The Linux killer 10 inch netbook

Stan Beer
Monday, 09 March 2009 08:09

Opinion and Analysis

Complaints about the tiny 7-inch screen, prompted the release of 9-inch screen versions. Complaints about the tiny keyboard, prompted the release of models from manufacturers of a 92% sized keyboard.

Then Asus came out with the 10-inch screen models with 1GB RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a Celeron processor and a new class of netbook was born - a cheap version of a sub-notebook which allowed business users to do real work on the road.

Then after complaints of poor battery life for these little compact netbooks became louder, the low power Atom chip versions appeared. The final product is the 1000HE with 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive and a purported battery life of 9.5 hours (yet to be tested by this reviewer under compute intensive and mobile web surfing conditions).

As Stephen Withers pointed out, the 1000HE, like other 10-inch screen netbook models, could really be classed as a cheap small notebook minus the optical drive. This may well be the case but it is interesting to note that the further up the food chain of netbooks we move the less inclined the vendors are to release Linux versions.

The thing is these 10-inch models are just the right size for consumers who want to take a device on the road. They're light, easy to handle at airports, the 1024 x 600 screen is readable, the keyboard is usable and above all they're capable of running all the Windows applications that consumers and business people use.

In other words, the 10-inch netbooks are a good alternative to a heavier, bulkier notebook, or an expensive full-featured sub-notebook, for travelling. If you really need to watch movies on them, you can buy a cheap USB optical drive.

The key here, though, is that these 10-inch netbooks run Windows - XP now and Windows 7 later. Users want to run Windows applications on them. Recognising that the market for Linux 10-inch netbooks is extremely limited, Asus, the champion of the Linux netbook, has yet to announce a Linux version of its latest netbook product.

Linux desktop advocates can bitch about it as much as they like but vendors like Asus are in business to make money. And the fact is that there's no money in higher end Linux netbooks with 10-inch screens.

That said, the early success of the Eee PC 701 and the Android phones points toward the space where Linux really has a chance to make a serious impact - small mobile Internet devices.

As far as the larger devices are concerned - the devices commonly known as personal computers (netbooks and notebooks included) - let's face it in the real world, there's really only two players and neither of them are Linux.