Smartphone Plus Netbook Equals Qualcomm’s Smartbook
Qualcomm isn’t intimidated by Intel’s success when it comes to netbooks. In fact, they have their own vision when it comes to mobile computing, and this is what they’re calling the smartbook (Smartphone + netbook).
To be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip (a cell phone ARM-based CPU running at 1GHz and can connect through cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G mobile broadband), the smartbook will have a 10 to 12 inch screen and a full keyboard, which sounds exactly like a netbook to me, or at least a big, bulky cell phone. Qualcomm just plans to reverse what Intel is doing for the PC industry by taking a PC and making it smaller. Qualcomm plans to take a smartphone and make it bigger.
Luis Pineda, SVP of marketing and product management for Qualcomm, says that smartbooks will “cannibalize the netbook market” as the pricing will also be comparable to netbooks. The smartbook will run on Linux and have a “well-designed home screen and touchscreen”. And because the Snapdragon chip uses less power than your average Intel Atom, battery life is an optimistic 8 to 10 hours, which I think will entice more users to pay attention, and the device may also have voice capabilities.
Personally, what comes to mind is an iPhone which is both a smartphone and a tiny netbook if you ask me. Because unless Qualcomm adds more specs to their smartbook, how can they differentiate from the sea of netbooks already out in the market? An average netbook user is happy having a separate netbook and smartphone so Qualcomm better come up with something that would really stand out. A smartphone that looks like a netbook better be able to run like a netbook.
The first smartbooks are expected to find their way into the market by the end of this year. Let’s just wait and see how the hold up against the new netbooks out in the market by that time.
For more information on the Smarbook, check out Qualcomm’s Hello Smartbook page.
via: GigaOM.com
Related posts
Filed under: Netbook Thoughts