The Sub-Notebook/Tablet format is coming…

While change is a constant given in the Technology Industry, the way the masses interact with the Internet is set to change dramatically - and possibly in the very near future…

The iPhone has changed the game in the Cellphone Industry with the first really usable touch-screen mobile phone interface. And with the announcement of their new mobile OS called “Android“, Google would like to raise the stakes even further.

Clearly there are significant changes afoot, and it seems the industry is finally realising that the current Desktop/Laptop form factor is simply not going to work in terms of placing real-time connected, useful functionality in the hands of the masses.

The first example is the Asus Eee PC 701. See laptopmag.com’s assessment below:

“This past weekend a circular advertised a Vista-powered laptop equipped with a Celeron processor, 14.1-inch display, an 80GB hard drive, and a DVD drive for only US$399. For the same price, the Asus Eee PC offers the same amount of RAM and Celeron processor but a smaller seven-inch display, a measly 4GB of storage space, and no DVD drive. And yet there’s no way we would give up this two-pound wonder for a “regular” notebook. The Eee PC may be designed to appeal to children and older customers, but it should also tempt anyone looking for a lightweight budget PC that weighs next to nothing and connects to the Internet easily. It’s ten times simpler to use than any Windows machine, starts up twice as fast (no crapware!), and is only about a fifth of the cost of other systems in its weight class. It’s a little rough around the edges, but the Eee PC is a remarkably versatile machine for the price.”

Then we have the US$200 OLPC XO Laptop - which has finally started mass production in China. Here’s an excerpt from David Pogue’s recent review:

“The computer, if you hadn’t already guessed, is the fabled “$100 laptop” that’s been igniting hype and controversy for three years. It’s an effort by One Laptop Per Child (laptop.org) to develop a very low-cost, high-potential, extremely rugged computer for the two billion educationally underserved children in poor countries.

The concept: if a machine is designed smartly enough, without the bloat of standard laptops, and sold in large enough quantities, the price can be brought way, way down. Maybe not down to $100, as O.L.P.C. originally hoped, but low enough for developing countries to afford millions of them — one per child.

The laptop is now called the XO, because if you turn the logo 90 degrees, it looks like a child.”

Lastly, there are now rumours of an Apple Tablet (also by Asus) in the works from Crave.

“We’re tempted to ignore all Apple rumours because there’s just so many of them, but this rings true because Asus is Apple’s contract manufacturer. It’s one of the companies responsible for building the iBooks, PowerBooks and MacBooks of this world, so when their guys tell us they’re building an Apple Tablet, we believe them.

So, can Apple turn the Tablet PC into a success when previous attempts have failed? The short answer is ‘yes’. Any company that can make a mobile phone with no buttons, no picture messaging, slow Web access and no video capture into the most desirable phone on the planet can easily make tablets popular.”

All of these devices are aimed at making the Internet more usable and easier to access by more people. Once again, it may take a while in terms of the right price-points and distribution to hit the tipping point but once it does, I expect to see a radical increase in the number of online users and hence, a significant reduction in the digital divide.

Potentially, this trend deserves yet another gasp of “This changes everything…”

Originally from TechGripe! by Brett Ryland (6 November 2007).

Update: Checkout this similar artcile by Jon Stokes.