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Ultra-Thin Laptops To Be Next Intel-AMD Battleground
FinalAnkleHealer sends along an IBTimes article proposing that $500 ultra-thin laptops, capable of multitasking and editing multimedia content, could be the next market contested by Intel and AMD. "AMD partnered with Hewlett-Packard Co. in January to launch the Pavilion dv2. Intel launched its rival CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) chip this month and Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc were among those that demonstrated laptops based on the new technology at the Computex trade show in Taipei. ... With more people gravitating toward mobile and wireless technology, consumers want smaller laptops — and most of those people would prefer doing more than surfing the Web, which the no-frills netbooks now excel at. ... Acer, the first company to introduce a cheap Intel-powered CULV laptop, expects revenue from that segment to account for 15 percent of its total sales by the end of 2009. Asustek, which pioneered the netbook in 2007, plans to launch five consumer-priced ultra-thins this year."
I hope they are promoting slimness with performance. I wonder why today's computing power with 1GHz machines and 1GB memories does not feel snappy at all.
I remember using computers years ago with Windows 95 that were quite fast on systems with 200MHz CPUs and 64Mb RAM modules.
I hope they will not forget performance...maybe the ARM systems will deliver on this.
waitwaitwait.
Win95 had real, genuine multitasking. It was win3.11 that had the "task switching" tech where the foreground window was running.
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There's quite a bit of room before we hit that barrier. Macbook Air is 20mm thick in its thickest place. RJ45, the thickest of the ones you listed is 8mm in the thickest place, meaning a well-engineered socket can be 1cm thick (and a better-engineered one will collapse to half that size when not used). Ethernet is dying in the laptop world too. VGA is dying, HDMI is 4.45mm tall. I think USB at is to stay the longest, with its 5mm plugs.
Anyway, the first centimeter can be shedded with little/no obstacles from the socket side.
Video out (VGA or otherwise) is unnecessary in this class of machine -- but even if you did want it, you could use Mini DisplayPort. Ethernet is unnecessary. USB is necessary, but is also thin enough to fit -- and if it isn't, you could use Mini- or Micro-USB.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Actually they tried that once, and since they aren't selling it anymore I have to assume it bombed. A "fold up" keyboard is a bad idea because it gives you one more point of failure. I personally think the 7in and 10in sizes are fine, as long as they give you the option of a USB keyboard/mouse if you so desire.
That said, I wonder how long it is gonna be before the "laptop everything" fad dies. I have been talking to my customers and their desires for a laptop more than half the time are "because its a laptop" and not that they are actually gonna be mobile with the stupid thing. Considering how proprietary the things are and the lack of expandability I have to figure sooner or later the bottom is gonna drop out when all those that want one "just because" have one. I swear the way some of my customers talk about the things I'm starting to get the feeling these ultra mobile devices are the new thighmasters and will end up chucked in the closet right along with their home gyms when the fad wears off. For those that are doing business or school and always on the go, sure I can see the use. But a good half the people I talk to almost never have the stupid thing even unplugged. What's the point in that?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.