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He says that he's used a lot of netbooks, but everything he talks about in this article sounds like his opinions are based on netbooks that were released in '07 and early'08, with a bunch of fluff thrown in that only proves that he has little to no experience with these devices. Based on this article, I'd guess he's used the original Eee Pc, the Cloudbook, and maybe the HP Mini-Note, and hasn't touched a netbook since.
His opinions are based on first generation devices and his own pet project. I don't put a lot of stock in them.
2 posts in july and one post on Aug.31st and they havent mentioned the 200$ TechCrunch tablet.
I'm not going to call it vaporware but its right there...
Dont get me wrong. I hope he gets it out and its 200$, it will be perfect for bed and the john.
But you are right, he makes no mention of the tablet which would be a direct competitor to netbooks and many of his observations dont match with what I have seen or tried. (we have an Acer and a Dell mini and played with 7-8 other models so far)
I love the 9 inch model and the 10 is the perfect maximum size for me but when I first tried the cramped 7inch EEE, I didnt like it. Felt too plasticky.
A lot of his reasons sound like generic BS we've heard before. With 1GB ram, I havent had problems using Audacity to edit our podcasts nor using Gimp to finetune a few pictures. At the same time that I have text in Open Office open... how much more do I want to do on a netbook? Is it as zippy as my desktop with 4GB ram and dual core? No but I dont expect it to be.
As for the typing part, I have large meaty fingers but long enough taht I can palm a basketball and while I prefer my brothers 10 inche netbook, I got used to my Dell quickly just like I got used to that curved Microsoft keyboad my wife bought a few years ago. I still hit e3 instead of 3 when I type on it but everything else I got used to pretty quickly. Do I type 50wpd on the netbook? No but I would say Im about 80-90% speed on it which is acceptable.
Anyways, Arrington's piece seems to be sorely lacking any kind of research on what it out there at the present.
In the meantime I'll continue to use my 10", 2 Gig, fullsize keyboard Wind as my primary machine.
I'm thinking of getting a nettop, so I bookmarked both for my reference :)
Ever heard of getting used to a keyboard? The longer you type on a small-keyboard netbook the easier it is. And the newer netbooks have keyboards basically indistinguishable from laptops.
But oh, "effective typing is impossible." Netbooks are selling big time and manufacturers are moving in to make products "impossible" to use. Riiight.
* Wrong about the screen
I want a small computer and it is by definition going to have a small screen. Too small? Then let's see UI innovation to work with that screen. We are already seeing it with Netbook Remix.
* Wrong about the trackpad
Of course you can scroll with the trackpad without looking at it. What a concept.
* Wrong about the OS
"Normal computing" with "even the lower end" Linux is a "heavy chore" for netbooks? What distro/netbook combination was he using? Even the oldest netbooks have more power than PCs that have been running Linux happily for years.
Look, this PR about netbooks being "fine for an hour" and high return rates is intended to steer potential customers towards higher margin laptops and help them forget about netbooks' advantages in size, weight, durable solid-state storage and price.
Arrington's net tablet should be a welcome item that may displace netbooks as we know them. Someday!
a person who, for whatever reason, has not done their basic research.
In pre-Internet days, stated as:
"All projects should start with a trip to the library."
One of the links to his project is on this site; my own Sub-Title:
The Wheel, Re-Invented:
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/08/the-200-techc...
My own first question:
"Let us see your business plan behind that thing."
My comments here are based on the fact that a bit of web browsing will turn
up manufacturers that will gladly crank those out for under $200 each in
wholesale quantities - just send them money.
Probably cheaper if you will "make do" with a "private label" version of an
existing machine.
Then 1024x600 lets you view the page down to the first sub-titled section.
But isn't it easier to change the web-site than build a machine to view it with?
I looked at the new Sony TT and the older TZ and the Lenovo X200/300 series. No way do I need a note-net-book that costs two bills. For the price of one ultra-portable I can buy 4 netbooks.
You probably need to download the stand alone versions of those videos and not try to use Flash or Silverlight to watch them in-browser. Both Flash and Silverlight are crap video players and slower than molasses.
Adobe, and Microsoft cannot write software to save their lives. Instead, they keep Intel busy making faster processors to run their shit software.
Google "CCCP" and "CoreAVC" to be able to play high def videos on your Atom.
So when he says Netbooks are not good for much of anything when in fact they are just as capable as notebooks then it needs to be disputed. To counteract any damage he did to the reputation of netbooks as capable, powerful devices.
He's biased. He's developing a product to compete directly with netbooks. The failure of netbooks is in his best interest.
I hope he's as happy with his big & powerful laptop as I am with my small & underpowered netbook that I'm using INSTEAD for a year now. And I'm not even comparing the prices.
I use mine as a "super PDA" away from the house -
At home, plugged into a huge monitor, as an engineering CAD station.
A "useless product" my a..
Then again there are people who never thought cellular phones would ever take off and those who thought that having a Personal Computer in almost every home in America was quite absurd.
What surprised me recently was Intel's comments which seemed to demean the importance of netbooks. Perhaps they are seeing some cannibalization of their non-Atom chips and so they are forced to change their tune or face financial hardships. I found this quite sad actually especially after Intel looked so good in their approach when compared to AMD for example.
As you aptly point out in this post the writer doesn't really understand netbooks and obviously they are not right for him (or his stagnant mindset).
People need to understand that consumers want portability and they don't want 3 computers to do different tasks - a power desktop, a portable laptop or UMPC and a power laptop. Its just like how people don't want a separate GPS, Camera, iPod and Phone - its much more convenient end economical to have a single device that does it all.
Sure there are some sacrifices to be made when switching to a netbook, but there are workarounds. I ditched my powerful desktop for an Eee PC 701 at the start of this year. It was a huge change but I just loved having everything in a small, quiet package that could be transported in a flash. I love my Wind and a workaround for the sacrifices I made is that I use an external 22" monitor, speakers, BT keyboard and mouse when at home and just use the stock Wind stuff when on the move. It really is the best of both worlds.
Back in the day - -
Portable computers where not anything that people today would
consider a "portable computer" -
Even so, they had relatively few resources and "docking stations"
where a common item for when they where used at a desktop.
There is a chance that these small netbooks will bring back the
"docking stations" - - I happen to use one myself, with an
ExpressCard connection to my Mini-Note when home.
Fully transportable, fully functional, small general purpose computer
when away from home.
My opinion of these machines might be a bit extreme -
I think their introduction will have as much general effect on computer
usage that the IBM-PC did with its introduction.
It has hardly been 14 months - too soon for anyone to say, only guess.
Phones can't run your desktop software, have tiny thumb keyboards (if they have them at all), can't host USB devices and such, and have far tinier screens. 13-15" conventional notebooks are considerably heavier and bulkier, and the inexpensive ones are lucky to get 2 hours of battery life. Ultralight notebooks are small, lightweight, and powerful, and many models get good battery life, but there's hardly anything available for under $1500, and some models run north of $2500. Compared with all of thes, netbooks can provide a great balance between power and portability (depending on what your needs are), and are inexpensive enough to use as an adjunct to a primary desktop or desktop-replacement system.
Given that netbooks meet a real need and that people seem to love them, I can't see where what Arrington thinks has any relevance whatsoever.
Let them go in the corner and talk to each other. I am not really interested in either.
Says he wants to see features that are already available in the EEE PC. Except for (muti)touchscreen which should be coming in early 2009, and tablet form. But with a tablet you can't throw it in and out of a backpack, you'd need a cover, possibly flip top since you've got a cover why not put a keyboard on it, then you'd have greater functionality and you'd be able to type while viewing a full webpage.
Or even better make the 2nd section another multi touch touchscreen, so it could be a keyboard to type on or it could be another monitor screen doubling the display.
The problem with comparing netbooks with the iPhone/iPod Touch is that they lack keyboards and the screens are so small on the latter. After many hours of using them, they become annoying to use, especially having to zoom in on websites all the time since their screens are so small.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but notebooks and netbooks are apples and oranges, two different markets altogether. There will always be a need for portable LARGER devices which can run Photoshop and video editing software in which the user won't care about the larger size (or may have no choice since they need the extra processing power of the larger laptop). And then there are now people who don't care about all the extra bulk of a laptop and features they'll never use (DVD drive) if 90%+ of their computer usage is merely surfing the web.
I just installed 2GB in my NC10 and was curious to hear why.
Maybe i am missing something out but i never ever heard from this guy with anything related to small form factors and mobile computing.
After reading his article, i know why. I love the VIA Nano cpu part... and the fact that he is claiming to have a Nano Netbook... What an empty suit!
Wanna burn some VC money? We should convince Michael to establish a startup together with Pat Moorhead from AMD.
I would call the company Lidali!
Living
In
Denial
And
Loving
It
Just another PR and bullshitting article.. very weird
When surfing the net or checking your mail or viewing video or listening to music on an iPhone, what do you do if someone calls and your battery is suddenly empty ?
Why would I even want to listen to video's or MP3 sucking lot of juice from the battery on a device I need to be accessible on for incoming calls ?
With a six cell battery I can work 6hours+ on my AA0 110L with SSD and SDHC card having WLAN on and Opera in full screen mode with Fit to window option and at least 6 tabs open incl thunderbird email client accessing 3 IMAP and 2 POP3 inboxes. Try that with and iPhone or BB Storm.
As a long time Psion user I waited nearly a decade for a device that had a similar form factor with a good usable keyboard. Maybe I am old fashioned but why would I want to use mouse gestures or two finger pad operations on a touchscreen when I can do it with TAB and ALT <keystroke> in half the time without moving my fingers from the keyboard ? On a laptop with a keyboard that is used for typing you assume people to use the Page down only...why ? I personally rarely use the touchpad.