Posts tagged netbook
Reasons to buy Nokia Booklet!
Dec 22nd
Nokia’s first PC (as opposed to the phones they refer to as multimedia computers) got a lot of hype when it was announced and is getting a lot of mixed reviews from folks who complain mostly about price/performance and that you can get better specs in a netbook for less money. After spending some time with a Booklet 3G, I’m once again reminded that there’s more to a purchase than speeds and feeds, and that value, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So I’m not going to discuss the relatively slow processor or hard drive. We can agree that the Booklet isn’t a speed demon. It is, however, how a good PC experience should be and that’s worth paying for in my opinion.
Nokia Booklet 3G
1. Style. The Booklet’s got style. It’s small, thin elegant and doesn’t feel like it’s made out of plastic. The metal construction of the body, the solid heft and firm click of the keys make it feel like it’s a product that came from Cupertino, CA not Finland. In fact using it at Starbucks, several people asked me if I was using an Apple (even though the lid CLEARLY says Nokia). If your product gets confused with something made at 1 Infinite Loop, that’s a good thing. Almost every other netbook on the market feels cheap and toy like by comparison. Read the rest of this entry »
Acer claim to become first to launch Chrome OS Netbook!
Dec 3rd
The world’s second-largest PC maker has designs on being the first to offer a Chrome OS Netbook.
Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said in an interview with Digitimes that he’s “confident” his company will be first out of the gate with Google’s open-source operating system pre-installed. The earliest it would be available is mid-2010, according to Digitimes’ unnamed sources.
Acer was just one of several hardware makers previously announced to be working with Google on implementing Chrome OS, along with Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba. Dell, which hasn’t committed to it fully yet, has released an experimental version of Chrome OS based on the source code that will work on the Dell Mini 10v Netbook, though it’s not an official product.
Though Wang didn’t offer details or specifications for Acer’s Chrome OS Netbook, the guys behind Chrome OS have already let on what they’re expecting.
At the OS’s first public demonstration last month, Google said its vision includes slightly larger keyboards and screens than what’s currently available, x86 or ARM processors, solid-state drives, and 802.11(n) Wi-Fi chips.
What exactly is a Netbook?
Nov 29th
The term netbook is a slight misnomer: a netbook isn’t a glorified device for browsing the web, but a lightweight laptop that has a lower specification in terms of its processor, operating system, hard disk and memory.
This has twin benefits. The first is that most netbooks usually cost under $400 including VAT, making them an attractive purchase as a second computer.
The second is that they weigh much less than a conventional laptop: typically between 1kg and 1.5kg compared to between 2kg and 3kg for most modern, fully featured laptops.
The term netbook is popular for good reason, however. These mini laptops are excellent at browsing the web, with a compact screen offering just enough width to house websites – namely 1,024 pixels. The compromise is that the screen is usually 600 pixels tall, as opposed to 768 or higher for a traditional laptop.
This size of screen is perfect for emails as well. If you’re hoping to view and edit spreadsheets, on the other hand, you’ll be disappointed: 1,024 x 600 pixels means you’ll be scrolling around the screen to an irritating extent.
This isn’t the only factor that rules out netbooks from being your main computer. You’re most likely to find Intel’s Atom processor inside a netbook (VIA’s Nano processor has made a recent appearance and has a similar, low amount of power) and it isn’t designed for speed.
Instead, with a relatively low clock speed of around 1.6GHz and typically just 1GB of memory for company, they will feel slower than a modern laptop. PC Pro’s benchmarks have shown a laptop with a dual-core Intel processor will typically be twice or even three times as fast as an Atom-powered netbook.
This limited specification is one of the reasons you’ll also find Windows XP powering most netbooks, as opposed to Windows Vista (you may also find Linux laptops).
There are two final characteristics of netbooks you should note before buying. One is the limited amount of ports: expect to find a D-SUB output for connecting to an external display, a headphone jack and either two or three USB ports. Usually no RJ-45 ethernet port. That’s all you will get!
More crucially still, netbooks very rarely include an optical drive (such as a DVD writer). As such, if you want to install software you’ll either have to download it, use a USB thumbdrive or install it over a network.
Dual Display Netbook!
Nov 29th
Kohjinsha DZ dual-display netbook shipping December
Kohjinsha’s dual-display netbook was one of the stars of CEATEC back in October, but the company was quiet on whether the prototype would reach shipping stage. Strong feedback has obviously tipped their hand, however: you can now preorder the netbook, freshly named the Kohjinsha DZ, with a Japanese delivery expected on December 11th. Your 79,800 yen ($921) netbook has two 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LCD displays which sandwich together into the lid for ease of transportation, as well as rotating all the way around to face backwards.
There’s also AMD’s 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor with the company’s S780MN chipset and ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics. Standard RAM is 1GB (4GB supported) and there’s a 160GB hard-drive, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit ethernet and a fingerprint reader built into the screen bezel. Japanese buyers will also get a 1-Seg TV tuner.
Ports include three USB 2.0 and audio in/out, and the standard battery is a 6-cell 5,200mAh pack which Kohjinsha claim is good for up to 4.5hrs use. It’s unclear whether that’s with both panels active, however; you can use the DZ with just one screen visible and turned on. As for weight, it comes in at 1.84kg which is unsurprisingly slightly heavier than we’re used to from a netbook.
