NetbookTech

When we look back at the short history of netbooks, it’s easy to think of certain key moments – from the introduction of the ASUS Eee PC to the OLPC XO notebook to the very first PSION system. However, thanks to this PC Magazine article by Tim Bajarin, I’m reminded that we really need to thank another man and his invention – that man would be Jeff Hawkins and his invention, the Palm Foleo.

The Foleo made its debut in early 2007 before it was eventually killed off by Palm management in the Fall of that same year. However, before it was killed off, I did manage to get some quality time in at an invitation event that summer. You can read my original posting about that event at Krunker.com.

The original concept for the Foleo was to deliver an ultra-compact, lightweight notebook-like device that would extend the usefulness of a smartphone. Hawkings envisioned the Foleo to provide a better viewing experience than a smartphone – thanks to the 10.2 inch display and full QWERTY keyboard. Yet, the Foleo would also leverage the smartphone by wirelessly connecting to it and allow users to read/write email through the smartphone’s wireless internet connection.

In fact, if you look at the Foleo’s original specs, it’s hard not to see a netbook configuration. Here’s what I wrote back in 2007 for the Foleo specs:

• 10.2 inch widescreen LCD display
• Full-size QWERTY keyboard
• Weight of 2.5 lbs
• Up to 5 hours of battery life
• DataViz Documents To Go for Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files
• PDF viewer
• Photo viewer
• Web browser
• Bluetooth 1.2 wireless technology
• Wi-Fi 802.11b
• SD/MultiMediaCard expansion slot
• CompactFlash slot
• Scroll wheel
• Previous and Next buttons
• One touch email sync button
• Linux OS (kernel 2.4)
• VGA output (with an included adapter)

Sounds like your modern day netbook right? Well.. unfortunately, the Foleo was 1) underpowered, 2) overpriced, 3) not full featured, and 4) arguably a bit ahead of its time by a few short months. It was originally priced at $599 which was later lowered to $499 before it was just outright killed off.

Ironically, we found out a few months later that if you price a full featured compact notebook with “good enough performance” below the $500 dollar line, consumers would jump on it. That system? The ASUS Eee PC netbook.

Yet Hawkins clearly was onto something with the Foleo. He had the vision that people wanted an Internet-connected, ultra-portable notebook like device – it was simply ahead of its time.  As Tim puts it:

“Jeff got the PDA and smartphone right well before anyone else, and it looks as if he may have done it again. “

Thanks Jeff!

[Check it out]

Has it really come to this?

It’s one thing for a company to release a new netbook but my goodness, a Hello Kitty Netbook?? I found myself uttering “NOOO!! Please God NOOOOO!!!!!” (a la Michael to Toby from The Office last night).

Sadly yes.. it’s true.. Sotec has released a Hello Kitty version of their C1 netbook. The system comes with a Hello Kitty case cover, a Hello Kitty on the hinge, and yes.. a Hello Kitty desktop wallpaper.

If you HAPPEN to be interested in this netbook, here are the specs to the Hello Kitty C1:

• Intel Atom N270 processor running at 1.6GHz
• 1GB RAM
• 120GB HDD
• Intel 945GSE Express Chipset
• 10.1 inch TFT LCD display with a resolution of 1024 x 600
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Ethernet
• USB 2.0 port
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• Realtek ALC8000 audio with integrated speaker
• Windows XP Home Edition SP3
• Open Office, Firefox, and Skype included

The folks at Geek Stuff 4U have the Hello Kitty C1 for $890.95 – a pretty penny for a customized netbook.

[Check it out via Akihabara News]

AVING USA reports that ASUS has officially launched the Eee PC S101 netbook and the Eee PC 1002H netbook in South Korea. Introduced last month, the S101 is ASUS’s thinnest and most expensive Eee PC netbook yet coming in at a mere 25mm thick and weighing around 1 kg. Most of you are already familiar with the S101 so I won’t go into much more details there.

As for the 1002H, the specs include an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Home, a 10 inch display, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, SDHC card reader, and a weight of 1.2 kg.

Make sure to check out AVING USA for many more pictures. (pictures here from AVING USA)

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What’s this? A dual core mini-notebook/netbook system? Yes.. that’s right but it’s not what you might think. Instead of waiting for Intel to release a mobile dual core Atom processor, the new Raon Digital Everun Note utilizes a dual core AMD Turion 64 X2 processor. Not only do you get a dual core AMD Turion processor, you get ATI graphics via the ATI RS690E chipset, a 7 inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity, Realtek HD audio, and 2-3 hours of battery life – all in a package that weighs around 1.5 pounds!

There are three configurations currently available. Two of them feature the AMD Turion 64X2 processor and the third one utilizes the AMD Sempron 3600/1.2 GHz processor. You can see the complete chart here:

Sounds really appealing right? WELL… the dual core Turions come at a price. According to CNET’s Crave, the Turion X2 model with 1GB of RAM, 60GB HDD, and no OS costs $799. If you want Windows XP Home, tack on another $50 dollars. If you want to replace the HDD with a 24GB SSD and Windows XP Pro, be prepared to pay $999. The entry level system with the Sempron processor and a 16GB SSD will set you back $659. Yes.. power.. even a bit more power comes at a price.

[Check it out via CNET’s Crave]

Packard Bell formally introduced the new 8.9 inch “dot” netbook last night at an event in Central London. Interestingly enough, the company claims the “dot” is the first netbook designed specifically for “mainstream consumers” (umm.. hello.. Packard Bell.. ever heard of the ASUS Eee PC?) though it’s not clear how this is the case. One look at the specs, and the “dot” looks like any other netbook system.

According to bit-tech.net, the “dot” features an Intel N270 Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 display, 160GB HDD, three USB 2.0 ports, a memory card reader, Wi-Fi, built-in webcam, and an optional 3G module. Windows XP will be the base OS – sorry no Linux option here – and the pricing will start at £299 with availability beginning in January of ‘09. Again.. it’s still not clear how this model is “consumer” centric…

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CNET’s Crave uncovered an additional tidbit about the new BenQ JoyBook U101 netbook. According to this posting, the new U101 is tested to withstand drops of up to 76cm (approximately 2.4 feet) – not bad though I’m willing to bet your netbook will suffer a few dings at that height.

The 10.1 inch U101 features an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, 3.5G support, and of course Windows XP Home. Oh yes, it’s also the first netbook to actually come with a 16:9 aspect ratio display.

Expect the JoyBook U101 to hit the Asian markets by the end of this month for a price of around $594 U.S. dollars.

[Check it out]

Hot on the heels of our own un-boxing pictures of the Samsung NC10 come a new review and a new hands-on look at the new netbook. First up, a new review from the folks at PC Advisor UK who had this to say about the NC10:

“Samsung’s netbook offering may tick nearly all the same boxes as the MSI Wind, but its keen pricing and remarkable mains-free longevity make it a worthy addition to the line. The Samsung NC10 may be marginally larger, heavier and lack 802.11n but this could be the new champion of the breed.”

Next up, Mobile Computer UK has a hands-on look at the black colored version of the NC10 and I have to say.. the black version looks way cooler than the white colored version. Here’s a snippet from the hands-on:

“We can confirm that the black model is definitely better looking than the white, with the silver accents looking right at home against the matte black finish. Unsurprisingly, the gloss black lid is a finger print magnet but on the whole the black NC10 looks like it means business.”

Make sure to check out the rest of the hands-on to see several close up shots of the NC10.

Yes, the Samsung NC10 (NP-NC10 to be exact) is in the house and we’ve got un-boxing pictures for you to check out. For those of you curious what the NC10 looks like compared to other netbooks, we have a couple of stills near the end of the posting that compare the NC10 against the 10 inch Lenovo IdeaPad S10 and the 8.9 inch Acer Aspire One. So, let’s get right to it – enjoy!

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These are certainly interesting if not challenging times that we live in. With the economy in a recession and folks looking to stretch their dollar every which way possible, it makes complete sense for consumers who are looking to buy a new computer to take a serious look at netbook systems. After all, a netbook provides nearly all the functionality that a desktop or notebook PC offers but in a much smaller and cheaper package. Of course, netbooks have their limitations when compared to their bigger brothers. They’re not anywhere near as fast as; they have far weaker graphics; and their small form factors can be a detriment at times – especially in the user interaction space with smaller displays and keyboards. Yet even with the downsides, netbooks are gaining popularity simply because most users need a PC for the most basic of things -  checking email, surfing the web, listening to music, work on a document, etc etc. Thus, all of this easily explains why netbooks are flying off the shelves at a rapid pace…

Yet have any of us considered the downward effects of the popularity of netbooks? This is exactly what BusinessWeek talks about in their article entitled “Invasion of the Netbooks”. It’s clear – netbook sales are displacing standard PC or notebook sales. According to ASUS, some 10 to 20% of netbook buyers would have purchased a more expensive computer “if netbooks weren’t available”. Acer thinks that the number is closer to 8 to 10%. With IDC figuring in that roughly 11 million netbooks will be sold this year, that’s roughly 1 million expensive computers not being purchased in favor of netbooks.

No problem you say? Companies are still making money simply because we’re still buying netbooks? Not so fast. Remember that netbooks are cheap. They have lower profit margins (if any at all) which affect not just the hardware manufactures, but also the component manufacturers and of course the bundled software application vendors.

On the hardware front, netbook sales are driving up the sales of Intel Atom processors. While it’s certainly great for the Atom business group, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for Intel as a whole since their dollar margins are now shrinking due to the lower costs of the Atom processor (though percentage margins are probably similar).

Thinking this through, other hardware vendors are affected as well. Popularity of 10 inch displays are displacing larger displays which means display manufacturers are making less money overall. Continue that trend to the software side. Microsoft makes less with the Windows XP Home OS bundle than with other versions of their OS.

Thus the only way for companies to make up the differences will be in volume – sell many more netbook systems to make up for the dollar revenue loss of not selling higher end systems.

The ironic thing – the sagging sales of higher end equipment will result in lowered/missed earnings for companies which at the end of the day will not help jobs nor the economy. AND yes.. it’s the economy that ultimately makes many of us consider netbooks to begin with!

Yes, I do acknowledge that this is a simplistic way of looking at things.. but the netbook threat is indeed very real when it comes to the overall PC economy and whether we like it or not, this has an effect of the bottom lines of many tech companies as well as retailers at the end of the day.

[Check it out]

Another adventurous soul has gone ahead and installed the Windows 7 pre-beta on a netbook system. This time it’s David Meyer over at ZDNet UK and the target system is the Apricot PicoBook Pro netbook. Here’s a brief excerpt from the posting:

“Up and running, and with reasonable speed, too. I haven’t tried sticking Vista on the Apricot PicoBook Pro - I’m fairly confident it would be a disaster - but Windows 7 actually seems to work on the bloody thing!”

This isn’t too surprising considering many other users have reported similar experiences on their respective netbook systems. The best part is – Windows 7 is a long way from being feature complete and optimized. I expect good things to come for the OS and netbook systems!

[Check it out]