The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#1

Post by jasonlbaptiste » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 3:51 PM UTC

The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time
wired.com

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#2

Post by Retric » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 7:46 PM UTC

Netbooks are just a price point / buzzword.

I know they compared it to overpriced crap to make a point that's just stupid 400-500$ is the new sweetspot for most people. You can buy less HW but you get a lot less power.

  From Dell today:
  EX1: 300$ = 9" screen, .5GB RAM, 8gb hdd, 1.6ghz cpu, no DVD drive.
  EX2: 400$ = 15" screen, 1GB RAM, 120GB hdd, 2.1ghz CPU and a DVD drive.
  EX3: 475$ = 15" screen, 3GB RAM, 25GB hdd, 2 GHZ dual core CPU, and a DVD drive etc.

PS: I don't think most people are going to be happy to give up the ability to use a DVD / CD drive anytime soon and using a 9" screen all day is not a great idea.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#3

Post by kragen » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 8:19 PM UTC

It's a pretty good article. I think it's pretty amusing that Mary Lou gets all the credit for inventing netbooks — from my limited knowledge of the field, not totally unfair, but a little exaggerated, maybe. After today's item from Norvig, though (http://norvig.com/fact-check.html) I wonder how much of the article is fabricated.

Basically it asserts that netbooks are a disruptive innovation that has already changed everything in the industry, that they're useless without a network connection, and that they are sufficient and will wipe out traditional computers except for high-end and server purposes. Plausible. Also it makes the story very engaging.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#4

Post by kingkongrevenge » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 8:19 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #2

Netbooks are just a price point / buzzword. I know they compared it to overpriced crap to make a point that's just stupid 400-500$ is the new sweetspot for most people. You can buy less HW but you get a lot less power. From Dell today: EX1: 300$ = 9" screen, .5GB RAM, 8gb hdd, 1.6ghz cpu, no DVD drive. EX2: 400$ = 15" screen, 1GB RAM, 120GB hdd, 2.1ghz CPU and a DVD drive. EX3: 475$ = 15" screen, 3GB RAM, 25GB hdd, 2…

Who needs power? Gamers and people who do graphics or video work? Barely anyone needs a machine that's "powerful" by today's standards.

I'm pretty sure I peg my CPU and fill RAM a lot more than the representative user. If I'm perfectly happy with my six year old desktop and my Acer netbook, then I strongly suspect the mass of normal users are not looking for more power.

I think the need for more powerful mass market laptops and desktops was met with the hardware of four years ago. People want reliability (or cheap and disposable) and battery life. They want lean, snappy software.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#5

Post by profgubler » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 8:24 PM UTC

I think what they miss about netbooks, it is that in America they are really secondary computers. Maybe I am wrong, but I think that most netbooks are primary computers. Great devices, but you often still need another device.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#6

Post by CFS » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 8:28 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #2

Netbooks are just a price point / buzzword. I know they compared it to overpriced crap to make a point that's just stupid 400-500$ is the new sweetspot for most people. You can buy less HW but you get a lot less power. From Dell today: EX1: 300$ = 9" screen, .5GB RAM, 8gb hdd, 1.6ghz cpu, no DVD drive. EX2: 400$ = 15" screen, 1GB RAM, 120GB hdd, 2.1ghz CPU and a DVD drive. EX3: 475$ = 15" screen, 3GB RAM, 25GB hdd, 2…

This is total rubbish.

Most 'smart phone' have 2" screens but lots of people watch movies and increasingly live sport on mobile phones.

Computer have always be overpowered and under used. In Brazil, they are installing a 385,000 seat Linux system using virtualisation. Each 'normal' PC is shared with up to 5 people and there is no major different in performance.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#7

Post by colins_pride » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 9:07 PM UTC

From the article:

"In the US, we regard branding and marketing — convincing people what to buy — as core business functions. What Asustek proved is that the companies with real leverage are the ones that actually make desirable products."

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#8

Post by skalpelis » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 9:58 PM UTC

kingkongrevenge wrote: post #4

Retric wrote: post #2

Netbooks are just a price point / buzzword. I know they compared it to overpriced crap to make a point that's just stupid 400-500$ is the new sweetspot for most people. You can buy less HW but you get a lot less power. From Dell today: EX1: 300$ = 9" screen, .5GB RAM, 8gb hdd, 1.6ghz cpu, no DVD drive. EX2: 400$ = 15" screen, 1GB RAM, 120GB hdd, 2.1ghz CPU and a DVD drive. EX3: 475$ = 15" screen, 3GB RAM, 25GB hdd, 2…

Who needs power? Gamers and people who do graphics or video work? Barely anyone needs a machine that's "powerful" by today's standards. I'm pretty sure I peg my CPU and fill RAM a lot more than the representative user. If I'm perfectly happy with my six year old desktop and my Acer netbook, then I strongly suspect the mass of normal users are not looking for more power. I think the need for more powerful mass market…

HD movies and HD internet video needs power. I mean, that is where we're moving, isn't it? After all, the auditory for video is almost everyone.

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#9

Post by jrockway » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 10:02 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #2

Netbooks are just a price point / buzzword. I know they compared it to overpriced crap to make a point that's just stupid 400-500$ is the new sweetspot for most people. You can buy less HW but you get a lot less power. From Dell today: EX1: 300$ = 9" screen, .5GB RAM, 8gb hdd, 1.6ghz cpu, no DVD drive. EX2: 400$ = 15" screen, 1GB RAM, 120GB hdd, 2.1ghz CPU and a DVD drive. EX3: 475$ = 15" screen, 3GB RAM, 25GB hdd, 2…

DVDs and CDs still exist? Oh.

Anyway, the point of the 9" screen and 8GB flash drive is that it makes the machine easier to carry around with you. You can pick it up and shove it in your bag without worrying about whether the disk spun down or not. The battery lasts 6 hours, so you don't have to constantly wander around looking for an outlet. You just open the thing up, and can work for as long as you like. It's not heavy, so you don't even know that that computer is with you.

It's not just a "price point", it's about having the power and convenience of a "real computer" with you where ever you go.

(And FWIW, I don't really mind working on my 9" EEEPC all day. The screen is stunning, much better than my 15" Thinkpad. The keyboard is nasty, however, so I tend to carry around my HHKB with me. But with that, there is basically no productivity loss. I can, and do, work all day on that.)

Re: The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time

#10

Post by jrockway » Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 10:04 PM UTC

skalpelis wrote: post #8

kingkongrevenge wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who needs power? Gamers and people who do graphics or video work? Barely anyone needs a machine that's "powerful" by today's standards. I'm pretty sure I peg my CPU and fill RAM a lot more than the representative user. If I'm perfectly happy with my six year old desktop and my Acer netbook, then I strongly suspect the mass of normal users are not looking for more power. I think the need for more powerful mass market…

HD movies and HD internet video needs power. I mean, that is where we're moving, isn't it? After all, the auditory for video is almost everyone.

My 9" eeepc plays 720p h.264 video just fine. The only issue is that it has to scale the video down, because there aren't enough pixels on the screen to display 720p :)