Thursday, April 23, 2009

Netbooks on business use


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Netbook on a taxi bus




Nowadays almost every meeting or conference I go, there are business user using netbooks.

I haven't posted anything about that due the nature of the meetings... ( I consult on mobile computing on my "spare" time and mostly under NDA. ( Contact me if my assistance is needed ))

I have been evolved on mobilizing enterprises, small companies and government offices and the trend is towards netbooks there too.

Today I was on a taxi bus and as you can see, I noted Asus Eee PC on the dash. It was there for tracking other taxis etc. and due it's internal 3G modem it was fast and easy to setup and with clever magnet holder easy to take with the driver when needed.

If you compare this 400E setup to +3000E industrial ones, you understand that netbooks are on their way to many other areas too.. no one can compete with that pricing.

Now I heard that Lenovo may build a ThinkPad netbook! A business class Netbook with the r&d of ThinkPad engineers. I must say I was pleased to hear that as it got me thinking how good it could be... but then something reminded me; it is the pricing/mobility factor that drives the sales of netbooks. So if Lenovo wants to sell their ThinkPad netbooks, they need to keep the price down. Will that happend? Let's hope so..

Bottom line is that netbooks are allover and they are really good mobile computers for many kinds of uses.

If you have seen similar setups or other "non traditional" uses, please leave a comment or link.







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13 comments:

WPWoodJr said...

See here for Lenovo blog on Thinkpad Netbook: http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=1201

Anonymous said...

im guessing this is happening because they are small, cheap (compared to a 12" ultraportable laptop) and can handle different terminal access systems.

and i guess thats why HP and the rest are interested and freaked at the same time...

JP said...

They are also quite durable, overall!

Anonymous said...

Jkk,

New- Pixel Qi Power saving screen can be a MOD to existing netbook. Per Yesterday's news post here:

http://www.pixelqi.com/blog1/

"We are starting with a 10.1″ screen that can fit into a standard netbook laptop, and is driven in the same way. It’s plug, form, fit compatible - meaning one can unplug the existing screen in a 10″ netbook and plug our new screen right in".

The MOD think is up your alley, you should try to get one of the samplers that are being sent out?

DrBlake said...

This is truly the way forward in my opinion;

I’m responsible for my company’s mobile computing/communications, and indeed was looking into implementing netbooks intended exclusively for our field service engineers.

The benefits are evident, Small, Light, Fairly Rugged, Dash Mountable, Fast boot up, and most importantly cheap, everything my company was looking for!

Not a happy ending I’m afraid, unfortunately my boss had already signed a deal with Dell for 64 Dell Latitude D530’s!!! which weigh a ton and are really impractical.

Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing!

JKK said...

Anon, I have asked a sample from pixelqi... let's see what happens..

JKK said...

DrBlake,

Uuuh..

Saperalot said...

a friend of mine is programing air conditions, elevator control and such things and he and his employes always had notebooks, yes the heavy ones. as i had my netbooks i showed him how smart they are.

to make it short:
i modified him 4 netbooks for his needs and now he is lucky, more than before, with that notebooks.

and the best at least: the price of the netbooks is 70% lower than the notebook prices he paid.

Thats fun :-)

Anonymous said...

there is hell of a lot of excellent free scientific software around - actually running perfectly on netbooks. you only need an additional serial converter cable and the lab is at your hands.

Saperalot said...

@ano
yep the additional serial converter was one of the problems. need to find the right one, cause not all of them work well with every hardware.

i knew it, cause i had trouble with my weatherstation and his serial port :-)

NighTalon said...

I love playing my iTunes collection or internet radio while I'm in the shower. The netbook just sits by the sink. I may be shortening the life of my netbook with all that steam. I hope not.

In my opinion the ideal computing model includes two portable laptops, and possibly a server at home that can serve the whole family.

One of the laptops is inevitably a netbook, due to cost and flexibility. The second portable is as powerful of a desktop replacement as you need.

The server is for streaming audio, video, installers/installer images, backup files, and TV connectivity. Unfortunately my family isn't too tech savvy, so the server ends up just serving me.

DrBlake said...

Yes good point, the lack of serial ports on netbook’s would have also been a crucial factor for my company; we use various different bespoke cables for our fuel dispensers, tank gauges, and payment terminals.

To put this to the test I’d ideally need Dell to send me a demo mini 9 and get some USB to serial converters and see what would work with our equipment.

Come to think about it even if an over the counter conversion cable didn’t work I am sure someone in our electrical department could patch a cable together that would do the job.

DrBlake said...

I had a call today from our new Dell account manger “Woo Hoo we now have the Platinum service”, he asked me a lot of questions about our business to try and astatine what kind of kit we require.
I soon turned the convocation over to the use of Netbooks in our business arena and furthermore mentioned my efforts to unify our global mobile computing standards by implementing Netbooks.

He then proceeded to tell me that Dell will soon be releasing a “Latitude Netbook” possibly a continuation of there current E series line that would indeed cater for the business customer by incorporating serial ports to its connectivity.

The 10” Netbook will look similar to the E4200 sub-notebook class but not carry the huge price tag.

I have asked him to send me an evaluation model as soon as it becomes available.

Cant Wait!

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