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A look at the current notebook market dynamics reveals a paradigm shift in power, performance and form factor. A notebook weighing just about 2 kg, screen size of less than 13.3 inch, and a battery life of four plus hours was once categorized as an ultraportable notebook. This taxonomy was in vogue in early 2000. But in the last four years the notebook market has undergone a sea change, with 2005 seeing the disruptive development of Intel launching its second generation Centrino chip on the Sonoma platform that took the notebook battery back-up to new levels. That set the tone for the times to come, where one saw the emergence of the dual core era that ushered in power and performance never seen before.

All along, the notebook industry banked upon two aspectsform factor and performance. But both of these aspects had struggled to co-exist in perfection all these years. If the notebook was a performance monger, it always looked bulky and weighed a lot. On the other side, a slim notebook prioritized a sub 2 kg weight, an extended battery life, and an unreasonably high-end user price, but was not fully functional.

It is in this backdrop that Asus launched its first ever netbook that changed the rules of the ultra portable notebook market. The cheap, no frills, decent performance netbooks offered all day computing, with up to eight hours plus battery back-up. And wireless made it a gadget for the frequent executives. Surprisingly the netbook was initially conceived as a device for young adults like school/college students. But netbooks shook the ultra portable notebook market and defied vendor expectations and all vendors launched it following Asus. With Intel Atom processor at its heart, netbooks offered limited functionality, but the ASV of just about Rs 20,000 justified that.

Clearly, the emergence of netbooks altered the consumer expectations on the form factor and increasingly they looked at sleek and slim form factor notebooks and looked at machines that are one step above the netbooks with greater functionality at lesser prices. Here is where Intels Core Solo Processors are emerging as the best fit. Core Solo is an ultra low voltage processor from Intel that brings amazing battery life of eight hours, and the best part is Core Solo machine that can costs about just Rs 33,000.

Take the case of Acers newly launched Timeline series, that has redefined the ultra portable segment from a price and performance perspective. On a very thin form factor, Acer has launched the Timeline notebooks with starting prices of Rs 33,000. Yet another leading trend in the recent times is the further maturity of 13.3 and 14 inch screens, and the last quarter saw most of the vendors coming with high definition screens. With lots of free hi-definition videos on the web, a high-definition screen makes for clear display and amazing video experience with 720p HD resolution.

Small form is the current marketing mantra for vendors. Even players like HP have recently launched its ProBook notebook series, with features that were once the domain of its high price ultra portables. Says Vikram Mulye, country manager, business notebooks, personal systems group, HP India Sales, HP ProBook Standard Series notebook PCs deliver refined simplicity with a clean new design that offers both function and style. For 2009, HP business notebooks are introducing color for the first time. The 2009 HP ProBook notebook will feature a merlot color in addition to a glossy noir to an already slim profile, producing a notebook with serious good looks.

Dell, with its Studio laptops, too, is competing in this space. A look at all these developments clearly indicate the changing buyer expectations and vendors emphasis on delivering new range of products that are redefining notebooks as portable gadgets in the strict sensecompact, functional and highly affordable.

Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in

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