racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

My first notebook computer was a Thinkpad, and so reading this post on Yugatech made me wax nostalgic. It’s not that Lenovo hasn’t been releasing Thinkpads since it acquired the brand from IBM. But what I find interesting are the form factor and price of the latest Edge and x100e series.

Yugatech cites the x100e to have the following specs:

AMD Athlon Neo single and dual core processors or a Turion dual core. It comes in an 11.6″ form factor, a multi-touch trackpad. Aside from black, it’s also available in color red. WiFi 802.11n is standard but Bluetooth and 3G is optional.

The retail price of PhP 28,990 is particularly attractive, I think. Thinkpads used to be quite expensive (think PhP 100,000 plus expensive). I guess with the popularity of smaller, inexpensive computers, they need to compete. Thinkpads are, after all, geared toward the business market rather than the consumer market. Maybe that’s why I’m so attracted to it.

When the Asus EeePC 701 first came out in the Philippines, I snapped up my own unit. Never mind that it was a PhP 18,000 impulse decision (I guess I had a lot of spare cash lying around at that time), but in hindsight it was well worth it. The EeePC 701 had a tiny seven-inch screen, a very limited storage of 4 GB. But it was very portable—something a road warrior like myself (or so I think) would definitely find useful.

Since then I’ve had two other netbooks. One was an EeePC 900, the “upgrade” of the 701. And the other was an HP Mini note 2133. Both the 701 and the Mini note have since been sold, with only the EeePC 900 left with me. I actually sold the Mini note to finance my planned purchase of the newer HP Mini 1000 (only a couple thousand pesos to add to the price I sold the Mini note for). But after much thought, I decided to postpone the purchase. For some reason, netbooks have lost their novelty, at least to my eye.

While I still carry the EeePC in a small neoprene tote bag, I rarely bring it along when I step out of the car, unless I expect to be doing some heavy typing while on the run. I do have other, smaller, gadgets with me I can use to email when the need arises, including my Nokie E series phone and the Xperia that was generously given to me by SonyEricsson. But at my home and home office, I’ve found it more comfortable to work on my relatively bigger laptop, which is actually still small by today’s laptop standards, at 12 inches.

I’m not discouraging anyone from buying and using netbooks. They’re great pieces of work. Five years ago, a ten-inch notebook computer would cost an arm and a leg. These days, these ultraportables are getting cheaper and cheaper (unless you count the Sony Vaio P). They’re making portable computing more accessible to the masses. And they’re saving the backs of folks like me who like to bring around the Internet wherever we go.

But for really really serious stuff, I don’t think I can rely on a netbook 100%, particularly during those times when I’m not very mobile anyway. Sure, portability is great, but when you’re just working at your desk, you’d rather have a more comfortable keyboard so your fingers would work at a more natural position. You’d rather have a bigger screen, so you don’t have to squint just to see things clearly.

Yes, netbooks are still great. But in a way, the novelty of cheap, ultraportable computing is beginning to wear off.

Or perhaps that’s only the case until my next netbook purchase!

Above: laptops and netbooks stacked for size reference. Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note, HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS

Above: laptops and netbooks rounded up for size reference. Clockwise from left: HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS, Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note

Send me more review units, guys!

(These are for my reviews over at koobten.com and myasuseee.com.)

Since my work involves all things new media, my wife suggested I get a new laptop as a backup device for those times when I need power and mobility. Apart from the Mac Mini I use as my main work machine, my two-year old Compaq V2000, and the Asus Eee I carry around almost anywhere, I do certainly think I need another one.

We’ve been eyeing several brands and models previously. And this included the new Acer Gemstone series. From experience, I wasn’t too keen with Acer laptops, given some (perceived) quality issues. I thought this would be fixed with the Gemstone. But some colleagues who have been using Acer Gemstone laptops say otherwise.

So we’re left with other brands. With a budget of PhP 50,000 or less (that’s about $1,200) I know the choices are a bit limited. We could get a Fujitsu or a Sony Vaio (usually costing PhP 100,000 plus)—expensive, but probably more durable and usable than others.

Any suggestions?

Inspired by a couple of posts by Jeremy Wagstaff (Power Thieves and Power to the Consumer) I thought of compiling a list of establishments in Metro Manila that freely let users plug in their electronic devices like mobile phones, laptops, ultraportables and other devices for charging.

I know that with battery technology and computing architecture these days, you should be able to squeeze out at least three hours of life from your laptop or ultraportable. But there are just those days when you need extra juice.

These establishments usually offer either paid or free WiFi access, whether it be in-house, part of a WiFi hotspot network, or have neighboring establishments that have wireless access.

Here are a few I know. I’ll even include those that charge for electricity. Please feel free to leave a comment if you know of other places.

Quezon City

• Seattle’s Best, Katipunan – some tables even have power outlets for laptop users who want to get the most out of their Globe WIZ (paid) connection.
• Mocha Blends, Matalino Street (near Heart Center) – they charge PhP 50 for every device plugged in.

Any others?