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

Buying a computer need not be expensive. While most netbooks used to be priced in the PhP 20,000 region, new netbooks are now reaching the PhP 15,000 mark. This means more affordable computing to those who need it, but don’t have the big budget.

The N150 features a 10.1 inch LED backlit screen, and a 12-hour battery. What’s great for me is that the N150 has a matte screen, which sets it apart from the usual glossy screens in most netbooks and laptops that give off glare in bright environments.

It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processors and runs Windows 7 Starter Edition. The netbook also has WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a flash card reader. The Samsung NP-N150 puts email, the web, social networking and even multimedia entertainment right in your hands. It incorporates advanced communications technologies, including and 802.11bgn wireless and 3G modem (HSPA* and WiMAX*), to provide high-speed access to the Internet and your data anytime and anywhere.

Specifications:

• Windows® 7 Starter
• Intel® Atom N455 (1.66GHz, 512KB, 667MHz)
• Intel NM10 Chipset
• 1GB DDR3 Memory
• 10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600), Non-Gloss, LED Back Light
• Intel GMA3150
• Internal Shared Memory
• 250 GB SATA HDD

The Samsung N150 retails for PhP 15,900 at official retailers, and is distributed by MSI-ECS.

Clarification: MSI-ECS says the N150 comes with a 250 GB hard drive, and not 160, as earlier reported.

Back when Apple computers were still running PowerPC chips, Apple fondly referred to the megahertz myth as an argument against Intel chips. Intel had ever-soaring clock speeds, but Apple computers said their slower-clocked PowerPC chips performed the tasks faster with better architecture. They say you can only go so high in terms of clock speed, and then beyond that, any increase in raw processor clock speed would only give marginal improvements.

Indeed, the processor is not the only defining point of a computer’s performance. And it’s not the raw clock speed that defines how well a processor chip performs, but also its architecture.

And so I now come to the “Gigabyte” myth. In this day and age, it’s not uncommon to see computers with 200+ GB hard drives. In fact, the minimum for notebook computers these days is 60 GB, I believe. Or even 80. And that’s on the low end.

Enter “netbooks,” or cheap ultraportable computers. Asus’ groundbreaking EeePC 700 series initially came with 4 Gigabytes of solid state primary storage. WTF? 4 Gigabytes? That’s anemic by today’s standards. But then you have to consider that this is an inexpensive ultraportable computer. So solid state drives were great to have, but we would have to make do with 4 GB, given cost concerns. And consider that people don’t usually use netbooks as a primary computer, but rather as a mobile computer for use when other portables are just too heavy.

And for me, this is just how I use my netbook. Mostly it’s an ultraportable computer I can keep in my bag for those times I need to go online while on the road or anywhere outside my home office or around the house . And because of this, I believe that bigger is not always better, when it comes to storage. I have a desktop Mac, and a standard-sized laptop, both of which have relatively larger hard drives. I don’t run iTunes on my netbook, and I don’t find the need to. So I’m content with the small amount of primary storage, which I could expand with SDHC anyway.

Of course the exception would be one of my netbooks, the HP Mini Note, which has 160 GB of storage (95% of which is unused), which is, in fact, the largest single piece of primary storage I have at home! But then again, the extra space is largely unused.

But back to my argument–Is it just me or does everyone else think bigger is better?

Most people I meet find my Asus EeePC 900 great, except for the small hard drive. 12GB? Could Windows fit in there, they ask?

But of course! Windows only eats up about 2GB or less. It’s a matter of optimizing the software. And the computer came bundled with Windows XP, so Windows could fit in there, for a fact! Even unoptimized, you can run your OS and your apps fine on a 4GB + 8GB setup, or some combination thereof.

A lot of online forums I visit find 4GB and even 20GB lacking, to the point that the relatively small storage space is a deal breaker. I guess those are the kinds of people who want to keep all their downloaded music on their netbook hard drive. Or their porn.

So my point is this–do you really need large storage space on a computer that is considered secondary?

Asus Philippines has done some research and found that most Filipinos would buy small notebooks as a primary computer. And so they didn’t launch the SSD-based EeePC 901 and 1000 here. Heck they didn’t even launch the 901 here. They did launch the 1000H, though, and that came with 30GB hard drives or larger.

But for me, I wouldn’t rely on a netbook as a primary computer. So I’m pretty much contented with a small drive that can hold my OS, and a handful of documents. Anyway, I could expand storage with SDHC cards. And I can burn archives to DVD anyway.

Sure, you never know when you’ll need the extra storage. Like, 20 years ago my PC-XT compatible had 20 Megabytes of storage, and I was ecstatic when I got the hard drive upgrade (where previously I just loaded everything off of 768 KB diskettes.

From my point of view, having a smaller SSD-based hard drive is better for these reasons.

• Less files to lose if your hard drive crashes, which is less likely because there are no moving parts with SSD based storage.
• You will learn to be more disciplined with what you store on your netbook. Therefore, you will have less clutter!
• You will learn to optimize your system for storage efficiency. In the process, you are likely also to learn to optimize for speed!
• Less security worries, in the unfortunate event your gadget gets lost or stolen.
• It’s a netbook, anyway. In a few months’ time, manufacturers will have better gadgets so you are most likely going to upgrade, anyway.

Bigger is better is a myth when it comes to storage–at least from certain perspectives.

Had a blast this afternoon discussing the dynamics of the EeePC and the Philippine market during the launch at Makati Shangri-La.

Came with the wife and kids. Food was great, but in my opinion, too much! I guess that’s the Chinese (Taiwanese?) way.

Will post my thoughts and tidbits of my conversation with the product managers soon. Photos, too!

Too bad no one came home with review units. The shipments were still stuck in customs!

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.)

I picked up an HP 2133 Mini Note review unit last Friday and I’m test driving this little wonder. Well, I have mixed impressions, which mostly agree with other reviews online. I have issues with responsiveness, temperature, and battery life. I’m loving the almost-full-sized keyboard, the screen and the general look and feel of the anodized aluminum casing. It reminds me of the 12″ PowerBook of old, actually.

I’m running a series on koobten.com, so you might want to watch out for that these next few days. This will help me decide whether to ultimately make the jump and acquire one for myself, or stick with the Asus Eee (or perhaps go for other brands).