Netbooks

Netbooks eat into Microsoft's revenues

Paul Mah — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:09:36 -0500

Citigroup Global Markets analyst Brent Thill thinks that the drop in first-quarter earnings and revenues at Microsoft is related to the success of netbooks, or low-end laptops. In a report explicitly titled "Netbooks crash the party," Thill noted that "their sales are literally blowing the roof off any analyst's expectations." Sales of netbooks are expected to reach 11 million before the end of this year, and reach 41 million by 2012. This is phenomenal growth, considering that there were only half a million netbooks sold last year. Unfortunately for Microsoft, up to a quarter of netbooks run the Linux operating system, with the rest opting for the older--and cheaper--Windows XP Home Edition. Indeed, Microsoft has been forced to push back its planned obsolesce of the Windows XP operating system as a direct result of netbooks. Still, it is too early at this point to tell whether netbooks are cannibalizing sales of Microsoft's Vista operating system, or creating a brand new market as customers acquire netbooks as a secondary unit.

To read more on the article:
- check out this article from the Inquirer

HP gets serious about netbooks, launches three new versions

Paul Mah — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:47:35 -0400

Hewlett-Packard has decided to get serious about their netbook operation after its brief experiment with the Mini-Note 2133 netbook. Sporting a C7 processor from Via, HP claimed that the product was strictly targeted to "K through 12 students and some business travelers." Apparently, the sales of the 2133 exceeded expectations, and has led to the launch of the HP Mini 1000, which is available worldwide in three versions ranging from $379 to $699, starting on Wednesday.

All of them will sport Intel's Atom processor. The Mini 1000 will run Windows XP and is available in 8.9-inch or 10.2-inch screens, and costs $399 and $449, respectively. The Mini 1000 MIE will be sold for $379 and runs Linux--though it won't be available in the United States until January. The final model is also the boldest-looking one--the Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition, goes on sale in mid-December.

For more about HP's new netbooks:
- check out this article from CNET News.com

Netbooks could prove an opportunity for Linux

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:01:28 -0400

Novell's chief technology and strategy officer for Linux thinks that the popularity of netbooks could prove an opportunity for the Linux operating system. This is because low-cost netbooks will invariably run Linux due to its lower storage footprint. Vendors selecting it will also avoid the higher licensing cost of the Windows operating system. Of course, Linux is also more easily tailored to work with unusual form factors and limited specifications, as pointed out by Ryan Paul over at Ars Technica. Unfortunately, more polishing probably needs to be done; the return rates disclosed by hardware manufacturer MSI reveals that the company's Linux-based netbooks are a staggering four times that of those with Windows installed. You can read more about the analysis here.

To read more on about Linux on netbooks:
- check out this article from PC World

Netbook prices set to fall

Paul Mah — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:03:20 -0400

Acer has slashed the prices of its Aspire netbook from $399 to $349. In addition, its Linpus Linux Lite will also see its price drop from $379 to $329. Netbooks, a new category of affordable, low-powered computing platforms, was a major topic at the recent Intel Developer's Conference (IDF), where Intel reaffirmed its commitment to netbooks. Post-IDF, industry speculation is that netbooks are headed over a price cliff because of the sudden realization by manufacturers of the number of competitors they faced. Richard Doherty, research director for Envisioneering--an electronics market research firm--remarked about the recent IDF conference, "Dozens and dozens of netbooks were shown." Certainly, netbook makers would have come to the conclusion that they will need to be more aggressive in terms of pricing. Good news for consumers, I suppose.

To read more about netbooks:
- check out this blog from the New York Times

Popularity of smaller PCs a cause of worry for industry

Paul Mah — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:47:51 -0400

The increasing success of netbooks, which come with little on-board memory and a comparatively slow processor, is apparently starting to worry industry players. Besides posing an outright challenge to the traditional notion of consumers wanting ever more powerful machines, low-cost netbooks also poses a threat to already thin profit margins. Some manufacturers such as Fujitsu are more upfront about the threat, noting that "It's a product that essentially has no margin." Others, like Sony, while admitting that it is investigating what customers want in a second PC, have declared that "We are not looking at competing with Asus." Not everyone is shying away though. For example, Hewlett-Packard recently entered the market with a scaled down notebook it calls the Mini-Note. Would you get a netbook as your primary work machine?

For more on the story:
- check out this article from the New York Times

Microsoft to extend Windows XP for nettops as well

Paul Mah — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:48:10 -0400

Microsoft will extend the availability of its die-hard Windows XP operating system to manufacturers of ultra low-cost PCs, aka nettops. Not surprisingly, Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Original Equipment Manufacturer Division, Steven Guggenheimer noted that "Customers and partners have made it clear to us that they want Windows on their netbooks and nettops." With Intel projecting sales of more than 100 million netbooks and nettops annually by the year 2011, it is easy to see how Microsoft could ill-afford to miss the bandwagon. Still, this move to protect their market share is ironic in that it is likely to be at the expense of Windows Vista.

For more on Windows XP for nettops:
- check out this Guardian article

SanDisk launches new SSDs for ultra low-cost PCs

Paul Mah — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:47:25 -0400

The No. 1 supplier of flash memory storage products is targeting ultra low-cost personal computers as well as business laptops in order to drive demand for its solid state drives (SSD). The limiting factor to wide-scale deployments of SSD at the moment is cost, which is still very high when matched against traditional hard drives of comparable capacities. As a result, manufacturers are cautiously positioning SSD toward limited, high-end enterprise markets for now.

It is clear SanDisk believes that the rise of ultra low-cost PCs--such as nettops, with their lower requirements for flash memory--will be able to drive sales. To make good on its strategy, SanDisk has announced a new line of SSD in capacities ranging from 4GB and 16GB. Called "pSSD", these memory modules measure only 3mm tall with sustained read speeds of up to 39MB/s and 17MB/s write. They are expected to be available in August.

For more on SanDisk's offerings:
- check out the Coolest Gadgets blog

Intel shows off new Atom processors

Paul Mah — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:42:54 -0400

Intel has announced the availability of two Atom processors at the Computex 2008 conference in Taiwan this week. The Atom N270 processor is targeted at low-cost notebooks, while the Atom 230 is aimed at small desktops. Both processors feature 1.6GHz clock speeds and a 533MHz front side bus. Built on Intel's 45-nanometer manufacturing process, they are capable of supporting both Linux and Windows XP operating system.

Intel expects growth of the netbook and nettop market to exceed that of traditional desktops and even laptops. This will come about as households in emerging markets snap-up the cheaper offering, and households in mature markets acquire additional netbooks so that there potentially will be one device per person.

For more on Intel's Atom processors:
- check out this Computerworld article