While there's been discussion lately about what the best operating system for a Netbook is, there is no question that the small form factor PC is a runaway hit with consumers.
(Credit:
Acer)
In DisplaySearch's Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report for the first quarter of 2009, the research firm says Netbooks are on track to grow 65 percent over the course of the year from 2008's totals. Conversely, traditional notebooks are expected to grow just 3 percent this year. And, according to DisplaySearch, Netbooks will comprise one fifth of the 133 million notebooks to be shipped in 2009.
It's an amazing growth rate, considering that Netbooks started from basically zero market share in the beginning of 2008. Just over a year after Asus made a splash with the Eee PC, now--with the notable exception of Apple--every one of the top 15 PC makers sells a Netbook. And despite the battering it's given the tech industry as a whole, the current economic situation is actually buoying Netbooks.
DisplaySearch analysts say that because many consumers are having to tighten their budgets, some are settling for a smaller, more lightly featured device like a Netbook until they feel more financially stable.
But the Netbook trend is not likely to last. DisplaySearch is forecasting that once the economy turns around, consumers will return to buying the notebook with the most features they can get for their money.
Intel's Atom processor was prominently displayed in systems at a conference in Japan. The chipmaker's next-generation X4500 graphics also made an appearance.
Atom logo
(Credit: Intel)Small systems and circuit boards using the Atom processor appeared on the Web site PC Watch, which highlighted designs at a "Systems Expo" in Tokyo.
A host of small devices with the Atom processor are due in June. The 45-nanometer chip will compete with processors from Via Technologies such as the C7 and upcoming Isaiah processor.
Small PCs and computer systems using the low-power Atom processor included a small embedded computer from Japan-based Dux, a car "infotainment" system from Portwell Japan, and a motherboard for mobile internet devices from Sophia Systems.
Advantech was also showing an Atom-based circuit board as was Nagano. A 1.6GHz Atom-based board from Omron was on display too.
And that's not the only upcoming Intel chip that made an appearance. A board was shown with Intel's upcoming X4500 graphics silicon. The X4500 is slated to be part of the forthcoming GM45 ("Cantiga") chipset for the mobile Centrino 2 platform and the G45 ("Eaglelake-G") chipset for desktops.
Sharp got atomized Monday. The Japanese electronics maker along with Willcom announced the ultra-mobile Willcom D4 "communication device" based on Intel's Atom processor and Microsoft's Vista operating system.
Willcom D4 ultra-mobile communications device
(Credit: Willcom)Microsoft and Intel were also credited with development of the device, according to the Japanese-language release on the Sharp Web site.
The handheld-size device uses a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and runs Windows Vista Home Premium (with Service Pack 1). Other prototype devices based on similar designs--referred to as mobile Internet devices or MIDs--have also been shown running the Linux operating system.
With a separate headset, the device can also be used as a phone using Wilcom's Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) network, both Sharp and Willcom said.
The device weighs in at 470 grams (about one pound) and features a 5-inch sliding LCD (1024x600/262K colors) with an LED backlight, a 1.8-inch 40GB hard disk drive (Ultra ATA/100), 64-key QWERTY keyboard, a built-in camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a mirco SD card slot, and a USB 2.0 slot.
The D4's inclusion of a 40GB hard disk drive is an indicator that the device is meant to run Windows--because of the operating system's typically larger footprint--not Linux.
Intel Atom technology includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.
Atom will find its way into fit-in-your-pocket MIDs from Gigabyte, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Lenovo, and BenQ, among others. Netbooks (inexpensive, Internet-centric ultra-small notebook PCs) such as Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC, MSI's Wind PC, and Clevo will also use the chip.
Willcom D4 is slated for a June release and is expected to be priced at 128,600 yen ($1,272).
Intel's upcoming Atom processor is all about cost. And the Atom-based Nettop desktop cuts costs right down to the bone.
Nettop
(Credit: Intel)Though Atom Netbooks such as future Asus Eee PC notebook models have been described in the press, the Nettop concept is not so clear. So, what is a Nettop?
The Nettop falls under the rubric of Intel's "Basic PC" category, whose underlying thrust is penny pinching. Cost will range from $100 to $299.
The Nettop is centered on the low-cost "Diamondville" variety of the Atom processor but incorporates a number of other cost-saving measures including what Intel lists in a "Business Client Group" presentation as "no system fans...no CPU socket...(an) optimized PSU (power supply unit)" and "cost optimized OS solutions."
Intel also states that "moving from HDD to SSD" (from hard disk drives to solid-state drives) will result in "additional platform savings."
Internet connectivity is what a user will be using the Nettop for primarily. Machines will run either Windows or Linux software.
Intel in the same presentation cites a forecast of 60 million "Basic Nettop" units by 2011.
Nettop market
(Credit: Intel Corp.)- prev
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