Smartbooks: Great Idea or Just Another Gadget? Discussion

Just when you got used to smartphones and the new Apple iPad, now you need to brace yourself for smartbooks. A "smartbook" is larger and more versatile than a smartphone for a better web-browsing experience but isn't as large as a netbook and doesn't run traditional Windows operating systems. The question is, do you need one?

Read the full content of this Article: Smartbooks: Great Idea or Just Another Gadget?

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I have wanted the Pegatron smartbook forever, just wish they would release it.

 

I see no reason whatsoever to buy one of these over a full-featured Netbook w/3G, certainly not at that price! You could get an ASUS 1005PE for less than that, and what are you losing? Less than a pound of weight difference and maybe a centimeter of thickness? Battery life is the same or better on the ASUS, and performance and versatility are in a different world. That might matter on something like the iPad, but you can't use this while carrying it anyways, so a few ounces of weight is immaterial. No one is so weak that it'll matter while carrying the thing.

Even is AT&T subsidizes the heck out of it, you can still buy subsidized netbooks for as little as $200. I criticized the iPad as a device with no target market (other than "Apple fans who will buy anything Steve talks about" of course), but this takes the cake.

 

^^^ Not all smartbooks are/will be sold with a 3G connection.

 

Interesting article ... hmm ... well, for me personally I like to do other things with a device other than browsing the internet, and small laptops fit the bill for me (price wise as well). So for myself I cannot see a reason to spend more for something that is primarily internet based, but I don't know ... maybe other folks could find it useful?

 

FAIL. I love when over enthusiastic marketers try to justify the existence of a useless product by saying the "youth" will be into it. let's see:

I can easily check e-mail and such on a netbook, and even do it quickly if the machine is set to go to sleep when the lid is closed
I can install most any software I want on said netbook, and get just as good battery life as a smartbook with extended life batteries.
Netbooks cost a bit more, sure, but they can do so much more.

Apple's technically created a smartbook of sorts with iPad. It runs iPhone OS (slightly modified but w/e) and has phone components inside with long battery life. It seems that smartbooks are designed for people who want the simplest, most black and white way to do something. IDK, but i'd be hankering for something a bit more complex I guess.

 

I do not see a place for these in the market.

Netbooks became popular because they are, ultimately, PCs. They are familiar. They run most of the programs you use (as long as they're not too demanding on the CPU). They can even serve as the only computer for people who don't use their computer for more than an hour a day.

This illustrates the other big problem with smartbooks - they don't do anything special. Did Clipsham actually think that this quote was inspiring? You could easily replace "smartbook" with "smartphone" or "netbook" and it would still make total sense.

 

I'm sure a lot of people will buy them. Believe it or not, a lot of people are still resistant to technology or dont know much about it. Like it or not, these people still need to use email and such. So these companies will market these things as simple, non threatening, cool, convenient, cute, original, innovative, whatever and people will buy them. Especially if they're about $200. That's like the limit for frivolous gadgets.

Personally, if I had a laptop and a smartphone, I couldnt imagine needing a netbook or a smartbook or a portable DVD player for that matter.

 

But netbooks are already as little as $270.

I'm also not sure if these are actually going to be less threatening. Most non-tech people have been using Windows all of their life, if only because thats what their computer in the office runs. Put a custom ARM operating system in front of them and their heads will explode.

 

I don't think Smartbooks have a good position in the market either, but I do like a lot of things they bring to the table.

Netbook battery life is not the same as Smartbook battery life, they're both long, but still different. Only one or two netbooks are even in the same league as Smartbook's promised life. There's a usage difference between the two, you charge and use a netbook like a laptop. But for a smartbook, you charge and use it like a cell phone. For me, that difference is pretty large.

For email and web usage, I can see smartbooks doing it better. While smartbooks sleep, it's sleeping, but it still pushes your emails to you, like a cellphone pushes your texts/emails to you. So theoretically just open it up and you're instantly up to speed.

Also weight and profile are huge pluses. Most people believe netbooks are small enough already, but a smartbook like the Lenovo Skylight is in it's own league...2lbs, large keyboard, HD screen, 10 hour battery life, thin as an iPhone? Seriously, that is a standard netbooks are barely reaching even now. LG's x300 and Sony's Vaio x11 are the only one that compare in profile, but come up way short of battery life. Both also use Intel Menlow processors (sluggish by most accounts).

So I'm not sure if smartbooks will ever become as prominent as netbooks, their system is a little too closed and may be too far away from the PC in user experience. But cellphone-esque batterylife/usage pattern, constant push email and data while sleeping, and dimension/weight are all improvements and things that netbooks should copy.

 

These are the things that I find compelling.

I could give up MS Windows on my *book for the extra thinness, lightness, and long battery life. And as an added bonus, less worry about viruses and spyware (for now).

 

Assuming that I can use full-fledged linux (not watered-down custom versions) on my netbook/smartbook, I have no needs for windows there. For the intended uses on netbook/smartbook, there's no point of running windows, at least for me. And linux is much more snappy compared to bloated Windows.
And of course, no Microsoft tax - for something under 300$, MS tax is high - Netbook edition of Windows 7 is not good, anyway.

 

I don't particularly want a smartbook, but I would absolutely love a small PMP with increased video capabilities (like being able to play H264 and handle soft subtitles).

Preferably made by a company that doesn't suck as much as Archos.

 

im not too sure, but here is where you would find that out:
http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/docs

i think this means NO... lol

also theres this http://www.ubuntu.com/news/arm-linux
i think they are skirt around the issue which is whether or not it can actually run normal linux programs.
linux is not some sort of magical architecture independent OS. so if those versions somehow are developed to be full fledged and not watered down, then theyll still be "custom" under the hood... theres no getting around that.
my hopes are about at the level i have of OS emulators.

i almost bought one of the cheap chinese netbooks several times, if i see another used one at 60$ then i think ill get it.
i was thinking of them just like a smartphone with a keyboard that you can actually use, and for that they seem pretty nice. wouldnt pay a dollar more than say 75 or so.

i think its worth pointing out the markets of people who already have computers and those who dont, the upsides and downsides being pretty different. someone who already has a decent 64 bit cpu and a good setup just needs a gadget while looking at these. its not a tragedy if they dont know and find out it cant run firefox, however, if they DONT have a computer already its definitely a bit trixy and scheming, it seems most marketing is not upfront whatsoever about the OS differences and limitations.

once these are commonly available for under 50 then there will be a no legit line between phones and laptops, and people in more serious poverty could have a real use for them, perhaps instead of a cell phone and monthly plan.

 

Here's my take on this, more in depth. Here's why these devices just don't seem to have any place. I'll start with a desktop and work down. A (+) before a line indicates a step up from the thing before it, and a (-) a step down. I'm being incredibly general here.

Desktop:
All possible functionality.
Completely upgradeable.
No portability at all.
Expensive.

17" Desktop Replacement:
(-)Marginally less functional.
(-)Much less upgradeable.
(+)Very heavy, but at least some portability.
(+)Minimal battery life; 1-2 hours at best.
(-) Very expensive - I hope you have a lot of home equity.

15-16" Consumer Notebook:
(-)Roughly same functionality as 17", but massively slower.
(-)Even less upgradeable.
(+)Much lighter and smaller; will actually fit in most cases.
(+)3-4 hour battery life.
(+)Back to or below desktop prices.

13-14" Consumer Notebook:
(-)Still near-complete functionality, but likely no or very limited 3D capability.
(-)Minimal upgradeablility.
(+)Lighter and smaller still, easily carried in a backpack or briefcase.
(+)4-6 hour battery life.
(=)Prices similar to 15" range.

11-12" consumer notebooks:
(-)Might be missing some functionality; even slower than 14" range.
(=)Minimal upgradeability.
(+)Very light with small footprints.
(+)5-7 hour battery life.
(-)How do you feel about another mortgage?

10-12" Netbook:
(-)Incomplete functionality, and performance is lacking even for basic multimedia; mostly for productivity and web browsing.
(-)You can get at the RAM and HD if you're lucky.
(+)Tiny footprint and weighs less than the latest Harry Potter book.
(+)8-10 hour battery life.
(+)Cheaper than any full-sized notebook.

iPad:
(-)Minimal functionality; no multi-tasking at all, no flash, no Java, no open development at all. Remember PDAs? Yeah, like that but huge.
(-)"Apple" and "upgradeable" don't belong in the same paragraph.
(+)So small you can use it while standing, in theory.
(=)8-10 hour battery life.
(-)More expensive than a real netbook and a Kindle combined.

These "Smartbooks"
(=/+)Minimal functionality; Flash, Java, etc. may depend on model; still slow as hell and closed up.
(=)Nojustno.
(-)Slightly smaller than a netbook, but unusable unless seated.
(=)They say "all-day battery life." "They" are also pathological liars. Assume about 10 hours.
(=)Similar-to-iPad pricing is probably not a coincidence.

A smartphone:
(-)Same functionality, may be a little slower.
(=)Doesn't get lower than "none."
(+)Fits in your pocket.
(+)Days of battery life.
(+)Usually not more than $200, which is pocket change in the world of high technology.

A watch:
(-)Tells time and date; might have an alarm.
(=)Well you can replace the battery yourself, which is more than can be said for the iPad. But yeah, no.
(+)Worn on your wrist.
(+)Months or even years of battery life.
(+)Can be paid for with the change in your couch cushions.

Therefore, I have empirically proven that even a watch is more practical than either these "smartbooks" or the iPad. OK, not really, but unless I'm missing something huge there's just no market for these devices.

 

I don't think you can say that smartbooks have the same amount of batterylife as netbooks and then say smartphones have days of battery life...That was my point that smartbooks should have the same amount of battery life as a smartphone.

The idea that the standby time of ARM devices are amazing compared to Intel stuff. And Smartphones don't even make it through a full day if you really use them, they last like 6 hours. But it's their push communication and sleep time that makes them last days but still be useful.

 

These new smartbooks remind me of the old Psion Series 5 from over 10 years ago:


If Psion could just come out with an updated Series 5 with a faster CPU (Atom?), more memory, a color screen, USB connectivity, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth (while keeping everything else the same), they'd have a killer smartbook!

 

smartbooks doesn't replace any current devices. it's nice to have, but not essential at all. boils down to how much money you have and how you want to roll in a coffee shop.