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Toshiba Releases Their Obligatory Netbook
Posted by Mark Wilson at 11:45 PM on September 18, 2008
Say it with me everyone: 8.9" screen, 1.6GHz Atom processor, up to 1GB of RAM, 120GB HD and...you get the picture. Toshiba's offering is definitely style-aggressive, packs Ubuntu and promises a (6 cell?) battery life of 4 hours, but it's pretty much the exact $US500ish system we've seen cloned and crapped out by every laptop manufacturer in the known universe. Is there some club we don't know about where hardware developers get together for rights of passage involving ritual branding, hallucinogenic concoctions and the release of one's first netbook? We sure hope so, because otherwise this beat is getting really tired. [Register Hardware]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
wingbatwu
Posted 12:22 AM 19/9/08
@Crash Override 777: I got an Acer Aspire One with XP and replaced that OS with Ubuntu, because there were a lot of instructions available to solve the various issues.
Also, I thought using Linux would prevent my wife from wanting to play with my new toy. Well it turns out Ubuntu is so user friendly, my wife is always playing with it.
The major difference is, I got root, and she doesn't, so she can't install crapware on it.
wingbatwu
Mark Wilson
Posted 12:19 AM 19/9/08
@EVEs_Mako: What exactly do you mean? The hardware of all these systems is nearly identical. Performance should be immeasurably similar.
Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson
Posted 12:17 AM 19/9/08
@Cygnes: 6 cell if you don't want to plug it in. Most of these systems have far shorter runtime than advertised.
Mark Wilson
Cygnes
Posted 12:08 AM 19/9/08
Im looking into a NetBook. But what one? Acer seems to be the wise choice. But 3cell or 6? 6 gives you more time but it sticks out and i cant get it at a big box store where i could return it incase of a problem. And nao a Toshiba is in the mix. This looks alight but i guess id need some more info like availability.
Cygnes
Jash Sayani
Posted 12:01 AM 19/9/08
Nice one... But TOSHIBA ! No way !!! Very bad experiences with After sales services.
Waiting to get an ASUS N10.
Jash Sayani
EVEs_Mako
Posted 11:59 PM 18/9/08
Giz Gawds, please do a comparison on all of these new devices running Ubuntu. I could care less about Vista, or XP.
uu uuuu uuuuu, how about a comparison running OSX?
EVEs_Mako
Crash Override 777
Posted 11:59 PM 18/9/08
I want a netbook but don't want Windows what so ever even XP. I'll rather use Ubuntu. But my question is what makes Ubuntu so better then any other linux based OS?
Crash Override 777
Geisrud
Posted 11:59 PM 18/9/08
@jonahtaxt: I'm kinda diggin' the Asus EEEPC 1000H for the slightly bigger screen while in the same price point.
Geisrud
Geisrud
Posted 11:57 PM 18/9/08
I agree that these aren't very exciting, but the more I think about it, a netbook might be exactly what I need for taking notes in class (read: browsing while instructor lectures) and dumping pictures onto while on a trip. Ya know, lightweight, and affordable enough that the wife might actually let me buy one.
I wish they could fit more RAM on them though - esp. if they're running Vista. I thought 2GB was bare bones these days.
Geisrud
jonahtaxt
Posted 11:55 PM 18/9/08
I'm thinking about buying a netbook, the question would be... which in all of God's land is the good one? Acer, Asus, Toshiba??!??? They all seem to have the same specs, so, is there any difference besides the plastic covering those tiny chips?
jonahtaxt
lldsandsll
Posted 11:52 PM 18/9/08
yawn
lldsandsll
rcast1986
Posted 12:49 AM 19/9/08
Netbooks are officially the Steampunk of the computer design world.
It was cool for a while, but now I just wish it would go away.
rcast1986
William Mize
Posted 12:26 AM 19/9/08
I'll be plunking down for an EEE 1000H.
Everyone else is basically fighting for Asus' dinner table scraps unless they really bring something different and amazing, which I haven't seen yet.
William Mize
dc-united
Posted 12:25 AM 19/9/08
Um, that would be 'rite' of passage
dc-united
Macdelaney
Posted 1:06 AM 19/9/08
@EVEs_Mako: I second the ubuntu request!
@Geisrud: I think the 1000h has the thicker bezel of all, definetely not what i would like in one of these.
@Crash Override 777: First of all Ubuntu has the netbook specific OS (Ubuntu netbook remix) so it should work better than other distros. Also, Ubuntu is VERY user-friendly and easy to work with, so i think it'll appeal to more not-linux-using-people.
Macdelaney
AeroBrat
Posted 12:55 AM 19/9/08
EWWWW! IT'S HIDEOUS! SOMEBODY DESTROY IT, PLEASE!
AeroBrat
Loonie
Posted 2:05 AM 19/9/08
What happened to all their miniature know-how from the lovely little Portege?
Loonie
Dr.Remulak
Posted 1:56 AM 19/9/08
Honey! Sombody shrunk my laptop!!!!!
Dr.Remulak
warkrismagic
Posted 2:21 AM 19/9/08
@Crash Override 777: Ubuntu, in my experience anyway, is the most user-friendly distro that is really still fully functional, not dumbed down like gOS.
That and I find most people find even the default Ubuntu UI very appealing, most of my friends that I've had try it said they liked the looks of it way better than XP.
warkrismagic
Guizzy
Posted 2:45 AM 19/9/08
I guess it seems a pretty good option; pre-installed Ubuntu is a better idea than a crippled distro (I'm looking at you, Eee Xandros and Aspire One's Linpus Lite). And Dell won't sell me without Windows because I'm not in the US.
But the specs; it's just depressing. Not that they're bad, it's just that they pretty much all have the same specs.
I guess it's a side-effect of Atom. Without the differenciator of the CPU, there isn't much room to vary on if you want to compete at the same price point as the others.
Guizzy
strider_mt2k
Posted 2:40 AM 19/9/08
After a frustrating run with the Internet Tablet I'm going Netbook.
Not this one, but I'm going.
strider_mt2k
wingbatwu
Posted 2:36 AM 19/9/08
also forgot to add that Ubuntu's next release will be netbook-friendlier
wingbatwu
Hyman Decent
Posted 4:31 AM 19/9/08
Where are the customer service reps who will provide tech support over phone and Internet for this netbook located?
Hyman Decent
zyberteq
Posted 7:16 AM 19/9/08
They should've called it the Libretto. just like the original ones. A Libretto basically WAS a netbook just waaaaay ahead of its time. ah well
Still thinking about buying a Aspire One, but i want the 6 cell battery, 3-4hrs runtime is not enough, i want 6 at least
zyberteq
Gizmonster
Posted 2:55 AM 19/9/08
The specs of these minis are pumped up from previous ones, but still don't seem to be able to handle any more than Web Surfing and Office - which nowadays your Cell Phone can probably do.
If your requirements are lightweight though these minis might be nice with one addition - how about a docking station so you can use a real keyboard,mouse, and screen?
Gizmonster