Compare Laptops
Netbooks and smartphones seem to have finally reached saturation in terms of their offerings. So now, the manufacturers have resorted to making devices that borrow features from either of the mobile devices to make a totally new league of gadgets, which are supposed to offer the best of both worlds. They have as well come out with a variety of terminologies to describe such devices – smartbooks, smartnotes, tablets and UMPCs, to name a few. But, will these devices really woo the consumer crowd? Let’s explore the probabilities.
CES 2010, had a few of tablets and smartbooks on display. Some of them are the Lenovo Skylight Smartbook, the Dell Mini 5 Tablet, the PsiXpda UMPC and the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid laptop-tablet.
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The Lenovo Skylight is a netbook structured device, but is smaller and lighter. The internal circuitry represents that of a smartphone. The Qualcom Snapdragon 1GHz processor is used in this device. Hence it can do most of what a smartphone does, plus it offers a bigger interface to work on and view. Moreover it will not increase the weight of your baggage too. Will this device click in the market? This depends on whether you’d go in for a light, but not-so-powerful netbook, or a large smartphone-like capable device. |
| The Dell Mini 5 is an Android tablet. Almost all present-day smartphone features are sported by this device, but with a larger interface. It presents a large 5″ touchscreen for user interaction. So this tablet is going to look like an over-sized smartphone. Nevertheless, it will fit into the pocket and people with large fingers will find it easier to type on it than with smartphones. |  |
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The PsiXpda is a clamshell device, with a 5″ touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. It offers plenty of nifty interfacing features, along with all the high end networking and connectivity options. One thing to note here is that, unlike the Lenovo Skylight, this UMPC has stuck with netbook-like internal features. An Intel Atom processor has been employed within. Therefore it is like a light netbook, or an extra-capable smartphone. |
| The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 is a laptop-cum-tablet. It has an 11.6″ touchscreen interface. A user can work on the touch-display directly or can attach it to a keyboard case, and continue to work from where he had left, before attaching the keyboard. Two different processors are employed for handling intensive tasks and mild ones. A hybrid switch enables the transition between them. This novel concept might click well in the market for the flexibility it offers. |  |
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The Apple iPad does offer some very impressive newbies, but absents some essential features as well. Being an Apple product, one can be assured that the touchscreen interface will definitely be pleasurable to work upon. A new eBook store, tools to accomplish official tasks and some quick search features are supposed to be incorporated in this tablet. Apple is advertising it as a device for reading eBooks, surfing the internet, listening to music and watching videos. This tablet can as well be used with a dock to link with a keyboard and for charging. Some of the features that are absent in this device include a web camera, support for Adobe Flash, multi-tasking ability and USB connectivity. There’s one important aspect that needs consideration here. If a consumer is willing to sacrifice on having an awesome touch interface, and would rather buy a tablet that comes with all these missing aspects, then there are other options that are available. |
NVIDIA, the maker of graphics processors, have developed a new chipset, the NVIDIA Tegra 2, which is supposed to produce powerful graphics for watching high definition videos and playing demanding games on ultraportables. Hence, the devices that will incorporate this chipset will really be something to look forward to.
Thus, the intermediary device between netbooks and smartphones have their own advantages and disadvantages. In choosing the one that meets your needs and lifestyle lies the answer of which of them is the best one.
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