Is 2009 The Year Of The Netbook?
It’s certainly possible, and there are some out there who’d really like it to be so. But what will make that decision?
The question is really one of the fundamental desires of consumers. Do they want a fast, thin, expensive MacBook Air or a slower, thin, cheap Aspire One or Eee PC? A notebook or a netbook?
If people want portability and affordability, 2009 will bring big things to the netbook industry – and the netbook industry will bring some big things to 2009.
Should 3G broadband wireless become standard, the future of netbooks will look especially bright. 3G is a big deal these days, considering the massive successes of Apple’s iPhones, and netbooks with the feature have sold especially well.
The intrigue of netbooks comes from the fact that, up until their birth, consumers always payed more for portability. Smallness and thinness have become in vogue as the big clunky cell phones of the 80s gave way to Razrs, as room-sized computers shrank to fit in your backpack.
Netbooks are in the spirit of this trend. They are ultimately small, but thankfully, incredibly cheap. Consumers who don’t play videogames or edit film on their machines are starting to realize they just don’t need all that extra capability, and as 2009 rolls around, netbooks will be in their sights. They will decide the future of netbooks.
Via CNet.
AMD to Enter Netbook Market by 2009
It was Financial Analyst Day at AMD. The rustling rumors had abounded for quite some time, with nothing to show to confirm or repudiate them. Speculation reigned where information was scant, but now the announcement has been made. Via webcast in Sunnyvale, California:
By 2009 Advanced Micro Devices will have entered the realm of netbook processors.
The processors introduced over the next few years will support DDR3 memory have two cores. The first to be released in 2009, a slim 45 nm chip which should support a cache of 1 MB, has been codenamed Conesus. A 2 MB chip, Geneva, is due to be released in 2010.
For those with a less technological bent, this means the new processors will be able power more than a basic “Web experience,” according to the senior VP of AMD’s Computing Solutions group Randy Allen. This is a bit vague for my tastes but we’ll see what comes up in the near future.
The announcement has brushed aside rumors that AMD’s efforts at a low-power processor had been abandoned. Last year AMD had announced a chip called the Bobcat, “designed for maximum energy efficiency and performance-per-watt for next-generation mobile devices, scaling as low as 1 watt.” The Bobcat’s development had been alternatively confirmed and denied by officials at different stages, leading many observers to attempt a connecting of the dots between AMD’s consecutive quarterly losses and the Bobcat’s possible abandonment.
Though AMD calls it the “mini-notebook” market (as seen in the top picture), there is no doubt about whom it wishes to compete with. The netbook market is for the moment dominated by Intel’s versatile Atom processor, and AMD hopes its entrance into the market will provide some stiff competition. The Atom is currently available in the Asus Eee PC, among others, so it will certainly be a tight game from here on out.
We’ll keep you updated.
