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31 Comments
- daveisfera, on 11/28/2008, -1/+11I think that reducing price would be the biggest incentive to buy. I've been really interested in buying one, but when I can get a low end laptop for $100-150 more, it's a hard sell.
- bytor4232, on 11/29/2008, -0/+6I don't know about anyone else, but I want a low price tag, under $250 bucks. I'm not spending 500 on a netbook, just not happening.
- sorrow, on 11/29/2008, -0/+4I use my EeePC 901 as a supplement to my desktop -- basically as a web browser / email / notes for class computer and not much else. I love it but don't really think it's strong enough to do very much more - and I've got my Zune for music, although I do watch movies on my 901 sometimes.
- MateoPuig, on 11/29/2008, -0/+3I agree. Already we're seeing those price points with more experimental models. I think the market for these little guys is going to blow up next year. I already know of a few of my friends who are putting them on their wish lists.
- Musicmonkey34, on 11/29/2008, -0/+3I, for one, welcome our new netbook overlords.
- arjie, on 11/29/2008, -0/+3Personally, I hate it when that happens. I don't mind just getting a SIM card and popping it into a slot and having it work like phones do, but a laptop tied to a phone service provider? Why does that sound like a good idea?
But you're right, they can probably make quite a bit off that. - alex7575, on 11/29/2008, -0/+2If you create new form factors and sizes, then they won't be netbooks anymore, and what happened to the so over touted MIDs?
If they stopped just talking about it, and delivering something, but considering that the article about form factors didn't have a single image, I don't think I'm holding my breath. - daveisfera, on 12/01/2008, -0/+2Amen.
- DangerCollie, on 11/29/2008, -0/+2I agree with bytor about the price point. I think a range from $150-$200 would put them in the sweet spot. For a corporate user that's almost disposable. They are light, far more portable than a notebook and provide functionality that goes beyond their price tag. You'll see more of them being used when there are more services available. If netbooks can access any available wireless broadband connection, wi-fi or wi-max, combined with a lower price point, that's when I think you'll see them really take off.
As usual, MSFT is late to the party and this will be a difficult market for them. In the $200 price range a copy of Windows becomes a significant pricing issue. If they make a netbook cripple version, people are likely to opt for Linux. If it's too powerful it will undercut pricing on enterprise products. They're not going to be able to run the OEM market like they have with desktops and notebooks which means they'll have to compete on value. That's something MSFT hasn't needed to do since NT 3.51. I don't think they can do it anymore. - HonestAbeinator, on 11/29/2008, -0/+2Battery life. There is no point in having a small mobile laptop if you have to take a charger with you.
I think the best idea of what a next generation netbook should be like is the XO-2 from the OLPC. Two touch screens, with really low power consumption and the fold-able e-book form. This is probably a few years away but if anyone can come up with something remotely like it, I'll buy it. - Musicmonkey34, on 11/29/2008, -0/+2I think that the future of netbooks lies in 3g plans. Like a cell phone (im sure there is a word for this), they can sell the computer at a discounted rate and make their money back on the data plan. ATT just started to do this, giving the computer away for $5 and charging $60 for a data plan. Now, that plan is still too expensive, but at least they are thinking the right idea.
- priegog, on 11/29/2008, -0/+2Absolutely. It is even more apparent here in europe, where things are typically overpriced when compared to america.
Most netbooks are in the 350-450euro range, while it's not uncommon... wait I have a magazine here with the prices. AMD X2 1.9Ghz proc, 320GB HDD, 6GB (!!!) RAM, nvidia card, webcam, and all the usual shizzle for 500 euro. So if when you said "low end laptop" you really meant "totally awesome, albeit non-vaio laptop", then I agree with you.
Last year I got and old-ass tablet pc for 150 euros, including shipping, ram upgrade (got 1.5GB), new battery and bluetooth foldable keyboard. It's the hell of a lot more powerful than any current netbook, and at 12" the screen is certainly more pleasing. It's also approximately the same size and weight as most netbooks. So why, again, would I buy a netbook with better options at either end of the price spectrum?
Get those prices down, dammit, and then "experiment"! - Darkspam004, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1I've got the hunger. I really want one. The screen does look pretty small. I love the promise these things have. I am pretty pumped to see internet technology quickly entering the price point to replace textbooks in school. Newegg had some good deals on Friday sub-$300. I think they are getting around my "investment point." I've spent that to replace the cheap ram that blue screened, power supply that went bad, and cheap-ass hard drive that crapped out on my three year old dell that cost a whole lot more than these netbooks. I have to agree $500 is too much.
- WoollyMittens, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1Worst prediction evar...
- Rudegar, on 11/29/2008, -1/+2concepts without pictures
did our forefathers loose their attention-span and pr0n rejectablity giving
us the Internet for articles without pictures!!! :O - rolf, on 11/29/2008, -1/+2I have a notebook that's powerful enough for me to be a desktop replacement.
Netbooks are really nice for kids and people who want to travel with something really small (or inexpensive) but for daily use, the biggest obstacle for me would be typing on those small keyboards. I'd just rather not risk the RSI (learned dvorak and use a MS comfort curve keyboard to prevent that).
For your listed uses except notes, I would love to be able to use an iPhone/smartphone but most of them are too expensive (rate plan wise) to justify the use I would get out of it personally. Maybe an iPod Touch. - mathcreative, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1Having locked pc's sounds like a bad idea.
- daveisfera, on 12/01/2008, -0/+1@karslmitc
The ridiculously high price of Macs should not be an indication of what's reasonable in the PC market. - meleelink, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1Ive been looking into the Acer Aspire ones. I think these little things are wonderful for note taking and such, and that's why i want one. Not to mention what capabilities could be unlocked by the tweaker that has the time ;). Wouldn't buy for a first computer, I have my power machine at home for anything else i need to do.
- inactive, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1Netbooks are going to be great way for work-place. More and more companies are allowing anyone to work from anywhere within the office (or campus grounds for larger companies) and netbooks will be a great way to allow employees to go off somewhere that suits them best and work. Just like a notebook - yes, but with one exception - netbooks will be cheaper and eventually powerful enough to replace notebooks for many jobs. This will make it easier the decision to implement them. Intel would be wise to invest in revising their form factors and raising performance so they can corner this market early.
- crazysamz, on 11/29/2008, -0/+1I actually spent $740 on my 'Netbook', if that's what you'll call what I got. I bought an eee 1000, and returned it for having a too-tiny 8GB ssd and too slow 32gb ssd. So i was going to get the eee 1000h and replace the hdd for a 60GB ssd. Then the Asus N10 came out, and I got the n10-j with intel 950 integrated gpu along with Nvidia 9300 w/256mb vram gpu along with a fingerprint reader and a nearly full-sized keyboard, I consider this to be a fully-featured netbook, the "I'm not a netbook netbook", which makes it pretty much an ultraportable. and it runs vista pretty well with the atom n270. If your looking for something that's good and fast yet small enough to carry everywhere, the N10 is your best bet. of course I also spent $300 on that 60gb ssd that's now sitting in my n10. You can't use it as a main machine though, I use my desktop and my hp DV7-1025nr (bigger laptop) for those things.
- Murdats, on 11/29/2008, -1/+1apple mass produces any product that comes to an engineer at a whim? I would imagine that lots of time, research and effort go into producing the one design they release.
and by your proposal the correct business model would be mass produce lots of various products with no prior research and that would send you bankrupt - alex7575, on 11/29/2008, -1/+1First, mass production is not that expensive, and if releasing one bad product leads your company to bankruptcy, then you really should not be in business.
Apple is the prime example of why you're wrong. And how about all the other products that are so secretive that people have to sign NDAs to even look at it? - DyceFreak, on 11/29/2008, -1/+1NO PICS
bury - karslmitc, on 11/30/2008, -0/+0so.. you would rather carry around a mouse?
- Murdats, on 11/29/2008, -1/+1do you know what mass producing a new product without much discussion leads to? bankruptcy.
mass production is expensive, you want to be sure you have a market for your scary new design first before sinking all that money into something that isn't the safe usual product. - alex7575, on 11/29/2008, -2/+1That's your counter argument? Where was it that I said they should not devote time and effort in R&D? I was pointing out that they should deliver more products instead of talking about vaporware. They could do all the research they want, including market research, which most of the times is made underwraps, there's not public talk about those.
- karslmitc, on 11/30/2008, -1/+0Has the economy really gotten that bad? Seriously, the MEMORY UPGRADE I ordered with my MacBook last month was $100-$150, (I paid around $2000 by the time everything was said and done, and thats one of the cheaper macs. (Commence anti-mac comments)
- grebki, on 11/29/2008, -1/+0While you are re-designing laptops, I have a heartfelt plea: Please, Please, PLEASE for God's sake get rid of the accursed touch-pad. My blood pressure goes up ten points every day because of this ill-conceived, horrific, worthless, useless, eyesore on my laptop. I would pay *EXTRA* to not have a touch pad. The only way to use this "feature" is to completely disable it with *extreme* predjudice so that it doesn't click on everything and move the cursor around as you type -- in fact, I would rather have a row of razor blades there instead because it wouldn't be as annoying.
- TheWindBlows, on 11/29/2008, -7/+4$100150 more is pretty pricey.
- Hush, on 11/29/2008, -6/+2I don't think they're going to take. Literally everyone wants a decent screen, and with average size (13"+) notebooks becoming cheaper bit by bit, these have a small niche.
Note taking and ultra portability is where these are at their best, and cell phones could easily fill that. Just need a better interface for input. I like the idea of the bluetooth device that projects a keyboard onto a surface, but those are still too pricey.
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