Netbooks and Netvertables

Netbooks sit somewhere in-between a laptop and a cell phone.  You can get them real cheap from a cell provider like the Samsung Go from AT&T (No, I don’t get paid.  Maybe I should, but I don’t) for $199.00!  That’s just under a third of the retail cost for an ultra portable laptop that is always connected to the net. I think for some this will replace the need for a laptop all together.  You are already used to texting on your tiny little cell phone pad, using a device like this to take notes and use your SAAS based applications like Salesforce.com and Google Apps will be a breeze in comparison.  All these years the laptops have been getting smaller and smaller, I think we have finally found the ultimate evolution.  The performance on these devices can be a little sluggish for some tastes but the portability, price and convenience make up for it.  They come with Bluetooth, so you could even install Skype and use it as your cell phone very very cheaply.  Where these devices get me is in the “Netvertable” category.  These are essentially mini Tablet PCs like the Lenovo S10-3, you can have a detailed look at one here on Engadget.  I am very interested in pen computing.  Some of my clients prefer me not to be clacking away at a keyboard in a meeting with them.  Plus I recently saw a study on Tablet PCs in schools that showed that a laptop monitor acts as a barrier to collaboration and that students were more productive in teams using tablets then using standard laptops.  This little bad boy would do the trick for me.  And if that is too small for you there is always the standard 14 inch Tablet PCs, but I have always found those to be a bit pricey. And just so you know both Amazon and Barns and Noble have free downloadable E-reader applications for PCs, Macs and Handhelds and I am sure Apple’s isn’t far off .  Having a Netbook or Netvertable would eliminate your need for a Nook or Kindle.

Slates, Tablets and E-Readers

There was a whole lot of buzz about Apples “Tablet” on the internet months, maybe even a year, before it was released.  And then in the week before the launch I must have seen at least a hundred articles and blog posts on the thing.  For me, it’s kind of a dud. It is more then an e-reader, less then a Laptop and expensive.  Now, I am a resent convert from an Apple hating maniac.  The I-Phone and the latest OS X versions have really made me rethink my whole stance on Apple and Mac’s all together.  That being said, they did not impress me here, I’ll wait for Dell’s Android powered Streak. As for e-readers I am sure they have their place for folks out there, but I just see them eventually gathering dust once the novelty wears thin and your back to whatever other device, your laptop or cell phone, that you normally use.

In the End, It’s a Matter of Taste

When all is said and done, almost anyone could get a lot out of any these devices.  But really, do you need a third device? Do you need an E-reader a Cell Phone and a Tablet?  I don’t think so.  In fact I think a good Tablet or Slate PC could take the place of all three!  Wouldn’t that be nice?  Just one device to lug around instead of two or three?  Next we won’t even need a Tablet or Cell phone, we’ll just have little wireless communication devices embedded in our heads.  But I’ve said too much already.

It’s been a long time coming, but I have finally gotten Paragon’s blog up and running. We went with Wordpress, as it seems to be the standard out there and we are very happy with it. The hardest part was setting up our theme, or the look and feel of the blog, but once that is done everything else is easy as pie (although, from a cooks perspective pie is not really all that easy, but I digress). Wordpress is a great tool and its free, you really can’t beat it. If you are interested in getting your own blog running, please contact us today and we will set you up right away. It won’t hurt, I promise.

We will be posting to the blog pretty heavily in an attempt to keep you all informed on the latest tips, tricks and tools to make your technological life better. We will be talking about the latest trends in small business computing as well software and tools to simplify or enhance the daily lives of today’s small business owners and employees. Coming up will be articles on Evernote (my favorite new software) , Cloud Computing and its effect on Small Business and OpenEMM a free Email marketing tool that will save you thousands over Constant Contact or Ratepoint. So stay tuned, we’ll do our best to keep you interested, informed, and entertained.

Thanks for reading, and keep on coming back it will be worth it!

Signed..
Paragon System Solutions