FIC CW001 Netbook Indistinguishable From Competition
While the netbook segment is rife with options, customizations, and alternatives, it seems manufacturers are having some difficulty differentiating their machines. FIC’s new 10.4-inch netbook, the CW001, seems to have this problem.
We thought we were moving away from standard-issue netbook configurations with the introduction of newer Intel processors, but the CW001 falls back on the same old 1.6 GHz Intel Atom. It has 2 GB DDR2 RAM, a 2.5-inch SATA-II hard drive and an ExpressCard slot. It might have gotten points for the optical drive it was rumored to have, but that never came though.
It also comes with two USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth, WiFi b/g, and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. It gets 4.5 hours of juice with its 4-cell battery and likely runs Windows XP.
FIC owns a majority of shares in Everex, so that could mean some big things for the CW001, such as Cloudbook branding. The price of the FIC CW001 is as of yet unknown.
Via SlashGear.
Two Welcome Upgrades On The HP Mini 1000
This just in – HP has announced that its Mini 1000 netbook, its stylish new addition to the netbook market, can now be augmented with mobile broadband provided by AT&T or Verizon. We were pretty excited about the Mini 1000 in our December 2nd article, and this news is only making us happier.
3G has been rearing its head on new devices since it was included on Apple’s recent iPhone update. The massive sales of the new iPhone showed that, for those on the go, Internet that doesn’t require Wi-Fi is immensely useful. HP is surely hoping to cash in on that preference.
However, HP’s deal is a bit pricey. The 3G option will cost an additional $199, which makes me wince, but that figure doesn’t include some subsidies from the carriers. The other downside is that, for some reason, you can’t get both SSD and 3G loaded in your netbook. The Mini 1000 with WWAN forces you to use the HDD.
The cost is the only obvious downside, but don’t sigh and turn away just yet – another announcement from HP may put the bounce back in your step.
The HP is also due for a price cut! You can now get a new HP Mini 1000 for $40 less than the original price of $399. While it’s still not the cheapest on the market, the $359 HP Mini is a great bet. It sports an 8.9″ screen, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB of space, a 3-cell battery and XP.
Intel, The Atom, And The Netbook Market
Intel has a special role in the netbook world, acting as the supplier of the most widely used chip in the market – the versatile 1.6 GHz Atom. However, analysts at Intel seem to have some doubts about the fate of the very netbooks their company powers.
According to Intel VP of sales Stu Pann, Intel believes it’s miscalculated what markets would go for netbooks.”We originally thought Netbooks would be for emerging markets and younger kids… It turns out the bulk of the Netbooks sold today are Western Europe, North America, and for people who just want to grab and go with a notebook… We view the Netbook as mostly incremental to our total available market.”
Pann’s biggest criticisms were of the small screens, which he believes are “not something you’re going to use day in and day out.” He cites eye strain and general discomfort for this reasoning.
It makes sense, of course, for Intel to say netbooks will only add incrementally to its income – after all, Intel is a massive company. However, we should remind ourselves that earlier this year netbooks’ enormous sales surprised Intel, forcing the technology giant to crank out thousands of Atom chips it hadn’t anticipated making.
The Atom chip is, for the moment, in almost every netbook around. It is easy to forget that the Atom is a mere six months old. Pann’s reluctance is sensible, in this light, but as for netbooks not being used by owners on a daily basis, I’m skeptical. After all – are netbooks not the ultimate tools for commuters?
To expect an owner of a netbook to use it as a replacement for his main working machine is unrealistic – netbooks were never meant for that. Mobile users will use netbooks for short amounts of time – in the train, while on break, waiting at a bus stop – which conforms well to Pann’s “fine for an hour” statement.
While it’s been supposed that netbooks’ rise is due to the shortchanged economy and consumers’ need to save money, this analysis ignores several factors. Netbooks have been gaining luxurious new features to please those with some money to burn – consider the touchscreen Raon netbook or Hello Kitty netbook, about which we recently wrote. The market has proven that netbooks are not just cheaper, crappier laptops, and Intel should take heed of this.
It would be short-sighted and senseless for Intel to stop the experimentation with the new netbook market, considering the recent explosion of new netbook releases. In my opinion, the rise of netbooks is more than a trendy bump in the timeline of technology – it is indicative of a change in the market itself.
The fact of the matter is that shoppers are showing that they want a cheap, slim laptop-like device, no matter how knockoffy netbooks seem. They are buying netbooks, and skepticism can’t make much of an argument against that – at least for now.
Intel has the potential for far more profit in its hands, given the netbook community’s clear preference of the Atom, and would do well to let the market prove its sustainability.
Coming This January: New Packard Bell Dot Netbook
Packard Bell is joining the frenzy of new netbooks this season, coming to the fore with its new Dot to be released this January.
As in the case of the Epson Endeavor, which we covered in our November 19th article, the new Packard Bell netbook seems aimed at competing in terms of cost and nothing else.
The Dot netbook will feature – as if we need to tell you – the 1.6GHz Intel Atom chip, 160 GB of storage, 1 GB RAM, Windows XP, and Wi-Fi. Mildly notable is its five-in-one card reader, and the fact that a 3G version should be forthcoming in the near future.
Packard Bell is not particularly well-known for avant-garde ideas but is certainly a competitor in nearly every market it joins. However, that hasn’t stopped netbook review sites from criticizing the Dot’s almost completely standard hardware and capabilities. Gizmodo, mocking the trend that netbooks have taken towards the mainstream, joked that in the future we should “look for netbooks to be fashioned from straw, beads, puff paints and other craft materials as they are hand-manufactured to raise money for local soccer teams.”
We can’t really say they’re wrong – at one point, netbooks only ran Linux, which is notoriously unfriendly to the consumer of average technological competence. Now XP is standard, with toys such as webcams and touchscreens becoming the norm. When the ASUS netbook, Wind netbook, and Mini-9 came to the market with similar statistics as the new Dot they were carving out a new market – however, by technological standards, Packard Bell is late in the game. We should be expecting better things at this point.
Regardless, there remains the possibility that the Dot will be very cheap, a factor that may be its only boon when it hits the market. We’ve got no complaints about that!
Check out Gizmodo’s review here.
A Glimpse Of The New ASUS Eee PC 1002HA
ASUS is back at it with a brand new netbook release on the way: the aesthetically pleasing ASUS Eee 1002HA.
Remember when, in our November 22nd article, we wondered if ASUS would be releasing anything to compete with MSI’s new Wind U120? The answer has been delivered in full force, the way ASUS likes to do it.
Don’t freak out yet – this is just a pre-production model. However, ASUS has recently been giving tech blogs and magazines a taste of the new machine, just to whet our appetites. The 1002HA is a solid 10-inches, featuring what looks like the trackpad of the Eee PC S101 as well as the keyboard of the 100H.
Seen by many as a kind of hybrid of the two laptops, it looks to put the best of both worlds onto one new machine sure to please consumers once it’s released.
It should run the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom with 1GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive. Interestingly, however, the battery is a mere two cell – though ASUS assures skeptics that it should offer a full five hours of life. This claim sounds a little suspicious, but we’ll believe it for now; ASUS has impressed the tech world before when it, along with rival MSI, started the netbook boom earlier this year with the original Eee PC.
Unfortunately, the ASUS 1002HA won’t be out in time for Black Friday, but it will hit stores on December 1st for $499. Get pumped – we sure are.
Check Out The New… Hello Kitty Netbook?
In an unexpected turn of events, Onkyo from Japan has released what we here at Netbook Boards think is surely the cutest netbook to date.
All humor aside, the Sotec Hello Kitty C1 has basic features and, aside from its appearance, does not vary much from the standard netbook on the market. It has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, a 120GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and a 10.1-inch display. It also features two USB ports, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. It runs XP as as well.
The most important feature, however, has not gone unnoticed – its laughably high price tag. At a pocket-emptying $890, you can expect to spend 3-500 dollars more for this thing than you would for a Dell Inspiron minus the decal.
Unfortunately for Sotec, only the most die-hard Hello Kitty fans or those uneducated about the market will waste money on this netbook.
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In other news, check out ZDNet’s commentary on Apple’s refusal to enter the netbook market here.
Netbook Giant MSI Releases Improved Wind U120
Yes, you heard right – the tremendously successful MSI Wind has gotten a facelift and some new features to boot.
With a new, snazzy black-and-white exterior and some improvements to its hardware, the new Wind should boost sales for the company and netbooks in general.
Once again turning to the the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, MSI has made some welcome improvements to its netbook. The new display is a brilliant 10-inch 1024×600 LCD. It’s gotten a bit heavier, weighing in at 3 pounds, but the upside – a new 6-cell battery – is well worth the minor increase.
Another addition is the new Intel WiMAX Technology or 3.5G Solution, which while uncommon is proving to be easily connectable and wide-ranging. The hard drive is a 160GB SATA. Using devices will be easier this time around, with three USB ports and a 4-in-1 card reader.
This is an exciting move from MSI, showing how far major companies are going with the netbook market. The Wind U120 is one of the only sequels we’ve seen so far but should be a big competitor in the weeks to come. We’ll have to see if ASUS has anything upcoming to match this progress. Check out the full specs:
- Intel® Atom™ Processor 1.6GHZ
- 945GSE + ICH7-M Chipset
- Intel GMA950 Graphics
- DDR2 6673 MHz 1G On Board Memory
- 10” (1024 x 600) LCD Display, LED Back-lit saving
- 160 GB (2.5” SATA) HDD
- 4 in 1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/XD)
- I/O: D-Sub x1, USB 2.0 x 3, Mic In, Headphone, RJ45
- Battery: 6-Cell
- 8.02.11 b/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth V2.0EDR Intel® WiMAX Technology / 3.5G (HSDPA) Solution
- Webcam: 1.3 M
- 10.23” x 7.08” x 0.38” ~ 1.29”
- 3 lbs (w / 6-Cell Battery)
Epson of Japan Launches Endeavor Na01 Netbook
Described as “slightly frumpy” by Engadget and “not the sexiest looking mini-lappy” by UK tech blog Electricpig, the Endeavor has been turning heads – if not in the best way possible. Judge for yourself:
The Japanese company has started its foray into netbooks in a very uncontroversial way. Largely known for its printers and projectors, Epson’s simple contribution will offer little in the way of novelty, but will take the role of being one more netbook up for purchase.
Running the common 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, the Endeavor is no record breaker. It has 1 GB of memory, a 160 GB hard drive, and Wi-Fi. It features USB 2.0 and a 10.2 inch 1024 x 600 LCD screen.
To be fair, it should be a competent competitor for the ASUS Eee and MSI Wind, if an undistinguished one. The Na01 is somewhat compact at 1.5 inches thick and weighs 2.82 lbs. The price at the moment is a solid $484 (46,800 JP), a certainly comparable price.
The uninteresting but capable Endeavor will run XP, and seems a valid option for new buyers in the market. For now, it’s only available in Japan, so we’ll have to wait to see how it performs in the States. Stay tuned.
Toshiba NB100 Netbook
The new Toshiba NB100 netbook has hit the market, boasting a few enticing features to differentiate it from the competition.
The Toshiba features the same Atom processor used by the Eee PC, MSI Wind, and Mini-9. At a standard 1.6 GHz with Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Ethernet, USB ports and a memory card slot, the NB100 seems somewhat basic in most areas. There is one aspect to the netbook, however, that I think is something to be excited about.
The most fascinating thing is that the USB connectors on Toshiba’s first netbook are designated ’sleep-and-charge’. What this means is your USB-connected devices (cell phones, MP3 players, etc.) can be charged through the netbook without you needing to even turn on the machine. This step seems to be part of a new wave of efforts (that we noted in yesterday’s article) towards improving the efficiency of these devices. With business travelers and college kids not needing to carry around as many power adapters, this feature will definitely make the NB100 all the more attractive to the netbook market.
The flip side here is that the keyboard of the Toshiba NB100 is sadly somewhat imperfect. While it may not be an issue for the more enduring among us, typing for long periods may become uncomfortable and difficult. Instead of being appropriate for the 8.9-inch size of the thing, the keyboard seems as though it were built for a 7-inch netbook. While netbooks like the Dell Mini-12 (which we covered a few days ago) have shown a trend towards improved keyboard usability on smaller devices, the Toshiba NB100 is somewhat substandard in this respect.
Personally, the sleep-and-charge feature sounds interesting and intelligent, but not worth the small keyboard. However, with its first netbook certainly up to par in other areas, Toshiba looks to be willing to experiment with the netbook market. We should expect some promising things in the future.
