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Would You Use a Smartphone-Style Laptop With a Three-Day Battery Life? (king5.com) 194

Posted by EditorDavid from the decisions-decisions dept.
An anonymous reader quotes USA Today: "Always connected personal computers" -- or ACPCs -- refer to a new breed of Windows laptops with three key features: a battery that can last multiple days; instant-on access when you open the lid or touch a key; and an optional high-speed cellular connection, to avoid hunting for a Wi-Fi hotspot to get online. In other words, your laptop is going to behave a lot more like your smartphone...

In fact, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, ASUS is claiming battery life of up to 22 hours of continuous video playback, and up to 30 days on standby. At $799, the ASUS NovaGo (model # TP370) will also be the first always-connected PC with a 360-degree flip hinge -- making it a "2-in-1" that can convert from laptop mode to a tablet by bending back the 13.3-inch screen -- and the first with Gigabit LTE speeds, for an always on, always connected experience.
ASUS's media relations director touts the high-speed cellular connections -- which consumers pay for separately -- as 3 to 7 times faster than broadband. "It allows you to download a 2-hour movie in about 10 seconds."

And Qualcomm's senior director of product management says there's more ways that it's like a smartphone. "Even when the screen is off, it's still connected, so when I open the lid, it does facial recognition, and I'm in."
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Would You Use a Smartphone-Style Laptop With a Three-Day Battery Life? More

Would You Use a Smartphone-Style Laptop With a Three-Day Battery Life?

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    • Yes, but I pronounce it to rhyme with "lion jive".

    • Re:Can you say (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:11AM (#55879423)

      netbook?

      A netbook might have required a monthly recurring cost that creates a never-ending revenue stream for manufacturers.

      This new hardware fucking guarantees it.

      Big difference.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Dog-Cow ( 21281 )

        In what way? I don't pay Apple for my cellular connection. Why would you pay Asus?

        • Re:Can you say (Score:5, Insightful)

          by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @09:29AM (#55879623)

          In what way? I don't pay Apple for my cellular connection.

          I stand corrected by my manufacturer comment. Regardless, my point still stands. You still have to pay your cellular provider, which an iPhone turns into an iTouch real quick unless you pay for a monthly recurring service.

          Why would you pay Asus?

          Currently, some netbooks have WiFi and cellular services. In the future, I would not be surprised one bit if free connections (such as WiFi) are phased out completely in favor of making hardware that forces you to subscribe to a cellular service in order to use it.

          The concept of SaaS/IaaS isn't some fad that's going away. Pretty soon, all hardware and software will come with a perpetual cost. The concept of one-time purchase and outright ownership will become a thing of the past thanks to Greed.

          • You can just buy the device outright and get yourself a pay as you go data SIM which you charge up when you're in the country

            In the US I always used the T Mobile Walmart $30 a month package, now sadly discontinued

            http://uk.businessinsider.com/... [businessinsider.com]

            In the UK I use Tesco mobile where you can get 1GB £7.50 or 2GB for £10

            https://www.tescomobile.com/he... [tescomobile.com]

            You might be able to do better than this now - there are loads of MVNOs and the market is fairly competitive.

            Most countries have mobile operators whic

            • The US also has cheap pay as you go providers, you just have to find them.

              • Got any recommendations?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Kjella ( 173770 )

            I'm not really sure what you're getting at, if that WiFi is getting data from the Internet then it's using some form of paid service too. Phones have had cellular/WiFi/Bluetooth triple play for a long time with no indication that the latter two are going away and you can set them up as a personal hotspot for your laptop or other device with no stress. Essentially this is just an integrated version of what's already trivially available. Considering that essentially all laptops have a WiFi/Bluetooth chip and

            • if that WiFi is getting data from the Internet then it's using some form of paid service too.

              But with a two orders of magnitude higher monthly cap (1000 GB/mo instead of 10 GB/mo), and shareable with another member of your household without an additional fee per device.

              you can set them up as a personal hotspot for your laptop or other device with no stress.

              Does "Add the personal hotspot feature to your plan for only $xx more a month" count as "no stress" to you?

              When you get it for "free" by placing a smartphone chip in a laptop format, why the heck not?

              I imagine that the expectation of using cellular Internet may make users more willing to accept application lockdown, with the excuse "you can always SSH/X11/VNC/RDP to your home PC or to a cloud server in order to run apps that

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by jon3k ( 691256 )
            More likely that we'd see 5G (or 6G) fixed broadband (or LEO satellite, like Musk's plan) replace most consumer wireline services in 10-20 years, at gigabit or multi-gigabit speeds. So you'll just be able to use one connection you already pay for (i.e., internet service) for all your devices, anywhere. You won't want or need to deal with Wi-Fi anymore, and that will be a good thing.

            Wi-Fi probably wouldn't go away entirely but you might see it removed from some devices. Most consumers wouldn't really ne

            • More likely that we'd see 5G (or 6G) fixed broadband (or LEO satellite, like Musk's plan) replace most consumer wireline services in 10-20 years, at gigabit or multi-gigabit speeds. So you'll just be able to use one connection you already pay for (i.e., internet service) for all your devices, anywhere. You won't want or need to deal with Wi-Fi anymore, and that will be a good thing. Wi-Fi probably wouldn't go away entirely but you might see it removed from some devices. Most consumers wouldn't really need it any more.

              It will be defined as a good thing right up until it is not.

              Take cable cutters for example. They were pissed off for years over rising cable prices and forced bundled packages, so they "cut the cord". So what happens? Content/Streaming providers start the Fracturing Wars. Want Game of Thrones? Pay HBO monthly. Want Netflix exclusive content? Pay Netflix monthly. UFC, Disney, Hulu...the fracturing will continue more and more. You'll go from bundled cable service to get 25 channels of what you want

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by jon3k ( 691256 )
                I'm not talking about television service, I'm talking about internet access. I'm a "cable cutter" that hasn't had cable in more than a decade. If you need a dopamine drip of television that's your problem. Opt out, that's my advice.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Bert64 ( 520050 )

            How do you connect to the internet? Does it not require a subscription of some kind?
            How do you power your devices? Does it not require a subscription of some kind?

            Your ipad touch turns into a brick very quickly if you don't pay for a monthly recurring power service...

      • Youd have the option to subscribe to cellular internet. Or you could opt to rely on using wifi (which could even be by tethering ti an existing cell)

        • Youd have the option to subscribe to cellular internet.

          How much would "subscrib[ing] to cellular internet" cost over the course of this laptop's expected service life? Add it to the sticker price. Or would you instead recommend that people cancel home Internet to make room in the budget for cellular Internet?

          Or you could opt to rely on using wifi

          Provided Wi-Fi is available. When I'm riding the city bus between home and work, it isn't, as the bus passes by each individual hotspot too quickly for my device to associate. Thus I need a device whose applications support being offline for up to an hour a

      • Wtf, mod points expired 5 minutes before I read this. It's all about the lock in.

    • netbook?

      Yeah... I don't really get this whole "instant on" thing. My old eee 900 had a wake from sleep time of a second. It was sufficiently low that it never bothered me. For some reason I find a 2 second pause bothersome even though by the time I have my laptop out, it's more than an instant check of something. I find my work macbook pro annoying in this regard.

      • They already make laptops and tablets with SIM cards for connectivity. Instant on isn't a must have feature for most folks and many tablets are essentially that anyhow. And if I do need more battery life, those backup charge packs are cheap and you can leave them at home when not needed.

        My tablet and BT keyboard connected to my phone hotspot if needed serves me well.

        • They already make laptops and tablets with SIM cards for connectivity.

          Indeed! My SO just got one (max spec Thinkpad Carbon X1). Actually we haven't tried out the SIM card slot yet. Likely to soon though, but it was a standard feature with the model.

          Instant on isn't a must have feature for most folks and many tablets are essentially that anyhow.

          Yes, I mean though I don't understand precisely what they mean by instant. Sub 1 second is close enough for just about everything.

          My tablet and BT keyboard connected

    • Can you say, uphill battle against Chromebook? Or, same hardware comes out running CromeOS/Android in 3... 2... 1...

  • Yes (Score:2)

    by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

    Phone with a big screen and decent keyboard? Sounds great.

    Based on the frequency of my auto-correct based typos you can probably tell that I post from my phone a lot already.

    • Re:Yes (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Kokuyo ( 549451 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:04AM (#55879403) Journal

      Yes! YES! HELL YES!

      I want a Nokia Communicator with usable screen ratio and Android OS.

      A 720 to 1080 AMOLED on the inside and epaper on the outside.

      Frickin hughe battery and antenna. THAT is what I want. I'll even wear that sucker in a belt pouch if I have to!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MeNeXT ( 200840 )

        If its with iOS or Android OS or Windows.... No! No! Hell triple NO! No spyware OS. No closed garden.

        Cellular is useless with the limits imposed in my country. No unlimited packages available. So hell triple NO! screamed out from the rooftop.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by MeNeXT ( 200840 )

          I should have added if it's by ASUS another triple No since they seldom support a product of this nature more than 2 years.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Dogers ( 446369 )
        So something like the Gemini then? https://www.pocket-lint.com/ph... [pocket-lint.com]

    • Phone with a big screen and decent keyboard? Sounds great.

      13.3 is not a phone, it's a laptop with a modem. For a phone, you're looking for this [indiegogo.com], at 5.99.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nasch ( 598556 )

        For a phone, you're looking for this [indiegogo.com], at 5.99.

        Extraneous decimal point there, it's $599.

        • 5.99 inches (no indication if land, nautical, survey or avoirdupois ones). That $599 you're quoting is retail price (still $399 preorder days before shipping, so the retail might change). Not sure if this is a coincidence or intentional.

          A 5.99 inches screen might already be too big for comfortable typing while handheld (N900 is 3.5), 13.3 requires you to sit with a solid surface to put it on.

          The article advertises a "smartphone-style laptop", while there's nothing phoney about that big thing.

  • Always Connected (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Do not want under any circumstances. *I* decide when *MY* devices connect.

    • Re:Always Connected (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:09AM (#55879415)

      Do not want under any circumstances. *I* decide when *MY* devices connect.

      Welcome to the group of us that represent the 0.1% of society. Our motto is Good Luck With That.

      We fight against the other 99.9% of society driving manufacturers that have adopted the Take-It-And-Like-It-Bitch manufacturing standard.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Dog-Cow ( 21281 )

        You are waaaaaaay less than 0.1%.

      • Welcome to the group of us that represent the 0.1% of society. Our motto is Good Luck With That.

        Is there a newsletter I can sign up for? I mean a mailing list. No, a usenet group or, umm, a facebook clan, that's it!

      • Do not want under any circumstances. *I* decide when *MY* devices connect.

        Welcome to the group of us that represent the 0.1% of society. Our motto is Good Luck With That.

        We fight against the other 99.9% of society driving manufacturers that have adopted the Take-It-And-Like-It-Bitch manufacturing standard.

        Sadly, this 99% of society has infiltrated the ThinkPad community, so now ThinkPads are getting gimped: soldered RAM, non-replaceable battery, no Ethernet port (I shit you not!), "thin as a leaf, light as a feather"-flimsy crap is replacing what used to be an indestructible, infinitely-repairable and expandable workhorse with excellent keyboard. Oh yeah, the keyboard is gimped, too, so it looks more like a Mac. I hate this idiocracy.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Bert64 ( 520050 )

          I can see why not including an ethernet port in a laptop makes sense, most users (Especially end users) these days will be using wireless, even corporate users will generally use wireless unless they're sat at their desk where there will usually be a docking station which contains its own ethernet port.
          Same for removal of optical media, my last laptops that had optical drives NEVER used them and i ended up removing them to install additional HDDs in the space.

    • Just switch on airplane mode. Make the battery lasts even longer.

      The device would either have that mode, or be banned on planes. Would be fun to watch if the device cannot login when offline though.

  • No thanks (Score:3)

    by scdeimos ( 632778 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @07:56AM (#55879377)
    If it's anything like the last ASUS I owned (a TF101 Transformer) the keyboard will be shit (half the keys will stop working within 12 months) and there'll be a half-dozen dead pixels that, with microscopic examination, turn out to be grass seeds under the glass. How the fuck do grass seeds get inside a screen at the factory?

    • Are you 100% sure they're grass seeds?

      I've had several monitors (both home and work) acquire a bunch of dead pixels during the summer. At least I assumed it was dead pixels caused by the heat, until I saw one of the little fuckers move.

      Turns out really tiny insects were crawling between the screen and the backlight.

    • Re:No thanks (Score:5, Informative)

      by LordKronos ( 470910 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:53AM (#55879529)

      If it's anything like the last ASUS I owned (a TF101 Transformer) the keyboard will be shit (half the keys will stop working within 12 months) and there'll be a half-dozen dead pixels that, with microscopic examination, turn out to be grass seeds under the glass. How the fuck do grass seeds get inside a screen at the factory?

      I came here with the same thoughts. My thought process as I was reading the summary:

      "Would You Use a Smartphone-Style Laptop With a Three-Day Battery Life? " Well, yeah that does sound like something I might...."ASUS is claiming"....you know what, I think I changed my mind.

      I had a Transformer Prime (the model after your TF101). I had zero problems with the screen or keyboard. On the other hand, the GPS was absolute shit. It wouldn't function unless you had absolute clear line of sight. I mean, even inside my pickup truck, with windows all around, including a sunroof overhead, was not able to acquire a reliable signal. It was so bad, ASUS went as far as creating an obnoxious hardware dongle we could connect to the device. Oh, but you couldn't use the dongle while it was docked to the keyboard. What an absolute joke. The wifi was also pretty damn poor with terrible signals and disconnects. Most of us stupidly held out because we were led to believe it would be fixed with a software update, but it got to the point that ASUS eventually refused to acknowledge there was a problem any more. There were so many customers upset about this device, Amazon was voluntarily offering 100% refunds, no questions asked, for the device something like 6 or 9 months after sale. You just called them up, told them your problem, and they were instantly saying "yeah, we've had complaints about this. We'll issue you a refund"

      Stupid me decided that I loved the form factor so much, I'll just take my refund from Amazon and order the newest model, the ASUS Transformer Infinity. Mostly the same device (and compatible with the old dock I had, which I had not bought from amazon) but HD resolution, and you could see they they redesigned the case so that there was plastic instead of metal over the place where the wifi and GPS antenna was. The hardware on this model seemed great. I was very happy. Performance was super snappy, and it worked flawlessly. Then every single update got slower and slower. And we're not talking the type of slow that you see with your normal cell phone with too many apps installed. After about 1 year it had gotten so bad, I factory reset the device so it was totally clean. Even with nothing additional installed, after boot up ( and give it a minute or 2 to finish booting, but don't start any apps) you would still experience anywhere from 1 to 10 second delays in registering touch screen input. In the span of about a year it became absolutely unusable for anything. The wife an I each had our own with keyboard dock, so that's $1300 down the drain.

      Fool me twice, can't get fooled again. FUCK YOU ASUS!!!!

      • I've still got a TF201 with that garbage keyboard. Because I bought the keyboard new in box (old stock) it still works OK. But yes, the GPS is terrible because of the sexy metal case.

        Oddly, there are some pretty new ROMs for the device, but performance will never be what it needs to be because of the limited RAM.

        Which brings me to my final analysis. I'd love to have a phone which was powerful enough to stand in for my desktop, but it needs two things that today's portables all seem to be missing. One of the

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by nasch ( 598556 )

          Phone storage is all solid state, isn't it pretty fast? Or do you need really super fast?

          • Phone storage is all solid state, isn't it pretty fast? Or do you need really super fast?

            Phone storage speeds vary wildly, and storage speed is a typical bottleneck in desktop computing tasks. It's already the limiting factor for many desktop workloads. Cellphones are slower.

      • If it's anything like the last ASUS I owned (a TF101 Transformer) the keyboard will be shit (half the keys will stop working within 12 months) and there'll be a half-dozen dead pixels...

        I came here with the same thoughts.

        I don't know why the TF101 was so messed up when the T100 works really well. I'm still using one of the first T100s that came out with a 1366x768 display and 32GB eMMC with a 500GB HDD in the detachable keyboard. I think it's over 5 years old now and still going strong. Never given me a

        • I'm still using one of the first T100s [...] Never given me any grief.

          Last I checked, GNU/Linux on a T100 was missing a whole bunch of stuff [debian.org]. In particular, backlight brightness cannot be controlled, the camera is not detected, and suspend causes a full freeze.

          • I'm still using one of the first T100s [...] Never given me any grief.

            Last I checked, GNU/Linux on a T100 was missing a whole bunch of stuff. In particular, backlight brightness cannot be controlled, the camera is not detected, and suspend causes a full freeze.

            I'm using Windows 10 as the host OS which was a free upgrade for this device. Makes things easier.

  • My Tandy 102 (Score:3)

    by Chris Katko ( 2923353 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:06AM (#55879407)

    My Tandy 102 has over a week of battery life.

    My "feature phone" cellphone I used to use before I had to get an android for work e-mails, lasted almost a WEEK with constant use.

    If it were up to me, I'd have a shitty feature phone that ALSO had a hotspot support, and then I'd just use my laptop whenever I want.

    Touchscreens are complete shit and the antithesis of productivity. I'm not writing comments online with a freakin' touch keyboard, it's a PITA--let alone anything productive on a cellphone. Other than checking e-mails, phone calls, and texts, there is nothing productive that comes from my phone. It's just dinking off viewing social media when I should be taking a shit.

    • I had one of these

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      Problem is it's not a very practical form factor. As crappy as touch screens are it's actually easier to get used to one for typical 'phone' stuff than it is to open up a Communicator type device and try and type on a physical keyboard.

      It's worth experimenting with though. I could see myself buying a Windows 10 or Android ARM or x86 device if it was the the same width and height as my LG V20 but was a bit thicker, had a physical keyboard and could run Andro

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nasch ( 598556 )

      If I could get one of these with a modern processor, screen, etc. I would.

      https://www.androidcentral.com... [androidcentral.com]

    • For giggles, I just pulled my TRS Model 100 out of storage and put in some fresh batteries to see if it still worked. Yep, just like it used to: all 13286 glorious bytes of RAM. What's shocking is that I still remember many of the commands and function keys to make use of it. I did have to look up "kill" to delete a file.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bazorg ( 911295 )

      My "feature phone" cellphone I used to use before I had to get an android for work e-mails, lasted almost a WEEK with constant use.

      Are you quite sure you're remembering that battery life/use profile accurately?

      • Absolutely sure.

        Phone calls drained more, but texts were practically free. It also had a FULL slide-out keyboard. I wrote faster on that phone than any subsequent touch screen Android I've had.

        I once wrote a Python script that converts text messages sent from my phone through the Verizon gateway to my gmail, that then went out and scanned torrent sites for torrents and retrieved the results back as a text message. Then I could specify which # in the list for my main computer to start downloading. Fun times.

  • yes if.. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DeBaas ( 470886 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:14AM (#55879431) Homepage

    Yes if I can install Linux on it. I love the concept of very lightweight, long battery life and still a full OS with a keyboard.
    I've got a Lenovo MIIx, which I like, but never managed to get Linux running on it properly as it needs 64 bit UEfi but the processor (atom) is limited to 32 bit. I managed to get multiarch Debian on it but it would freeze within minutes after boot. It's probably my only device with just Windows on it and I now hardly ever use it.

    A device that can run for days, and has a full desktop OS on it definitely has purpose for me, I just prefer that to be Linux.

    Btw this link [asus.com] has much more info on the device

    • Exactly, Linux or macOS (OS X).
      However right now I consider to finally get a mobile WiFi box (a small WiFi enabled device with a SIM card to connect to cellular networks).

  • Would You Use a Smartphone-Style Laptop With a Three-Day Battery Life?

    Just reading that headline made me think of a tiny smartphone sized laptop, but on further inspection they seem to be talking about a regular old 13.3 inch laptop with a built in mobile network chip, lots of batteries and 360 degree hinges so you can use it as tablet. I will never say no to more battery capacity and I like the idea of a mobile network chip built straight into the laptop. My dad had a similar device from ASUS and quite frankly I was not impressed with their service or the robustness of the h

  • I would if... (Score:3)

    by sandoval88419 ( 765880 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:46AM (#55879507)

    1. it runs Linux, I mean the manufacturer (e.g. Qualcomm) is committed to integrate and support Linux
    2. The manufacturer is committed to enable the most efficient powersaving with Linux
    3. Specs are not limited or crippled in some way (like netbooks in the past)

    Otherwise I'd move along...

  • Theoretically it could last all week. (Score:5, Informative)

    by MindPrison ( 864299 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @08:48AM (#55879511) Journal

    I have a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 pro that does this, add a bluetooth keyboard - and you have that laptop you're talking about.

    The key to long battery time, is to DISABLE WIFI. Bluetooth is okay, it uses a fleafart's energy of power, but WIFI is another beast, it sucks the batteries dry within hours of any device.

    When I disable wifi, it's not uncommon for me to have the device on for a whole week, and still able to just within seconds turn on wifi and go on about my business as nothing happened.

    The always-connected isn't really needed, and if it is - you'll be recharging it anyway.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      This is why a phone OS would really help. In Android you can keep WiFi on and it makes little difference to battery life because the phone turns it off and keeps all the apps asleep most of the time anyway. When the screen is off it sleeps for increasingly long intervals, up to 15 minutes iirc.

      • It runs a Phone os (Android 6.0), and my Sony L1 runs Android 7.0 - same thing. Turn off the phone's wifi - and it lasts for nearly a week. Turn it on, and I'm happy if it makes it to the next day.

    • The article specifically talks about a device with a cellular connection. If you think wifi uses a lot of power, you are going to have a very nasty surprise with cellular radio on! ;)

  • Of course not. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Because it's not about running time, it's about "hey buy our new cool allways-connected-to-the-mothership-so-we-can-track-and-sell-your-data-to-the-advertisment-mob-operating-system".

  • Chromebook (Score:3)

    by wonkavader ( 605434 ) on Sunday January 07, 2018 @09:41AM (#55879655)

    I have a Chromebook, so I already have a lot of this. I'd like my Chromebook to have more battery life, but it's already really good, and I don't want to carry the extra battery weight.

    I don't want to pay a monthly for connectivity for my laptop. If I really need connectivity, I'll tether the phone.

    This is too much money to lug around. I like my laptops to be cheap enough to lose/get crushed without me getting upset.

    But the real show-stopper for this ASUS thing is that it's Windows. Why in heavens name would I want ANYTHING Windows?

    • Why in heavens name would I want ANYTHING Windows?

      Because you like being spied on?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      If I really need connectivity, I'll tether the phone.

      At how much extra per month? (If "none", then what carrier in what country? US cell carriers tend to add a surcharge for tethering.)

      Why in heavens name would I want ANYTHING Windows?

      Either A. you're being paid to develop applications that run in the copy of Windows already installed on end users' machines, or B. no comparable laptop in stores near you is advertised as being compatible with GNU/Linux.

      • If I really need connectivity, I'll tether the phone.

        At how much extra per month? (If "none", then what carrier in what country? US cell carriers tend to add a surcharge for tethering.)

        No extra charge. Denmark. Any carrier, pick one. I'm on Telmore (part of TDC Group, the former public monopoly telco, think Bell/AT&T), I get 25GB and unlimited minutes for ~$21/month.

        The fact that US carriers are brazen enough to charge you extra based on how you how you use your allotted data is insane. As is charging you to receive text messages.

  • Certainly not if it was locked into a ms os.

  • 12" - 13" ARM Linux Laptop, thin, made of direct recycled plastic.

    Point in case: I have a cheapo 11" Chromebook based on ARM. It has the smallest and shittiest battery you can imagine but still runs approx. 6 hours on a single charge. I'd love to have a decent portable rasberry pi style laptop with 30+hrs runtime. I'd prefer that over some overpowered Apple thingie. Especially for us programmers the prospect of a lightweight 30+ hour linux laptop is particularly enticing.

  • I like laptops with larger screens and keyboards. A smartphone/tablet doesn't replace the functionality of a laptop.
    • As you point out, whether it will work for some of us depends on details like OS and form factor details. I wonder how different this is than an iPad pro with a detachable keyboard. Don't we already have this for those who need it? I guess they are promising longer run times.

      Currently on of the reasons to keep a more 'traditional' portable computer include 1) higher performance and 2) OS/software selection. If these differences break down much further ('regular' computers keep getting thinner, use ULV pr

  • Maybe it's a Canadian thing but I wouldn't consider this until I could get an unlimited bandwidth plan.

    I'd only use the browser minimally except when I had WiFi access which means I would use it the same as any other laptop.

    Maybe Google or Microsoft could take on the bit providers here in Canada (Bell, Rogers & Telus) and open up the market(s) for this type of device.

  • " a battery that can last multiple days; "

    Who needs that? Unless you live in Kentucky and have to watch the moonshine still for a couple days and watch porn in the sticks.

    • Some of us don't want to hang out with the rest of the rifraf at the lonely publicly accessible power outlet at many (at least US) airports, hotels and whatever.

      I suppose it might be good for conversation starters ('hey, nice iPhone'), but I just want to get things done, not embark in some weird Quest For Power.

  • Where? (Score:2)

    by c ( 8461 )

    If I lived somewhere with actual telecom competition and a government willing to enforce it, then yeah, I could see it being somewhat useful.

    Since I live in a rural part of Canada and I'm not rich, good 'ol wifi and a 12-hour battery life suits me just fine and I'll keep my cellular devices to the bare minimum.

  • "Even when the screen is off, it's still connected, so when I open the lid, it does facial recognition, and I'm in."

    No. Nononono. Nope. NO.

  • The only reason I ever touch Windows is for games... everything I do with work, social media, etc is on iOS or a Mac. If these machines wonâ(TM)t run steam and subsequent games unmodified theyâ(TM)re a non-starter.

  • There is no WAY I'd touch it;

    One fine, bright day my Asus WiFi router suddenly went off the air. Hit the power switch to reboot. No lights. Did the wall wart fail? No, good voltage at the connector. Just for giggles, I opened up and bypassed the mechanical power switch. Here it is back on the air! Yea!!!! Wait, no one touch that switch. It was in a closet. WTF!?

    Asus ROG G750JW: At least twice a month I have to re-seat drives. It's a 17 inch unit and there enough "flex" so that handling (lifting to m

  • "22 hours of continuous video playback"

    "It allows you to download a 2-hour movie in about 10 seconds."

    "Movies"? Is this all people use computers for these days?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      computers

      Of course not. That's what phones are for. I make phone calls with my refrigerator.

  • First, you will not be getting any 3 days of active use battery life. That is impossible. The screen alone will drain a 60wh battery in less than 8 hours on a 13 incher if you use it with anymuch comfortable brightness levels

  • Always on and connected is the way things are headed and one reason providers don't want net neutrality and their data plans regulated under utilities rules. Sure, the ASUS NovaGo is $799, but using it, your annual data plan costs are sure to be higher than that.
  • Years ago when WiFi was less prevalent I was using a Sony-Ericsson PCMCIA card in my laptops for Internet connectivity "everywhere". Later I moved on to tethering my Blackberry, it took just a little bit of technical knowledge and cost was quite low. Nowadays though with ubiquitous WiFi it's not clear the idea will serve more than a niche market. Or nostalgia.
  • If I can't run photoshop, won't have it. I use it almost every day. Plus, I have a lot of business specific programs that I have to run, that probably won't work like I want. Good for some, but at that price, I'll take a laptop instead.

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