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Everex's 7" CloudBook  (Source: Everex)
Everex to join ASUS with larger screens on its CloudBook sub-notebook

A little over a week ago, DailyTech first brought you the news that Everex is taking aim directly at ASUS' popular Eee PC sub-notebook with its VIA C7M-powered CloudBook.

The CloudBook mirrors the Eee PC in size, weight, and screen size; but it manages to incorporate a much larger 30GB HDD, DVI output and longer battery life. Best of all, the CloudBook will retail for $399 when it arrives at Walmart.com and Newegg.com later this month.

Despite the fact that the first generation CloudBook hasn't even hit store shelves yet, Everex is already discussing plans for its successor. The second generation CloudBook, which has a tentative June release date, will incorporate a 9" screen. The 9" screen should boost the CloudBook's screen resolution from 800x480 on the current 7" model to 1024x600.

Pricing for the 9" CloudBook is expected to come in "under the $500 mark" which roughly translates to $499 in marketing speak.

ASUS is also looking to add larger screens with its second generation Eee PCs. ASUS recently confirmed that the next iteration of its Eee PC will be available with 7”, 8” and 8.9” displays.

Not surprisingly, some analysts are dismissing the rise of such cheap, ultra-portable machines from ASUS and Everex. Despite the relatively low price tags, Stephen Baker, an analyst for NPD Group, says that Apple's MacBook Air has more appeal than either the Eee PC or CloudBook.

"Even if [the Eee or CloudBook] go to the 9-in. screen, they're probably still going to be handicapped by Linux, which is not something you should give to a mainstream consumer," said Baker. “I can get a pretty decent [$500] notebook with a 15-in. screen that will do anything that I want it to do. ... The Eee and CloudBook are destined to be niche-y products."

Baker’s rather obvious comment that a 15” notebook can be had for the same price as a 9” Eee PC or CloudBook misses the mark, however. A 15” notebook is not as portable as a 7” or even a 9” sub-notebook.  Consumers were willing to a pay a higher price for smaller notebooks in the past. This time around, however, the price premium for a smaller, fully-functional device is much lower.

"Honestly, some people will find the CloudBook a little too small," countered Paul Kim, Everex's director of marketing. "But we're not trying to be all things to all people."

Interest in the affordable, easy to use sub-notebook category is booming thanks to the Eee PC. ASUS' early 2008 sales projections for the Eee PC were 3.8 million units. ASUS has since revised that figure to 5 million units for 2008.

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Ok, this guy is obviously an idiot.
By Goty on 1/17/2008 11:52:38 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
"Even if [the Eee or CloudBook] go to the 9-in. screen, they're probably still going to be handicapped by Linux, which is not something you should give to a mainstream consumer,"...


Mainstream consumers aren't handicapped by Linux, Linux is handicapped by the computer illiterate masses.




By clovell on 1/17/2008 12:01:39 PM , Rating: 4
That made me think of

Chuck Norris doesn't get hit by a car; a car gets hit by Chuck Norris.


By Warren21 on 1/17/2008 12:05:51 PM , Rating: 2
To-mAY-to, to-mAH-to.


RE: Ok, this guy is obviously an idiot.
By amanojaku on 1/17/2008 3:58:10 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Mainstream consumers aren't handicapped by Linux, Linux is handicapped by the computer illiterate masses.


I'm not computer illiterate, having been an admin for over 10 years, first on UNIX, then Windows, and more recently Linux. At home I wouldn't touch Linux with a 10 foot pole because there's so much work involved in getting it to function, never mind making changes to the system. Yes, things are getting simpler, but not to the level of Windows, or even the Mac OS.

Not that I like Windows (Oh God! I hate Windows) but it suits the every day user's needs. And who wants to learn a complex OS when life has enough complexity? People even think that learning Windows is too much effort. A computer should look like a basic calculator, not look like Dirac's coup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirac_equation#Dirac....


By Talcite on 1/20/2008 7:56:29 PM , Rating: 2
Try Ubuntu if you think there's too much work. Granted Gentoo systems would take a while to implement, but if you just want it to work, use Ubuntu. It sets up faster than XP does, and don't tell me otherwise. I JUST set up 2 systems, 1 with XP, one with Ubuntu. There's no driver installation required in Ubuntu, and most apps are already installed. You can go to the repos for the others.


By Pirks on 1/17/2008 7:21:28 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Mainstream consumers aren't handicapped by Linux, Linux is handicapped by the computer illiterate masses.
Funniest piece of BS I heard today. So there are two Unices, Linux and Mac OS. One is handicapped by illiterate masses while the other IS DESIGNED FOR illiterate masses. Guess who wins? Linux is dead for the masses. If Mac OS X haven't appeared in current Unix for Linux may have had a chance to become a mass OS. Not anymore - Jobs is choking it, and does it much much better than Ballmer ever could. Just look at all those laptops Unix people use these days. Familiar logo on top, isn't it?

You just made my day, Goty. Thanks.


By Ringold on 1/17/2008 8:18:44 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Mainstream consumers aren't handicapped by Linux, Linux is handicapped by the computer illiterate masses.


Sour grapes?

And some people wonder why linux/OSS gets conflated with "communism" in the minds of other people.

Here's an unfortunate fact of life. Products fail or succeed not because an elite tech aristocracy (which is what you just sounded like) wishes it to succeed, it succeeds because it fills the desires of the market/masses. Even if its not sold for money, linux is indeed a product in a market. Linux just fails in current forms. Mac wins, Windows wins.

Even Marx would agree whole heartedly.


All else being equal
By clovell on 1/17/2008 11:37:00 AM , Rating: 4
Mr. Baker makes a pretty naive comparison. I'm sure an Aston Martin also has more appeal than a Chevy (sorry, FIT, I had to). UMPCs have always been a niche market. Costs have historically kept them from people who who don't prioritize size and weight at the top of their list of things they want in a PC. The EEE PC and the CloudBook are rewriting those long-standing rules.

Now, I'm sure the MacBook Air is a fine machine - it does what Apple does best - take an existing design and make it better. It also costs $1800 for the base model. Now, if the OS is the only hit that Mr. Baker can muster, I would expect any consumer with sense about cents would rather buy an OEM - or heck, even retail version - of XP for $100 to $200 and install it on their EEE PC or CloudBook before they'd drop another $1k on a MacBook Air.

The EEE PC and CloudBook aren't meant to compete with the MacBook Air, and vice versa. The MacBook Air is on a fairly even playing field with the rest of the well-established UMPC market. The EEE PC and the Cloudbook may have a niche market, but they've got it all to themselves.... until Apple does it what it does best ;)




RE: All else being equal
By masher2 (blog) on 1/17/2008 2:23:19 PM , Rating: 2
All true, but I think you're missing a little of the picture. I was considering the larger-screen Eee for those times when I don't want to lug around my full-size. But after seeing the Mac Air, I think I'll just make sure my next "fullsize" goes on the slimline diet.

Among people without any laptop at all, the Eee/Cloudbook are indeed in their wholly own market segment. Among those considering it as a second laptop, I think there will be at least a small measure of overlap.


RE: All else being equal
By Ryanman on 1/17/2008 3:34:23 PM , Rating: 2
I DO agree with you there. I think for those who already have machines, the draw is smaller. Maybe just a spare laptop to use on the wi-fi network for writing/emailing etc. in bed or something. In my opinion, the thinness of the mac air isn't what would appeal to the EEPC market... the smaller screens mean that these laptops can actually be carried in more places throughtout a house or something.


RE: All else being equal
By Oregonian2 on 1/18/2008 5:15:41 PM , Rating: 2
The EEE is MUCH cheaper than Apple's product, it's also lighter. It also doesn't have to be sent in to have its battery replaced.


RE: All else being equal
By honeg on 1/17/2008 7:00:59 PM , Rating: 2
> I'm sure an Aston Martin also has more appeal than a Chevy

I like this analogy a lot, but lets make it a Jeep Wrangler instead, and see where it leads...

Aston: bigger, faster, more beautiful, more comfortable, more modern

Jeep: smaller, slower, ugly as sin, more capacious, more modifiable

You can still get wherever you want to go in either, but the Aston is going to make it a more enjoyable trip - it'll be faster, smoother, and you'll have a lot more toys to play with on the way there. On the other hand, you can take the difference in price and live large when you get there if you buy the Jeep. Or buy another Jeep as backup. Or 4.

You wouldn't think twice about going off-roading in the Jeep, so you'll go everywhere in it. The Aston is just too big to go some places, so you won't take it, or won't go.

The Aston can be souped up, but it'll be a custom job, and cost a fortune. Any mechanic on the planet can soup up the Jeep, but the limits on what you can achieve are lower.


analyst??
By DeepBlue1975 on 1/17/2008 12:28:06 PM , Rating: 3
This baking guy is an analyst of what??
Of technology, surely not. That kind of comparison between a 13" $1300+ notebook like a mac air with something which is one third in size, one half the weight and less than one half the price can only be forgiven to a computer illiterate.

If at least he would have compared the macbook with a Sony UX UMPC which are roughly in the same price league (and yet in that case the comparison wouldn't be fair anyway!!)

Let this silly guy travel around with the heft and size of a 15" laptop while I can gladly travel buy bus while watching tv series chapters on an EEE or playing old MAME / Scummvm games on it.

Well, by now I'm doing those things on a PDA that has costed me more than what the EEE does but will be replaced by an EEE as soon as they get the bigger screen.




RE: analyst??
By psychobriggsy on 1/17/2008 12:42:06 PM , Rating: 2
is one third in size, one half the weight

The volume of the MacBook Air is said to be less than the volume of the EeePC, despite the larger area, because it is so thin. Being so much more densely packed makes it weigh 50% more.

Lots of room for the EeePC to improve in terms of making the product slimmer, in my opinion.


MacBook Air niche-y?
By CU on 1/17/2008 12:51:51 PM , Rating: 2
"Even if [the Eee or CloudBook] go to the 9-in. screen, they're probably still going to be handicapped by Linux, which is not something you should give to a mainstream consumer," said Baker. “I can get a pretty decent [$500] notebook with a 15-in. screen that will do anything that I want it to do. ... The Eee and CloudBook are destined to be niche-y products."

Wonder if he thinks the MacBook Air will be a niche-y product because he can buy a $500 notebook with a 15in. screen? After all it will probably do more than the MacBook Air.




RE: MacBook Air niche-y?
By JoshuaBuss on 1/17/2008 1:46:27 PM , Rating: 2
this is exactly what I'm thinking.

Givn that the EEE pc ALREADY has at least one competitor, I'd say that it's probably the choice that's already got some kind of a 'market' already established... the macbook air is more nichey than anything remotely related to it.. it's not as small in the dimensions that matter as some of its competitors and it's a lot heavier and even more expensive.. yet it still manages to miss some key aspects such as the replaceable battery and ethernet port! hah


RE: MacBook Air niche-y?
By XPguy on 1/17/08, Rating: -1
RE: MacBook Air niche-y?
By Pirks on 1/17/2008 7:43:07 PM , Rating: 1
It's not bad you moron, it's just slim and portable, and does not run some heavyweight PC games well. For people who want small and quiet computers, and who don't play those heavy PC games a lot this hardware is very good. And there are a lot of such people in the US judging how Mac sales numbers grow quarter to quarter.


WTF
By malatory on 1/17/2008 3:37:21 PM , Rating: 2
"Even if [the Eee or CloudBook] go to the 9-in. screen, they're probably still going to be handicapped by Linux, which is not something you should give to a mainstream consumer,"

what, why not?? isn't Mac os built on a unix type kernel.

and I feel the 399 vs 1300 debate is also proof he should be out of a job.




RE: WTF
By Pirks on 1/17/2008 7:45:04 PM , Rating: 2
"unix type kernel" doesn't matter, it's the user interface/experience that matters


Time will tell?
By eye smite on 1/17/2008 11:09:23 AM , Rating: 2
If it's affordable and easy to use/learn, people will buy it and tell their friends and family. Word of mouth will do the rest and it may prove an interesting market that may not stay a niche for long.