The draw of small notebooks
Now that I’m using a very small notebook again, the Fujitsu P1620, it’s making me realize some things that I had forgotten from when I used its predecessor. This has to do with the draw of carrying and using such a small notebook computer, something that I think has been a big factor in the popularity of the Asus EEE PC. The Fujitsu is almost the same size as the EEE PC and I can certainly attest to the usability of a notebook computer so small.
The huge interest in the EEE PC after it was announced surprised a lot of people but I have to admit I was not one of those. I had been using a P1610 for months and was never disappointed to find it attracted a lot of attention everywhere I pulled it out. Don’t get me wrong, the main reason the EEE PC has been so popular is no doubt the cheap price but I can tell you the form factor plays a big role in the interest that people have in the device based on my experience with the Fujitsu. I am finding the same high level of interest in the P1620 the few days I have been carrying it around and that jogged my memory over how interesting people always found the P1610 when I was using it.
One most notable example was last year when I attended the BarCamp Houston, a geek festival with a lot of savvy people who are pretty familiar with mobile computing. At the beginning of the BarCamp agenda I was sitting in the orientation presentation with probably a hundred people and I had the Fujitsu in my hands taking notes and surfing the web. I didn’t realize how many people were intrigued by this little notebook until after this session. Over the period of the next few hours I was approached by no fewer than 20 people who had seen me using the Fuji who wanted to see the "tiny notebook". You have to realize that just about everyone at this conference was carrying a notebook of some sort as these are highly connected people. Every single person who asked to see the Fuji admitted they were highly interested because they could see that the size was perfect for carrying everywhere and using it with little or no trouble. They would try the keyboard and once they saw they could type fine on it with a little practice each one of them said they’d buy one in a heartbeat if they could get something similar for a good price. Enter the EEE PC and you see why this genre has really heated up and why I think HP intends to make a big splash in this area. It’s all about the size (and cheap price). :) It’s also why UMPC will soon come to signify one of these small notebooks and not a handheld device of some type. Numbers always win in the naming business.
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So in other words, size does matter?
Yes, and even better the smaller the better. :)
I completely agree with you, except for that, “the smaller the better”, comment.
If a device doesn’t have a usable keyboard, I’m not interested. I don’t view thumbing or tapping as an option.
there is absolutely no doubt that people are highly interested in very small laptops (10″ & under). everytime i pull out my subnote somebody always has to comment on it. society is so ingrained as to believing the standard is 15″ that when they see my subnote in some ways they are actually sorta blown away. but they then always associate the computer with high price “that thing must have cost a fortune” & professional usage.
the single biggest obstacle has always been price. starting price points for 15″ bigbox manufactures is around $400 & very well loaded for under $1000. you cant even come close to that in the ultraportable world. most ultraportables from Fujitsu/Sony/etc dont even start until $1500-$1700 & fully loaded pushing near $3,000.
what Asus has done is simply brilliant, they have started a revolution. i promise 1 day everybody will look back at Asus as the “Father” of this genre; cheap ultraportables, that started it all. Asus realized that the basic consumer will take on the extra size of a 15″ in order to save alot of money, so an ultraportable has to be cheap to compete. what they also realized is that most ultraportables are used as secondary PC’s & people will NOT spend alot of money on a secondary PC (they really dont even like doing it for their primary PC).
the 12″ market has had some moderate success penetrating the market, it doesnt suffer as much from the price problems. but i’ve never known anybody really involved in the ultraportable world to consider a 12″ a “true” ultraportable as most of them are quite large and 4+ lbs. many enthusiasts dont even begin to listen until you start talking 10″ or less. just listen to the crys of the Apple fans when the MBA was announced, most scoffed at Apple calling it an ultraportable. and said they were hoping for something 10″ or less that they could carry with them everywhere.
lol @ Lee
Oh why didn’t I see that one coming?
mobiletechfan.com
James, I totally agree with you on this. I’ve been evaluating several devices lately — Nokia N810, EEE pc, OQO, EPOS pen. People were/are always asking about them.
I decided I loved the EEE size and weight, keyboard more than good enough for me, but wanted more resolution. So when Fujitsu announced the p1620, I figured I’d watch out for bargains on the p1610 (figured I don’t need Vista class, and don’t want to spend for it).
The bargains have come — Fujitsu has been dumping them on EBay daily, and they can be had for $800 USD or so with XP Tablet. If others want to take advantage of it, they should read the specs carefully (OS, memory, New vs refurbished, bluetooth). I got a new 512/30GB/XP Tablet (1 year warranty) for $827+tax & shipping, and I love it! Added a Nova bluetooth shipped for $27 straight from Hong Kong and I’m ready for anything! Now to improve my inking, and avoid vectoring (maybe my pinky fingernail?)!
But do you really take the P1620 everywhere?
I had a P1510D and I still have two Q1s and they’re conveniently carryable. I still use the Q1s around the house. But you have to make an effort and plan to carry them out and about, much like a conventional laptop.
You can’t beat the OQO for true “anywhere” computing. I never leave home without it. I carry it in a belt case like a cell phone. Although of course it’s too slow and too small for work. I use a laptop for that.
Ken, I agree that any device over 5″ isn’t pocketable and therefore you won’t take it with you everywhere. But instead of an OQO, why not an HTC Advantage? As a Windows Mobile device, it boots faster and handles the small screen better. It won’t run Windows apps, but most of those have Windows Mobile corollaries.
I agree with Nate. If the device doesn’t have a decent keyboard, I’m not interested.
I think the HP mini-NB is going to sell like hotcakes.
For me, keyboard never has been a key factor in sub notebook. In fact, I much prefer a laptop without keyboard for better portability and inkability. I can add a keyboard via USB or bluetooth as needed, but can’t do anything about portability. I also want to rather have a bigger screen and higher resolution at the expense of keyboard if possible. Those are the reasons I like my Q1 ultra so much and carry it around more often than 2710P.
Hmmm….
The eeePC that I had was a bit too big and
the OQO E2 that I had next was just a bit too small and
the U810 that I have now is just right!!!
;-)
I’ve got a two year old Fujitsu Lifebook P7120 and am constantly using it on airplanes or in coffee shops.
It seems that I get comments about it quite often, and it’s usually after I’ve had my head down and in a business problem for a while, so I rarely know what to say beyond “Thanks, I really like it. Being small means I can carry it everywhere.”
I’d really prefer people weren’t scrutinizing what I’ve got on my screen at any moment. I’m not a computer evangelist, but just a user. Beyond politeness and general niceness, how should I be dealing with these inquiry’s?
nice writeup! being a fellow tablet/ultraportable fan; i agree with you on the growing interest in such devices as the Eee (i just ordered one myself after selling my HP TC1100 this week, work is getting the Latitude XT tablets w/evdo and all the bells and whistles.. hehe).
however the UMPC market will never go anywhere with the price the hardware carries with it. why should we pay more for a device that is meant to do less? :) thus why the Eee pc is everyone’s darling the last few months..
peace
Now I think an UMPC has changed over the years, and the gray areas that it bleeds into is Ultra Portable laptop territory. The Asus EEE-PC is an example of an ultra-portable laptop. UMPC was defined at first as the Origami experience, and those were keyboard-less touch screen portable devices running Windows They were smaller than Tablet PCs which made them earn the sanme of UMPC. At the same time Tablet PCs morphed into 2 different categories, convertibles, and slates. Now you also have Hybrid Ultraportable laptop UMPC such as the Fujitsu U810, Vulcan FlipStart and the 1620 to name a few. But other “UMPC”s such as the HTC Shift, OQO E2, Sony UX, PepperPad, and Q1 Ultra are examples of the evolution of the UMPC and the need for quicker input via texting methods used on certain cell phones. This evolution, and gray are is what stifles the UMPC and Ultra-Portable market; not to mention the horrible beatings that these devices take on vertain websites and magazines who test them under the premise of just another regular laptop yet do not measure the sensory perceptions of the real purpose of its size and its higher purpose in life. I think I one of the first UMPC/Ultraportables wa the HP Jornada 700 series. I had an HP Jornada 720 an used it extensively, until web browsing standards started to a point where I could not browse anything with it anymore. After that I ended up getting a 12″ iBook and then the 12″ PowerBook and an IBM ThinkPad X31. I think the first and truest iteration of an Ultraportable laptop was the Toshiba Libretto U105. To this day I still use mine and carry along either a Samsung Q1 or the Fujitsu U810 depending on how I feel as a whip it out and do something quick PC. Money is not concern when it comes to a UMPC or Ultra Portable laptop. If people want it they buy it. Why the EEE-PC is so popular is because it is a product offered as-is with no hopes or guaranties that it is no more than a cheap well made internet device that allows you to e-mail and surf the web as well as do the most basic things in a small form factor. I have not been interested nor will be interested in such a device. The lure of a UMPC is the mindset and attitude that this machine can do everything my desktop can do and its small with cool features. Now with the fact that Intel Celeron, Via, AMD Geode, and now the forthcoming Atom chips are what powers these small ultraportable devices, adds to the confusion of wanting or choosing these devices. Also with the advent of EVDO, 3G, WiMax and HSDPA this will also add more confusion in an already over stuffed and cramped ultra mini device. The interest will grow, but the features and options will stifle the market for the “premium” models. I think HP’s foray into the market realm of the EEE-PC will further strip the UMPC and Ultraportable market of its identity and uniqueness as people will expect them to be featureless internet devices like the EEE-PC.