I like where the notebook market is going. This Neo processor looks like a step in the right direction for AMD and this CPU is one I would be very interested in.
Atfreaking finnaly. AMD is better than Intel in one segment. It's just been a slew of 3 bad years for AMD. GJ AMD!
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2009
There seem to be about 63 sub-sub-niches of notebooks...or is it ulta-thins/ultra-lights...
OK these CPUs, best I can make out, will marketed at the higher priced, small, tiny, thinlightsmall lapnotebooks that aren't quite as diminished in some way as other classes of notebooks. Geez, some one will find a market segment that is only imaginary and will flop big time. Hope it's not AMD.
Obviously, I'm not up to date in this arena.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2009
AMD's message is "you've tried Atom and it didn't deliver the performance you wanted... and it has really really crap multimedia features. Now we've got something that's slightly more expensive, but will deliver a really good overall experience without breaking the bank... or your back."
Alright, you guys who keep up with ultra portable notebook trends, what do you think. (Please don't give me the "I wish," "I hope," "I love AMD" comments. Those are irrelevant.) No, what do you really think, is this a market winner, one that will actually bring in market share and money?
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2009
It's interesting to see AMD is fighting back using Intel's own weapons. They're creating their own market niche, just like Atom did.
Hmm. Think so? Well, OK, will it work, or will it cause big yawns at BestBuy, Circuit City, and Office Depot?
Working at Best Buy for two years, I cannot reinforce enough how much people do not want to spend $1000 on a notebook. They want the most inexpensive thing money can buy, usually the sale item, and there's nothing you can do to get them to buy a more expensive notebook for their own damn good.
On the flip, just this week I went to Microcenter and Best Buy to purchase an MSI Wind. Both stores have a fairly large stock of Atom-powered Netbooks aside from the Wind, and I heard a great number of customers talking about how the Netbooks were TOO small for them. They're old and blind and they don't like the small screens. This may sound like me being a dick, but this is the prevailing complaint I overheard.
So if they don't want to buy >$999 notebooks with serious mobile hardware, and the Netbook is too small for them, what lies in the middle? The AMD Athlon Neo.
Leo, even you appeared to be sold on the merits of the idea when it was announced in November:
This may be a very smart strategy by AMD...If Meyer believes AMD can successfully grab some of the more upscale and lucrative ultra portable market, then that's probably the direction to go.
There really aren't that many notebook classes in truth. Sorted by size:
-Desktop Replacement (DTR), 19 or 21" screens.
-Notebook, 15.4-17" screens
-Ultra-portable, 12-15" screens and an emphasis on thinness (MacBook Air, VooDoo Envy, Sony Metro)
-The Athlon Neo market
-Netbook, 8"-10" screens
I'm still compelled to give the AMD market a name, but I'm not sure what.
At any rate, they're larger than the Netbook, and have the multimedia features that normal users are expecting a notebook to have. I bought my Wind with the specific knowledge that it can't do certain things, and I'm okay with that because I wouldn't look to my Notebook for those tasks. Meh.
Having heard about this, I'm excited. I'd like a small notebook I can take with me on trips that I can use to do some work from wherever I am.
I want something that has the power to do what I need and is still portable enough that I'm not lugging around a 8-10lb monster.
I've been using my girlfriend's Dell laptop that has a 17" screen. It's nice, has the processing power for what I need, but it's just heavy as all get out. If I had something in the 4-5 pound range that could still do what I wanted AND was affordable, I'd be all over it.
The affordable part is so completely and totally the key. There are tiny laptops out there that can do what people want in terms of processing power and general usability, but they're upwards of $2k, usually (Lenovo X200, Sony SZ, some of the Asus brands, etc).
If these guys can get decent size and a small price, they'll sell like bajeezus.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2009
Good explanation, guys, thanks. Yes, when this was initially announced a couple months ago, I did think it was a good idea. When these latest ads articles and announcements came out, it was confusing, because I didn't have mind-picture of what net/lap/Neobooks would be.
They're old and blind and they don't like the small screens.
Uh, try even as young as 30+. Any time you see something with a tiny screen, you can be fairly sure it was designed by someone fairly young. (like these stinking tiny, moronic reply and PM text boxes - why a postage stamp size in the middle of a large screen - even on a laptop?)
If someone gave me one of those tiny laptops - pad, or netbook, I'd leave it sealed and sell it without a second thought. I have real adult sized fingers and eyes that have been less than good since I was nine years old.
I think the point that you're missing about these Netbooks (have you tried one?) is that the keyboards are only 8-10% away from being a full laptop-sized keyboard. They've rearranged the keys just a little to make all the primary typing keys the same size as any other notebook.
Additionally, the screens don't have a very high pixel density. No crazy small text or icons. 1200x800 screens. The screens are also very crisp, clear and bright.
They're a lot better than people make them out to be. Few have ever turned one on, much less used one.
(For the record I'm fairly near-sighted. Life is blurry beyond 4 feet)
While the screens may be wonderful, I don't think I have enough real estate to get done what I'd like to get done, and that might be the big difference for a lot of people.
That's a big factor for me as well. I would kill to have one of those in a higher res. Going from a pair of 21" widescreens to a 1280x800 or 1024x576 screen is killer. I can make do, but damn if I can't be a lot more productive on the other rig.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2009
(For the record I'm fairly near-sighted. Life is blurry beyond 4 feet)
I'll cut you some slack. <!-- / message -->
keyboards are only 8-10% away from being a full laptop-sized keyboard
That, to me, is much more important than the speed of the laptop. I had the misfortune of once having to use one of those little (but expensive!) Toughbooks. What a pain. <!-- attachments --> <!-- / attachments --> <!-- sig --> <!-- / sig --> <!-- ic-postbit-content -->
Thrax
🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
Comments
OK these CPUs, best I can make out, will marketed at the higher priced, small, tiny, thinlightsmall lapnotebooks that aren't quite as diminished in some way as other classes of notebooks. Geez, some one will find a market segment that is only imaginary and will flop big time. Hope it's not AMD.
Obviously, I'm not up to date in this arena.
Alright, you guys who keep up with ultra portable notebook trends, what do you think. (Please don't give me the "I wish," "I hope," "I love AMD" comments. Those are irrelevant.) No, what do you really think, is this a market winner, one that will actually bring in market share and money?
Working at Best Buy for two years, I cannot reinforce enough how much people do not want to spend $1000 on a notebook. They want the most inexpensive thing money can buy, usually the sale item, and there's nothing you can do to get them to buy a more expensive notebook for their own damn good.
On the flip, just this week I went to Microcenter and Best Buy to purchase an MSI Wind. Both stores have a fairly large stock of Atom-powered Netbooks aside from the Wind, and I heard a great number of customers talking about how the Netbooks were TOO small for them. They're old and blind and they don't like the small screens. This may sound like me being a dick, but this is the prevailing complaint I overheard.
So if they don't want to buy >$999 notebooks with serious mobile hardware, and the Netbook is too small for them, what lies in the middle? The AMD Athlon Neo.
Leo, even you appeared to be sold on the merits of the idea when it was announced in November:
There really aren't that many notebook classes in truth. Sorted by size:
-Desktop Replacement (DTR), 19 or 21" screens.
-Notebook, 15.4-17" screens
-Ultra-portable, 12-15" screens and an emphasis on thinness (MacBook Air, VooDoo Envy, Sony Metro)
-The Athlon Neo market
-Netbook, 8"-10" screens
I'm still compelled to give the AMD market a name, but I'm not sure what.
At any rate, they're larger than the Netbook, and have the multimedia features that normal users are expecting a notebook to have. I bought my Wind with the specific knowledge that it can't do certain things, and I'm okay with that because I wouldn't look to my Notebook for those tasks. Meh.
I want something that has the power to do what I need and is still portable enough that I'm not lugging around a 8-10lb monster.
I've been using my girlfriend's Dell laptop that has a 17" screen. It's nice, has the processing power for what I need, but it's just heavy as all get out. If I had something in the 4-5 pound range that could still do what I wanted AND was affordable, I'd be all over it.
If these guys can get decent size and a small price, they'll sell like bajeezus.
If someone gave me one of those tiny laptops - pad, or netbook, I'd leave it sealed and sell it without a second thought. I have real adult sized fingers and eyes that have been less than good since I was nine years old.
Additionally, the screens don't have a very high pixel density. No crazy small text or icons. 1200x800 screens. The screens are also very crisp, clear and bright.
They're a lot better than people make them out to be. Few have ever turned one on, much less used one.
(For the record I'm fairly near-sighted. Life is blurry beyond 4 feet)
I could be totally wrong though.