There has been some concern among enthusiasts that the emerging netbook market is nothing but a fad - it's fun and interesting now, but it will die out soon enough. Intel and AMD sure seem to be very careful about the netbook market, but according to figures from DisplaySearch, the market for small notebooks has exploded over the course of a year.
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Member since:
2006-08-08
I don't know if it's just me but this year seems to be the year for banks and other places to give a free netbook type device with each new account or service added.
I'm sure this had an effect on those numbers. It'll be interesting to see next year when they move onto a new give away whether the numbers will still show the same.
Member since:2007-09-23
Member since:2005-12-02
"I don't know if it's just me but this year seems to be the year for banks and other places to give a free netbook type device with each new account or service added."
It must just be you. Banks stopped giving away things for opening accounts many years ago. Though I think it might still be possible to get a toaster now and then.
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-12-02
Member since:2005-07-08
Please, tell us which banks are you talking about. Also I could be interested in getting a new netbook, and so in opening a new bank account in such a bank too...
(although, I wonder how safe such a bank would be that gives away stuff during these tough economic times?)
Member since:2006-08-08
Member since:
2005-07-06
Apple is an OEM they get there cut after the ODM took there's and since Apple is a special client who use cutting edge parts and special design there margins might not be as high on first generation. They also have to include the price of development of the OS and included Software , plus R&D on new technology.
Where as Acer is an ODM who also deliver OEM to others and use somebody else OS and usually generic/standard parts of the moment. That they use on other models.
it's not as clear cut as you seem to suggest.
Member since:
2005-07-14
Statistics are all in how you interpret them. The fact that netbooks were nowhere a year ago is reason enough to explain the figures. The question is, is it a momentary phenomenon, or will netbooks see further growth? I happen to think that we've only seen the tip of the netbook iceburg.
As I've already stated
http://www.osnews.com/permalink?338625
"I happen to see netbooks as the convergence point between laptops and smartphones. Netbooks will inherit traits from both - that niche of where a "cheaper, smaller, lighter laptop" meets a "beefed-up smartphone."
I also feel that Android will find it's way onto a netbook, sometime over the next year and a half to two years. This will mark a great time, when a lightweight, open source, mobile OS (which doesn't suffer the same fragmentation as most of the Linux market), will finally reach a mass audience.
Member since:
2005-07-08
I think that the popularity of netbooks is quite natural, and not only a temporary thing. Even laptops tend to be big and clumsy when compared to netbooks. Not to mention big ugly desktop computers that are difficult to make look good in your living room. You can carry your netbook in your pocket. Besides that, netbooks are also cheap and getting more powerful all the time too.
It would be an exaggeration to say that netbooks are the future. But they clearly show one direction that people want their computers to move to: smaller size.
How many computer tasks really require a big 20'' screen on top of a table? Some do, but most computer tasks probably don't. A small screen and computer may be enough. In the future (10-30 years or so) maybe only the most powerful workstations (and game stations) are still traditional desktop computers.
Edited 2008-12-11 19:42 UTC
Member since:2006-01-22
For me, personally, netbooks and desktops are clear cut categories each one having its own merits. Laptops are between and have there own merits also but they are clumsier than netbooks and less expandable or repairable like desktops. In my point of view and my type of usage laptops are becoming irrelevant. For desktops I prefer uATX system but I usually buy full ATX because of price and expansion properties. Laptops are a good, market and though I own one the next buy will be a netbook possibly with 10"/Via C7-M/Ubuntu. If I need extra power I will go for a full desktop (I own 5 and use 2 at work) . Laptops are not for me, I never really liked them and I did not like the MS tax. Of course this is my opinion. Now with Opensolaris, if they sell a custom 8.9" aspire one I am for it. I wish QNX supported some of these models too. I also have to mention that netbooks allowed other/better players to enter the market, like ingenic, ARM, Lemote and we are expecting Genesi (can you hear me???) with a PPC netbook. It is fair and it is nice.
Edited 2008-12-11 20:37 UTC
Member since:2006-02-05
I was sorta with you till here
Browsing the web and reading email is fine on a 12" screen, I don't use my netbook for anything else.
Got a quad core with 8gigs of ram, a 24" monitor and a 17" monitor at work for development. At home I don't like being stuck at a desk, so I have a 17" high end pavilion dv-7 with a 2ghz penryn, 4 gigs of ram, and two 250ghz hard drives. Got an older core 2 duo box as my server with 8 gigs running server 2k8 that I use to as a dev backend (running sql server, an svn server, iis, a file server, etc). For entertainment, I have an HP MediaSmart WHS box which works great for automated backups and media sharing for me and my wife. Also have an XBox 360 equally for rock band, and as a fat client to the WHS box for my TV and stereo.
A netbook is completely inappropriate for anything close to a professional program (CAD, IDE, Image/Video editing) due to being not that powerful and not that big. It is also inappropriate for at home entertainment, due to the rediculesly small screen and small hard drive. What it is great for is for when you want to stay connected, but don't want to lug a laptop around. Even if all you want to do on top of that is word processing, I would go for a lenovo or a macbook before a netbook. The extra weight and size is more then worth the increased comfort and power you get from a good 14".
Member since:2005-07-06
Who needs to be connected? When I am up at the cabin, the web is not on my mind.
But a netbook load with a ton of stuff I like to read in HTML, PDF and even plain text is a joy to have when you are just vegging out on the dock. (Don't talk about fishing - the fish just like teasing me and my bait.)
But additionally, I load in the latest sky maps whenever a new comet shows up, notes on meteorite showers, and don't forget screen shots from Google Maps (Note I use a virtual 4K by 3K screen). All for the best when you are on a canoe trip.
Presently, I am using a laptop but it is pain to use in a canoe and the batteries will not last even 3 hours. A netbook is on my shopping list for sure.
Edited 2008-12-12 05:11 UTC
Member since:2006-02-05
Member since:2005-08-18
True, but the neat thing with netbooks is that they have VGA/S-Video etc output so that you can connect your big LCD monitor to it. Then you have USB for your external disk drives, mice, normal-sized keyboards etc. In a way you get the best of both worlds; portability AND extendability. You cant exactly downsize a desktop system to portable size after the fact.
A lenovo or macbook is also at least $400-$500 more than a netbook. $500 is a lot of money to most people.
Member since:
2005-11-10
It seems to me like this should be a market that Via would compete well in. What happened to them? It seems like I haven't really heard anything about the Nano lately.
Also has any heard when the first netbooks running pumped-up ARM processors are going to hit the market?
I like netbooks but I'm waiting for them get better battery life first. I didn't really like any of the keyboards until I tried the Aspire One and it really has the best keyboard and trackpad operation of the bunch which is probably why it is the best selling netbook. I just bought a new laptop so I'll probably hold off on getting a netbook until 2010 when we will have third generation Atom processors and new and better OLPC-like screens are standard.
Member since:2006-01-06
Intel happened to them.
VIA was happy releasing their itx board setups for $300+
Intel walked in with their itx boards with superior cpus selling at $70.
At that time intel's specs were totally open, VIAs were totally closed. VIAs market went *poof* and rightfully so.
Member since:
2008-11-16
Member since:2005-07-24
Member since:2007-12-04
I wouldn't say "optionally". They simply come in both flavours. Does your figure refer to the Linux version or to both?
Incidentally, last time I checked at my favourite shop the EeePC was available only with WinXP (both Home and Pro). The Acer One was available in both Win and Linux versions.
[edit] specified the Windows version
Edited 2008-12-12 08:58 UTC
Member since:2005-08-18
Yes, flavour is a much better way to describe it.
Too bad that your favorite shop suck. Here almost every shop carries both flavors.
Member since:
2006-01-11
On paper alot of these netbooks have as good or better stats than my current computer, so they are tempting. I just wish they made the screens 1024x640 instead of all 1024x600. The extra 40 pixels would've enabled windowed gameplay. Plus there'd be room for a larger touchpad down below, which alot of these models could use.
Some people want 1280x800 on their netbooks, but I am not one of them. That res needs at least 13" to be comfortable. (Incidentally, if you create a 1024x600 blank image on a 13.3" 1280x800 screen and measure it with a ruler, it comes out to 10.4" diagonally. So the 10.2" netbooks should be about right.)
Member since:2005-07-01
Because these systems have so little CPU and GPU power, no concessions are made to gaming in their design. It simply isn't a target application.
That's not to say that games need lots of power. It may be that if these systems really take off a market may open up for netbook gaming. That's something I'd very much like to see.
Member since:2008-07-15
Member since:
2006-01-04
I just bought an eeePC 901 20GB. Its really nice. The keyboard is a little bit jumpy though, I would have expected it to be better.
The saddest thing on it was the linux distribution on it. Except for the desktop metaphor they used which is nice, the whole interface is too "XP like". The wireless connection is a pain to configure, really counter-intuitive.
Programs are not optimized out of the box for a small screen. Firefox for example shows all its toolbars when it is possible to have it really minimalist (see http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:shrinkfirefox )
I was quite fast to delete everything and put ArchLinux on it. It is soooo great now. Compiz is impressive: not only it is nice to show, but also really usefull (the wall plugin on a small screen is perfect). I don't use a desktop manager anymore (well, LXDE with just the tray, not even a desktop) but only a dock (cairo-dock). The dock is a nice way to show opened windows and launchers on small screen estate.
It is really sad though that I had to ship it back: the battery was not charging... Thanx to "dd if=/dev/sda | gzip ....", I have put back the original disk layout and will put back my installation on the new one!
What surprises me is that I never saw an eeePC in a computer store. But each one I go, either in Montreal or Ottawa, has one or many Acer Aspire One. It is probably why Acer has a stronger growth. Maybe they were able to sign so kind of exclusive contracts with distributors, cutting Asus to online selling...
Member since:2006-02-05
Member since:2006-01-04
Member since:2006-11-08
Member since:2008-07-15
Member since:2006-02-05
Member since:2005-07-11
Member since:2005-07-14
> What surprises me is that I never saw an eeePC in a computer store. But each one I go, either in Montreal or Ottawa, has one or many Acer Aspire One.
In Ottawa, have you tried Laurier Computers? - Their website (laurier.com) says they moved recently. They were one of the first retailers I saw carrying the original EeePC when it came out late last year.
Member since:2006-01-04
I just checked on their web site but they only offer the eeebox. Seems the eeePC is too "old"
Member since:2005-07-14
You're welcome 
Yeah, I saw they only list the EeeBox on their website. If you are really interested in the EeePC, if I were you, I'd give them a call. They seem to deal with a lot of Asus products, so I imagine either they have the EeePC in stock (but just didn't list it on the front page of their website), or they could easily order one for you. Just my $0.02
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:
2007-08-11
I jumped in early and bought one of the original eee 701's. I thought I didn't need a powerful laptop and that I'd be fine. But I quickly discovered that in order to get any value from the laptop, I needed a much more capable one.
Admittedly this is more my lack of foresight than any fault of the product, but I wonder how many other netbook sales go down the same path of discovery.
Member since:2006-11-08
Member since:
2005-11-23
The article is offering theory and opinion as fact, saying that they are a fad. On a whim, I did some research yesterday morning, by checking the portable computer sales figures at Tigerdirect, Amazon, and Newegg. What I have found that netbooks are filling most of the top portable computer sales.
Even though I love small computers, such as the ancient Sharp PC1500, and a Sharp Mobilon, I never thought that Americans would accept a 10" form factor. Now that it's here, it may stay just like 12", 15", and 17"
At my local coffee shop, of the poeple who have netbooks, they like them a lot, and I am also seeing people who have them want more than one. I suspect that some of the increased sales is from people buying more than one.
I am predicting that as the time the netbook boom would have started to drop, the dual-core Atom processors will be out to keep people buying, if the thermal designs of the small machines can take it.
[I have a Thinkpad T61p Core 2, 2.2gz, 200mb HD, and yet I plan to get a Lenovo S10 because it's as much as I want to carry to the coffee shop sometimes, and it seems better suited for contact management and email because it's smaller.
I, like many people are watching to see if Lenovo will get off their A$$es and start shipping 6-Cell batteries in the box!]
[OT: generally, netbooks need more concavity in their keys. When you have small keys you need tactile feedback for the key edges. I wrote over 30,000 words on the Sharp Mobilon, which had smaller keys than a netbook, but I could feel where they are. On milimeter of key dish would make quite a difference.]
Edited 2008-12-12 11:42 UTC
Member since:
2007-07-03
While it's true netbook is unsuitable for running graphic intensive software such as AutoCad, you can still pretty much run higher range software by running through a terminal server such as ThinServer XP
http://www.aikotech.com/thinserver.htm