Student Netbooks

So netbooks make a great way to take computing with you.  But how about using it to communicate both via voice and video?  Nearly all netbooks have microphones and speakers, and most have video cameras.

With the advancements made in services such as Skype and other IM clients, using a netbook for VoIP is a great way to stay in touch cheaply.  I use Skype often to communicate with    friends and relatives and the price is great…free!

At times there is jitter though on the Internet.  Afterall, there is no QoS Configuration (Quality of Service) to ensure real time traffic arrives quickly.

But most bandwidth is sufficient for a good conversation.  And again, at the prices offered, it is hard to offer you don’t get even more than you pay for.  Unless of course you are talking about chat roulette…then you may be getting more than you bargained for!

I read this article today and just could not believe it.

In summary…a professor at the University of Oklahoma declared on his syllabus that no electronics were allowed in class.  To prove his point, he submerged a laptop in liquid nitrogen and then shattered the frozen laptop on the ground.

Now it is understandable to not want electronics, like cell phones, to interrupt class.  But netbooks and laptops are terrific ways to take notes.  To ban these seem very short sighted to me.  How about you…have you run into cases of professors banning even the use of netbooks or laptops during class?

Apple officially announced the new iPad as the tablet device that has been speculated about for years.  And with it, they have created a new product catagory which many use their netbooks for, and that is casual consumption of media.

The iPad, with an on screen keyboard not really designed for lots of typing, is not really geared toward the student market.  Instead, it is really built for the consumption of content…not the production of content.

Consumption of content is more akin to watching movies, reading websites, and yes books.  Students do have a need for research – which indeed is consumption of content, but they also must produce content back in the form of term papers and note taking.

Netbooks are still an ideal choice for students given their small size.  And more and more, cheap netbooks can be had at half of what they sold for last year.

A compelling product to look for though would be netbook tablets.  That is, a netbook that has a screen which swivels, giving it a tablet-like quality.  A hybrid product such as this may be the sweet spot for students.

Netbooks are the perfect way for students to stay connected and organized while on the go.  But often, a netbook is only one computing device a student would use – they may also have a desktop and a smart phone. The trick is keeping all devices in synch with your data, whether it is notes, addresses, or messages.

They solution is note keeping systems that securely keep your notes “in the cloud”.  Cloud computing really just means a collection of servers somewhere that are accessible by you via the internet.  By using an ID and password, you can access your data from anywhere and any device.

So take notes in class with your netbook, pull them down at home to your desktop, then later refer to them from your smart phone while on your way to your test. Brilliant!

There are many services offering notes the cloud, but far our favorite is Evernote.

Whether it is notes from class, web clippings, or even voice recordings Evernote can handle it all. And the best part is that it is free!  There are desktop and iPhone apps, but it is also accessible from anywhere directly from their URL.  If you are a student, and want to get the most from your netbook, Evernote is key.

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Lenovo began taking orders for their S10 netbook on August 19.  The S10 looks impressive as a potential student netbook – particularly the 10″ screen. 

But Lenovo may have rushed to market to beat the Dell Mini 9.  Lenovo is now pushing back fulfilling orders to November 18, 2008.  Three months is a long time to wait, as market prices will most likely fall more by then – particularly with the Holiday season.

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What is a Netbook?

A netbook is a portable computer designed to be light, compact, and inexpensive.  Generally, they have a footprint smaller than a standard piece of paper – 8 1/2 by 11 inches – and only weigh 2 to 3 pounds.  Being a half to a third of the weight of a traditional notebook, they easily are meant to travel with a student, from back-pack to crowded lecture desk, to the library.  Student Netbooks will soon be seen on campuses everywhere.

What really seperates netbooks from slim notebooks, such as the MacBook Air, is that their smaller size comes at a price discount rather than a price premium.  Netbooks are typically between $300 – $500.

The reason Nebooks cost less is they do not nearly have the processing power of notebooks.  Netbooks are designed for surfing the web, taking notes, and communications (e-mail, IM, voice, and video).  Notebooks are designed as a desktop replacement.  They are swiss army knives and can do everything: all that a Netbook can do plus content creation (video editing) and gaming.  A netbook is more of a portable satellite computer to a notebook or desktop.

With the advent of keeping content “in the cloud” in terms of web e-mail, Google Docs and Notebook, and Evernote, students can be at any PC or mobile phone and their important information can be accessed anywhere, anyhow.  With ubiquitous Internet access via Wi-Fi (b/g support is a standard netbook feature), netbooks can be a worthwhile option for anyone that doesn’t need the capabilities or bulk of a regular notebook, but wish to be connected while in class, at the library, or the coffee shop.

Technorati Tags: Blackboard, Evernote, Facebook, netbook, Skype, student