Intel Atom

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Chai

Yup, exactly.

I feel that netbook is quite useless other than web surfing and checking email. It's big enough that you need to carry a separate bag.

I saw Acer Aspire 2930, comes with 12.1" screen, 6 cell battery, C2D, 3GB RAM, it's thick and heavy (2kg), but it's far more usable, 1280x800 screen. I think it's a perfect notebook for travelling and is able to perform far more tasks. And it costs only about RM2400. It will run Photoshop flawlessly.

Actually, that's what the netbook is meant to do - web surfing on the cheap. It's not meant to be a notebook replacement.

[The_YongGrand]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Actually, that's what the netbook is meant to do - web surfing on the cheap. It's not meant to be a notebook replacement.

Well, I have an EEEPc and it does the net-surfing job quite good in my college library. However it's a bit sluggish, since it's a Celeron M 900 downclocked to 600MHz.

[Chai]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Actually, that's what the netbook is meant to do - web surfing on the cheap. It's not meant to be a notebook replacement.

RM1300-1500 just to surf net? I don't think it's worth it at all. I know it's not a notebook replacement, but I don't see the value in it.

At that price, it's possible to get a phone with Wifi, and it's far more portable. But experience won't be that great. Then again, experience is not that great on a netbook either.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Chai

RM1300-1500 just to surf net? I don't think it's worth it at all. I know it's not a notebook replacement, but I don't see the value in it.

At that price, it's possible to get a phone with Wifi, and it's far more portable. But experience won't be that great. Then again, experience is not that great on a netbook either.

Actually, it's only about RM 1,000 for the basic netbook. The higher-end models are more expensive because they use Windows XP and have a relatively large HDD.

As for its capability, it's really quite usable. It's about as powerful as the first-gen Centrino notebook. Only problem is the screen is limited in resolution - 1024x600. But that's much larger than what a phone can do and the keyboard makes for much easier typing.

Best of all, you can bring it anywhere and hook it up to a monitor for a much better viewing experience. You can't do that with a phone.

[Chai]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Actually, it's only about RM 1,000 for the basic netbook. The higher-end models are more expensive because they use Windows XP and have a relatively large HDD.

As for its capability, it's really quite usable. It's about as powerful as the first-gen Centrino notebook. Only problem is the screen is limited in resolution - 1024x600. But that's much larger than what a phone can do and the keyboard makes for much easier typing.

Best of all, you can bring it anywhere and hook it up to a monitor for a much better viewing experience. You can't do that with a phone.

Let me correct a few mistakes you made.

For anything below 1K, it comes with Celeron 900MHz, it's not even close to first gen Centrino. As for highend models with Atom 1.6GHz, it's still slower than a first gen Centrino. You can't even watch a HD movie on it.

My phone also has a full QWERTY keyboard, many phones also have it. If you really need high res for web surfing, Nokia E90 or the new Xperia X1 comes with 800x480, not that much smaller. Yes, they are more expensive, but it can do for more than a netbook can. GPS, phone, internet connection via HSDPA etc.

And if you need to output to VGA, what's wrong with carrying a slightly larger sub-notebooks?

I regularly use my phone as my notebook replacement. I surf net everywhere, from toilet to shopping malls and even before I close my eyes on bed, I still can surf with my phone. Talk about flexibility.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Chai

Let me correct a few mistakes you made.

For anything below 1K, it comes with Celeron 900MHz, it's not even close to first gen Centrino. As for highend models with Atom 1.6GHz, it's still slower than a first gen Centrino. You can't even watch a HD movie on it.

My phone also has a full QWERTY keyboard, many phones also have it. If you really need high res for web surfing, Nokia E90 or the new Xperia X1 comes with 800x480, not that much smaller. Yes, they are more expensive, but it can do for more than a netbook can. GPS, phone, internet connection via HSDPA etc.

And if you need to output to VGA, what's wrong with carrying a slightly larger sub-notebooks?

I regularly use my phone as my notebook replacement. I surf net everywhere, from toilet to shopping malls and even before I close my eyes on bed, I still can surf with my phone. Talk about flexibility.

No la.. I bought an Aspire One with an Atom processor for just a little above RM 1K (USD 285). As for the HDD version with WinXP, you can get one for as low as RM 1.3K (USD 370).

I don't think you can watch HD videos on a first-gen Centrino actually. The Atom is using the GM945 chipset so the integrated Intel GMA is the same used in the Centrino platform - definitely not good enough for HD playback. Then again, it only has a screen res of 1024x600 - it's definitely not designed to play HD videos.

Actually, I'm not saying that it's a good replacement for a phone. It's a totally different device and is much larger. But personally, it's a good and cheap Internet device. Great for anyone who comes over to use too.

However, I think the best example of how useful it can be can be seen at Computex Taipei. So many tech journalists can be seen typing directly on their netbooks, uploading their photos and posting their reports even in the super-cramp conditions. It's not the ideal notebook, but in a pinch, it works almost as well as a notebook.

[The_YongGrand]

I've seen mini-desktops which features Intel Atom too. Heard many people are starting to use them, including the office.

[Chai]

Centrino is more powerful than Atom, period. It's more likely that a Centrino can view HD than an Atom. Any graphics card acceleration is pointless, since you need the right player, right codec to take advantage.

For a computer, it's cheap at RM1000, but for what it can do, I don't feel so, especially with that Atom. If it comes with a slightly more powerful processor, at slightly higher price, I wouldn't mind.

BTW, Dell Mini 9 is the best netbook sold today IMO. And it's also one of the only few SSD-based netbook left.

It's pointless on desktop environment. What's wrong with C2D?

I've also seen C2D in similar form factors.

[ZuePhok]

Originally Posted by Chai

Let me correct a few mistakes you made.

For anything below 1K, it comes with Celeron 900MHz, it's not even close to first gen Centrino. As for highend models with Atom 1.6GHz, it's still slower than a first gen Centrino. You can't even watch a HD movie on it.

My phone also has a full QWERTY keyboard, many phones also have it. If you really need high res for web surfing, Nokia E90 or the new Xperia X1 comes with 800x480, not that much smaller. Yes, they are more expensive, but it can do for more than a netbook can. GPS, phone, internet connection via HSDPA etc.

And if you need to output to VGA, what's wrong with carrying a slightly larger sub-notebooks?

I regularly use my phone as my notebook replacement. I surf net everywhere, from toilet to shopping malls and even before I close my eyes on bed, I still can surf with my phone. Talk about flexibility.

try to type a 1-2k word long report on ur phone. heck, try to do it live. ppl love netbook simply because it's light, and it does word processing well, and it's below 800 dollar, and you get full web browsing experience. and those who buy netbook never intend to watch HD content on it. 700g does make a different. especially at airport, where the seat is small, and I don't want to have a 2kg , warm notebook on my lap. 2 years ago, you had to pay RM12k for this sort of form factor (the fujitsu P series, or was it the Q series?). these days, plenty of journalists use netbooks to file their report.

the MSI 6 cell does more than 3 hours. seriously, i never had any issue with atom's processing capability. as a matter of fact, i think what this tiny little chip can do is amazing.
for daily office usage, it's good enough. Excluding gamers and professionals, who needs a chip that's faster than a 1.2ghz ULV core 2 to travel?

btw, have you ever tried to use a netbook, for maybe a day, before?

my understanding is that you are expecting the atom platform to do what the centrino can offer. this is why intel don't allow manufacturer to go above 10". i know dell has a 12" offering, but, well, it's dell.
fundamentally, the atom is meant for smartphone. the current generation can't enable this sort of form factor, because silverthorne/diamondville is a babystep. but moorestown will in fact, go for smartphone. it's just that intel is able to tweak it so that it can be used on a subnotebook form factor. so really to expect it to do what a full-fledged notebook can do, i dun think such expectation is reasonable at all.

the key point is you need to find one that has good usability. the MSI wind, LG x110, and ECS netbook, these are usable netbooks

never liked the asus EEE 900 series, or acer aspire one, or lenovo's. I can't work on them.

but, well, all said and done, the new 13' macbook is still the best mobile machine bahahahahha...

[Adrian Wong]

That's the thing. It's not a notebook but I don't need a notebook all the time. Sometimes you just want something to surf the 'net, post something in the forums or read some documents. Definitely easier to use a netbook than a full-sized notebook.