Laptop buying advice : Small Laptops for Word Processing only?
Small Laptops for Word Processing only?
by wordtop - 8/3/06 11:36 PMI wonder if any company has ever thought of developing small notebooks which are very cheap, to cater for a specific group of computer users - those who use laptops mostly for WORD PROCESSING ONLY.
I know there are small notebooks around, such as Fijitsu's P series, which have screens of roughly 8-10 inches wide. But they are too expensive. They come with all sorts of functionality - DVD drive, sophisticated sound and video display etc.
For many computer users, these features are seldom used, and therefore unnecessary, honestly. People like college students, journalists, lawyers, and those who primarily use their laptops for word processing only would seldom use their laptops for viewing DVD (they can do it on their desktops) or listening to music (they have MP3 for that). But these functionalities add to the costs of the laptops (especially if small laptops) tremendously, making it very expensive to have small size notebooks.
For this group of users, it is too expensive for them to buy a tiny notebook, not least because they dont need most of the expensive features. So, it's simply not worth it to buy an expensive small laptop for word processing alone. (In fact, if you ask me, it's not just about small laptops - ALL laptops are a waste of money for this group of users.)
So, why not develop a kind of tiny notebook just/primarily for word processing (or MS Office + Internet) functionalities only, which will be much cheaper than conventional notebooks but a bit more expensive than pocket PC, and is half the size of a A4 size paper (when folded; full A4 size when unfolded) which would be very convenient and relevant to this group of users?
PDAs
by Diirewolf - 8/4/06 12:19 PM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtopWell thats where Windows Mobile powered PDAs come into action, some also equipped with a phone. These cost no more than $700, much cheaper than a Laptop. Some have keyboards (such as the Imate JASJAR or HP ipaq hw6915 etc.) and these are powered by windows, so you have programs such as ms word, excel, powerpoint, access etc. and also internet explorer, msn messenger and much more. Some have Wifi capability so you can connect to hotspots or home networks and use the internet there so practically its a laptop but less powerful and much smaller in size. No need to invent a mini-laptop that runs windows XP. check out the imate JASJAR http://www.imate.com/t-DETAILS_JASJAR.aspx
and the HP ipaq hw6915
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/me/en/sm/WF05a/1770577-1770579-1770579-1770579-1770607-12343228.html
PDAs screen too small, but that's a good example...
by wordtop - 8/7/06 8:34 PM In reply to: PDAs by DiirewolfYou cant see much in a PDA. It's difficult when you are reading large documents with many pages. Plus, the keyboard is clumsy, you have to fold etc - an open-and-shut laptop would be much more convenient.
But I agree that PDA is the closet thing available: MS Office (plus reading Pdf, and all the word-related programs you need for paper-oriented jobs) + Internet browsing would do for me, and I dont need phone, music or movie functions. I have home desktop (or home DVD Theatre, for some) and portable mp3 player for those.
(That's where my needs are almost completely opposite from Iwantone's, next post. And I actually think that a smaller-than full size keyboard is just nice.)
Actually, if PDA is feasible, why not just enlarge the monitor a bit (into a half-A4 size) plus a complete keyboard?? PDA proves that you can have:
- a small motherboard;
- windows OS and graphic display;
- a size smaller than the 'micro size' laptops;
- not-so-powerful processor and RAM;
- all at a much lower cost than a full-blown laptop!!
I'm sure if someone just buy some fairly out-dated laptop technologies (e.g. barely 1G Hz processor, + 256 RAM would be more than enough for powerful, efficient word-processing) and mix them into a package, and then sell it at the price of a medium range PDA, it sure can create a new niche market.
Perhaps you can add an external CD ROM drive too, solely for reading programs (for repairing OS, MS Office, and installing miscellaneous word-related programs).
- Although, it is not for movie and music (because adding them would blow the costs out of proportion for Word Processing needs; but if you can do either one (like music) for only a tiny increase in costs, why not?)
- and it won't require you to make the motherboard smaller (hence cheaper) to accomodate the CD ROM Drive within the space allocated for the motherboard.
As for storage, a detachable 2GB easy drive would be more than enough for word proccessing purposes. For safe measure, let's have 3-4 USB ports.
I honestly think that a middle-ground product between a (full-function) laptop and a PDA would cater for our specific needs. Any takers?
Why this will never happen.
by R. Proffitt
- 8/8/06 8:45 AM
In reply to: PDAs screen too small, but that's a good example... by wordtop
"Economies of scale" explains this neatly. We already can find laptops for 399 here and there so to go cheaper it's not the cost of parts but the entire system plus OS, software and more.
Those that have little exposure to what drives costs in products may argue that using a smaller hard disk, cheaper CPU or such will result in a lower cost but unless you vastly redesign the basic PC and get away from the PC altogether you will not find any lower price.
There is a solution in PDAs but I see you don't want to give up your plush big screen or much else.
Maybe the 100 dollar laptop for third world countries is what you want? It's battery costs are slashed too and you'll be pulling it's string to charge it up. Here's the link.
http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
Hopefully you'll catch up on why things cost what they do and see that the only way to slash the costs are nicely shown in that effort.
In closing, why must this be a laptop? There are some million PCs headed for landfills each year that meet your requirements.
Bob
'Need-based' Computing, and stop patronising the Consumers
by wordtop - 8/9/06 1:16 AM In reply to: Why this will never happen. by R. Proffitt
Thanks for the reply.
To answer your points:
- Why not PCs? Because they are not portable, which is the whole starting point of my line of thinking to begin with.
- Why not PDAs? It's not just about "plush big screen or much else." I always use my computers to read 3 word documents/webpages/pdf or more at the same time. You can cut and paste from one to the other, and editing is much easier too. Using PDA is like working with a notepad but using laptop is working on a (bigger) table, you can do more than 1 thing at 1 time.
About costs, I must confess I dont know much about how the costing works, but I always believe that in capitalism, nothing is inevitable or unfeasible. Someone somewhere will soon find a way if there's enough demand for it.
(But honestly, I cant understand why you got so worked up about this - are you saying that idiots like me who have "little exposure to what drives costs in products" should not ask these stupid questions in the first place?? After reading your comments (without any precise or detailed explanations of how it's unfeasible and requires a 'redesigning' of the entire system) Maybe that was a stupid question, but then I would never have known it if I didnt ask.)
I dont know enough to agree or disagree with "unless you vastly redesign the basic PC and get away from the PC altogether" but I would choose to think that it doesnt have to be that way. Outdated technologies which are much cheaper might be available for those who are clever enough to mix and match them together. The the $100 laptop idea is a perfect example.
Maybe it's time the computer manufacturers start revolutionising their approach to design and production: Dont just produce what you think are the best 'package' and expect the consumers to just accept them. Start asking what kind of 'unfulfilled needs' (ok, that's not exactly what I meant...) are there out there and then aim to fulfil them.
Ask not what you think is good for the consumers but what the consumers really need from you. Stop patronising us.
And thanks for your link about the $100 laptop, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Maybe there's food for thought in the following extract from http://www.laptop.org/faq.en_US.html:
"How is it possible to get the cost so low?
* First, by dramatically lowering the cost of the display. The first-generation machine will have a novel, dual-mode display that represents improvements to the LCD displays commonly found in inexpensive DVD players. These displays can be used in high-resolution black and white in bright sunlight—all at a cost of approximately $35.
* Second, we will get the fat out of the systems. Today's laptops have become obese. Two-thirds of their software is used to manage the other third, which mostly does the same functions nine different ways.
* Third, we will market the laptops in very large numbers (millions), directly to ministries of education, which can distribute them like textbooks."
As in such forums, 1/2 the time...
by R. Proffitt - 8/9/06 3:52 AM
In reply to: 'Need-based' Computing, and stop patronising the Consumers by wordtop
The message is misread. I'm not worked up about this but simply sharing some basic reasons why you don't find this laptop today. If there was truly a market for it, then it would be there.
The 100 dollar laptop is a fine endeavor but for me it's a dead end.
Sorry to have sent you the feeling I'm worked up about this. My background is in a few commercial electronic and software designs so I can write with some authority.
Bob
Bygones; but, carry on...?
by wordtop - 8/9/06 5:43 PM In reply to: As in such forums, 1/2 the time... by R. Proffitt
Ok, maybe I've misread your post. I guess it's not easy being someone who feels that he can speak with authority - 1/2 the time you forgot to tone it down AND the reader/listener will over-react. Bygones.
"The 100 dollar laptop is a fine endeavor but for me it's a dead end." Could you elaborate? I'm keen to know what you think about it, in specific details if you so wish.
I guess it's not going to be as lucrative as the 'excessively fat' but increasingly irrelevant laptops for the major manufacturers, but if you count the volume of potential sales (as cheap as a high-end calculator? and low after-sales maintenance?) it might work out just the same?
The 400 buck laptop.
by R. Proffitt - 8/9/06 6:01 PM
In reply to: Bygones; but, carry on...? by wordtop
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/01/wal-mart-and-the-400-laptop/
You'll see this unit accepted by today's marketplace. It runs the OS that people are used to and we can install Open Office to save the other 500 bucks we would have to pay out for Microsoft Office.
Hope that comes close.
You seem to still think I have some ax to grind. So here's why the 100 buck laptop is a deadend for me. I can't use it for my clients and therefore it won't create income for me. Hope this explains my statement.
Bob
Understood
by wordtop - 8/9/06 7:30 PM In reply to: The 400 buck laptop. by R. Proffitt
$400 laptop: screen's too big, too heavy. but like i said from day 1, it's just an idea i had, i didnt expect to find such a product in the current market.
thanks anyway, and i think we're getting there... 
deadend: understood. time to find another forum perhaps? ;P thanks dude!
Kind og agree but
by Iwantone - 8/4/06 12:55 PM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtopI just bought a very expensive Sony TX "micro laptop" as my "travelling" laptop since it is so light. I use some sync software to synch my "My Documents" folders and pst Outlook file. The features of this laptop are perfect for travelling- turn on DVD player and CD music about turning the laptop on. And the screen is absolutely perfect BUT the one thing these "micro laptops" need to do is make the unit just a LITTLE BIT wider and put FULL SIZE KEYS ON THE KEYBOARD- or 95% full size- the Sony is SLIGHTLY better (by parts of a millimeter) than the Fujitsu P series but if they do make them for Word Processors as you say- I think the standard PC functionality is fine, then make the keyboard the right size and feel. Lenovo did this with the X series but the screenis not that good and the optical drive is external NO WAY would I buy that.
May want to look at the used market
by Evie - 8/17/06 6:56 AM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtopThere are enough laptops around where the bells and whistles break but the basics are solid for word processing.
http://www.calcuscribe.com/
http://www.engadget.com/2004/08/31/the-alphasmart-neo-portable-word-processor/
One of these might do the trick if you're entering text "on the fly" and you don't mind formatting later on your PC. But they seem rather limited and somewhat overpriced for what you get.
Evie
thanks, Evie
by wordtop - 8/18/06 1:00 AM In reply to: May want to look at the used market by Evieyup, overpriced indeed. it's more of a wild idea from me than an expectation to find something.
i just hope that the computer manufacturers will change their mindset, focus on what consumers really need instead of patronising us with fatter and fatter products which most people cant afford...
Thinkpad X60
by Nooorm - 8/18/06 8:31 AM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtop2.7 lbs, 12.1" screen and a FULL SIZE keyboard. I would think the keyboard would be a major factor on a laptop being used "mostly for WORD PROCESSING ONLY."
Toshiba Libretto
by linkit - 8/18/06 6:44 PM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtopFrom my experience, the smallest standard screen in mass production is 12.1''. Start with those if you want new.
The Toshiba Libretto seemed to fit your size needs, but it was a little thick. One of the problems with the smaller notebooks is that they tend to have comfort issues with slightly less than full-sized keys/keyboards. Not great for heavy word processing.
Today, cheap word processsors are PIII/Celeron notebooks on eBay or refurbished models from places like Geeks.com. If no OS, install a Linux distribution and Open Office as mentioned by R. Proffitt.
'Need-Based' Computing...
by wordtop - 8/20/06 5:52 PM In reply to: Small Laptops for Word Processing only? by wordtophi Nooorm and linkit,
the bigger point is, most laptops nowadays contain 'excessive fat', lots of funcions and features which are near-redundant for word-users. see the first thread of discussion above.
keyboard and screen size - 12" is not that easy to carry around. 10" or half the size of A4 paper is much more convenient, just like a book. i think it's a bit subjective whether 10" keyboard is comfortable or not. i must confess i havent used a 10" laptop for 'heavy word-processing' before, so i cant deny your view there. but i think to a certain extent it depends on the sizes of your palms i guess - and god's creatures come in all sizes...
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