A couple of articles have been published recently which will help people looking for a new Netbook.
UMPC Portal has written a very comprehensive guide to the technology inside both ultra portable laptops and Netbooks. It’s well worth a read before you lay down your hard earned.
PC World have down a round up of 6 current model Netbooks. So if you want to take a look and compare the various models then it’s well worth a look.
Analysts think Apple is leaving potential profits on the table by not getting into the Netbook market. They go further to predict that Apple will introduce a touch screen Netbook style machine around September 2009….. Just in time for next Christmas.
The full story is here
Phone chip designer ARM announced announced they are getting into bed with Ubuntu to produce Netbooks (PR people called it an alliance)
“The release of a full Ubuntu desktop distribution supporting latest ARM technology will enable rapid growth, with internet everywhere, connected ultra portable devices,” said Ian Drew, vice president of Marketing, ARM.
“The always-on experience available with mobile devices is rapidly expanding to new device categories such as netbooks, laptops and other internet connected products.”
I like the sound of this, ARM need to do some work to break into the market which is pretty much dominated by Intel at the moment. So I’m hoping the new chip in conjunction with Ubuntu will lead to cheaper prices and that’s good for everybody.
The product launch is expected around June 09 at Computex.
Source: Network World
I’m just putting two and two together but it looks like AMD can’t put a processor together to play ball in the Netbook market segment.
Information Week reports:
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) on Friday said a low-power mobile platform it plans to deliver in the first quarter of next year will not target the emerging mini-notebook market, also known as netbooks.
Instead, the platform, code-named Yukon, is aimed at the larger ultraportable category, which the company defines as small laptop computers with screens from 11 inches to 13 inches and full-size keyboards, and weighing from 3 to 5 pounds, a spokesman said in an e-mail.
Now I can’t say I’ve looked too deeply into the issues but the news from AMD is sounding like PR speak for “we couldn’t make a chip cheap enough or energy efficient enough for the Netbook market segment.”
Source: Information Week
Ted Hanigan | 
11 19th, 2008| 
