Building the Dream Google Smartbook 53
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Mel Beckman conjectures on the functionality necessary to make the Google 'smartbook dream' a reality, prioritizing the features any smartphone/netbook hybrid would require to succeed. From multitouch, to SSDs, to dual-boot capabilities, the list goes beyond what early Android-based entrants have to offer but remains within the realm of possibility, especially if Google CEO Eric Schmidt's hints at a future Chrome/Android OS convergence come to pass."
Not the Google way... (Score:4, Insightful)
Capability is only 50% of the sale. (Score:4, Insightful)
We can easily find a generic x86 notebook that has more capability than a MacBook Pro, but the profit margin of the latter is much higher than the profit margin of the former. The reason is that the MacBook Pro has appealing style. The user interface is comfortable, and the MacBook's case and keyboard are attractive.
A brand-new MacBook Pro does not sell for less than (approximately) $900.
The MacBook Pro is one of those uncommon products which is extremely successful because its touchy-feely features are more compelling than its techy features. The MacBook Pro is a triumph of the business major over the engineering major. Would Apple, in its early days, have been successful if Steve Wozniak (techy guy who designed the product) and Steve Jobs (touchy-feely guy who set design goals on how the product should appeal to consumers) had switched roles?
If Google's management expects to succeed in the market for netbooks, then the management should consider style in addition to capability.
Re:Full size keyboard - no (Score:5, Insightful)
You're still thinking of the personal organiser of old. It's a good market slice but it's not what these are aimed at.
Netbooks (and by extension a netbook with a built in phone) are more aimed at the sort of place where normally if you're doing a lot of typing you'll be using a big computer but right now you're stuck on a train for an hour or three (or in the back of a car) so you have time to convert the notes you took in the meeting into a set of minutes. But you've just been in that meeting for two hours and a normal laptop would have a flat battery ... :-(
Another option is that the note taking and web browsing (aka "research" and "email") is all you need the computer for.
The keyboard is essential for the use cases of a netbook it doesn't have to be a full speed keyboard but you must be able to almost touchtype on it.
If you think about it this looks like the perfect terminal (browser or whatever you want to call it) for Google wave ... enough smarts to run a wave locally but with a solid enough connection for group working.
Missing critical feature: price (Score:2, Insightful)
Most successful netbooks now are in the $300-400 range, and the most prominent smartphones all come with subsidies to help defray some of the initial sticker-shock.
If you're selling users on the idea that this device will satisfy most of their computing needs, but isn't meant to replace a full machine, then you need to reflect that in the price.
If you read the article (I know, slashdot sin), the author wants to cram a SSD, wireless n, 3G/4G, GPS, compass, multitouch, a high capacity battery, and a discrete processor for graphics into this thing. I'm all for it, if you think you can keep it under $450 dollars and 3.5 lbs.