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Building the Dream Google Smartbook

Posted by kdawson on from the call-it-the-ijoojoo dept.

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Mel Beckman conjectures on the functionality necessary to make the Google 'smartbook dream' a reality, prioritizing the features any smartphone/netbook hybrid would require to succeed. From multitouch, to SSDs, to dual-boot capabilities, the list goes beyond what early Android-based entrants have to offer but remains within the realm of possibility, especially if Google CEO Eric Schmidt's hints at a future Chrome/Android OS convergence come to pass."

4 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Want! by rrohbeck · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I can run ssh, VNC and NX on it that is. And Firefox, Thunderbird and evince. And Cisco VPN. That's my basic set of tools.
    If it's a full featured phone too I'd spend maybe $500 on it.

    --
    thegodmovie.com - watch it
    1. Re:Want! by the+ReviveR · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If I can run ssh, VNC and NX on it that is. And Firefox, Thunderbird and evince. And Cisco VPN. That's my basic set of tools. If it's a full featured phone too I'd spend maybe $500 on it.

      Maybe you should keep an eye out for Nokia N900.

      Ssh, Vnc and firefox work pretty nicely already.

      Evince and vpnc (if that is ok for cisco VPN) were ported for N810 so I think those will also be available soon. Don't know what is the probability for NX or Thunderbird though.

  2. I know what the deal-making feature is for me... by nani+popoki · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As an owner of an XO-1, the thing that keeps me using my little green laptop even though it often gets mistaken for a kid's toy is battery life.

    I fly to vacation travel. (I defy anybody to drive to Hawaii.) From Boston, Honolulu is at least 12 hours away. In-flight movies being what they are, I usually read a book or two. With my XO, I can listen to MP3s, keep a journal, read an eBook or play games. (Freecell and Adventure keep me amused.) I can even use my StarChart program to plan star-gazing while out there. [shameless plug]

    What I can't do in the air (yet) is browse the web. Having the necessary apps stored locally is therefore a must and a device that needs "the cloud" to function is useless for air travelers. But I digress -- I was saying that battery life is the deal-maker with respect to netbooks for me.

    I have two batteries for my XO. In flight, the wifi has to be turned off, which gives the XO over three hours of playing time on one battery -- more if I turn the back-light off and use the monochrome screen mode.

    If the layover is sufficiently long, I can re-charge at least one battery while waiting for the flight from the west coast to the islands. Usually, I arrive after the cross-country flight with both batteries discharged, re-charge one and get most of the way to Hawaii before I'm out of power. I know of no other netbook-like device presently on the market that can do as well.

    So rather than high-speed CPU, lots of storage, the ability to play HD movies or all the other features that seem to be standard in the current crop of netbooks, give me a machine that's frugal of battery, small enough to fit in coach class and equipped with enough built-in functionality to keep a man amused for six to eight hours.

  3. What I would want in a "Dream Google Smartbook"... by johnkzin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    a) call it what it is: a netbook ... smartbook is a pointless re-naming of the device category. Stop it.
    b) TI OMAP 3xxx CPU (the 1GHz one)
    c) Slate Tablet or Convertible-Tablet Netbook format -- either way, 5 way dpad and "Android Buttons" next to the screen
    d) PixelQi hybrid LCD/e-paper 9" or 10" touch screen, multi-touch, 1280x720, 1280x768, or 1280x800 native resolution
    e) DVI-I out, supporting 640x480, 800x480, 800x600, 1024x600, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, and 1280x1024 resolutions (the non-HD/wide screen resolutions using letter boxing to show an HD/widescreen resolution of the same width; so, a 1280x1024 monitor would show the 1280x720/1280x768/1280x800 native resolution of the device, with the black bands at the top and bottom of the screen)
    f) 2-4 USB Host/OTG ports (keyboard, mouse, storage, network, etc.)
    g) 1 mini-USB for charging and data sync (it's ok to ALSO have a conventional charger, this is just for opportunistic charging at any USB port that's available)
    h) 3.5mm headset (bi-directional, so you can use it with VOIP/Skype/Google-Voice)
    i) 1GB - 2GB RAM
    j) 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB storage options
    k) 1 or 2 full size SDHC slots
    l) Android, with both the built-in Android browser, and the Chrome browser
    m) The Android x86 and Acer port of Firefox for Android
    n) Throw in a Fennec port to Android
    o) 8+ hours battery life, even with Wifi and Bluetooth on
    p) Wifi b/g/n
    q) Full bluetooth stack (DUN, PAN, FTP, HID, BIP, A2DC, etc.)
    r) PCI Express Mini card slot, for user-added 3G (or for carrier subsidized models)
    s) fast-boot/splashtop optimizations for Android (perhaps some of ChromeOS'es ability to check the validity of the OS)
    t) Android can easily/seamlessly hand-off to other OSes (UBuntu-ARM, Mer/Maemo, Windows CE, maybe ChromeOS if an ARM CPU is used; or Ubuntu, Windows, or any other available x86 OS (ChromeOS, etc.) if an x86 CPU is used)

    The Aspire 1420P convertible tablet netbook might be a good start, if it was scaled down to 10", and changed to a ARM CPU with a PixelQi display.

    I have more thoughts about it at: http://johnkzin.livejournal.com/55488.html