December 2nd, 2008
Whassup with Netbooks?
It has suddenly become fashionable to diss the Netbook.
Some of the blame goes to Intel, which didn’t understand who its buyers might be.
I remember when cars like my Toyota Scion and the Honda Element came out their makers assumed they would sell to first-time car buyers, kids. Instead they got people like me. Many now call the Element the Elderment.
Point is there were buyers. And there are buyers for the Netbook. But it’s also important to note that this year’s models are just Version 1.0 for the form factor. It will take some tweaks for these guys to replace desktop or notebook kit wholesale.
In my Linux Laptop series I described some of the Netbooks’ problems, as seen by friends and relatives. So let’s focus on what we have learned:
- Solid state. The biggest innovation of the Netbook is it has no moving parts. No hard drive, no DVD. You can plug such things in through USB ports, but this is a rugged, single-board machine. That’s why it’s so cheap.
- The problem isn’t Linux. Getting to useful applications and navigating the system are easy with a Netbook. Intel’s QuickStart is indeed cool and shows Linux’ advantages.
- The problem is the distro. We need uniform ways for updating and upgrading software on a mass market device, but distros differ on this, a lot. Hopefully the Linux Standard Base can help here.
- Think phone. These are PCs made like, and priced near, mobile phones. Why not sell them like phones, that is, discounted to zero with a two-year ISP contract?
- It’s the stupid keyboard. If you want to sell something with a keyboard, please make it a real keyboard, one touch-typists can actually get our fingers around.
These are big changes from the way we think of PCs. When the only upgrade is through a USB port, storage and video become discrete devices, a separate sale.
When the price point gets near $400 you’re talking about a truly replaceable item. We need some thoughts on recycling please.
And laptop cases not only get new compartments, but they no longer have to be carry-ons. People may get storage that lasts through several generations of Netbook kit.
The Netbook represents an enormous change for how we think of computers, as well as how we use them. It has not been a failure. It has been a start, and a pretty quick one at that.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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