Netbook Info

According to this article at GottaBeMobile, Asus is phasing out the 8.9" screens on their netbooks.

I rather like my little 8.9" netbook, because I can stuff it in my coat pocket (I have big pockets), and it's super handy. However, typing on it is a bit of a chore, and the 10" format is probably going to be what's standardized on due to the much better overall usability.

Windows 7 is said to be a great OS, even better in Beta than any prior version of Windows was at release. It's supposedly not as huge of a resource hog, and the prospect of being able to pick up a Windows 7/ION platform netbook late this year or sometime early next year had me salivating in anticipation.

Until I read this article on Laptopmag's blog.

The scoop is that the version of Windows 7 we'll likely see on netbooks is the "Starter Edition." The Starter Edition is apparently an abomination that only lets you run three apps at a time, not including apps in the system tray that run as services, such as your virus scanner (unless you launch it into a window mode).

Now, what kind of marketing genius thinks of this crap? Spend MORE money to create a build of the OS with LESS features, to sell for LESS? Do we really need six freaking versions of Windows 7 anyway?

I may be running Android after all. More likely eeeBuntu or something similar.

It looks like at least Asus is open to using Google's free operating platform, Android to run on netbooks, according to this Bloomberg article.

Mark Spoonauer over at Laptopmag.com thinks Android may take half the netbook market. I think he has some sound logic, but at this point, the only manufacturer I've seen mentioning using Android has been Asus. Given that Asus will likely not be installing Android on all of their machines, and that they don't control half the market, I'm doubtful that Android will be seeing that much market saturation.

ION is nVidia's new hardware platform for netbooks, consisting of an Intel Atom processor and an integrated geForce 9400 GPU. The platform will release later in 2009, and add only about $50 to the average cost of a netbook according to nVidia. More than a fair price for what promises to be a great boost for netbook performance.

The folks over at Techgage gave the ION a gaming workout with Call of Duty 4, as well as putting it through its paces with multimedia  playback and photoshop.

Read the story here.