Nokia May Have an ARM-based Netbook

[JMcEntegart]

Sources say that in addition to Nokia's Atom-based 3G Booklet, the company will also offer an ARM-powered netbook/mini notebook.

Nokia May Have an ARM-based Netbook : Read more

 

[burnley14]

If their netbooks are anything like their phones, I'll avoid both. I've never been impressed by Nokia's product quality, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Kaiser_25]

i agree with burnley nokia does put out low grade crap...typically

 

[bustapr]

What's ARM?

 

[megamanx00]

Well, they have used ARM in a number of their phones so it's not surprising. I'll reserve judgment till they actually hit the streets though.

 

[jhansonxi]

ARM is a

 

[jhansonxi]

ARM is a non-x86 compatible CPU known for it's low power. The ARM is just a CPU core design that is licensed to other companies that make various chips based on it.

(Note - don't try to log in while in the middle of posting a message. TH doesn't handle that well.)

 

[Niva]

I'll voice a dissenting opinion, I've loved my Nokia phones over the years. Yeah arm is not a phenom or nahalem CPU but neither is the Atom. I'd love to have an arm based netbook with linux on it if the craftsmanship of the device is up to Nokia's standards (which are very high imo.) Cheers!

 

[lifelesspoet]

I have waited long for an arm based mini notebook, and if the specs are similiar to the atom based one mentioned a few days prior I imagine having a hard time fighting the impulse to get one.

 

[malphas]

"What kind of Nokia netbook would you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!"

ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, 10" 1920x1080 OLED touchscreen, integrated IEEE 802.11n wifi/Bluetooth/mobile broadband module, USB 3.0, SSD, 9 cell battery, Chrome OS.

Not going to happen, but that's basically my ideal netbook.

 

[Guest]

Negative Nokia comments come often from the States where they don't even have most of Nokia models. I've been totally happy with my E71.

If Booklet's Windows 7 runs under Maemo virtual machine.. now that would be something.

 

[Guest]

[citation][nom]malphas[/nom]10" 1920x1080 OLED touchscreen, integrated IEEE 802.11n wifi/Bluetooth/mobile broadband module, USB 3.0, SSD, 9 cell battery, Chrome OS.Not going to happen, but that's basically my ideal netbook.[/citation]

That's just ridiculous!
You can't even see a the difference between a 720 and a 1080p on a 10" screen! Besides, USB3 and everything and then a 9cell battery?
I bet you want it for under $200 too huh?

 

[Guest]

If I'd say, I'd go for ARM probably, only if the ARM has similar or better performance than the Atom (which probably will not be the case).
ARM generally is slower, but uses way less battery, and is not Windows compatible.

I'd not buy a 10" device, and only an ARM that is dualcore and around 1,6Ghz with the speed(which I don't think exists yet).

I'd only buy ARM with a PixelQi screen,not an OLED.

 

[szymek]

I'd like it with win7, which is impossible, but this might be a good reason to retire my old fujitsu siemens pentium m 1.6, which is perfect btw!

 

[Guest]

ARM and Linux are a far better choice than Intel Atom and XP or Win7 for netbooks. If they pull it off well, it could perform just as well, cost less, and use less electricity.

 

[pluto_15]

I will also buy an ARM netbook only if it is noticeable faster than an Atom N270 (when opening complex web pages). A battery life of 6-7 hours (for browsing) with a 10 or 11 inch screen, Bluetooth, wifi and 3G broadband. A built-in TV tuner is a plus. A familiar OS is obviously welcome but not very important. Probably whatever OS that support skype / video chat with a secure web browser and software for flawless flash, H264 decode will do.

 

[mitch074]

@pluto_15: well, you'll just have to ask Skype to compile an ARM version of their Linux port - it's the only thing really missing from your requirement list.

At others, complaining that ARM is not x86: well, GOOD. The x86-32 design is CRAP and OUTDATED: ask any serious programmer, it is not possible to do efficient coding in x86 assembly. AMD's 64-bit extension (doubling available registers, etc.) mitigated the problem somewhat, but you still end up running a chip that has hardware backward compatibility with the Intel 8088 (a 16-bit chip with 20-bit memory addressing capabilities), the Intel 286 (a 16-bit chip with 24-bit memory addressing capabilities) and the Intel 386 (a 32-bit chip that was based on CISC theories).

Thank you AMD for making 64-bit programming on an x86 platform less of a pain.

Still, this means that a bunch of transistors that sit unused (but powered) for the chip's whole life (not power efficient), that it needs to decompile complex legacy instructions into simpler instructions and THEN compute them... No matter how fast the decompile units work, they are in essence useless outside of backward compatibility - and power drain.

The ARM is a 'dumb' design: it's small, it does one thing well, and it relies upon dedicated units for heavier computing (like, a GPU with programmable shaders capabilities) instead of relying upon an integrated floating point unit (FPU), or a dedicated complex floating point processing unit (SSE, 3Dnow!) that, even when unneeded, use up power.

For a netbook, which is a 'dumb' unit that is not expected to do stuff like molecules folding while browsing a web page (like you'd do on a desktop or powerful laptop) and running a 15-years old application, x86 is an aberration. There, I said it.

 

[anamaniac]

The one produced by Foxconn...

(Though bloodrage bios is a bitch.)

 

[Guest]

I have a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. It is ARM-L based running Linux. I carry it everywhere I go. It has Skype, great browsing and a large number of available applications. I have put it through the ringer and it is in great shape after almost 2 years of hard use. I suspect they will use Maemo http://maemo.org/ on it if it is an ARM based netbook. The N810 is almost as functional as a standard netbook and it is two years old. I don't find this news a shock. Sigh... barely news worthy much less comment.

 

[malphas]

[citation][nom]ProDigit80[/nom]That's just ridiculous!You can't even see a the difference between a 720 and a 1080p on a 10" screen! Besides, USB3 and everything and then a 9cell battery?I bet you want it for under $200 too huh?[/citation]
Nah, I'd rather pay for a premium Netbook, which is probably a niche market, which is why they're all very underpowered and lacking so far. I also want a battery life in days, not hours, this a 9 cell battery, even if it does weigh more. 1920x1080 is important to eliminate CPU cycles spent on resizing during playback, even if the end result is marginally noticable. In addition I'd also like multitouch and HDMI out.