Do you think smartbooks will take off?

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LightningCrash

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I'm sure we've all seen that Slashdot article about the sub-$200 tablet with the ARM processor, and new developments like the Cortex A8 and Marvell Sheeva that are redefining capabilities from commodity hardware.

Do you think smartbooks will see any success?

I can see the argument that our hardware is quickly out pacing the requirements of basic software, and that customers want simple, easy to use technology, not complicated gizmos (See SMS, iPhone, Rubiks Cube)

Personally I think that they will see success in a small niche market, but I see their market and eReaders converging pretty quickly.

What say you?
 
+1 on it being for a small niche of the population. But if they eventually drift away from just being a tiny, tiny Windows platform, to some kind of more focused all-in-one media-station (think IPhone/IPod Touch appeal in a slightly larger case, with an operating system that can actually do serious work stuff), it may get more interest. As it stands, netbooks (of all sizes - I guess smartbooks would be smaller... ?) just don't appeal to as many people as laptops (aside from those with a *specific* need for one, like women who need a purse-friendly computer with them, or something) because, put simply, who wants to compute on a screen that size?

Even though you can use it for most of the media-player things you can do on an IPhone/IPod Touch, when you're thinking about getting one, you just don't THINK of those abilities in an attractive way (at least I don't... and the OS is just an unappealing platform for doing the kinds of snazzy things you do on media-players and some smart-phones) so until they make the presentation more attractive for the cool things you CAN do, the majority of people just aren't going to heart netbooks/smartbooks/etc for any other reason than being tiny email/web viewers.

But I like the name, "smartbook". They really, really need to dump "netbook", because it's soooooooo easy to confuse with "notebook" (both on paper, and when spoken - even when you say it, people often hear "notebook"). Not sure though if most smartbooks are going to be considerably smaller/different from netbooks. Are they going to look like this below?
qcom2.jpg


Update: Actually, looks like Qualcomm's prototype is already using a more showy, media-centered OS.
I would definitely dig this below more than this, as long as you still have 100% important-stuff functionality.
qualcommsmartbookprotot.png
 
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Probably won't. The price difference between a low end ARM netbook and low end x86 netbook is small, and the functionality/performance gap is huge. Cortex A8 has about 1/3-1/4 the integer performance of the Atom. It's great in an extremely low power cell phone form factor, but becomes pretty lame in a netbook form factor. Arguing over a watt or two becomes pretty meaningless.

The thing that people forget is that there have been ARM netbooks nearly since the beginning. All have failed miserably.
 
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Look at how quickly windows netbooks displaced those using simplified linux from the mass market...
 
IMO, Netbooks are the new smartbooks. Intel will improve the Atom to become a beast. Right now there just getting their feet wet and seeing if they'll make money in this new market. Arms's have been around for the longest time the problem with smartbook always was the fact that a custum OS was made for that particular model or Win CE which had many limitations. There could be a market but I think that you also shouldn't take it to far. From a normal laptop to a Smaller laptop to a Ultra portable to netbook, to let's say smartbook to Micro to Pico etc. LOL
 
LightningCrash said:
Do continue
Click to expand...
It's been widely reported.

Summary: in 2008, near the beginning of the netbook craze, Linux was installed on over 90% of all netbooks. By Q1'09, Linux had about a 4% share of netbook sales. That qualifies as "quickly replaced" IMO. ;)

Despite what a vocal minority thinks, most people *do not* want Linux when given a choice.
 
pxc said:
It's been widely reported.

Summary: in 2008, near the beginning of the netbook craze, Linux was installed on over 90% of all netbooks. By Q1'09, Linux had about a 4% share of netbook sales. That qualifies as "quickly replaced" IMO. ;)

Despite what a vocal minority thinks, most people *do not* want Linux when given a choice.
Click to expand...

NPD also said the Zune and Vista were a HIT.

Consider the source.
I remember a story on Reuters with an NPD source, they retracted the entire story because they thought NPD's data was inaccurate. Had something to do with Xbox 360s.
 
I don't see it happening. It's filling a gap by giving the power of a cell phone with the size of a tiny netbook, which is already a weak processor.

I remember having an HP620LX, pictured below.

Hp620lx4.jpg


Ignoring the software improvements from CE back then to now, and the hardware improvements, I still find it a gap that can't be filled well right now. I'd rather see something like the OLO, where you can use your phone, but get a better I/O interface from it.
 
If the price is right, I'd probably buy one just so I don't have to walk downstairs to look up something on Wiki. Might also be a fun toy for some weird geek hobby stuff, a powerful ARM with a battery and screen for such a small amount of money is a pretty cool toy dev platform. But I don't really see them taking off in the marketplace.

At least because they can't run Windows, people can't buy them expecting to use them like a laptop...
 
are any of these actually making it to the US? A few companies were showing them off at last years tradeshows but AFAIK they all stayed in places like china for sales.
 
LightningCrash said:
but I see their market and eReaders converging pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
Still converging, but that looks like the trend. The Nook seems to have started pushing readers in that direction.

I'm still waiting for the deluge of cheap 1lb Tegra 2 tablets. :p The ones available now aren't much cheaper than the iPad and use low quality screens and have lousy battery life.
 
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