Cheaper NetBooks on the horizon

CES 2009 had a ton of news come out of it, but nothing truly groundbreaking that I read.  Still, there were a few interesting nuggets worth looking at a bit more for their suitability to travel technology.

One such bit was a report coming out from Freescale suggesting that $400 is too much to pay for a NetBook device and that they had found a solution to drive the prices down even further.  They’ve got a new chipset that will sell at volume discount prices such that OEMs will be able to see units at $199 or $299.

There is a review (and a bunch of photos) of some prototypes at notebooks.com that suggests it is a pretty good physical design.  The pictures look an awfully lot like the Asus AspireOne shell, with the mouse buttons on the sides of the touchpad.

There is mention of the operating system – a stripped down Linux build – and also the limited application set supported – a web browser and video player, but nothing else and no ability to install more.  That’s a HUGE problem.  There have been many “internet appliances” before, and they all sucked because they were too limited.  The concept of the $199 NetBook seems destined to follow in that path, with their different/weaker chipset and limited OS.

Don’t get me wrong – I understand the value of pricing pressure on the products.  But manufacturers need to balance price against having something that is actually functional as more than just a web browser.  Sony is nuts thinking that a $900 NetBook is competitive, but at the same time, a $199 model that doesn’t do very much is a losing proposition.  Besides, paying $400 for one isn’t such a horrible price point, and there are plenty in the $300-350 range that are pretty functional.