Comments on: Are Smartbooks Shaping Up to Be What Netbooks Should Have Been?

By: Undercover

Undercover — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:39:22 +0000

what is a Smartbook and why does it not look like notebook

By: animatio

animatio — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:19:20 +0000

” While netbooks really do need the Windows eco-system that delivers compatibility with Windows apps and peripherals, a smartbook’s real value is its connection to the Internet and Web apps and services; it does not need Windows or an X86-based processor. Instead, these smartbooks can have various versions of ARM processors and even different operating systems, such as Linux, as long as they can deliver a solid and easy-to-use connection to the Web and all that it has to offer.”

what a rubbish!!! on my eee 1000 run in triple boot xp (extended), kubuntu, presto and if needed a lot of other stuff booting from usb stick or sd card. btw i will not mention the lot of simulators for not pc systems (in the sense of IBM) …. arm only systems simply cant do this. in regard of functionality, connetivity to the net is only one of the options i’m using daily on my most versatile netbook . a lot smarter than any smartbook design so far.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:28:08 +0000

I don’t really think there is such a market. MIDs and UMPCs have kinda proved that already. Cell phones for me at least is the natural “lower” step down from netbooks. If I’m going anywhere for a short period or time, or travelling “with only pockets”, I use only my iPhone. If I need a full browser/computerthingy with me I bring the netbook.

I do like the Touch Book, however my main use for such a device would be to read magazines from Zinio and maybe some ebooks and such, as well as getting the local paper on PDF from buyandread.com. Buyandread is DRM-free pdf, however both zinio and ereader requires windows-only readers, so having something thats not windows in a tablet would be rather useless. To me that is, my use isn’t exactly the typical consumer I guess.

By: mastrolilli@hotmail.com

mastrolilli@hotmail.com — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:53:27 +0000

Sorry for the grammar.

I am typing on the go.

By: mastrolilli@hotmail.com

mastrolilli@hotmail.com — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:43:29 +0000

Oh goody another category!

I remember how happy I was when Asus brought the EEEPC out and didn’t call it anything but a notebook. Then everyone started doing the netbook chant and that was over.

Doesn’t all this just makes marketing these devices that much harder the industry?

By: Baz

Baz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:21:43 +0000

Weird. One of the early selling points behind a Personal Computer was exactly that – that it was a stand-alone device, fully self-contained, unlike the ‘dumb’ stations and the need for connection to a mainframe computer that had been the case in the past. And notebook computers further expanded on the benefits of a fully self-contained device.

Now we’re waxing poetical about computers that rely almost entirely about being connected to the net (mainframe) to access more than a basic OS and much of its software? And that all assumes 24/7 connectivity – at a price everyone can afford.

I’m not sure if that’s meant to ironic or retro, but its hardly ‘smartbook’.

By: Stephen Feger

Stephen Feger — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:51:02 +0000

Netbooks, smartbooks, MIDs, UMPCs, etc…

Essentially all the same thing with minor differences.

Connectivity is the key. Then after that’s established, the question becomes what you do with that connectivity.

iPhone set the standard on the low end (power and size). So what *doesn’t* it do because of either its form factor or its processing power. Right now I’m not sure.

I’m typing this on a Windows XP based Dell Vostro A90 (Mini 9) tethered to my Verizon Wireless Windows Mobile Smartphone (can’t stand AT&T). It works well and it’s portable (VERY portable). But it’s still no iPhone.

I should have the Always Innovating tablet/netbook in a few days, if I can tether that to my phone, we can test your theory Kevin. But I still have my doubts on Smartbooks.

By: TalonZ

TalonZ — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:49:55 +0000

A mobile OS on something to big for ur pocket, what is this the 90′s all over (*cough* Windows CE)?

By: Ding Batt

Ding Batt — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:08:06 +0000

I want a smartbook, and here are my requirements: No connection what-so-ever with Microsoft, an open-source operating system will do just fine. I would like a 9″ screen that is instant-on (like a PDA). It must be totally silent, no cooling fan and no spinning HD (8GB SSD would be enough). It must be a very capable internet device because that is its primary function. It must have a card reader and USB. I don’t need a lot of horsepower because I already have a house full of computers to do the heavy lifting. Hey, wait a minute, I already have 2 Dell Mini 9′s that do all of that except for the instant-on. And yet, if somebody can build that smartbook for $200 I’ll run right over to the grocery store and pick one up.

By: turn.self.off

turn.self.off — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:06:49 +0000

i fear its wrong to say people want horsepower x or size y, what they want is for it to perform some task(s) to their satisfaction.

take those pre-existing tasks, add some new ones, and then market the whole package to saturation.

oh, and get it into the hands of the stars. I cant help think that the blackberry became popular because it showed up on paparazzi photos of sports and media stars (with subtexts like “is xyz sending sizzling mails to some lover we dont know about, on that blackberry xyz is holding?”).