5 ms·

A Netbook that makes you go wow

19 points by davidz 18y ago

sunilbhargava 18y ago
Netbooks with great usability and gizmos that make for interesting apps(gps, touch etc) combined with a billing system that allows for subscription pricing for services would be as explosive as an iphone and the app store. It would be great way for companies to drive up the revenue beyond what they get from laptops today.
- ja2ke 18y ago
  The App Store has nothing to do with subscription pricing. Are there explosively successful consumer software subscription services? All the ones I can think of which get close to piercing the general consumer consciousness are also-rans (Napster, Rhapsody), or are hardware locked (Xbox Live Arcade, which is more paying for arbitrary online access to Microsoft than anything -- the actual game content is still priced outside of the subscription, and on competing services on the Wii and PS3 online connectivity itself is free). I can't think of any subscription based marketplace (either subscribe to browse the contents of this marketplace risk free, or a marketplace for various subscription services) that has ever really caught in digital space. I'd love to be told what I'm missing here though! I don't really pay attention to this stuff from anything other than an end-user standpoint so I'd be interested in some great service or network I didn't know about.
jbum 18y ago
Not news. Thinly disguised marketing ploy.
- swombat 18y ago
  I have nothing against people discussing their start-ups, and even posting that up to the top of HN, but the attempt to obfuscate is, in this case, what is irritating. Half of us are entrepreneurs. We know you want to pitch your start-up. So pitch it already and be done with it. Don't try to make it into an "interesting article" unless you're able to write a genuinely interesting article (which this is not).
davi 18y ago
We think there’s a third alternative which is much more enticing for the consumer and the manufacturer – make a netbook that is a pleasure to use and can serve as a gateway to lucrative subscription services. How about making a netbook that is a pleasure to use and can serve as a gateway to data I serve from my home computer?
quantumhobbit 18y ago
The problem with netbooks is that they occupy a market position sandwiched between smartphones and full-featured laptops. A netbook that is only sold with 3G service sounds very much like Apple's business model with the iPhone.
peregrine 18y ago
My G1 is practically a netbook, I can browse, I can use maps, I can download applications, read ebooks, alarm clock, develop for it. Anything I can do for a netbook I can do on the g1. Short of flash and java. Its getting better every release :)

19 points by davidz 18y ago

Netbooks with great usability and gizmos that make for interesting apps(gps, touch etc) combined with a billing system that allows for subscription pricing for services would be as explosive as an iphone and the app store. It would be great way for companies to drive up the revenue beyond what they get from laptops today.

ja2ke 18y ago
The App Store has nothing to do with subscription pricing. Are there explosively successful consumer software subscription services? All the ones I can think of which get close to piercing the general consumer consciousness are also-rans (Napster, Rhapsody), or are hardware locked (Xbox Live Arcade, which is more paying for arbitrary online access to Microsoft than anything -- the actual game content is still priced outside of the subscription, and on competing services on the Wii and PS3 online connectivity itself is free). I can't think of any subscription based marketplace (either subscribe to browse the contents of this marketplace risk free, or a marketplace for various subscription services) that has ever really caught in digital space. I'd love to be told what I'm missing here though! I don't really pay attention to this stuff from anything other than an end-user standpoint so I'd be interested in some great service or network I didn't know about.

jbum 18y ago

Not news. Thinly disguised marketing ploy.

swombat 18y ago
I have nothing against people discussing their start-ups, and even posting that up to the top of HN, but the attempt to obfuscate is, in this case, what is irritating. Half of us are entrepreneurs. We know you want to pitch your start-up. So pitch it already and be done with it. Don't try to make it into an "interesting article" unless you're able to write a genuinely interesting article (which this is not).

davi 18y ago

We think there’s a third alternative which is much more enticing for the consumer and the manufacturer – make a netbook that is a pleasure to use and can serve as a gateway to lucrative subscription services. How about making a netbook that is a pleasure to use and can serve as a gateway to data I serve from my home computer?

quantumhobbit 18y ago

The problem with netbooks is that they occupy a market position sandwiched between smartphones and full-featured laptops. A netbook that is only sold with 3G service sounds very much like Apple's business model with the iPhone.

peregrine 18y ago

My G1 is practically a netbook, I can browse, I can use maps, I can download applications, read ebooks, alarm clock, develop for it. Anything I can do for a netbook I can do on the g1. Short of flash and java. Its getting better every release :)