By Natasha Lomas, 20 November 2009 15:08
This week saw chipmaker Qualcomm taking the wraps off a range of hardware powered by its Snapdragon platform.
Among the devices on show was this Quanta smartbook prototype (pictured above and below) which runs the Google Android OS.
The smartbook - a laptop-cum-smartphone - is powered by Qualcomm's 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset. The chipmaker said an Lenovo smartbook running Android will launch on US mobile operator AT&T's network at the start of next year.
While the smartbook may resemble a common-or-garden netbook, it sports a battery life of more than eight hours and always-on connectivity - via 3G, wi-fi and other radios - in the manner of a smartphone.
Andrew Gilbert, Qualcomm's executive VP, told silicon.com: "This notion of being able to combine the form factor of a netbook with the flexibility of experience of a smartphone seems to resonate with people. People are bored of the five to seven minute start-up time of a notebook."
Different hardware form factors were also on show - including a prototype that has a separate screen and keyboard (pictured below, to the right of the Quanta device).
Are smartbooks a business or consumer proposition? Both, according to Gilbert: "If you start to think about cloud computing, you marry that with an app store in a large form factor you've actually got a great utility device, as well as a great consumer device," he said.
Photo credits: Natasha Lomas/silicon.com
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1. anonymous
It is really a smart book,it has all qualities and features which we want in our smart book.if any one plan to buy a smart book,this is a good choose.