War Brewing on the Inexpensive Laptop Front

The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting look at the war brewing on the inexpensive laptop front. With everything from the Eee PC to the OLPC, the trend in slimming and trimming seems to be continuing. "The market segment is so new it doesn't have a name yet or even an agreed-upon set of specifications. Intel, the chipmaker, calls the category "netbooks," recognizing that much of what people do on their laptops involves going on the Net. The new machines are also being called ultra-low-cost PCs, mininotebooks, or even mobile Internet gadgets. In appearance, they have the familiar clamshell design, but they're smaller, with seven- to 10-inch screens. They offer full keyboards (albeit with smaller keys) and weigh less than three pounds. Perhaps most important, the majority cost less than $500 - some as little as $299. Intel says it expects more than 50 million of these netbooks to be sold by 2011. It's introduced a tiny, low-power processor to run them called Atom, which puts 47 million transistors on a chip about the size of a penny."

Palm or PocketPC

[KevMar]

why not give them a Palm or PocketPC with a bit larger display and a keyboard.

what more do they need?

I bet you can get every TYPE of application they need on one of those.
So it wont run MS office or possibly even open office. But do they need much more than a notepad with spellcheck?

Price War?

[ittybad]

It was nice for the gasoline prices back then; it will be good for laptop prices now (at least, the mini-notebook prices).

Re:Limit is in the I/O

[91degrees]

Wearables might come into their own. The screen can be shrunk to the size of a pair of glasses (and a stereo display means you can move the apparent position of the screen). Keyboards are a little more tricky but perhaps people will be okay wearing them on their wrists or on a belt.

Voice commands are interesting. This does need an improvement in technology to really be viable still, but that probably will happen. Then we just need to have someone come up with a really good verbal UI. Yeah, it will happen but I'm not holding my breath.

Re:Is running Linux really a problem?

[nedburns]

I agree. I configured my wife's eeePC for "advanced mode" (replacing the default GUI with KDE), and after a few frowns she was able to find everything she needed. It runs fast, doesn't catch viruses, and has an intuitive interface. Running linux in the segment form small, simple machines is no problem.

Re:Limit is in the I/O

[mrchaotica]

That's why I always wanted one of these [pcworld.com]. It was lightweight like an EEE or whatever, but it had a 10" screen, reasonable keyboard, and was really thin (if it's not thinner than the MacBook Air, it was at least close). There's a lower limit to the length and width if you want good usability, but you can always make it thinner and lighter...

Aside from the slow processor and the fact that it wasn't a Tablet PC, it was almost perfect. I wish they'd bring it back with those deficiencies removed -- even at $1000, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

Linux: Year of the... 'Netbook'?

[Dutch Gun]

It seems like when you're dealing with price points of one to several hundred dollars, this is a big deal for free software, specifically Linux. When you're talking about adding anywhere from 25% to 100% of the cost of the computer just for the operating system, it paints things in a different light. That, and you'd have to put an older (soon to be non-supported) version of Windows (XP) on the thing. I can't see these running Vista anytime in the near future.

Should be interesting to see how this impacts the OS playing field...

Re:Palm or PocketPC

[BigFoot48]

No one is writing software for the Palm and Pocket PC anymore. Vibrant websites on PDAs four years ago are now dead, with latest reviews being 2006. If it can't run XP, I don't want it. I'll be buying an Eee PC 900 the week they come out in the US. --A "proud" owner of two Pocket PCs--

Licensing fees fail as price drops to $200.

[inTheLoo]

IT fails M$. Today, you can buy a laptop for $300 that works great for what you want or the same thing for $400 that runs XP poorly. The choice is obvious and it's going to become more obvious when it's $200 vrs $300 and the performance and feature gap widens. M$ only dominates because they have preloads and subscription or begware replacements won't work. No one is going to buy a $200 computer that's coin operated or advert crippled when they can have the same thing without those problems. Face it, it's over for the Soft.

Re:Licensing fees fail as price drops to $200.

[everphilski]

I bought a $300 laptop with Vista... there's no saying MS can't be (or already aren't, as has been documented) flexible with their OEM pricing scheme to accommodate lower priced hardware (or loss leaders for that matter)

Re:It makes sense

[kolbe]

As a Systems Administrator, I just need a device that can give me Internet and shell access. When I travel to customer sites or abroad, I absolutely loath lugging around a laptop. What Admin doesn't wish they had a small portable device for connecting to LOM's, Devices, or Serial Consoles? With a USB RS-232 Serial Adapter and WiFi, one can reasonably do it all with less.

My Eee PC with Slackware 12.1 is probably the best thing I could have hoped for. It just does everything a UNIX Admin needs and is very compact... now I have more room for my Frappacino's and O-Scope in my bag!

Gotta be thankful Technology is getting to the point where smaller is becoming affordable.

Re:Is running Linux really a problem?

[iamhigh]

I think that most of the people who don't know Linux aren't really aware of what Windows is either

You are right... but wrong. They may not know what Windows is, but they do know that they use it at work, their current computer, and they know that "windows is on everything" and "windows just works".

Yes they may not understand what an OS is, but they know Windows and they know where the start menu is and where hearts and solitare is. They also know that Windows is the old fogey next to the cool Mac guy.

However there are many computer friendly people that have no idea what Linux is. It could be anything to them. Go around the office and ask your accountants and marketing people if they know what Linux is. Now do you think that your accountents and marketing folks are just the stupid users you make "non-linux knowers" out to be? Probably not. In fact, they may be the "computer nerd" in their little circle of the world.

Re:Blast from the past! Handheld PC - H/PC - Palmt

[Glonoinha]

Honestly, if a WinCE handheld (meaning pretty much anything running whatever the latest Mobile version of Windows) had a decent sized screen with a resolution of 1024x768 or more, and even the tiniest of actual QWERTY keyboard (like the one on the Rumor cell phone) - it would completely own the world.

I use a hx4700 right now and the only two issues stopping it from replacing my laptop for 90% of what I do are - 640x480 screens quit being useful about 12 years ago, and the on-screen touch keyboard at that resolution is a two-fold joke (the keys are way too small to hit with the stylus for any kind of typing whatsoever, and the on-screen kb still takes half the screen, meaning you can't see what you are typing.)

The applications are pretty much there. When I'm on the road I need wifi enabled IE or Firefox to surf the web / do web enabled work. I need to view pictures, maybe edit a .doc or .xls. I need my calendar and the ability to queue up emails for my work mailbox (sync'ed with Outlook when I am anywhere near my work network.) That's about it - anything else is gravy. If my hx4700 had a little bit larger screen (again - big enough to do something useful via TermServ, which it already has installed but is worthless at 640x480) and a keyboard I could use while seeing my screen - I'd be golden.

I was hoping the new Eee (with the 8.9" screen) was going to do this for me, but the resolution is still a touch shy (1024x600, when 600 tall is still a little short). I'd eagerly have given up the built-in camera for a little more screen resolution (make or break purchase criteria, actually.)

Re:XP Capable.

[tumbleweedsi]

while I can see that some people will want XP on their eeepc (my ex boss for example is adamant that he wants it) I bought mine preloaded with linux before the XP ones were mentioned (although there are instructions in the book on how to go about installing XP on it) I thought I would probably put XP on it as I am an Microsoft guy and work in a Microsoft house and avoid Linux mainly because I am put off by the whinging fanbois all the time but I have yet to find something that it does not do quite comfortably with the xandros install that XP would provide. I use it for surfing the web (I am on it right now) and all those things where you want a device that boots in under 16 seconds (like flicking it on to check the bus timetable, using it as a streaming radio by my bedside and updating my twitter). I can see why people will want to buy the XP version but they should really buy the linux version (which has a bigger HD in the new generation 9in ones) and then decide later if they want to pop XP on it.

Re:Blast from the past! Handheld PC - H/PC - Palmt

[MajorPeabody]

Tandy 100 was a better fit, full sized keyboard and a week on AA batteries.

Re: $300 Vista laptop.

[dedazo]

Except that I regularly get printed catalogs for HP, with ~$400 laptops on it. Combine with coupons or the occasional $50-100 off you get on their website (also on Dell's) and you can sure as hell buy a Vista laptop for $300 or thereabouts. You might even get free shipping. I've noticed Dell tends to do that sort of thing early in the week, and then more rarely on Saturdays and Sundays, probably because that's when they get the majority of their sales.

See twitter? No need to accuse people of stealing just to be clever.

Re:Palm or PocketPC

[zeroduck]

Adding a second LCD of significant size would seriously impact the price. Wouldn't a standard 12" tablet PC work in your situation? Or just the tablet form factor to begin with?

Re:Standards...what the hell!

[cptdondo]

I think you missed the point of 'standard'.... standard != identical.

I choose the best distro for the application:

OpenWRT for my APs - MIPS
Angstrom for my Zaurus - ARM
Debian for my desktops and laptop - Intel/AMD
DSL for my ancient laptop - Intel
Homebrew distro for a dev board I'm working on - ARM

And you know what? They all network, they all talk to each other, they all authenticate against the main server, and they all cooperate nicely. It's not about where some file is, or about the package manager, but about inter-operability. And they all run the same apps more-or-less in more-or-less the same way.

Give me a portable Internet terminal

[davidwr]

I want a portable Internet terminal with a full-sized screen, full-sized keyboard, usable pointing device, wireless and wired networking, and sound. Optionally, I want a read/write device for data up/download and a printer. Another desirable feature is "quick reset" which will reset it to either 1) factory condition or 2) the last version I specifically marked as stable.

I'm thinking a laptop with no HD, no CD, but a flash big enough to hold three copies of either DamnSmallLinux or ThinStation. Copy 1 would be read-only from the factory. Copy 3 would be the normal copy and would be a copy of copy 1 when the machine is first powered on. Copy 2 would be the "last known good" version, a copy of copy 3 made while booted to the BIOS setup screen.

I'm thinking maybe 256MB of flash and another 256-512MB of ordinary RAM.

The whole thing should be well under $300.

Re:It makes sense

[MojoStan]

I have a $500 full size laptop, and I don't find it hard to carry around by any means. It's has a 14.1 inch screen and is pretty light and pretty thin.

I agree that $500 can buy a lot of value these days. For example, Dell's $500 base Vostro 1400 [dell.com] (with Core 2 based Celeron) can do a lot more than an Eee PC.

but neither one can just be shoved in your pocket as you leave the house. Both of them require some kind of backpack or shoulder bag to bring with you. So as far as I see it, the ultraportables, don't really offer much in terms of portability, because you can' just put them in your pocket, and a standard laptop lets you get your work done much easier.

This is where I disagree with your opinion. When carrying your laptop around, the size/weight difference between an Eee PC and a 5-lb 14" laptop is huge. At 8.9" x 6.5" x 1.4" and approximately 2 lbs, the Eee PC is comparable in "footprint" to a DVD box [anandtech.com] (just a little longer). I think many users can just carry an Eee PC around in one hand. Unlike a 14" laptop, the Eee PC easily fits in a purse or messenger bag. It will even fit in some large jacket pockets. If you don't mind looking like an uber-dork, I bet it can be comfortably carried in a large fanny pack.

And it will get better with ARM

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Intel is fighting the march of ARM CPUs in this space, but ARM is inevitable because it is cheaper and uses less power than x86. This means an ARM-based system can be smaller, lighter and have an extended battery life, which is why pretty much every cell phone and palmtop system use ARM.

Ubuntu has got into the early stages of doing ARM distros, so ARM based systems with Ubuntu ease of use are potentially just around the corner.

Linux is still emerging as the primary portable OS. Unlike WinCE (which is a very nobbled thing that tries to look like Windows), ARM Linux is the real thing - using the same kernel code as any other Linux.

Re:Why so expensive?

[zippthorne]

Yeah, they claimed that it was only $188, but since you could never buy one for $200, only $400, I've got to say that the real cost could've been anywhere less than $400. And the "Give one" part of the G1G1 could've been a scam where you and several others combined to give one.

Where's the evidence that the G1s actually shipped?

And it will get better with ATOM

[symbolset]

ARM took off in the thin and light space because of the watts. The thing is that ARM cannot compete with Atom in toolchain or processing power or available software or available hardware.

ARM can get better but there's a reason Intel sold it. It may live on in phones and devices like that.

For internet everywhere devices, no. Look at the available choices for browsers on ARM platforms. Blech. The Atom devices and their counterparts from via will run modern operating systems (but not vista) and familiar apps and interact with the usb devices and networking you already have. Add to this that Atom is "low power enough" and it's over.

The race may not go always to the swift or the battle to the strong, but that's where the smart money lays their bets.

Re:are you kidding?

[mschoolbus]

The Nokia N8x0 series is a nice example of a mobile linux device. Its fairly open (although no hardware acceleration available yet) to developers too.

Re:Limit is in the I/O

[jhoger]

Why the constant fixation on laptop size? There is a natural laptop size, and it is related to human eyesight and type-ability.

I think the point is not to make the gadgets smaller. In fact I think the eeePC goes to far already.

Just focus on making them lighter, more power efficient, easy to use without a mouse, cool running, and instant-on/off. That's where the effort should be placed.

Re:Is running Linux really a problem?

[gatzke]

Just at a NSF conference and the keynote speaker tried to pull up a ppbx, not a ppt. It did not work.

I know there are converters for free. I know breaking compatibility helps drive sales. But sometimes, things don't open like you want and most people don't know (or care) why.

They have a converter for docx to doc, maybe oo can get it to work with wine so open office can automagically open everything? Or maybe it already has docx support?
http://www.oooninja.com/2008/02/office-compatibility-pack-review.html [oooninja.com]