Looks like Dell is about to jump into the Mini-PC market:
It's a small form factor notebook, just like the Asus Eee and the HP 2133. He wouldn't tell me what OS it's running, or the pricing, but that it's a low-cost notebook meant for developing countries, and I hope here. Maybe it's Atom-powered. Who knows? But I do see three USB ports, a card reader, VGA out, Ethernet, and that red candy shell. I couldn't tell how big the screen was before it was tucked away into a black sleeve and ushered from the building, but it's small.It looks like the mini-PC market is going to get hot, with 10 to 15 million units expecting to get sold in 2008. I hope someone starts making tablet versions of these soon.
This summer, I've stopped carrying my laptop to school and have been using my AlphaSmart Neo exclusively for taking notes in class. It works great! Not having Internet connection or a host of other programs to distract myself with means I pay far more attention in class. After owning my Neo for 7-weeks and using it on a nearly daily basis, often for hours at a time, is still showing 94% battery level. Absolutely amazing!
For students, I think a combination of a mini-PC ($500?), a Neo ($219), and an eBook reader (Amazon just dropped the price of the Kindle to $359 and Astak is about to release eBook readers that start at $150) would make a killer-combination. All together, these would still probably come in under 5-pounds and potentially under $1,000 for all three. This would be a far more versatile, potentially cheaper, and probably lighter system than a regular laptop. This would also make a great solution for traveling. Buy an external monitor and a mouse and you can use the Neo as an external keyboard when you are at home. You could probably buy all of this for ~ $1,200 and have a highly versatile system for use at home, in the classroom, and on the road.
I fully expect the mini-PCs will continue to grow in popularity and the ensuing competition will help drive down the price of other mobile technology as well. This is an exciting development for the PC market and one that I hope continues to get "hotter" in the years to come.
(HT Warner Crocker)
1 comment:
I definitely agree that this mini-PC concept is a hot idea, and its time has come.
It's a great idea and eminently practical for many many people.
The combo of small cost and small size are fantastic, and I think these will revolutionize the market.
Now the only question is when will Apple come up with one?
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