Is the Tablet the next Netbook?

It has been a year and a half since Apple launched its successful iPad. If you read technology sites all around the world, it would seem that the tablet will kill the personal computer. 

iPad make excellent gaming platforms among other things.

I got a tablet in January 2011 and quickly passed it off to my wife. It has been less useful than it looked. Basically, I am sticking to the laptop and smartphone combination from now on, and will sit on the sidelines watching the tablet market with interest.

In one year and one quarter since its launch, as of June 2011, 28.7 million iPads have been sold. Android tablets, sales are estimated at less than 3 million since their release.

In one quarter, Gartner reports that almost 92 million personal computers, not including tablets, have been sold. That is in just one quarter versus five quarters of tablet sales. Could the tablet be the next netbook? Something to tide us over in though economic times?

Tablets share a lot with netbooks. Like the netbook they are cheap and portable. Like the netbook they are of limited use. Overall, while tablets are more functional than netbooks, most of what you can do in a tablet, you can do on a smartphone. Android tablets have a higher mountain to climb. The latest generation of smartphones are really now mini-tablets.

Lenovo tries to define a role for its tablet.

Is the tablet the next netbook? Or are we entering the era of keyboard less computing.  I think, tablet will fail as a productivity device, but makes a excellent multimedia and gaming platform. Basically, I do not see it going away, neither do I see it growing as much as predictive by experts. This one is too hard to call.  Would love to hear you chime in.

Update: We got some new data on tablet sales from Digitimes for the third Quarter of 2011. So are the figures from both Gartner and Digitimes for comparison -

Desktop and laptops - 92 million.
Tablets - 18.9 million (13 million Apple iPads and 5.9 million tablets of other brands)

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Looking for a Asus Eee PC X101

I wrote about the availability of Asus new ultra-thin and ultra-cheap netbooks, the Asus X101 and the X101H a week ago. Both are 10-inch Atom powered netbooks, with the X101 having a 16GB SSD and a slimmer 0.69-inch thick case, while the X101H has a 250GB hard drive with and a chunkier 0.89-inch case.  

I was looking for a X101, to use as a Linux box. Take it out of the box, wipe Meego from the drive and install Ubuntu... well that was the plan.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find one. While the X101H is available pretty much everywhere, I I could find the X101. A retailer told me that their orders for the X101 have not come in yet and they are not expecting it soon because of a driver  issues with the SSD drive.

So, for those who want an X101, we have to wait a bit more.

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The case for the Asus X101 & X101H

Poor mans MacBook Air? Lets start with what will make you consider buying this netbook. The Asus Eee PC X101 weighs in at 2 pounds while  the  X101H weight in a 2.2 pounds. Both netbooks very handy having a width of just of 10.3 inches, a depth of 7.1 inches, which is the size of your typical 10-inch netbook. The PC X101 is  a MacBook Air like 0.69 inches thick, while the X101H is a thicker, but still a slim 0.89 inches.

What else makes the X101 and X101H very tempting? It is the price. The X101 is priced at just Php9,995 while the X101H is priced just a little higher at Php10,995.

Storage distinguishes the X101 from X101H. The main difference between the X101 and the X101H, is storage. The X101 has a 16GB SSD drive and a MicroSD card reader. This will allow you to expand storage to up to 48GB. The X101H comes with either a 250GB or 320GB hard drive. We understand the Philippine version will come with a 250GB hard drive. 

Netbook genes. The Asus Eee PC X101 has the typical netbook 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 resolution screen. Inside you will find, an Intel Atom N435 or N455 processor and 1GB of RAM. The Philippine version will have the faster N455 version. I really have no strong preference between these two processors, the N455 is a bit faster, the N435 is a bit more energy efficient and runs a bit cooler. Given a choice between the two, I would probably choose the slower but more energy efficient N435.

Given the modest specifications, you should have reasonable expectations of what these netbooks can do. They are more than sufficient for web browsing, typing documents, preparing spreadsheets and presentations and managing your social networking. 

I would not try to do any 3D gaming with these machines, or serious photo editing. The modest specifications also mean the these laptops cannot seamlessly play HD (720p or 1080p) video. Basically, it is a not a good multimedia platform.

These netbooks come with small 3-cell batteries. Asus rates them at 4 hours or battery life. But while web browsing on WiFi I would expect a little under 3 hours. This is probably the biggest drawback of these netbooks.

MeeGo inside. While a Windows version of the X101H is available for a higher price, the current models being has the Linux based MeeGo operating system installed. While the mention of Linux normally scares most buyers, and netbooks which originally ran Linux operating systems quickly coverted to Windows three years ago, I think MeeGo acceptance will be easier today.

I think with many users now having gotten used to non-Windows operating systems and applications in their smartphones, so they wont feel lost with a laptop that does not run Windows. While you can install Windows on the X101H I recommend you give MeeGo a try. This operating system has much lower system requirements than Windows 7, is designed to work in smaller screens and will run faster than Windows. With OpenOffice installed, which is compatible with Microsoft Office formats and dedicated Facebook and Twitter apps, it is good to go out of the box.

Wing design. Whether you like these laptops or not, I suspect most would give a approving nod to the new "Wing" design which will replace the Sea Shell design Asus has been using in their 10.1-inch and 12.1-inch netbooks and laptops. A 12.1-inch AMD Fusion (HD capable and HDMI packing) powered versions of these netbooks with a larger battery would really be interesting. 

Should you buy one? I think these are nice alternatives to a tablet. First they are half the price of a tablet. Second, since they have physical keyboards, they are a better choice for people who type a lot.

When my current Linux box dies (it is a 4 year old HP Compaq 6510b - a real workhorse) I will probably get one of these things and use it as my Linux machine.

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The car, the pick-up and the truck

More than a year after the Apple iPad's release, with more than 30 million sold, people still question whether the tablet is a practical device. The answer to that is a simple yes.

As the "Personal Computer" has evolved it, has moved from a machine designed for business, to a household device, and now is a personal communication,  entertainment and productivity device.

For years we were stuck with the desktop as our only personal computer, for reasons of cost. The laptop had been around for some time, since the Dulmont Magnum in 1985. But with the entry level model going for US$2,995. That was a lot of money in 1985, and it is still a lot of money today. It was only after the year 2000 that laptops started dropping in price and became available to the regular consumer as an alternative computing choice to the desktop. The tablet now gives you a third choice.

The tablet is the car of the computing world. A good choice to take you around day to day, but with its primary function being people transport. A tablet is useful for someone whose computing needs is mainly web browsing, reading and writing email, note taking, instant messaging, listening to music, basic photo editing, watching movies and playing games. Some in the industry call it the "media" tablet, and that is pretty much correct. A tablet is a great computer for someone who does not use the computer for work. I know many will disagree with this. 

The laptop is the pick-up truck of the computing world. Small enough to be a daily driver, and capable enough to do some serious work. Many people chose a laptop for lack of choice, but if you do not spend much time typing documents, preparing spreadsheets and the like, a keyboard is not all that important. If you don't use a keyboard much, the virtual keyboard of the tablet should be sufficient. You could add a keyboard to a tablet, but than it really just becomes a ARM powered laptop, with a touchscreen and a detachable keyboard.

The desktop is the truck of the PC world. The desktop is still the platform of choice for those who need a computer for a dedicated task, whether that task be a workstation or a hardcore gaming machine. The highest end desktop components still have a little more power than the highest end laptop components.

Which one is best for you? It really depends on your needs. Do you need a car, a pick-up or a tuck?

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Mobile computers: The Desktop Replacement still rules

A recent article on LaptopMags Blog was rather eye opening. The mobile computing world is not as mobile as we think. For the first quarter of 2011, The breakdown of mobile computer sales for the period are as follows: 

Tablets - 13.8%

10-inch netbooks/laptops - 16.3%

11 and 12 inch netbooks/laptops - 4.3%

13 and 14 inch laptops - 27.1%

15 inch laptops - 33.6%

16+ inch laptops - 5%

The world is going more mobile, but not as fast as we think. Better than one in three laptops sold had a 15-inch screen, with another 5% having even larger screens. This is the category of laptops often referred to as desktop replacements typically weight six pounds or more by buyers who do not expect to carry their devices around too much. This is lower than the previous year, so there is a trend towards smaller and lighter.

Q1 2010

15 inch laptops - 35.2%

16+ inch laptops - 8.9%

Total: 44.1%

Q1 2011

15 inch laptops - 33.6%

16+ inch laptops - 5%

Total 38.6%

Netbook sales have slowed down, but not as fast as we think. Sales of 10-inch laptops for Q1 2010 and Q1 2011 were as follows:

Q1 2010 (10 inch netbooks/laptops) - 17.1%

Q1 2011 (10 inch netbooks/laptops) - 16.3%

The real difference is not volume, but price. Netbook prices have been dropping since the introduction of the tablet, which should mean smaller margins for a product that was already producing small profit margins.

Tablets are popular, but mainly in North America. The figures of tablets sold in Quarter 1, 2011 were as follows:

North America - 24.8%

Worldwide - 13.8%

iPads are popular, but mainly in North America. The figures of iPads sold in Quarter 1, 2011 were as follows:

North America - 22.6%

Worldwide - 10.7%

Basically, the exciting new gadgets which are the darlings of tech writers are not as popular and do not sell as well, as old clunky desktop replacements.

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Asus Eee PC X101 - Will netbooks be sexy again?

HardwareZonePH has the new Asus Eee PC X101 in their labs (pictures on their Facebook page here). The Asus Eee PC X101 is a 10.1-inch Atom powered netbook. It will be offered with both the Meego Operating System (yep the same one in the new Nokia phone), and there will also be a Windows 7 version.

The processor of the X101 is a single core Atom N435 running at 1.33GHz (some sources say 1.5GHz) and the system will come with 1GB of RAM. Power comes from a 3-cell battery. For storage the Meego version has a 8GB or 16GB SSD hard drive. The Windows version names X101H will have a 250GB hard drive.  

What is so special about this? The X101 is all of 0.69 inches thick. Weight will be just over 2 pounds. That is MacBook Air thin and light. The Meego version will retail for US$199, so it looks like we will see a 10-inch netbook a below Php10,000. Aside from being thin, it will be dirt cheap. The Windows version, the X101H will cost US$310, so it will be priced the same as todays entry level netbooks. With the N435 processor, and 1GB of RAM, I do not think this will run very well with Windows 7. The Meego version looks interesting, the 28Wh battery worrisome, but we will have to wait for the reviews.

Now, if Asus built one of these things in 11.6-inches with a AMD C-50 inside...

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The unwanted netbook soldiers on

 The netbook may be about to disappear, but it is amazing what changes this product brought to the laptop market. Three years ago, a 10.1-inch Atom powered netbook would cost you Php25-30K. When the first netbooks came out, finding an ultraportable under 30K was amazing. A 12.1-inch ultraportables back than would cost you more that three times as much.  The netbook provided a cheaper alternative to those wanting a 3-pound laptop but not willing to pay the premium price.

By 2009, the price of a netbook went down to 20-22K. But the notebook changed enough to make updating your one year old model worthwhile. Intel did not give you a good reason to upgrade your netbook, but netbook manufacturers package larger batteries with their 2009 models. While most netbooks in 2008 came with 3-cell batteries, most 2009 models came with 6-cell batteries makign all day  computing commonplace. 

In 2010, netbook pricing remained pretty much stagnant, and technology remained pretty much stagnant. Dual Core Atom's did not provide a significant performance boost giving you little reason to upgrade. At the same time, Apple changed the mobile scene with the tablet and ultraportables powered by Intel's Core i3 became available at about 30K closing the price gap with netbook while providing performance levels way beyond what any netbook could could produce.

Intel let netbook technology remain stagnant, as if it were a platform they wanted to kill. The truth of the matter is they did. Profit margins on netbooks are small, but in the wake of poor economic conditions, selling these cheap boxes kept sales up in a weak market. Netbooks were a temporary placeholder to be phased out, when the market grew tired of their sluggish performance and when the economy improved enough to allow buyers to spend more for a more powerful laptop.

By this time, Intel was probably itself hoping the netbook was dead with the market flocking to higher priced laptops. What Intel did not foresee was that the tablet would come around, and the cheap netbook platform would not be phased out by more expensive laptops, but by low priced tablets.

With the advent of the tablet, the netbook has been forced to soldier on, and to meet the tablet onslaught, what would have cost you 20-22K in 2009 and 2010, would cost you about 11K to 15K today, priced just under the tablet price point. Without a viable tablet contender, Intel has been forced to have the netbook soldier on and drop its price. The netbook is a placeholder once again.

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Acer Aspire One 722 (AO-722-C52) and 12.1-inch Asus Eee PC 1215B

Update: Acer has released a updated Acer Aspire One O722-C60, details at this link.

Two new AMD Fusion powered laptops are now available in the market. By we are going to greet these two with a yawn. The first is the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One 722 (AO-722-C52) with a suggested retail price of Php21,990 pre-installed with Windows 7 Starter. The second is the 12.1-inch Asus Eee PC 1215B with a suggested retail price of Php19,990 without an operating system.

Acer Aspire One 722

While more AMD Fusion options are welcome, these two are equipped with the slower AMD Fusion Brazos C-50 with 1.0 GHz dual core processor and Radeon 6250 graphics processing unit. This processor and graphics combination is more than adequate, providing performance on par with a dual core Atom with Nvidia Ion.

Asus Eee PC 1215B

But before you buy one of these C-50 units take a look at the HP Pavillion DM1-3016AU with the more powerful AMD Fusion Zacate E-350 with 1.6 GHz dual core processor and Radeon 6310 graphics processing unit. The HP Pavillion DM1-3016AU, has twice the processing power and 30% more graphics punch than these C-50 units.

The Acer Aspire One 722 (AO-722-C52) and Asus Eee PC 1215B do come with larger 500GB hard drives, as against the 320GB drive on the HP Pavillion DM1-3016AU. The slower C-50 might also mean longer battery life than a Zacate powered system but, we need to wait for more reviews and user feedback to verify this.

Could be an interesting option if the battery life is significantly longer, but right now the the HP Pavillion DM1-3016AU is looking like the value for money option among the three.

Update: Asus has released an E-450 version of its Eee PC 1215B. Looks like it might be the best of the bunch,

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The Netbook lives on

Neilsen reports that the adoption of tablets adoption is growing quickly. By the end of the second quarter of 2010 2.8% of all Americans owned a tablet. By the end of the first quarter this year, 4.8% of all Americans owned a tablet.  

Contrary to popular belief the netbook market seems to be alive and well too. By the end of the second quarter of 2010 5.8% of all Americans owned a tablet. By the end of the first quarter this year, 8.2% of all Americans owned a tablet. 

Tablets:

Q2 2010 - 2.9%

Q1 2011 - 4.8%

Netbooks:

Q2 2010 - 5.8%

Q1 2011 - 8.2%

But these figures do not tell the whole story. With dropping netbook prices, profit margins on these devices are smaller than ever. Tablet profit margins must be fairly thin too, but every tablet sold means app sales and Adsence income.  

 

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Asus throws down the gauntlet

By launching Asus Eee Pad Transformer at US$399, Asus "has put other companies on notice. Anyone releasing a tablet above $400 will now really have to justify the premium" --- Laptop Magazine.

The Transformer is part tablet, part netbook. Lets look at the tablet part first.  Every tablet today will be compared as against the Apple iPad 2. 

At US$399 the Transformer is priced US$100 lower than the iPad 2. For that price you get a 10.1-inch tablet which weighs in at 1.4 pounds, making almost as light as the 1.33 pound Apple iPad 2. At 0.5 inches tick, the Transformer is nowhere as thin as the iPad 2.

With a 1280 x 800 IPS display, 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage it matches up well to the hardware found in the iPad 2. The iPad 2 should provide more graphics punch, while the Transformer would have more grunt for serious multitasking and number crunching.   

The Transformer can be plug directly into portable USB hard drives and has a SD Card reader. This means that it can replace your personal computer. The Apple iPad is really an accessory to another computer relying on cloud storage or being connected to another computer in order to expand storage.

An this is where the difference lies. While the iPad is a multimedia tablet, the Transformer tries to replace your PC. For another US$149 Asus will sell you a dock that converts the Transformer into a touchscreen laptop. The dock also comes with a battery which will extend the 8 hour battery life of the tablet by another 3 hours. Unlike the awkward physical keyboards for the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Transformer dock really converts it into a laptop.

The main advantage of the iPad 2 is the app environment. There are every few Honeycomb optimized Apps at the present time, about 62. The iPad has 1000 times that number optimized for the tablet. That alone can justify the price difference. The Apple brand also carries more prestige in ownership.

Time will tell how popular Asus entry into the tablet market it will be. But this could be the next evolutionary step for tablets, and netbooks as well. 

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Netbook versus Tablet: Acer Aspire One 522 v. Samsung Galaxy Tab P1010

With the price of the entry level Apple iPad having dropped to below Php20,000 earlier this month, we decided to do a netbook versus tablet comparison, between the AMD Fusion powered Acer One 522 and the WiFi only 16GB variant of the Apple iPad. People have been comparing netbooks and tablets for a long time, christening the tablet as the netbook killer. 

With the recent price drop of Samsung's 7-inch  3G Android tablet to just over Php20,000 and the release of a WiFi only version for just Php15,999 put more options in the price range dominated by netbooks, a reader posited the question:

"What about the Samsung Galaxy Tab? The wifi only version now sells for only P16,000. Won't this be a good deal against the netbook?"

The answer is yes and no. When we did our last comparison, we concluded that it was like comparing Apples and Oranges. The two devices are so dissimilar, as straight up comparison is really not possible. However, it does not mean that tablets do not threaten netbooks. While the two devices are rather different, they target the same market segment: those looking for low cost ultraportable computers. 

In a one-on-on comparison, the netbook will win on specifications, for now at least. It was more power, more storage and more ports. The second generation tablets do, close the specifications gap between netbooks and tablets. The tablet provides better portability and generally better battery life.

On the other hand, the use different operating systems and software so differences in power are notall  that important. 

We could repeat the system we used in our earlier Acer One 522 versus iPad article, but after writing that article, I realized how pointless it was. We will take a different approach this time. This time we will be putting up the 7-inch WiFi only Samsung Galaxy Tab in the ring against the 10/1-inch Acer Aspire One 522 netbook.

As a standalone device. If you are planning to buy one of these two devices to be your primary computer, which would be best. Someone on a budget, looking for a standalone device is best of with a netbook. A tablet, for now, is still an accessory to another computer. 

Why? Mainly the absence of a physical keyboard and storage. The biggest drawback of the tablet, and advantage of the netbook in this regard is storage. The absence of a USB port so it can hooked up to am external drive really makes it an accessory to another machine. You are limited you to 16GB of storage which can be expanded through MicroSD cards.  The Aspire one 522 has 250GB of storage. Matching this would mean seven 32GB MicroSD (well almost anyway). Seven 32GB Micro SD card will cost you more than a Aspire One. So if you need more storage than 16-48GB, you might as well buy both a tablet and a netbook.   

As a multimedia device. The Acer Aspire One 522 can play and output 1080p HD video through an HDMI port. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is limited to 720p playback and has no HDMI out. Because of this, we think the netbook makes a better multimedia device. But unless you plan to hook it up to an LCD TV, the Aspire One's advantages, 1080p play back ability and HDMI out, is of little important.

As a daily companion. As light as the Acer Aspire One 522 is, it still will weight almost 3 pounds. You can carry it everyday, but you will know you are carrying a netbook. At a bit more than 10 x 7 inches in size, and an inch thick, it is also still fairly large. The Samsung Galaxy Tab at 0.84 pounds and about 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.47 inches, and is  less than one-fourth the size of a netbook. 

Aside of being smaller and lighter, the Galaxy Tab will give you more endurance. It should give you six hours of real world use, while the Aspire One 522, a little more than four hours. The camera on the Samsung Galaxy Tab is nothing to crow about, it takes decent 720p video, so it doubles as a video camera. 

Decisions. We could go on, but it depends more on what you want, than what it can do.  So, which is best for you? I can only draw on personal experiences.

Having bought a netbooks myself, in 2008, and a second one in 2009, I finally ditched netbook for good replacing it with a very light full powered laptop. If you want a highly portable laptop on a limited budget, than get the netbook. If is still a laptop, just a smaller less powerful version. A tablet, never cross my mind. It is simply really, I wanted a keyboard. As a laptop alternative, netbook is a better choice than a tablet, and the main reason is the physical keyboard. 

My wife and a friend of mine, both early tablet adopters, never owned netbooks. One uses a 14-inch HP laptop, and the other a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro. In selecting their laptops, they did not go with the most portable options available. Portability of the laptop was not the number one priority, and they both do not in-fact carry their laptop around much on a daily basis. So why did they get tablets? Tablets are small and light enough, that carrying them around is not longer a chore. 

If you want a small but powerful machine like a Sony Vaio Z, MacBook Air or Lenovo X200, but are on a budget, the Acer Aspire One is your best bet or one of the low cost AMD Fusion laptops is you. If you have never felt the need for a light but powerful laptop, but want something more than your smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Tab may be more appealing. A tablet is a nice handy device for someone that does not need a laptop on the go. 

The two devices cater to different needs. But in the low cost and light weight arena, previously the only option was the netbook. Tablets are not netbook killers, because they are more capable or better. The tablet gives an alternative solution.  Many would be netbook buyers, will become tablet owners instead.

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Netbook versus Tablet: Acer Aspire One 522 v. Apple iPad WiFi 16GB

With the new lower price of the original iPad, brought about by the announcement of the iPad 2 this comparison is inevitable. Right now AMD Fusion powered Acer's Aspire One 522 is the our choice for the best locally available netbook. The Apple iPad 16GB, either with or without 3G, is the best value for money tablet in the market right now. We will compare the Aspire One to the WiFi only tablet.

This prize fight is like comparing apple's to...

Display. The Aspire One comes with a 10.1-inch led backlit 1280 x 720 display. This allows it to play 720P HD content at its native resolution. The iPad has a 1024 x 768 screen. While the iPad can display 720p content, but it will scale it down to the lower resolution iPad screen. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

... oranges.

Power. The Aspire One is no speed demon but its dual core 1GHz AMD C50 APU and 2GB or RAM, it will runs most desktop Windows software, can play 1080p content and will even allow a fair amount of 3D gaming. At low settings it can even run Star Craft II. The iPad has a 1GHz A4 processor and 256MB of RAM. While it will run most iPhone and iPad apps with ease, but it stutters a bit on things like Angry Bird HD. It cannot play 1080p content, but can do 720p easily enough. You cannot run your favorite desktop software, and will have to look for iPad alternatives. There are thousands of them so we would not worry too much. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

Storage. The Aspire One has 250GB of storage while the iPad had 16GB. Not much to discuss here. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

Input Method. Each has their advantages. The Aspire One has a keyboard, the iPad a touchscreen. Which is better depends on what you are doing. DRAW.

Battery life. The iPad will run for 10 hours, even using WiFi or watching videos. The Aspire One is rated at five hours, and we expect four hours of real world use is more realistic. WINNER - iPAD.

Portability. Both are small enough to fit in a medium size bag or carried under the shoulder. The iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds while the Aspire One comes in at 2.9 pounds. WINNER - iPAD.  

Connectivity & Ports. Both have WiFi, but after that the Aspire One leads all they way with a 5-in-1 card reader, HDMI out (to plug into you LCD TV) and three USB ports. While both have Bluetooth, on the iPad is limited in its implementation, so no file transfer. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

Video conferencing. The Aspire One has a webcam and the iPad does not. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

Utility. While not recommended, the Aspire One can be your one and only computer. The iPad is an accessory to a laptop or desktop. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

Price. The Aspire One comes in at Php17,990, and at that price already you can pay for it over 12 deferred monthly payments. The iPad comes in at Php19,900, and that is cash. WINNER - ASPIRE ONE.

... so who wins. If you keep score, the Acer Aspire One 522 offers more at a lower price. The iPad is much more mobile, being lighter and having a longer battery life. While it has less grunt, this is made up for by being strong ecosystem of software which supports the device. 

Based on the numbers  we give this round to the Acer Aspire One. For desktop owners, the Aspire One will probably still be more appealing, given that you can run the same software on both. But if you already have a laptop and are looking for an even more portable device, the Apple iPad is the clear choice. In the end, it is a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

One question lingers. Should you wait for the iPad 2? We always recommend to buy gadgets only when you need it. Something new will always come out sooner rather than later. If you need a portable device right now, the iPad's Php19,900 price gives it a buy recommendation from us.

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Acer Aspire One 522: AMD Fusion "Ontario" performance

The Acer Aspire One 522 is the first netbook powered by AMD's C-50 (Ontario) Accelerated Processing Unit. The AMD C-50 APU, is a dual-core processor clocked at 1.0GHz rated with only 9W TDP. The chip integrates a Radeon HD 6250 graphics processing clocked at 280MHz and supports DirectX 11. 

Unlike most netbooks with a 1024 x 600 resolution screen, the Aspire One 522 has a high resolution 10.1-inch 720P (1280 x 720). The unit also comes with a 2GB of RAM, Wireless b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, and most importantly, it has HDMI out. 

So how well does this new netbook perform. Having been launched early in the Philippines, we do not get the benefit of foreign reviews, and we do not have any local ones either. One of our countrymen got one and posted a mini review at the Notebook Review forums.

The Aspire One 522 has the following Windows Experience Index Scores:

Processor: 2.8
RAM: 4.8
Graphics: 4.0
Gaming: 5.5

HD: 5.5 

These are the WEI scores of the Nvidia Optimus/Atom N525 equipped Asus Eee PC1215: 

Processor: 3.5
RAM: 4.9
Graphics: 3.3
Gaming: 5.6

HD: 5.9

Not bad at all for your 18K.

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January 2011 10-inch netbook buyers guide

A lot has changed since wrote our last 10.1-inch netbook buyers guide. Last time out, we recommended the Asus Eee PC 1005PEM at a price of Php21,995. This time around, our recommendation takes 10-inch netbooks into new highs in terms of performance and new lows in terms of price. Ironically, the price drop did not come because of tablets, but by the entry of a new netbook platform, the AMD Fusion.

Our pick is the Acer Aspire One 522. The Aspire One 522 has a high definition 1280 x 720 screen, and an AMD Fusion platform to back it up. The high resolution screen should make for a better web browsing experience and will allow you to view 720p HD content in its native resolution. The AMD C-50 APU inside will also play 1080p content without a hitch, but will scale down the image to fit the 720p screen. It also has HDMI out, so you can plug it into your LCD TV. The Aspire One 522 should make a decent gaming box too. How much for all this? Php17,990, and at the price you can spread payments over 12-months.

Is there still are reason to buy a Intel Atom powered netbook? In a word, yes. The Aspire One 522 is rated to have a 5-hour battery life. While we need to wait for a someone to put one to a test, in real world use, it is safe to expect about four. 

Our previous pick, the Asus Eee PC 1005PEM is still a good option for those who are willing to accept the lower resolution 1024 x 600 screen and give up the ability to display HD content. It is really only suited for web browsing and typing documents, but it will do it for eight hours straight. It's price has dropped to Php17,490. That's 4.5K less than two months ago

If you are willing to give up the high resolution screen and performance, and our willing to give up 20% in processing power, the Samsung N150-JPOCPH looks good at Php15,900. You loose the dual core N550 processor for a single core N455 processor and sake Php1.5K. Honestly, we don't think most people will notice the difference in speed.

Cheapest option? You should be able to find a eMachines eMD350 for about Php11,000 without an operating system, and for about Php12,900 with Windows 7 installed. With a 3-cell battery you will get 4-hours battery life.

In the end, the Aspire One 522 is by far the best choice.

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Lower cost Atom Netbooks: Acer Aspire One D255-2CKK

With the release of by Acer of the AMD Fusion powered Aspire One D522 at Php17,900 it was pretty much certain that lower cost Intel Atom netbooks would follow. Acer has also released the Acer Aspire One D255-2CKK.

Quick Specs:

• Screen: 10.1" 1024 x 600 WSVGA LED backlit TFT LCD screen
• Processor: Intel Atom N450 (1.66GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 667MHz FSB)
• Graphics: Intel GMA3150 Graphics with 64MB of dedicate video
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 Memory
• Storage: 250 GB SATA Hard Drive and a SD card reader
• Optical drive: None
• Connectivity: Wifi b/g/n; Bluetooth; USB (x3); VGA Port; Ethernet Port
• Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1-1.1 inches
• Battery: 6-cell (4400 mAh)
• Weight: 2.4 lbs.

There are two model available, a DOS version priced at Php13,999 and one with Windows 7 Starter installed at Php17,999. 

We recommend the DOS version, and just have it bundled with an OEM copy of Windows 7 Starter which is priced at Php1,999. This makes the total cost with Windows Php15,998. Or better yet, why not try Ubuntu Linux and maximize your savings.  

Update: As suggested by a reader, the Aspire One D522 at Php17,900 is really a better choice.

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Is the netbook dead?

The debate on the death of the netbook has been on for some time. Recently, Techie.com.ph raised the issue again, this time in the light of the imminent release of more tablets into the market.

The real netbook killer. Intel Core i3 inside. 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 screen at less than 30K.
And soon, to be cheaper.

It is a simple question to answer. Are netbooks dead. No, not yet. But soon. Not for the reasons people think though.

First, even without tablets, the netbook was causing its own demise. Three years ago, the cheapest laptops had 14-inch or 15-inch screen. Larger laptops costs more, and smaller ones much more. If you wanted a 3-pound laptop back than, well you had to spend a Php100K. Than came two things which changed this entire paradigm. First was the netbook, small underpowered laptops for less than Php30K and than the Consumer Ultra Low Voltage processors.

The netbook made is harder for manufacturers to sell. I still remember in 2008 when Lenovo launched its 11.1-inch U110, and a few months later released its first netbook, the S-10, the S-10 was a poor mans version of the U110. How much cheaper, 1/4th the price.

Than you have the CULV. Intel use to divert some of their finest chips not to make the fastest processors, but to undervolt them so they could fit into small laptops which could not provide adequate cooling or ordinary mobile chips. Intel production improved so they could pretty much start mass producing these low voltage chips, which they called CULV's. The current Intel processors are so efficient that they do not even need to use CULV's or ULV processors on larger ultraportables anymore.

So basically, the demand for netbooks created the cheaper ultraportable. If you look at the market today, a Intel Core i3 powered Acer Aspire 1830T at Php29,500 is the higher end alternative to a Acer Netbook at Php20-23K. The price gap now for a true ultraportable laptop versus a netbook is smaller.

Second, the netbook was made for content consumption. Sure it has a physical keyboard, but those keyboards which are 90 to 93% the size of a full-sized keyboard are not that comfortable in use. So why not drop they keyboard altogether. There, you have the tablet.

Well, it is not as simple as that. Netbooks were launched into a world where mobile internet had become accessible, and a mobile device was needed. What Intel failed to do was to provide a platform that would sustain its creation through the advent of the HD era. Netbooks cannot play the HD content that the web has to offer. There is the Nvida Optimus graphics, but this meant a larger form factor and size, and a much higher price.

Tablets provided better multimedia and better gaming capabilities. The netbooks have the keyboard, but tablets, despite being lower powered devices had the graphics power and are much lighter than than netbook.

Can you still call the AMD Fusion netbooks "netbooks". In graphics power
they blow away Intel HD graphics.

So what happens to the netbooks now? It moves forward or dies. Enter AMD's Fusion which can play 1080p HD and should make a decent gaming platform. This is really the killer blow, the low powered low cost web browsing platform is no more. The netbook will now evolve into a low cost laptop. In the end, it is really not the end of netbooks, they have evolved to the point that it is hard to distinguish what is netbook from a ultraportable laptop. But the era of the Atom with its outdated GMA3150 graphics is over.

Will the tablet kill the demand for low cost 10.1-inch to 12.1-inch laptops. The answer is of course not? Now whether you call them netbooks or something else the demand for small laptops will always exist. Some of us still do need the keyboard. 

Besides... it won't be long before you can play Starcarft 2 in your "netbook".

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The Acer Aspire One 522 hits the store shelves at the promised Php17,990

The Acer Aspire One 522 is really here. Not announced, not launched. It's in the store shelves. This changes everything again. :) 

The Acer Aspire One 522 is the first netbook powered by AMD's C-50 Accelerated Processing Unit. The AMD C-50 APU, is a dual-core processor clocked at 1.0GHz rated with only 9W TDP. The chip integrates a Radeon HD 6250 graphics processing clocked at 280MHz and supports DirectX 11. This allows the netbook to play HD content.

To match is graphics prowess Acer fitted a high resolution 10.1-inch 720P (1280 x 720) screen on the Acer Aspire One 522. The unit comes spec' with a 2GB of RAM, Wireless b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. Most importantly, it has HDMI out. 

An Atom N550 killer, HD capable, 3D gaming capable netbook at Php17,990. At it 18K price it comes with Windows 7 Starter and a sleeve. Actually its only Php17,982 at Villmans and at 12-months zero interest to boot.

The netbook is dead? You have a tablet already? We have Fusion. Bring it on.


@Acer. #Thumbsup!

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Bye bye netbooks?

Techie.com.ph reported that according to Acer Taiwan sales manager Lu Bing-hsian "tablet launches will begin a gradual replacement of Acer's small laptop-style netbook computers, in line with market demands." Looking for further info on this news, I found a NetworkWorld report which further quoted Lu Bing-hsian "They are aimed at phasing out netbooks," he said. "That’s the direction of the market."

Acer New Tablet... Wow

"The Taiwan-based computer giant will keep making netbooks, adding to its millions sold to date, but it will stick to simple models and manufacture fewer than in years past as tablets gain popularity, he said."

So it is not bye bye... but what everyone has been expecting. Lower netbooks sales. I myself after having purchased a netbooks in 2008 and 2009, move to a ultraportable in 2010. Ultraportable prices have gone down enough for me not to resort to a netbook as an alternative to an ultraportable laptop.

January 20, 2011 update: PCMagazine reported that Acer on Wednesday denied that it is phasing out netbooks in favor of tablets, claiming that tablets are "just another piece of the mosaic." According to the PCMag report:


"Acer recognizes that the computer market is changing. As PCs are no longer only used to create content but are more and more becoming consumption tools, new devices and new form factors are appearing," the company said. "This means the range of devices available to users is getting wider and tablets are just another piece of the mosaic. Therefore, they will find their space next to netbooks and notebooks." 

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Thinking of buying a netbook, might be best to wait a bit

It looks like tablets are pressuring netbook manufacturers. In what appears to proof that tablets are eating into the netbook market share, since the official launch of the Apple iPad here last December 17, 2010, we have seen netbooks, both Intel and AMD models, drop their prices by 5-10%. Samsung and Lenovo have also been releasing budget version of their existing netbooks with even lower prices. Samsung just released into the Philippine market their Samsung N150-JPOCPH and Lenovo has a similar offering, the Lenovo Ideapad S10-3B. 

The Samsung N150-JPOCPH seems to be most interesting of these new lower prices offerings. It's specifications are nothings special with a matte 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) display, a Atom N455 (1.66GHz) processor,  1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and the usual connectivity options, including WiFi, and a 6-cell battery. What makes it interesting is not the specifications, but the price. It is priced at just Php15,900.

We expect to see other manufacturers drop their single core Atom offerings to this price level soon, with dual core Atom N550 models being offered at Php2,000 more. So if you are looking for a good deal right now, we would go with the Samsung. If for some reason it does not strike your fancy, we would wait a little bit. The AMD Fusion is hitting the shelves shortly and that will really bring down the prices of the Intel Atom netbooks currently in the market.

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Battery life: It's not about the cells but the mAh

A laptop battery pack is composed of several battery cells that are wired together in series. By combining the cells higher volumes of energy can be delivered to your laptop computer. The number of cells is a indicator of how long a battery can last. But not all cells are created equally. To find out how how much energy a battery can store, you should look at the mAh rating.

mAh stands for Milliamp Hour, which is a technical term for how much power a particular battery will hold. Batteries with a higher mAh value will theoretically last longer before requiring a recharge.

Batteries with the same number of cells, can have different mAh ratings. For example the 6-cell battery found on Acer's netbooks and lower end laptops usually are rated at 4400 mAh. On locally available 11.6-inch Acer TimelineX 1830T, the 6-cell battery is rated at 5800 mAh. The 6-cell battery on the Acer Timeline X 3820T and 4820TG is rated at 6000 mAh.

Basically, when checking out laptop specifications, don't just ask how many cells the battery has, but take a look at the battery itself and check out the mAh rating. 

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