Netbook Roundup: Affordable, Light and Long-lasting

[CoffeeShark]

lenovo x300 has an optical drive in a slimmer package than these subs will be. The technology is there.

[DennyCrane]

remember, Apple has already established through the MBA that the DVD drive is not necessary as a built-in on a portable machine. That's what they tell me, anyway.

I think there'll be a market for DVD drives on those rigs for travelers. There's been a definite push back against the whole idea of downloading movies. The president of Sony's N. America division said he'd fight it tooth and nail... and that what Steve Jobs did to the CD industry was unforgiveable. He says enough people will stand up to that and not let another industry fall to iShopping. Soon enough, standard DVD will fall to the wayside and (probably Blu-ray) high def will be all there is available. So downloading a full movie won't be a viable option. Much like downloading a DVD on dialup.
So, the option of a small, light, long battery life notebook that plays DVDs, plays music, accesses wireless internet and does other PC functions will be tantalizing to a lot of people. Like I said, from college students, to travelers (business and vacationers), and even folk who want an alternative to a desktop. People who (like people who gave up landlines and use a cell phone exclusively) want to always have their computer at their side.

[CoffeeShark]

People never caught on that Jobs retired the optical drive in the MBA to push downloads on iTunes to the higher-end Apple customers, not as some sort of forward-thinking endeavor.

USB-powered optical drives are available, but using them on battery power destroys operating time. Just as with the MBA, you can throw one in the bag if you need one.

As for downloading movies, I think there will be a "low-res" option for a long time to come. We think everyone is on broadband, but even so, a small 4gb movie still takes quite a while. DVD hardware isn't going anywhere soon, either, I believe the latest figures for blu-ray show a 4% market share.

Hopefully more new optical-drive designs for the sub-notebooks are coming soon.

[DJ_Wheels]

I'm completely okay with not having an optical drive and prefer not to just to save space and power. I simply don't need one very often. Even with the x300 I would opt for an extra battery over the optical drive.

With increasing hard drive capacities I would rather rip the DVDs to disk than carry DVDs with me.

[wootini]

i haven't missed an onboard optical one bit.

and denny, you're forgetting the millions of people that download video's via bit torrent. it's already here brother, been for a while now. Sony can say what they want, the intert00bs have taken over yet another form of media. They can either embrace the technology and make things reasonably affordable (ala iTunes music), or they can be ass raped by everyone with a high speed internet connection.

[DennyCrane]

20 hours to d/l an HD movie... IF you have a really good connection. My point is there's people who will want to pop in a DVD. Obviously not everyone, but certainly a segment worth selling to.

[bacon_x]

i will always buy dvds/blu rays i enjoy a lot. i like to own them

[wootini]

20 hours to d/l an HD movie... IF you have a really good connection. My point is there's people who will want to pop in a DVD. Obviously not everyone, but certainly a segment worth selling to.

obviously you're talking about Blu-Ray when you say HD? HD doesn't mean Blu-Ray level file size, it is a format over a certain spec (of which I dont recall). A nice DVD rip is considered HD and looks like a million bucks on the right rig.

[TaxiDriver]

Not to be "That Guy" But I can easily download a x264 1080p movie which is usually around 12-14 gigs in about 4 hours over Usenet, and that is on a 5 meg connection.

/Of course pirating is bad and I'm sure I will burn for it eventually

[CoffeeShark]

Not to be "That Guy" But I can easily download a x264 1080p movie which is usually around 12-14 gigs in about 4 hours over Usenet, and that is on a 5 meg connection.

/Of course pirating is bad and I'm sure I will burn for it eventually

yes, but the majority of people going to blockbuster likely

a: don't have that quick connection
b: don't have the storage for multiple movies
c: wouldn't know how to set that up to save their lives