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Building the Dream Google Smartbook
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."
But Google doesn't try to get it completely right the first time. They release and iterate... and it is that philosophy which is (one of) the foundations of their speed.
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
We can easily find a generic x86 notebook that has more capability than a MacBook Pro, but the profit margin of the latter is much higher than the profit margin of the former. The reason is that the MacBook Pro has appealing style. The user interface is comfortable, and the MacBook's case and keyboard are attractive.
A brand-new MacBook Pro does not sell for less than (approximately) $900.
The MacBook Pro is one of those uncommon products which is extremely successful because its touchy-feely features are more compelling than its techy features. The MacBook Pro is a triumph of the business major over the engineering major. Would Apple, in its early days, have been successful if Steve Wozniak (techy guy who designed the product) and Steve Jobs (touchy-feely guy who set design goals on how the product should appeal to consumers) had switched roles?
If Google's management expects to succeed in the market for netbooks, then the management should consider style in addition to capability.
You're still thinking of the personal organiser of old. It's a good market slice but it's not what these are aimed at.
Netbooks (and by extension a netbook with a built in phone) are more aimed at the sort of place where normally if you're doing a lot of typing you'll be using a big computer but right now you're stuck on a train for an hour or three (or in the back of a car) so you have time to convert the notes you took in the meeting into a set of minutes. But you've just been in that meeting for two hours and a normal laptop would have a flat battery ... :-(
Another option is that the note taking and web browsing (aka "research" and "email") is all you need the computer for.
The keyboard is essential for the use cases of a netbook it doesn't have to be a full speed keyboard but you must be able to almost touchtype on it.
If you think about it this looks like the perfect terminal (browser or whatever you want to call it) for Google wave ... enough smarts to run a wave locally but with a solid enough connection for group working.
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.
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
Be it a netbook, smartbook, or smartphone, price is one of the most important features of the device.
Most successful netbooks now are in the $300-400 range, and the most prominent smartphones all come with subsidies to help defray some of the initial sticker-shock.
If you're selling users on the idea that this device will satisfy most of their computing needs, but isn't meant to replace a full machine, then you need to reflect that in the price.
If you read the article (I know, slashdot sin), the author wants to cram a SSD, wireless n, 3G/4G, GPS, compass, multitouch, a high capacity battery, and a discrete processor for graphics into this thing. I'm all for it, if you think you can keep it under $450 dollars and 3.5 lbs.