone isn’t going to do it on large scale. Connectivity can help, but that’s an option in many netbooks as well. Perhaps adding cellular voice capability for use with a headset might help, but I’m on the fence there.

I’ve said this before, but I’l reiterate it now because it’s timely: if I were a smartbook designer, I’d be looking at the Sony VAIO P for inspiration.

Due to the wide footprint, it offers a touch-typable keyboard, but uses a clamshell design with an 8″ display so you’ll have a better visual experience than a smaller smartphone. You could tuck it into a large jacket pocket, so it’s more portable than a netbook. The smaller screen — I’d even consider making such a device with a six or seven inch screen — won’t use as much juice which could let the unit run as long as a smartphone. In such a form factor, there actually would be benefit over the two markets the device would sit between. Would it sell? That I don’t know, but I’d be inclined to buy one. Would I buy the device that we saw yesterday? I don’t yet see a reason to — do you?

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs showed off a red smartbook at an analyst meeting in New York, and went on to share that the smartbook would be appearing at the CES in January. The small smartbook is to work with the AT&T network in the U. S., and no pricing information was offered by Jacobs.

When questioned if the new smartbook would offer a full Internet experience, Jacobs said Qualcomm worked with Adobe to put a full implementation of Flash on the new device. He also mentioned that the new smartbook, as yet unnamed, will play high definition video.

Liliputing found a fuzzy pic of the new smartbook as pictured above.

Related research: The Future of Netbooks (subscription required)

The Booklet 3G is a netbook at its heart, with an Atom processor powering the system. Laptop found that to be a problem for displaying video, much the same as other, cheaper netbooks. A particular bottleneck they noted was the slow, 4,200 rpm hard drive, which hampered performance.

“The tardy hard drive was just as bad when it came to file operations. It took a leisurely 7 minutes and 3 seconds to complete the LAPTOP Transfer Test, in which we copy 4.97GB of mixed media files from one folder to another. That’s a rate of 12.0 MBps, which is below the category average of 15.4 MBps and way behind the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell (22.2 MBps) and Toshiba mini NB205-N330BL (17.9 MBps).”

Nokia has promised all-day battery life with the Booklet 3G, and Laptop verified it does indeed last a long time. Their web surfing over Wi-Fi benchmark saw the Booklet 3G lasting almost 8.5 hours, a decent endurance. The gist of the review finds the Booklet 3G to be well designed, but not excelling in any one area to justify the high price that Nokia is asking for the netbook in the U.S. — it sells for $299 with a 2-year data plan, $599 without the plan.

Well that didn’t take long! Lenovo now has the U150 product page showing availability in the U.S. — if you don’t mind a two-plus week wait – and Netbooked already has a review of this thin-and-light device. One could say they cheated as they have a Japanese model, but why quibble when you can get a first-hand look at this new 11.6″ notebook?

The extensive review covers a lower end model with 1.3 GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 CPU paired with the Intel X4500 integrated graphics. Specs will vary by region, but here’s what $699 buys you in the U.S.:

• 1.3 GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor SU4100
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Integrated Graphics X4500
• 3 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
• 11.6 ” HD WXGA LED 1366×768
• 250GB 5400 hard drive
• 6 cell battery rated for 57 Whr
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi

So you’re paying around 40% more that you would for a slightly smaller netbook, but you’re getting better performance and five hours of runtime in a 3.26 pound package. Tacking on a Core 2 Duo and another gigabyte of memory will set you back another $150, which puts you in traditional notebook pricing tier. So unlike the $399 Acer Aspire 1410 — which is compared in this review– the Lenovo U15o doesn’t stand a chance to make netbooks obsolete. Regardless, if this package sounds appealing, you’ll want to read the Netbooked review. It’s full of videos as well as benchmarks and observations. Looks like the U150 is a nice machine, but too “in between” for my tastes.

The rise of the netbook helped bring reasonable computing power to smaller packages. While that’s good, one of the downsides is trying to cram all the expected ports and jacks in a thin, small device. USB ports and audio jacks aren’t so bad, but when it comes to that VGA output — well, lets just say it can be a design challenge. In fact, some netbooks don’t use a full-sized VGA out. The HP Mini 1000, for example, uses a mini VGA jack, which requires a small cable adapter. I’m all for simplicity, so I’d rather not have extra adapters to carry and potentially lose while on the go, but I can understand why HP and a few others went in this direction. But that size constraint may soon become a thing of the past.

Today, the Video Electronics Standard Association, or VESA, issued a mini DisplayPort Standard for version 1, Rev. 1A. If mini DisplayPort (mDP) sounds familiar, it should. This is the video adapter interface developed by Apple, who will now be licensing it to VESA for inclusion the DisplayPort standards going forward. In fact, VESA is already finalizing the DisplayPort 1.2 standard, which will include mDP — the new standard is expected to double bandwidth to 21.6 Gbps for video. VESA says “[t]he increased bandwidth enables new capabilities such as multi-monitor support via a single output connector, higher resolutions, refresh rates and color depths, along with high performance 3D displays.“

That all sounds well and good, but the biggest netbook and notebook benefit I see is the smaller port size. mDP is smaller than VGA by a bunch — I have such an interface on my MacBook and I’d love to see it on my netbook. Unfortunately, in my current setup the mDP interface requires that dreaded adapter since my external monitor offers DVI and VGA inputs. Regardless, this development could lead to thinner netbooks and notebooks — well, if they can lose the blocky RJ-45 jack for wired Ethernet, that is.

Image Credit: LAPTOP Magazine

I’ve mentioned the Intel CULV, or Consumer Ultra Low Voltage, platform several times this year. That’s the product that will help bridge the gap between underpowered netbooks and powerful, but less portable, notebooks. Mark Spoonauer offers up an insightful observation over the LAPTOP Magazine blog on this space. He notes that a $399 Acer Aspire 1410 configuration compares more than favorably against some of the top-rated netbooks in the same price range. In fact, two out of the three netbooks — Toshiba’s NB205 and HP’s Mini 311 — cost more and offer less on a spec and feature basis. Only the Asus Eee PC 1008HA cost less than the full-figured Acer in this comparison, and not by much

So here you have a more powerful notebook at roughly a netbook price. The Aspire 1410 and its 1.2 GHz Intel SU2300 beats the pants off the netbooks when it comes to benchmarking performance. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM, an 11.6″ display capable of 1366 x 768 resolution and weighs 3.2 pounds, which is about the same weight as my Toshiba netbook. Extra power generally comes at a hit to battery life, but the Aspire 1410 tested to run for over six hours. Oh and the version of Windows 7 it comes with is Home Premium, not Starter Edition.

At the end of the day, Mark makes a compelling argument for this sector to start displacing netbooks. The product gains performance, offers more screen real estate yet is still easy to tote around and offers solid battery life. While we’re expecting the Intel PineTrail Atom devices within the next month or two, I think Mark’s final point is accurate: “[i]f you can nab a fully capable ultraportable for less than 400 bucks, I think traditional netbook prices will have to sink even further if the category is going to stick around.” I suspect the category will stick around because tens of millions have proven they want and can use a device in the 10″ display range. And some won’t want to give up the 8 or 9 hour battery life they see on a netbook — as good as the Aspire’s runtime is, some netbooks can still run for 40% longer, if not more. Thoughts?

More interesting is the netbook’s configuration because it’s the same as what I bought in August of this year. This is the Windows XP Home version of the NB-205 with the 1.66GHz Intel Atom and 160 GB hard drive. Now that Windows 7 is available, I would have expected this deal to come with Microsoft’s latest operating system. Of course, that would likely be the Starter Edition, which does have a few limitations.  Does anyone else find it odd that this deal features Windows XP and not Windows 7?

At the HD2 launch this week, CEO Peter Chou let slip that the company is “carefully looking into [the netbook] category and how it can be part of that.” He went on to state that HTC would not be happy making a “me too” netbook, instead they would be looking to add extra value to such a product.

HTC is no stranger to the special, small notebook market. Their HTC Shift was one of the most innovative such notebooks, and it was released almost two years ago. The inability of low-performance components to run Windows Vista adequately, coupled with a high price tag, doomed the Shift to market failure. If you recall it had a dual processor setup that ran Windows Mobile alongside Vista. Could we see a HTC netbook running both Windows 7 and Android in the cards?

Could the six-hour runtime of a netbook go to 36 hours in the future? It sounds possible based on recent ionic battery projects. Battery technologies simply haven’t undergone a major change in years, so most of our runtime gains have come through more power efficient hardware. But if I’m reading the news right, ionic liquid powered batteries might be the breakthrough to change that. According to Cody Friesen, a professor of materials science at Arizona State and founder of Fluidic Energy:

“[A] metal-air battery using an ionic liquid as its electrolyte not only functions significantly longer–because drying out is no longer a problem–but it also gets a big boost in energy density. “These liquids have electrochemical stability windows of up to five volts, so it allows you to go to much more energy-dense metals than zinc.” He says his research team will target energy densities of at least 900 watt-hours per kilogram and up to 1,600 watt-hours per kilogram in the DOE-funded project.”

As I see it, this technology is really geared for electric vehicles with large batteries. But I could envision this technology making its way down to notebook batteries. And if it did, you could “cram” more energy in a battery without increasing the size and weight.

Some quick math using the project’s median target shows why I’m hoping this comes to pass. If a 1 kilogram / 35.5 ounce ionic battery can hold 1250 Whr of juice, that’s about 125 Whr per 0.1 kilograms / 3.5 ounces. That works out to an energy density of 35.7 Whr per ounce of battery weight. The battery of my Toshiba NB205 battery weighs 11 ounces, so an ionic battery of similar weight could offer 392 Whr as opposed to the 63 Whr my current battery offers. I’m all for more efficient electric cars, but the ability to run my netbook for nearly a week of work time is pretty appealing too.

HOSTS: James Kendrick (Houston), Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia)

TOPICS:

Motorola Droid in the house!
Droid or Droid Eris?
Tethering for Droid is $30, but gives you another 5 GB
HTC HD2 coming soon. Windows Mobile on Snapdragon with a capacitive display
Microsoft names a Windows Mobile distribution partner
Kevin’s triple-booting netbook is going to explode: XP, 7 and Moblin
RIM gains marketshare — are integrated phones doing better than licensed ones?

CONTACT US: Email us or leave us a voicemail on our SkypeLine!
SUBSCRIBE: Use this RSS feed with your favorite podcatcher or click this link to add us to iTunes!

Image Credit: zol.com.cn

Is the venerable ThinkPad name getting slapped on a large netbook/ultra-light notebook? All signs appear to be yes, although many of them are speculation and rumor. Most of these thoughts are coming from ThinkPadToday which states that Jan. 5, 2010 is the date we’ll see the ThinkPad X100e with these potential specs:

• 1.6 GHz AMD Athlon Neo or 1.4 GHz Intel CULV
• 12.1-inch display at 1280 x 800
• 3 GB of RAM
• Integrated mobile broadband options
• Corresponding Ultrabase

With Lenovo’s current IdeaPad line, I’d expect such a device to cost north of $600, if it does indeed appear. I’d chalk this one up to complete rumor except, there have been a fair number of photos floating around. With the legendary ThinkPad keyboards, I’m sure many would like to see this rumor come true.