Return of the notebook
LoopyByteloose
Posts: 12,537
Asus just announced that it is again going to start producing notebooks. This seems to be a big reversal of company policy from a few months ago. I personally think they are just about the best fit for most people that really use a computer, and the best fit for programing microcontrollers such as the Propeller.
Here is a little background.
For a long time I wanted a laptop, but avoided them. At that time, they were too big, too heavy, too fragile, and too expensive. I 'd watched many a foreigner drag one around Taiwan and never knowing quite where to put the thing. After all, it was a very expensive item, and it would not easily fit in a locker. It certainly wouldn't fit in a motor scooter's storage compartment. A lot were stolen, and many others had cracked screens.
Along came the economic downturn and Asus produced the EEEpc in what I suspect was financial survival mode. I purchased one for $300 USD with 4Gbyte of storage and have never been happier with any other computer. It died, I replaced it with a Toshiba NB250 that I am still using. It was half the weight of a laptop, didn't fill a whole backpack, and could be stored in a motor scooter.
Then it seemed the computer industry decided to abandon the notebook to gain a higher profit margin. Asus announced several times last year the the notebooks were no longer in demand and that production would stop... forever. They claimed that everybody really wanted a touchpad format and the notebook was now obsolete. Users that wanted a keyboard really desired a 'full featured' laptop. This was a very big disappointment to me... so much so that I purchased an Asus EEEpc with Windows7 just to keep in reserve.
Now it seems reality has set in. Sales are weak all around in computers, included touchpads. So suddenly Asus has announced a revival of notebooks... maybe with more features that combine the touchpad and the notebook.
Personally, I suspect they just have had to accept that the public really wants the notebook form factor and lower price. That's the good news. But the reality is they are going to be Windows8 and Android machines.
Here is a little background.
For a long time I wanted a laptop, but avoided them. At that time, they were too big, too heavy, too fragile, and too expensive. I 'd watched many a foreigner drag one around Taiwan and never knowing quite where to put the thing. After all, it was a very expensive item, and it would not easily fit in a locker. It certainly wouldn't fit in a motor scooter's storage compartment. A lot were stolen, and many others had cracked screens.
Along came the economic downturn and Asus produced the EEEpc in what I suspect was financial survival mode. I purchased one for $300 USD with 4Gbyte of storage and have never been happier with any other computer. It died, I replaced it with a Toshiba NB250 that I am still using. It was half the weight of a laptop, didn't fill a whole backpack, and could be stored in a motor scooter.
Then it seemed the computer industry decided to abandon the notebook to gain a higher profit margin. Asus announced several times last year the the notebooks were no longer in demand and that production would stop... forever. They claimed that everybody really wanted a touchpad format and the notebook was now obsolete. Users that wanted a keyboard really desired a 'full featured' laptop. This was a very big disappointment to me... so much so that I purchased an Asus EEEpc with Windows7 just to keep in reserve.
Now it seems reality has set in. Sales are weak all around in computers, included touchpads. So suddenly Asus has announced a revival of notebooks... maybe with more features that combine the touchpad and the notebook.
Personally, I suspect they just have had to accept that the public really wants the notebook form factor and lower price. That's the good news. But the reality is they are going to be Windows8 and Android machines.
Comments
Most likely, the people's demand for a CHEAP notebook will end up hurting the manufacturers, again.
Building decent notebooks that are heap is impossible.
All portable designs are compromises between solidity and weight, power and battery versus price...
Now, if you want some durability, small size and decent power, that can be found in business notebooks such as the HP EliteBook 25xx series.
13" screens, built-in DVD burner, same weight as a netBook... but at a price that's a bit higher than a 'gamer laptop'...
(I have a nc2400 - the first in the series - and a 2540, the first with DDR3 RAM. Unfortunately, it also uses 1.8" SATA HDDs, not an SSD.)
It's just that most people never know that these machines exists as they're not in ads targeted at the normal consumers.
13.3" lcd , Core 2 Duo 2.40GHz and 4GB Ram.
Grade A = like new for $150 + $18 shipping + $9 tax =$176 (expired deal)
http://slickdeals.net/f/6192366-50-OFF-CODE-Laptops-Desktop-already-discounted-prices-remanufactured-Dell-Financial-Services
I'm happy with it though it's 3years old.
Perfect size not to small and not too big (I have desktop computer for that)
My wife has a faster Compaq (1.8GHz?? Celeron Widescreen with numeric keypad).
I also have a Motorola Xoom tablet. Shame about Android! It will soon be replaced by an iPad. I don't care about being "locked in" as I just want it to work properly, and Android is still not there!!!
If I were to replace my laptop(s) what I would now be after is...
1. Better battery life (although mostly I am on ac power anyway and the batteries died long ago)
2. No need anymore for DVD
3. Perhaps widescreen / better resolution
4. Lighter of course
5. USB 3.0 on at least one port
I don't require the fastest machine any more as the low end are plenty fast enough for what I do.
But, laptop suppliers - I am not in the market any time soon
In short, it's difficult to find a notebook which decent specifications. I don't care that much about CPU, but screen resolution, weight and battery time is important. And that's where they fall through (I have no interest in notebooks larger than the smallest of the 11.6" ones because then I would need a backpack to carry it anyway and I can as well carry my old laptop then).
-Tor
I've only had Asus and Toshiba notebooks. The Toshiba NB250 has been disappointing in comparison to the EEEpc series.
I guess I simply dislike touching the screen. Resolution is not a big issue with me.
I am wary of Android and other touchpad dependent OSes.. and prefer loading Linux.
Size, weight, keyboard, and USB ports all remain important to me. I certainly don't need 300Gbytes of hard-disk... rather enjoyed my first EEEpc with 4Gbytes of solid state storage. Clutter is a huge hazard in computing... both in terms of creating confusion and creating a security management hazard.
You got stuck with a Xoom hey? and Honeycomb to boot! A lot has changed in the Android market in the last year or two, especially since Jellybean was released and coupled with dual-core or quad-core CPUs the result is very smooth. We have a Note 10.1 and Nexus 7 as well as Xperia phones and they just fly and the 5" HD screen of the Xperia is very good for text editing (DroidEdit) and BlueTerm which I use in conjunction with Forth on my Props. The Nexus 7 does the same thing but my phone is always with me.
My first Android Galaxy S was so annoyingly laggy but if I abandoned Android then and there I would have missed out on what we have now.
No. I am on 4.0.4 ICS which is the official latest. I mainly use it as my hotspot (no landlines). Even explorer crashesfrom time to time. Forum editting is a pita. Cannot wait until end of 3G contract to get an iPad.
BTW the latest nightlies are available, but not prepared to try out when this is my main internet access.