Netbook. Smartbook. Notebook. Ultraportable. Confused yet? This was the headline to an article we just published today and already it is about to get even more complicated.
Acer this week has shown off what it claims to be the first netbook with an AMD chipset: the “Ferrari One.” Problem is, most of the specifications don’t line up with what you’d typically associate from a netbook: dual AMD Athlon 1.2-GHz processor, Radeon HD 3200 graphics for 1080p high-definition playback, 2 GB of RAM and wireless 802.11N Wi-Fi connectivity.
Where the Ferrari One netbook label comes close to making sense is in the 11.6-in display and 1366 x 768 native resolution – but then, this is only a temporary respite from the distinctly non-netbook €499 ($654) price tag. Acer also has yet to divulge the potential battery life of the Ferrari One which, despite the standard six-cell battery, must surely suffer from its powerful components. Lastly, the Ferrari brand isn’t really the first name you’d associate with budget computing.
All this complication comes because of ‘Vision Technology from AMD‘ – a new approach by the chipset maker to help assist everyday users in buying the computer they need. Vision Basic, Vision Premium, Vision Ultimate and Vision Black categories have been created and defined by their functionality, not their hardware. The lowest of these, ‘Vision Basic’ – as seen in the Ferrari One – is already far more powerful than typical netbook components.
So while netbooks, smartbooks and more have so far been defined by their Intel or ARM components, it seems we now have a third challenger, and an ambitious one at that …
Gordon
