smartbooks

Best of CES 2010: Where are they now?

Let's face it: CES is often about hype. New products, new promises, and a lot of very thick carpeting greets us every year, and as we sort out what impressed us most about the show, we can only hope that some of these gadgets actually deliver.

With CES 2011 just around the corner, it's a perfect time to take a look back at the year that was, and see how the biggest stories of CES 2010 fared. Some of them did remarkably well, including our best-of-show winner, the Panasonic TC-PVT25 Others, not so much (remember the Motorola Backflip?). … Read more

Report: Chrome OS smartbooks coming this month

Google's Chrome OS project is almost ready for the masses, according to a report.

Digitimes said today that hardware companies in Asia are putting the finishing touches on smartbooks running Chrome OS, with the intention of shipping them later this month. Acer and Hewlett Packard are expected to launch Chrome OS systems in December, Digitimes said.

One interesting tidbit is that Google reportedly plans on selling a Chrome OS smartbook (an ill-defined term that seems to reflect an improved Netbook) under its own brand, similar to what it tried to do with the Nexus One. CEO Eric Schmidt hinted earlier in the year … Read more

Did the tablet kill the smartbook?

Back at CES 2010, we saw two parallel trends developing: a renaissance of touch-screen tablets and slates, and a series of smaller-than-Netbook laptops called "smartbooks" that promised to have automatic 3G, simplified operating systems and very slim profiles.

Well, so far one has come to fruition (thanks largely to the iPad), whereas the other has gone into a state of hibernation.

Lenovo's recent announcement that its "Skylight" smartbook and U1 hybrid tablet/laptop would be delayed underlines the sudden lack of momentum smartbooks have suffered. Lenovo claims it's due to an OS switch from proprietary Linux-based software to Android, … Read more

Where is the Linux 'smartbook'?

The smartbook has yet to emerge from pre-product purgatory, though a couple of high-profile devices are due soon.

But first, let's try to define the smartbook. By some definitions it is simply a Netbook that runs Linux and uses processors based on a design from U.K.-based ARM, as opposed to Windows software and Intel chips, respectively. By another definition, it is all of the above but also an always-on, always-connected device, just like a smartphone. The latter definition is the one we'll use here because it's the original definition as provided by Qualcomm--a major smartbook … Read more

ARM: Smartbooks stalled by Flash issues

Smartbooks have failed to materialize due to delays in Flash optimization, a lower-than-expected uptake of Linux on Netbooks, and the sudden emergence of tablets, ARM's marketing chief has said.

ARM dominates the mobile phone chip design market and has since 2008 been trying to get into the subnotebook market as well. The plan was to do so through Linux-based, ARM-powered "smartbooks" that would provide an instant-on, longer-life alternative to x86-based Netbooks but, according to ARM's marketing vice president, Ian Drew, events have conspired to stall this plan.

"We thought [smartbooks] would be launched by now, … Read more

Compaq AirLife smartbook has Android, touch

Normally, when we hear about a Compaq product, we associate it with entry-level computers. HP apparently remembers the days when Compaq first released iPAQ smart devices, because it chose to announce the AirLife smartbook device under its Compaq brand instead.

Though tablet PCs are getting the lion's share of attention lately, "smartbooks"--laptop-like devices with advanced smartphone processors and pared-down operating systems--are attempting to build some momentum, too. The Compaq AirLife 100 looks like many Netbooks, but it differs in several ways: it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor instead of an Intel Atom, comes with 3G … Read more

Should the Apple iPad be considered a computer?

Long before Apple unveiled its iPad tablet device (officially the worst-kept secret in the history of technology), we had been giving serious thought to whether such a device should be called a computer or not. By some standards, the iPad is essentially a keyboardless laptop, but by others, it's more akin to a portable media player, such as the iPod Touch.

Late last year, we outlined the possible arguments for and against each case, saying:

There are two schools of thought on this: either the Apple tablet (or iSlate, or whatever it ends up being called) will be a … Read more

HP Compaq AirLife 100 almost official

While slate tablets seem to be all the rage these days, let's not forget that there exists a majority who feel lost without a physical keyboard. The HP Compaq AirLife 100 is rumored to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped, Android-powered "smartbook" with the battery life of a PDA-phone. However, it lacks compatibility with Windows operating systems.

Besides battery life, the advantages of using a smartphone platform can override the fact that most users are still more comfortable with the Windows environment. For one, the AirLife will probably have access to the Android app store with applications optimized for … Read more

Analyst: Intel Netbook growth to slow

Growth of Intel-based Netbooks will slow this year, and the emergence of "smartbooks" based on chips from Intel rivals will also be poky, according to analysts.

Though Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini was upbeat about Netbook growth in 2009 during the chipmaker's earnings conference call last week, standard laptop shipments will outpace Netbook growth in 2010, according to Avian Securities.

"The big surprise over the past couple years has been the emergence of Netbooks. However we believe regular notebooks will likely outpace the growth in Netbooks in 2010," according to a research note from Avian … Read more