Intel CEO on Netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)

Peter Svensson with the Associated Press, published an article today where Paul Otellini, Intel’s CEO, discussed the upcoming Intel Atom CPU, as well as how Intel Corp. is reacting to the rising popularity of sub-notebooks / netbooks.

In the past, Intel was clearly about producing faster and faster CPUs. Recently they began to push power efficiency (which has helped give us incredibly powerful mainstream laptops), and now they are looking at making CPUs small, cheap and with an emphasis more on power efficiency rather than performance.

Otellini discussed the new trend and mentioned that he’s not too worried about cannibalization of higher-priced laptops (because he wants Intel to be the company who picks up the sale regardless of the level):

“I’ve not seen energy like this from our customers in a long, long time….. Everyone views this as being sort of hyperexpansive to the existing market.”

“If a higher-priced notebook isn’t substantially better and doesn’t offer more utility, shame on us… If there’s cannibalization, I’d rather be the cannibal than someone else.”

Read: AP/Austin-American Statesman

Lenovo IdeaPad U110 - Notes, Reviews, Video

Over the weekend, several articles about the 11.1-inch Lenovo IdeaPad U110 went up on a couple of websites.

First, JerryJ over at NotebookReview.com posted his review of the U110. Like others, they had complaints about the display and the overall glossy look and feel, as well as the price.

Rob Bushway over at GottaBeMobile posted a video using the U110’s built-in webcam and Lenovo’s Easy Capture application (and encountered voice/video sync problems).

He also posted an article and photos about typing on the U110 and some of the problems he encountered (getting caught under the corners of surrounding keys).

James Kendrick over at jkOnTheRun posted a response, and mentioned that he had the same problems that Rob did and posted a video of him using ArcSoft Webcam Companion that didn’t have the same issues.

OQO Model 02 and Netbooks

Couple of interesting articles on the OQO Model 02 and the impact that the “netbooks” and other smaller laptops/subnotebooks such as the Asus Eee PC could have on it.

The OQO Model is a unique ultraportable - it’s more of a tablet with a slide-out keyboard than a traditional laptop (whereas most of the netbooks/subnotebooks resemble miniature versions of the 10 - 12″ small laptops we are used to seeing). It is what I would consider to be a nearly full-featured ultraportable with a 5″ display while most of the netbooks/subnotebooks start at 7″ displays.

Ironically enough, it’s using a CPU, from the same VIA/C7 line that some of the netbooks such as the HP 2133 Mini-Note are using, however the price for the OQO is quite a bit higher (two, nearly three times as high in some cases) than netbooks that are currently available or will soon be available (although you can find it for $999 in the OQO Outlet Store).

In comments to the San Francisco Chronicle, OQO’s co-founder, Joe Betts-LaCroix admits that interesting (and crucial) times are ahead for OQO:

“We had the ability to step back from the six-month-at-a-time trend of the computer industry and create a new category…..Now the market is starting to catch up.”

Articles:
- San Francisco Chronicle
- CNET News.com
- GottaBeMobile

UMPC Podcast no. 14. (Via, Intel Atom)

jkkmobile: UMPC Podcast no. 14. (from jkOnTheRun) has been posted at the link above. This week’s podcast covers the Intel Atom on ultraportable platforms versus the current offerings from VIA and the impact on netbooks.

Speaking of jkOnTheRun, James Kendrick made a good post on Saturday about benchmarks, and the shortcomings that arise as a result of them - that many times they aren’t able to meet real-world conditions and are therefore not as critical as they are sometimes made out to be.

HP 2133 Mini-Note, Dell Discussion

This week’s MobileTechRoundup features a discussion about the HP 2133 Mini-Note as well as Dell jumping into the low-cost subnotebook arena.

Also, James Kendrick is calling the 2133 the “perfect writer’s notebook” saying:

The keyboard is great for lots of typing with it’s near full size and the extended battery I’m using provides just the right amount of ergonomic tilt to the device for comfort. It is a real joy to have a “real” notebook this size that lets me get web research done at the same time I am writing an article. The Mini is multi-tasking well and it may be the perfect writer’s notebook for all of the reasons I have mentioned.

Speaking of the HP 2133 Mini-Note, WaterField Designs has announced a new SleeveCase for the Mini-Note.

Laptops of the Future: 2015

Computerworld is running a really cool article with several mockups of future laptops - laptops/ultraportables we might be using in 2015.

Needless to say, thin and light is definitely in, and touchscreens have become incredibly relevant in their view. All have some form of touchscreen capability (at least the ones with LCD displays), and while a few do resemble traditional notebook form-factors, they look like they are able to transform into various configurations (singles-screen Tablet PC-style, dual-screen laptop, where one screen is also a keyboard, etc.).

The mockups are based on designs from designers, marketing types, and engineers.

Among the technologies they mention - projectors - by 2015, we should have projectors the size a deck of playing cards, which could do away with the need for an LCD display (those mentioned include LED backlighting). You could use any surface to work on. Multi-core processors (including six-core and eight-core even in small packages) will be the norm. They do agree that storage will be plentiful - either some kind of solid-state/flash-based, or online. As well, battery life will still limit us, but more efficient systems combined with newer lithium polymer cells that can be molded into the various nooks and crannies of a laptop, should help out there.

Very fascinating look at things - if nothing else, check out their gallery at the link below.

- Full article at Computerworld.com
- Image Gallery: Meet the laptop you’ll be using in 2015

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