I wrote a post about a new gadget on the way and I had every intention of posting hints about my new purchase each day or two until it arrived. Then reality hit. I have been traveling for work again and just haven’t had the time to do much outside the scope of my day job. Well, it turns out that my new Acer Aspire One is on a FedEx truck on the way to my house right now.
Why an Aspire One? Here are my thoughts:
- Each of the available netbooks are so similar that I thought it wouldn’t make a huge difference which one I chose.
- I had the chance to put my hands on a Linspire version at a brick and mortar store.
- The keyboard has traditional key placement so I can touch type on it.
- 1GB of RAM and the 120GB hard drive will get me going without the need to hack the system right away (although the geek in me will probably do it anyway).
- I want time on a device that is readily available to consumers (more on this at a later date).
- The blue marbled finish is cool – how’s that for superficial?
Through work, I have had or will shortly have the chance to play with quite a few different netbooks, so I will write up some comparison posts as chance allows. Of course there will be a post about my impressions later today or tomorrow after I get it in hand!
I have been dying to pick up a Netbook from the first moment I put my hands on one. I love the size of the platforms and the promise of ultra mobile computing that comes along with systems that were designed to be taken anywhere. I find myself very hesitant to pull out my Lenovo T61 in cramped places like airplanes and would much rather use my iPod Touch when I am around the house. Even if I am just watching a little TV, I find that I do not pull my laptop out because I find it uncomfortable to work with it on my lap.
My typical computing day consists of a lot of email, web surfing, and note taking followed by a decent amount of spreadsheet work and data analysis (not really data crunching as my datasets are typically quite small). With the exception of some occasional multimedia work (or some even more rare gaming) on my home system, I very rarely do anything that completely taxes my computers. The reality is that I could almost live with the performance my Samsung Q1 and its Celeron processor delivers for almost everything I do.
Put all this together, and yesterday I spent some money on a new computer that should deliver the portability I want with the everyday processing I need. It is a netbook that will be arriving some time next week. A couple of you know which one already, but I am going to wait to disclose the details until I have the device in hand. I will put together a post that chronicles my decision making process later.
I was talking to one of our mobility marketing managers at work the other day about wanting a small form factor laptop and told him that I was considering buying a Netbook. He suggested that I check out one of our Classmate PC’s from the lab to give the small form factor a test drive. “awesome” was my response and I ran off to the lab before he changed his mind. :^)
I’ve been playing with it today a bit and have some first impressions to share. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here, but wanted to break down what I have experienced into four buckets: Things I love, things I like, things I’m not crazy about, and things I don’t like.
Things I love
- The portability of the device is phenomenal due to its light weight and compact dimensions
- This may be a sub-point, but this was the first notebook I have ever been able to use in the cramped space an airline seat provides (or doesn’t)
- The screen is wonderfully bright even at its lowest levels
Things I like
- The fact that I can touch type on it
- The keyboard has great travel and makes very little noise
- The performance of the Celeron processor in the Classmate is surprisingly capable
- Battery life is pretty good
- Web cam quality is at least as good as my Thinkpad
- The trackpad is large and very responsive
- The included microphone port is a nice touch
- Speaker quality is pretty darn good (not as good as the Q1, but better than a lot of small notebooks I have used)
Things I’m not crazy about
- The screen resolution is natively 800×480 and that is not high enough (my same gripe with my Samsung Q1)
- The handle is convenient, but a bit goofy
Things I don’t like
- The quotation mark key is in the wrong location
- Smaller shift and backspace keys are tough to get used to
- There is no option for an extended battery
Next steps for me will be to get my children’s impressions (since I am obviously not the primary audience for this particular device), and then to write up a more comprehensive review after a few days with the device. If there is something specific you would like to know about the Classmate, let me know in the next few days before I have to return it.
I have created a photo set for the Classmate on Flickr you can check out here.
Admittedly, I’m a bit caught up in the whole netbook movement right now. With HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, MSI, and unofficially Toshiba all on board (representing more than 70% market share in the U.S.), there is only one major vendor missing. Yesterday I commented on Gartner forecasting future sales of these very small notebooks, but this morning I came across a statistic that puts that 50 million number into perspective: the total notebook market in 2008 is forecasted to be 228.8 million units. If netbooks are incremental sales (which I believe they largely are), that means that netbooks could represent roughly 20% of the notebook market. That’s something you can’t ignore.
Apple is going to have to join this game soon because they have way too much to lose. Some might say that they have a lot to lose in average selling price by introducing a small, inexpensive notebook. By the same logic, you could argue that an iPod shuffle is a threat to the iPod Touch or iPhone – it’s absurd. The reality is that the Shuffle services a different segment of the market and acts as an expensive exposure to Apple’s MP3 player lineup. [Raise your hand if you've ever upgraded your iPod to a newer, faster, sleeker model!] It is only a matter of time before we see an Apple branded netbook on the market where Apple will hope to see the same upgrading consumer behavior.
Here is my prediction of what an Apple netbook will look like:
- Sleeker than everyone else – we’re talking about Apple here
- Available in black or white – they seem to be afraid of other colors
- Included Bluetooth connectivity – for the full lineup of Bluetooth accessories already available
- Solid web cam – expect to see iChat as a marketing angle
- 16 GB flash drive available – I believe this is why they are moving to Snow Leopard
- Intel Atom processor – although they might be talking us into a custom version
- Priced around the $600 mark – they always price at a premium
There you have it – my official prediction of Apple into the netbook market. Honestly, I could be completely off the mark. I know nothing more about Steve Job’s plans than he knows about what I’m having for lunch (Steve, it’s leftover stir fry if you would like to trade information). I think there is some writing on the walls here that can’t be ignored though. Heaven knows there is enough demand for the thing!
Today, Digitimes quoted Gartner as saying that “mini-notebook” sales could hit 50 million units by 2012. I tend to take most of what I see from Gartner with a grain of salt, but it appears that I’m not the only person who wants one of these new devices! I have also read reports from several people speculating that the economic slowdown in the United States could boost sales of netbooks significantly. Perhaps Gartner figured that into the 5.2 million devices they say will be sold this year. As a secondary or tertiary computer in the home, they’re a great solution.
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