Netbooks: The road ahead

Netbooks: The road ahead

Rohan Naravane, Jan 02, 2009 1750 hrs IST

We take a look at how the Netbook has evolved and what will be added to it this year.

Asus N10

OK, I know I'm a little off the chart here by putting the N10 into a Netbook article; even when Asus themselves claim that it is not one. But since the N10 sports a 10.2 inch screen and an Intel Atom processor, one can't deny that it feels like one. From the outside, the N10 looks a lot more classy and expensive. It's slightly larger than the Eee PC 1000H. The extra space is consumed by a larger, full-sized keyboard.

On the inside, we've got the same 10.2 inch, 1024x600 pixel resolution display seen on the Eee PC 1000H. Also, it's loaded with Intel's power-saving Atom 1.6 GHz processor. But this is where the similarity ends. It comes with up to 2GB RAM, 320 GB 2.5-inch hard disk and premium add-ons like a fingerprint reader and Altec Lansing speakers. But probably the headliner feature of the N10 is the discreet Nvidia GeForce 9300 GS 256 MB graphics chip on-board; along with the standard integrated (GMA 950) one. There's also a hardware toggle switch to change from integrated to discreet graphics, depending upon your requirements. The switch requires a re-boot though.

The presence of the Nvidia GPU brings the possibility of playing games at a respectable frame rate on it. Moreover, along with the HDMI port on the N10, it could possibly be used to transmit hi-def content.

Other features include Wi-Fi Draft-N support and an ExpressCard slot. It manages to fit all these components and still weigh a decent 1.4 kg. It comes with a 3 or 6-cell battery option and has an external DVD writer in the package. Thanks to more firepower, Asus has taken the leap of giving Windows Vista as the default OS; probably not the best option, but hey, what choice do we have till Windows 7 finally arrives and cleans-up Vista's mess.

Its international selling price for the Nvidia-powered version starts at approximately Rs. 33,600. The pricing seems quite apt; since the N10's basic structure is built out of components found on typical sub-20k Netbooks. And the rest of the stuff is what we see in laptops ranged above 40k. It'll be interesting to see how N10 captures the market; hovering between the cheap roti-kapada-netbook and the more expensive ultra-portable range.

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Netbooks: The road ahead

We take a look at how the Netbook has evolved and what will be added to it this year.

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