Tag Archives: netbook

Fast Food Apple Pies and Why Netbooks Suck

Netbooks remind me of Monarch Burger’s apple pie. Just as Monarch Burger tried to take the standard apple pie form and attempt to fit it into a fast food menu, the netbook approach tries to take the standard laptop form and attempt to fit it into mobile computing. The end result, to my mind, is a device that occupies an uncomfortable, middle ground between laptops and smartphones that tries to please everyone and pleases no one. Consider the factors:

  • Size: A bit too large to go into your pocket; a bit too small for regular day-to-day work.
  • Power: Slightly more capable than a smartphone; slightly less capable than a laptop.
  • Price: Slightly higher than a higher-end smartphone but lacking a phone’s capability and portability; slightly lower than a lower-end notebook but lacking a notebook’s speed and storage.

To summarize: Slightly bigger and pricier than a phone, but can’t phone. Slightly smaller and cheaper than a laptop, but not that much smaller or cheaper. To adapt a phrase I used in an article I wrote yesterday, netbooks are like laptops, but lamer.

via Fast Food Apple Pies and Why Netbooks Suck — The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.

I don’t really get the fast food reference – but hey, whatever floats your boat, eh?

ViewSonic launches Atom-based computing line – Engadget

ViewSonic has just introduced a new computing line geared towards the netbook / nettop set. All three Atom-based machines sport Windows XP Home, a 1.6GHz processor, 1GB RAM and 160GB storage. VieBook is a 10.2-inch netbook with all the usual connectivity options and an MSRP of $429. The VPC100 ViePC is an all-in-one device, measuring a mere 35mm thin, with an 18.5-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD screen and should be priced at $549. Rounding up the lineup, the LinkPC is a nettop, designed to be strapped to the back of any VESA compatible monitor, and has an MSRP of $399.

via ViewSonic launches Atom-based computing line – Engadget.

Come again? I’m sorry, did you just say Viewsonic and Atom in the same sentence?

Eh – and here I was, thinking Viewsonic made screens.