Sharp Netwalker: a Netbook or a Bust?
Sharp has finally released a new device to compete in the netbook market. Or has it? The Netwalker is a super portable laptop that was introduced recently. It uses Ubuntu Linux as its operating system, which is a big plus (wish more netbook manufacturers paid attention to Linux). But that’s where all the positives stop. The device is almost too tiny. It comes with a 800Mhz CPU, 512MB of memory, 4GB of on-board flash storage (with microSDHC expansion for another 16GB), 802.11b/g WiFi, 2x USB, and 68% QWERTY keyboard. So it’s essentially one of those good old netbooks that we saw released in the early days of this market.
The device costs about $480 and is currently expected to hit Japan shortly. The device does look very portable and is certainly interesting, but it’s not clear where Sharp plans to go with this device. The device is certainly not a smart-phone, and it is not a netbook. It’s something in between. Let’s not forget that the Japanese market is much different from the U.S. market, and we may never see this device this side of the world. At the same time, I am not sure these devices have a future. Smart-phones are becoming more capable, and netbooks are becoming more powerful (and larger). It’s not clear why people should settle for this device when they can get a top smart-phone or a real netbook.
Are Netbooks Too Cheap For PC Makers?
Many analysts have claimed that the netbook market will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out why people are spending in netbooks. These gadgets may not be as powerful as fully fledged laptops, but they do offer portability and affordability. Add the current recession that we are in to the mix, and you have yourself a perfect match for people who are not ready to break the bank on a new laptop. Many have complained about netbooks not being powerful enough, but not too many people seem to be talking about laptop manufacturers being able to make a profit. Netbooks are priced low to attract conservative shoppers. These prices have had a negative affect on laptops as well. It’s getting much harder these days to charge $1000+ for a complete laptop (unless you are Apple). For starters, you’d be pricing out a lot of your prospects if you took such an approach. And for that prices, people can buy 3 netbooks for their family. May not be the best decision performance-wise, but it’s certainly a great money-saving move for the family.
If the netbook sales results are any indication, many netbook manufacturers are suffering in these tough times. And no matter how many netbooks they have sold, the fact that netbooks have forced prices to come down has cut into manufacturers’ profits. There is a reason why Apple does not want to be associated with the netbook brand. Apple as a premium brand is not in the business of making pennies when it can make hundreds on each unit sold. And the company had the understanding of how introducing a “cheap” netbook would affect its other products.
We shouldn’t discount the role that the recession has played in all this. People are losing their jobs, and they don’t have money to spend on those expensive laptops. There is no question that notebook manufacturers can earn more money when we are out of the recession. That could take a couple of years, so until then, I’d expect many laptop makers to suffer. Windows 7 may or may not provide some boost to these companies, but I don’t expect things to turn around unless the economy has fully recovered.
Is ASUS In Trouble?
You wouldn’t be able to easily call it a struggle for ASUS if you look at the line up that it’s planned for the next few months, but in reality ASUSTeK has been struggling to make profits in the past few months. The company is always going to be known for one of the pioneers of the netbook market, but with companies such as Nokia, HP, and Dell going after the netbook market, you can expect ASUS to have a harder time competing against the big boys in the future. So far it has, and it’s no wonder its sales numbers are on the rise. It could be a seasonal fluke, but any increase in sales is good news for ASUS at this point.
ASUS is already working with Garmin on its Nuvifone GPS smartphone project. Both companies are hoping to take advantage of the latest trend in the mobile industry to bring more powerful GPS smart-phones to the market. ASUS is also putting a lot of focus on its nettops as well. Nettops are compact desktop PCs that are designed for modern houses.
EeeTop PC ET2002T is the latest effort by ASUS to compete better in the nettop market. These machines are highly capable, come with a ton of eye candy, and can hold their own against most all in one desktop PCs.
For the time being, Asus’ focus remains on netbooks and smart-phones. The company may be going against the giants, but as it has proved with its netbooks, it does have the creative power to create and compete in new markets. It may be struggling now but as netbooks become more popular, there is no reason Asus can’t compete with the other big boys in the market.
Nokia Shoots for the Moon with Booklet 3G Netbook
Nokia certainly knows how to surprise us all. And Booklet 3G’s announcement has been nothing short of that. It seems Nokia has finally decided to take a big crack at the netbook market. Booklet 3G netbook is an innovative portable gadget that brings you everything that is good about netbooks plus many additional features that you don’t see on today’s netbooks. For starters, the device comes with ATOM processors and is a Windows-based netbook (too bad!). It does come with a 10.1 inch screen, but the resolution is much higher than most of its peers. But what’s impressive about this netbook is its battery life. It can last you for 12 hours which has got to be a record as far as the netbook market is concerned.
You also get a lot of networking features on Booklet 3G. It comes with an integrated 3G adapter and hot swappable SIM card. That’s not what we have come to expect from netbooks these days. You also get GPS and maps on your netbook. So no matter where you are, you can use this device to help you find your way back home. And if you want to delve into the world of HD, you can easily do it with its HDMI output. (more…)
4 Cool Netbook Totes for Road Warriors
Netbooks may be super portable gadgets, but you are still going to need a good carrying case to take them with you on the go. You can always settle for a netbook case to keep your gadget protected on the go, but totes/bags are more handy if you don’t want to carry your netbook with you in your hand at all times. Netbook totes are great for women on the move. They are easy to handle, and they do keep your netbook safe. And they don’t take too much space anyway. So if you have got your netbook and are looking for a cool carrying case, you should try these 4 netbook totes:
Hadaki Neoprene 11.1 Netbook Sleeve/ Tote: a very cool looking tote for your netbook that is not only roomy but also keeps your netbook safe. If you are traveling a lot, this tote comes in handy.
Black Ladies Business Tote: comes with a cool netbook sleeve to give you everything you need to keep your gadget protected on the go. It’s very solid, and it comes with enough space to let you carry other things that you need to carry with you at all times.
Netbooks Beating Macs Among School Shoppers?
For all the negative press that netbooks get these days, it is certainly interesting to see school shoppers opt for netbooks rather than Macs. Macbooks are wonderful laptops. They are not only powerful and energy efficient, but they come with lots of free software to help students get their work done without having to spend hundreds of dollars on additional software packages. But Macbooks are premium laptops. They are not recession friendly by any means. And they are somewhat of an overkill for students who don’t plan on doing anything other than using Excel, Access, and Microsoft Word.
As much as Apple has tried to position its laptops as portable and powerful, Netbooks are much smaller and more portable. And they cost only a fraction of what it would cost to buy a Macbook. Netbooks are energy efficient as well. Some are already offering as much as 11 hours of battery life. It’s not hard to see why students are getting netbooks instead of Macs. Not only they get to save a lot of money, they can spend it on books or other needs. Buying a Mac can take a big chunk out of your college budget, so as someone who’s been there and done that, I can tell you that netbooks are a good bet if you want to get through college without having to pay $2,000 for your first laptop.
Netbooks are not for everyone, and they have their limitations. They are not made for gaming or watching high definition videos. But if you are hoping to blog, tweet, create presentations and more, they are a good bet. As more people struggle to keep up with their bills, netbooks are going to become even more popular. But even in the absence of the recession, netbooks would be decent gadgets to own.
ULVs vs. Netbooks: The Battle Continues
Industry experts have been telling us about how the future of the notebook market will be fought between ULV laptops and netbooks. In case you are not familiar with ULV laptops, they are energy efficient netbooks that use next generation mobile CPUs that help you get more battery life on the go. Intel and AMD both have their own ULV CPUs that are already being used in top laptops on the market. But are ULVs really that much better than netbooks? A look at current ULV notebook line up suggests otherwise.
The fact that top ULV laptops come with dual core CPUs is a big plus. Many first time netbook owners complain about their devices not being capable of displaying high definition videos. Some complain about their mini-notebooks processing power. With ULVs, you do get more powerful CPUs on your laptop without sacrificing too much battery life. But the current ULV market is not that much superior to the netbook market. And netbooks are still more portable than CULVs. Let’s not forget that netbooks are a bit cheaper than ULV laptops as well. (more…)
Dell To Introduce Linux Dell Netbooks?
So much for Microsoft attacking Linux and dismissing it as a problem as far as netbooks are concerned. In a move that could expand its horizon, Dell is researching the possibility of introducing smartbooks to grab more marketshare in the mini-notebook market. Smartbooks are designed for people who spend a lot of time on the web and are powered by ARM architecture. But Dell is not stopping there. It is also upgrading its Linux products to the latest version of Ubuntu. So much for Linux being overrated.
Smartbooks are considered by many as a big challenge to netbooks. We haven’t seen too many of them this side of the world, but Dell and few other companies are planning to bring them to the states to grow the mini-netbook market. ARM based CPUs do have some advantages over their ATOM counterparts. The difference is not earth-shattering, but these CPUs are more energy efficient, which means smartbooks come with a longer battery life.
Smartbooks have many advantages over netbooks, but their main disadvantage is using Linux at this point. Linux is a wonderful operating system and is more than capable of going toe to toe with Microsoft Windows. But a lot of folks are scared of touching Linux on their computers. Microsoft’s fear mongering campaigns to discredit Linux has not helped its cause either. Sooner or later, people are going to realize that are many more positives than negatives to adopting Linux on their computers. But till then, Linux will have to fight hard to keep up with Microsoft.
Samsung N510 ION Netbooks Coming In September?
Samsung has some of the best netbooks on the market. They are usually on the higher end of the market as far as the price is concerned, but they are certainly capable netbooks. Samsung is not sitting idle. It’s planning to release Samsung N510 netbooks sometime in September. The so called ION netbooks use the power of NVIDIA ION platform to help netbook owners get the best out of their HD videos. So you won’t have trouble going through your blu-ray content on your netbook with these ION mini laptops. Samsung is planning to release the following models to the market:
- Samsung N508
- Samsung N510
- Samsung N511
These netbooks do give you the chance to better handle video and other complicated graphics tasks on your netbook. But they will also cost you a bit. Samsung N510 netbook is expected to be sold for $599. That’s much more than other top netbooks on the market. And it costs almost the same as what iPad’s expected to go for. So it’d be interesting to see how N510 fares in the U.S. market. But for HD junkies, Samsung’s ION netbooks should be music to their ears.
The iPad: Apple’s Netbook Killer
Just like any other gadget lover, I have been waiting for Apple to make its move and make a response to the whole netbook movement. Netbooks are super portable, great gadgets to own. But there is no reason for Apple not to be involved in this market. Netbooks have a long way to go to become perfect, so the introduction of Apple’s netbook to the market would only help others innovate and come up with better devices. After months of hearing about how Apple is not interested in releasing a netbook, we now know that Apple is planning to release a brand new gadget that will compete with netbooks, Amazon Kindle, and table PCs. The device, which is currently being called the iPad, is a super large iPod Touch that takes advantage of mobile Mac OS to bring you everything that is great about iPod Touch without you having to settle on a small screen.
Apple iPad is essentially the closest Apple will ever come to releasing a netbook-like device. Apple has said in the past that it’s not interested in associating itself with the netbook brand and given its premium brand who can blame it. But Apple iPad, which will be sold for some price in $500 to $700 range, is certainly capable of acting as a netbook. For starters, the device does allow you to watch videos, edit them, blog, tweet, manage your Facebook, and do most things that you can do on a netbook. And you can even type up documents on your device (you can always use your fingers or get an iPad keyboard).
The details are still a bit sketchy about Apple’s latest super gadget, but if what we have heard about this gadget is true, it’s going to be a major competitor to the top netbooks on the market. The device is rumored to be very slim, highly portable, and highly capable. Add the power of the App Store, and you have got a device that will keep on giving. It’s interesting to see how Apple courts developers for this new gadget. Nevertheless, it’s going to be a few exciting months.
Your take: would you consider purchasing the iPad instead of a netbook, even though it would cost you an extra $200-$300?
