Latest from the final frontier
Samsung / LG readies Smartbook ?
Qualcomm is hoping to boost the processing speed of more mobile devices after it announced it will be bringing a smartphone and smartbook based on its superfast Snapdragon chip.
For those that don't know / don't care about the smartbook category, it's a device that bridges the shrinking gap between a smartphone and a netbook, so basically high performance in a smaller package. (And yes, we hate the name too).
Compal's Snapdragon-powered smartbook
As if it wasn't clear already, smartbooks are one of the big trends (if not the biggest) to emerge out of this year's Computex, be they Snapdragon or Tegra-powered. Just as interesting as the devices themselves, however, is the fact that a number of manufacturers are looking at using Android as an OS for 'em, including big players like ASUS, and now Compal. While's ASUS' Snapdragon-based offering was impressive enough, Compal looks to have slightly outdone it by adding a customized interface at start-up, which is apparently just a taste of further "optimizations" to come
Nokia and Intel in a partnership that will define smartbook market ?
The companies will work on a new class of devices for the emerging smartbook or MID space
4 companies leading the mobile revolution. Qualcomm is one of them
QCOM is bridging the gap between smartphones and notebooks by creating a device called a smartbook. Smartbooks are mini-laptops that are similar to netbooks, but differ such that they operate on mobile phone chips (thus QCOM chips) as opposed to PC microchips, such as Intel’s (INTC) Atom microprocessors. This device will have “the portability and intuitive feel of a smartphone combined with the versatility and capability of a notebook.” Smartbooks will come in various forms “from larger, sub-notebook designs to compact, touch-screen tablets.”
New smartbook offerings coming this year on the wings of Intel / Nokia deal
"We would expect new netbook/smartbook offerings in coming months from other traditional handset vendors such as Motorola, Samsung, and LG. Intel announced a MID deal with Korean handset maker LG at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February of this year, with the launch of the first Intel MID by LG expected in 2010. In addition, we expect traditional PC players such as Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP to come forward with smartbook/smartphone like devices using applications processors from Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia in the next few months."
Nokia order Snapdragon smartbook
As for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset, that caused no small amount of fuss back at Computex for its role in the new ARM-based smartbook niche. A rival to Intel-based netbooks, smartbooks promise all-day battery life together with full wireless connectivity and HD media playback with HDMI connectivity.
After unhappy netbook users, there's place for happy smartbook users
The Linux segment is far from dead -- it's just getting started. But that's technically a "smartbook"..
