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The story of netbooks essentially started with Asus launching its Eee PC in the latter half of 2007. Consumers really took to these lighter, cheaper versions of notebooks and a lot of other vendors, including HP, Lenovo and Dell caught on to the netbook fever by launching different variants. Ever since, around 44 million units of netbooks have been sold worldwide. The microprocessor platform predominantly used in netbooks has been Intels Atom, while AMD, VIA and ARM are also trying to cash in on this mini notebook boom.
Whats new?
In this particular context, Intel is now looking to give an edge to the Atom by releasing its new PineTrail platform with the Atom N450/N470, which has the potential to further set the sales of netbooks zooming both in India and worldwide. The current Atom(N270/N280) based netbooks have a separate main processor, a separate graphics chip, and separate controller chips managing RAM, hard drive and other components. But the new Atom platform, which is based on Intels new Nehalem architecture, brings the processor, the graphics chip, and the memory controller on a single die, says Rajesh Gupta, Director - Sales & Marketing, Intel India. This graphics and memory controller integration in CPU is set to render a better performance by a significant reduction in power consumption (consumes 20 percent less power) and form factor (60 percent smaller than their predecessors), claims the chipmaker.
Though battery life depends on the usage and features, it has been seen that on an average, the battery life in N450 netbooks with a 6 cell battery can go up to 14 hours, compared to 8-9 hours battery life in N270/280. The new N470 gives a slightly better speed of 1.83 GHz while N450 runs at 1.66 GHz. N270 and N280 used to run on 1.60 GHz and 1.66 GHz respectively. However, when you want the absolute lowest power consumption in an x86 processor, it is not the N series, but in actuality the Z series, such as the Atom Z530.
Performance, design, pricing
Intel has taken the performance expectation of Atom a notch higher with this new release. As Rajesh Goenka, VP Sales & Marketing, Rashi Peripherals, puts it, At present, Netbooks come loaded with a sufficient computing power and with more than adequate battery life which can run 8 to 11 hrs. But gradually, users will demand for more computing power, enhanced storage capacity and entertainment experience. So, in future, we are likely to see Netbooks with increased CPU performance, HDD Capacity and with dedicated graphics support.
Initial pricing of the N450 platform based Netbooks could be slightly higher than N270, depending on the availability, but down the line, we expect the prices to come down and we will see greater volumes in the new breed of Netbooks, expects Gupta.
Competition for Atom
While Atom continues to reign the netbook market, AMD has repeatedly said it has no intention of competing in this segment. Though Gateway and Asus launched AMD based netbooks, there is no momentum; nor can the availability be seen in the Indian market. When we talked to AMD, we came to know that it has taken a wait and watch approach to understand how this market evolves. "The netbook does not provide a complete experience for mainstream users. We have identified an opportunity between Atom-based netbooks and the expensive ultra portables and launched our first generation ultra-thin platform Yukon (comprised of AMD Athlon Neo processor, ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics and optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete GPU)," said Vamsi Krishna, Senior Technical Manager, AMD India. AMD's approach essentially is to deliver a full PC experience with ATI graphics chip technology within a slim form factor with a larger screen, typically of 13 inch.
But some serious competition is expected from ARM, which is going to be more competitive once the 3G and WiMax come to full play. The x86-based Atom netbooks have been already pitted against the ARM based smartbooks (which is essentially a 3G/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/WiMax enabled device with integrated wireless modem) by TI, Freescale, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, etc. which are lined up to be launched this year. In fact, ARM, the developer of 2 GHz multicore Cortex-A9 mobile processor, stokes the performance expectations further by claiming that gamers should see netbooks capable of running the latest PC game shortly. Design variations will be more on ARM based devices, which will be available on either clamshell or tablet format.
"The competition is very natural. But the unique advantage with Atom netbook is its X86 architecture and the compatibility with all PC applications, which makes it a natural continuation of existing PC segments," said Rajesh Gupta.
Price-wise, many believe that ARM's Cortex-A9 multicore processor could be a serious challenger to the current Atom breed used in netbooks and a Cortex-A9 netbook with a Linux-based operating system could sell at a price point that no Intel/Windows netbook could match.
User's Expectations
The true potential of netbooks has been limited mainly by the applications that are not optimized for its mobility and smaller screen size. Recognizing that, Intel has announced Atom Developer Program for creating useful and inventive applications on Atom which will be a great opportunity for the independent software vendors (ISVs) and developers.
But despite the limitations of usage, the resellers of course see a better value for money for the users in N450 based netbook, for the increased battery life and performance leap in almost the same price. From the pure price point of view, Atom based netbooks are a good option for users who are looking for a basic computation device and surfing purpose - a reason that the demand is growing for netbooks. It gives a good margin to resellers, if not better than notebooks. The margin on netbook generally varies from Rs. 500-1000, depending on how much the consumer can negotiate on MRP.
But there is one hitch; netbooks are still getting sold as the second computing option, and Atom is yet to find traction in the mainstream PC market. As Nitin Poddar from Netcom Computers, Indore, says, Netbooks are generally bought by the executives on the go, especially marketing professionals as a second portable PC which will suffice their basic surfing and computing needs and will not burn a hole in their pockets simultaneously. We see the release of N450 as a great opportunity to address and add value to this specific user segments, along with a strong focus on women and student buyers.
Intel also needs to understand the specific consumer requirements to consolidate this growth further. As Anil Tiwari of Om Sai Corporation, Mumbai, says, The netbooks built on the new Atom platform will be able to fulfill the user expectation to some extent, by offering longer battery life. But I feel an up gradation of RAM will definitely give a performance boost to the Atom based netbooks.
Despite the continuously growing demand, the demand and supply ratio is still not very consistent for these Atom based netbooks and that is one particular aspect that the chipmaker seriously needs to look into. Resellers often have to face occasional supply crunches of netbooks. Subrata Paul of S D Infotech, Guwahati, says, The demand for netbooks is growing very rapidly, and the supply often falls short of the demand. The release of N450 reiterates the focus of Intel on Atom, and we hope it will also make the market more stable and the supply more regular.
However, the developments in the netbook market depend a lot on how people use such devices. The optimization of the netbook usage will also play a major role. With the addition of more functional features, it seems that the netbook market will continue to grow substantially in the years to come a reason which will make chipmakers increasingly invest and drive innovations into this segment.
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