Oon Yeoh

I recently completed what I call my "Mobility Tour" which saw me travel to four states across two weekends and ask people for their feedback on a new category of computers called Netbooks.

"Netbook" is a termed coined by chipmaker giant Intel in February this year to describe a category of small, low-cost, light laptop PCs optimised for Internet access and core computing functions.

Before I proceed, I need to make a full disclosure. Several companies sponsored my mobility tour, which took me to Penang, Perak, Johor and Melaka. Intel funded the various costs associated with the trips, Acer sponsored a Netbook and Adobe sponsored the software I needed to create content for my blog where I chronicled my trip.

Netbooks, it should be said, are not designed for creating rich media content such as video editing. Nor are they suitable for hardcore gamers. They are good enough, however, for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations. What they are mainly designed for is to access the Internet (thus its name).

The Netbook is powered by a new Intel chip called the Atom. These new chips are smaller, cheaper and very low power, but they are new building blocks sitting squarely within the Intel architecture — making them fully compatible with the Internet.
The main differences between a Netbook and a full-blown laptop, other than its obviously smaller size, are cost and battery life.

The Acer Aspire One, which is Linux based (a Windows version will come out later), comes equipped with a full suite of open source applications that allow you to do most of the basic things you'd do with a laptop. You actually don't have to download anything.

Best of all, it costs only around RM1,400, which is really affordable by any standard. Many of the people I interviewed noted that the price is actually cheaper than most smart phones.

Of course, its functions are different from that of a phone. People buy phones mainly for voice communications. However, people who buy smart phones usually do so because they want to also access the Internet through their phones. If Internet access is important to you, a Netbook is far more practical to use for browsing the web than a phone.

So, who are the obvious target markets?

On a global level, probably first-time buyers in developing countries where the cost of a full-blown PC is a barrier to bridging the digital divide. Netbooks are basically low-cost computers that are designed to expand the global PC market.

What about in more mature markets? I can see it being popular amongst various segments. The most obvious one will be students.

Parents who want their kids to have a computer but don't want to dish out several thousand ringgit for one can give them a Netbook as their first PC. It will allow them to do all the things young folks like to do — watch YouTube videos, chat via instant messenger, do social networking via Friendster, Facebook and MySpace, read and create blogs. And, of course do research and complete their homework assignments.

Women are another segment. Quite a few noted how handy a notebook is when placed inside a pouch, it almost looks almost like a diary or a book. Many of them said since they weren't "power users" and only need such a device to do basic things like typing documents and checking e-mail, this device is very ideal.


Adeline Lee thinks the Netbook is cute!

All of them, without exception, remarked how cute it was. One of them, aspiring model Adeline Lee (runner-up in the Malaysian Dreamgirls online reality model search competition) liked it so much, I decided to use it as a prop when taking her picture in a recent photo shoot.

What about the men? Some, especially the power users who like to play games, do intensive graphic design or edit videos, say the computing power is definitely not there. And they are right. It's definitely not meant to be a desktop replacement or even a laptop replacement. It's meant to complement those devices. It's for the road warrior who travels a lot, who's highly mobile, and who needs to access the Internet regularly.

If you want to see some of the reactions I got from the various people I met on my mobility tour, please go to www.oonyeoh.com.