Light and Cheap, Netbooks Are Poised to Reshape PC Industry

Personal computers — and the companies that make their crucial components — are about to go through their biggest upheaval since the rise of the laptop. By the end of the year, consumers are likely to see laptops the size of thin paperback books that can run all day on a single charge and are equipped with touch screens or slide-out keyboards.

The industry is buzzing this week about these devices at a telecommunications conference in Las Vegas, and consumers will see the first machines on shelves as early as June, probably from the netbook pioneers Acer and Asustek.

“The era of a perfect Internet computer for $99 is coming this year,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, a maker of PC graphics chips that is trying to adapt to the new technological order. “The primary computer that we know of today is the basic PC, and it’s dying to be reinvented.”


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You're late in reporting this:

Dell has been building out its Inspiron Mini netbook line bit by bit and it looks like an extended family is in the works. Internal Dell company slides were leaked to our friend Sascha at www.netbooknews.de.

The slides indicate that different versions of the Mini 10 are in the works and that a Mini 11 with an 11-inch display isn’t too far behind.

The most interesting is the Mini 1110 (Argos) that will have a “very thin and light” build and will sport a 11.6-inch HD display. Starting at $499, it will have 2GB of memory and run Microsoft Vista. See the leaked slides in the gallery below.


Dell Inspiron Mini Roadmap Leaked, Mini 11 in the Works?

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is the first U.S. netbook to get integrated mobile broadband starting today. The Inspiron Mini 9 is now available on www.dell.com/mini with embedded mobile broadband from AT&T.

According to Dell, the connection capability will only be available on the Windows XP version of the Mini 9. It utilizes a Dell Wireless 5530 HSPA Internal Mini-card (Ericsson design) and supports HSDPA (7.2 Mbps downlink) and HSUPA (2.0 Mbps uplink).

We are excited to finally see the U.S. carriers and netbook vendors augmenting netbooks with mobile broadband capablities. Now we just wish they would see the benefit in subsizing the netbooks themselves.


Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Gets Built-In Mobile Broadband From AT&T

19 netbooks for $350 or less


It seems like every day brings the announcement of a new mini-laptop from a major computer maker. Many of these new models are priced at $400 or less, but some manufacturers seem determined to push the boundaries of netbooks with $500 and $600 models with premium features like high resolution displays, optical disc drives, and touchscreens.

But over the past 18 months or so the market for low cost ultraportable laptops has fleshed out nicely and there are now a whole lot of models available at very reasonable prices. A few months back I put together a list of 13 netbooks for $399 or less. Today I present an updated list of 19 netbooks for $350 or less.

All of the netbooks listed below come with 1.6GHz Intel Atom processors unless otherwise stated. I just figured I’d write that here and save myself some time writing it over and over. All of the netbooks in this list have 9 or 10 inch displays. I opted to leave out models with 7 inch screens, but if you hunt around for older Asus Eee PC 701 models or newer Xburst netbooks you can often find these mini-netbooks for under $200.


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Has anyone been able to get a Dell Mini with Ubuntu up and running on BOINC? If so, advice on which packages to install would be helpful. Thanks.

No doubt that a Dell Mini with Ubuntu will be able to run BOINC.

. . . but looking at the low power/low performance nature of the Intel Atom the question is why?

Sounds like an exercise in mouse milking [something that can be done, but hardly worth the effort] to me.

NVIDIA demos the performance of Tegra platform during their Computex 2009 press conference. This will change the world of mobile computing. That's for sure

http://www.netbooknews.com

VIA Netbooks @ Computex 2009

Nvidia rolls out Tegra chips aimed at tiny PCs


The graphics chipmaker is calling the Tegra CSX 600 and Tegra CSX 650 processors 'computers on a chip' for highly portable, visual devices, and it is aiming squarely at a market also targeted by number-one chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O).

Nvidia hopes the Tegra chips, which also include its previously announced application processor APX2500 used in smartphones and handsets, will go into a broad array of computing devices. But it's aiming first for an emerging category called mobile Internet devices, or MIDs.

Nvidia's push with Tegra and Intel's own efforts with Atom foreshadow a battle between two types of chip architectures for dominance in the nascent tiny-but-powerful computing market.


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Hands on with 5 Nvidia Tegra Netbooks


Check out 5 Netbooks sporting Nvidia's Tegra Processor. Compal's CN88; Mobinnova's Elan and Mabo, Inventec's Rainbow
and the Pegatron Vivid

Vivid Netbook with interesting quick launch buttons


Pegratron's Vivid on display at the Nvidia booth is based on the Tegra platform and has a set of quick launch buttons all focused on connectivity to the web.

Are Netbooks OK for Business?


Netbooks have a lot of advantages: small, easy to carry, etc. But, many business users find them slow and ergonomically difficult to work on for long periods of time. Check out this short animation to see why notebooks may be the better choice for your business.

Top 10 Netbooks


Netbooks (aka mini-notebooks, mini-notes...."laptots"....take your pick) are perfect travel companions and meet basic computing needs, including e-mailing, Web surfing, and document creation. Best of all, these low-powered machines cost less than the standard-issue laptop.

Darren Gladstone, PC World
Jun 9, 2009 2:31 pm

Notebooks Sales Flatten, While Netbooks Surge


Mini-notebook or netbook units are expected to almost double in 2009 to 33 million units worldwide, while notebook unit growth is expected to remain flat, according to a report filed by DisplaySearch on Monday.

Worldwide, sales of notebooks are expected to dip within Japan, North America, and the EMEA (Europe and the Middle East) region, the firm said, with a 1.1 percent drop in North America. But the decreases are expected to be offset by growth in Greater China, Latin America, and the Pacific region, the firm said. Overall, the firm expects 129.1 million notebooks to be sold, growth of less than 1 percent from the previous year.

Netbooks, however, are expected to soar in almost all regions. The strongest areas of growth are expected to be in China and North America, with expected unit growth of 260.3 percent and 136.9 percent, respectively. DisplaySearch predicted Japan would show the weakest growth, with an increase of 29.1 percent. Worldwide, unit growth is expected to be about 99 percent.


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Nokia Enters PC Market With Mini-Laptop Launch


In a bid to bolster sagging handset sales, Nokia Corp. (NOK), the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, is entering the PC business.

On Monday, Nokia unveiled its Nokia Booklet 3G. The "full-function" personal computer with high-speed mobile Internet access capability uses Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software, Nokia said. Nokia didn't reveal pricing details, but the device appears to be a high-end version of netbook computers that have become popular because of their mobility and low price tags.

Nokia's move highlights increased consumer demand for products that fuse portable computing, telecommunications and music-listening technology, and marks a significant strategic decision, said Ranjit Atwal, principal research analyst for the PC industry at Gartner Inc.



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Acer Brings Atom N450 CPU To $300 Aspire One AO532h Netbook


The Aspire One AO532h netbook is a huge step over prior versions thanks to the Intel Atom N450 processor within, which is the first from the company to ship with a Pineview CPU. We suspect that quite a few other netbook makers will introduce netbooks of their own based around the new Pine Trail platform at CES, but this is one of the first we've seen to be officially announced.

Other specifications include a 10-hour battery, Wi-Fi, a 10.1" LED-backlit panel, a multi-gesture touchpad and a chassis that measures just 1" thin and weighs around 2.5lbs. The goal here is to provide the performance of a lower-end, yet full-size, notebook, all while in the shape and form of a netbook. Early reviews of Pineview haven't been as impressive as some expected, but there's no doubt that it'll be more potent than the 1.6GHz N270 that has shipped in so many netbooks last year.

We're guessing that the multimedia performance will still be somewhat lacking, however, given the omission of NVIDIA's Ion, but at least Windows 7 should make things relatively snappy. Too bad it's the Starter Edition, but considering that it'll be available later this month in the US for just $299.99 (in blue, red or silver), we guess that's a fair amount of computer to get for the cost.



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ARM: 90% of PCs may be netbooks in coming years


Chipmaker ARM believes netbooks will make up 90 percent of the PC market, according to the company's chief executive Warren East. ARM is the biggest competitor to Intel's Atom CPUs in the netbook market, and East believes the company will not rely on Windows support in order to be successful. In a typical netbook, the main chip is usually an Intel or AMD device, with two or three ARM microprocessors for features such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and East says ARM is trying to change that.


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iPad the Destroyer: It's Getting Ugly for Netbooks

Netbook sales have been falling off a cliff as iPad sales ascend. Should Microsoft start worrying now?



While it's true that netbooks are the more affordable choice with better keyboards, USB ports, faster processors, superior e-mail and Flash usability, and a variety of models to choose from, the popularity of netbooks have been in a freefall just as the elegant iPad is catching fire.

Could this be happenstance? Maybe. The netbook trend may just be played out regardless of the iPad. But a new report from Morgan Stanley argues there is a direct correlation.

In addition to forecasting that the iPad will cannibalize iPod Touch sales, the Morgan Stanley report provides data showing that the netbook craze hit a crescendo in July of 2009, with a stunning 641 percent year-over-year growth. But after the holidays, netbook growth took a big fall, and it's been dropping each month since. In April, netbooks only experienced 5 percent year-over-year growth.


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