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Which platform do you want most or first?
Smartbook Loaded (13" screen, 100+GB SSD, Quad Core, 2+GB RAM, etc.) 16%  16%  [ 23 ]
Smartbook Light (10", Single Core, 16GB, similar to today's Smartbook) 36%  36%  [ 51 ]
Smarttop Loaded (desktop with 2+GB RAM, 100+GB SSD) 5%  5%  [ 7 ]
Smarttop Light (desktop similar to today's Smarttop) 29%  29%  [ 41 ]
Outdoor Tablet (PixelQi or similar screen) 10%  10%  [ 14 ]
Indoor Tablet (traditional screen) 4%  4%  [ 5 ]
Total votes: 141
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 7:42 am 
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If we had the chance to influence Genesi, which platform would you want them to build next using the MX6 board?

Although I have created rough specifications, consider these choices general categories... I'm curious if those of us on powerdeveloper have similar needs.

- Bradley Norris


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:13 am 
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Location: Denmark
Personally I like the current format and price range for the smart book. I would like to have at least a dual core imx6 though, and at least 1 gb of ram. More space wouldn't be too bad, but is not a showstopper, since you can add more with an sd card.
The main thing I'm really missing in the current smartbook is support for full hd video in mythtv, and a stable debian release with armhf. It would be REALLY nice with a scandinavian keyboard option as well.
What I find amusing is that most people I show the smart book to automatically think it is expensive since it is silent, and has long battery life.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:06 am 
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Smartbook, but somewhere in between the two options listed. Dual-core is an absolute must. But the smaller screen size and storage are perfectly adequate. One or two gigs of RAM would also be perfect. But, huge amounts of SSD just seem an unworthy expense.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:27 am 
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Location: France
Quote:
Smartbook, but somewhere in between the two options listed. Dual-core is an absolute must.
I have same feeling. Single core/800 MHz of current smartbook is not enough. 512 MB too. SSD is enough, but a slighly bigger one can make the product more appealing.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 3:16 pm 
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Location: MT
Quote:
If we had the chance to influence Genesi, which platform would you want them to build next using the MX6 board?

- Bradley Norris
Either a microSD slot that works reliably with existing cards or leave it out to save cost and space.

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--

Science, n. Investigation of natural phenomena.
Engineering, n. Domestication of natural phenomena.
Technology, n. Domesticated natural phenomena.

--

\"It is essential for automatic computation that, instead of containing every single instruction necessary to carry out the program, the coded program include methods for generating instructions which are needed to carry out the program. ... One measure of the extent to which an automatic digital computer is used effectively is given by the ratio of the number of instructions formed in the machine to that of the instructions inserted into the machine initially.\" Mathematical Machines Volume I Digital Computers ©1961 Francis J. Murray

If so, then why is this ratio zero on most modern computer software?


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:19 pm 
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My vote went for the tablet, as I'm looking for a tablet right now. But for the smartbook I'd also like to see something between the first two options.

13" would make the whole thing a lot less portable. So I'd stay at 10-11", but enhance the resolution to something 1280x720 or 800 instead of the current 1024x600. I also wonder, if adding HDMI output is possible technically, and how much would it increase the price.

I can easily run out of 16GB of on-board storage, but 100+ would make the product too expensive. 32-64GB should be enough in most situations, without making the price too high.

Both for battery and price reasons I'd stay with dual cores, quad core is rather for the smarttop.

For RAM I would vote for as much as possible. Even a simple ThunderBird can eat 800MB alone, so even 1GB might not be enough for all situations.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:48 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 7:44 pm
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Location: TX
Quote:
13" would make the whole thing a lot less portable. So I'd stay at 10-11", but enhance the resolution to something 1280x720 or 800 instead of the current 1024x600. I also wonder, if adding HDMI output is possible technically, and how much would it increase the price.

I can easily run out of 16GB of on-board storage, but 100+ would make the product too expensive. 32-64GB should be enough in most situations, without making the price too high.

For RAM I would vote for as much as possible. Even a simple ThunderBird can eat 800MB alone, so even 1GB might not be enough for all situations.
This ^ + dual/quad core smartbook and quad core smarttop

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:36 am 
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Location: Italy
I think is needed to, at least, add another option: 10 inch quad core smartbook with 16/32GB SSD ( changeable?).

I think that many people doesn't choose the quad core 13 inch version of smartbook becouse they prefer first of all a 10 inch, but I believe that every one appreciate a quad-core on the smartbook...

Roberto


Quote:
If we had the chance to influence Genesi, which platform would you want them to build next using the MX6 board?

Although I have created rough specifications, consider these choices general categories... I'm curious if those of us on powerdeveloper have similar needs.

- Bradley Norris

_________________
http://deliriotecnologico.blogspot.com


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:09 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:48 pm
Posts: 13
Quote:
I think that many people doesn't choose the quad core 13 inch version of smartbook becouse they prefer first of all a 10 inch, but I believe that every one appreciate a quad-core on the smartbook...
Actually, I would rather have a dual-core Smartbook. Yes, there are obvious benefits to more processing power. However, I'd rather keep battery life long, and keep costs down. A quad-core CPU makes more sense in a device that will likely always be plugged into an outlet, like the Smarttop.

Of course, I'd happily buy a dual- or quad-core Smartbook.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 5:51 am 
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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 10:13 am
Posts: 15
Location: Szczecin, Poland
I would like:

- Quad core
- 13" laptop with 1600x900 (or higher) resolution
- SODIMM socket for DDR3 memory (so I can put 4GB there)
- 32GB SSD (should be enough)
- HDMI out
- microSD
- 2xUSB
- E-SATA (optional)


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:18 am 
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Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:20 pm
Posts: 26
Location: Lacey, WA
I would like:
10" size similar to current smartbook
dual or quad core depending on cost
at least 1.2 GHz processor
hdmi outlet
pixel qi screen
Bodhi Linux os
removable 64 GB ssd drive
usb, micro sd, etc. similar to current smartbook
white color instead of black which shows fingerprints, etc.
better touch pad- hardware needs to be competitive with Apple


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:42 pm 
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Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:57 am
Posts: 1
Location: Ohio, USA
I voted for the loaded SmartBook for a few reasons:

You need 11 inches width to have a real keyboard. The 9.75" mini-keyboard of the current SmartBook is just enough off that touch-typing produces a lot of errors. The layout of the keyboard should be notebook standard (like a Dell Latitude, for example). Having to press Fn to get the function keys is a Bad Idea.

The screen should be sized to match the keyboard -- about 13 inches. Don't try to cram too many pixels into an under-sized screen. 1366x768 at 13" gives 120 DPI, which is good. When you start getting up toward 150 DPI it gets hard for old geezers to see.

It must have real touchpad buttons.

The CPU should be have at least two cores. My main argument for dual-core is that when a thread hangs, you can use the other core to regain control of the machine rather than rebooting.

RAM should be at least 1 gig. 32 gig SSD is OK, as long as there are two usable SD slots. 100+ gig SSD sounds too expensive. Both SD slots should be accessible from the outside.

The lack of usable touchpad buttons and function keys, more than anything else, defines the current SmartBook as a toy rather than a tool. I don't want to say that, because I really like my SmartBook, but it's true.

There are already dozens of Cortex-A9 tablets. We don't need another one. There are very few ARM-based notebooks, except for CES vaporware.


Last edited by engdahl on Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 2:19 am 
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Posts: 195
Location: Pinto, Madrid, Spain
I'm shocked to see the tablet choice being so despised! I guess we are all old geeks over here ;-)

Don't you realize the tablet form factor is killing both desktop and laptop form factors? Plus, it's also extremely fashionable - it's an obvious choice for a new product. The computer is inside the screen. Want a desktop? Connect a keyboard and mouse. Want a laptop? Attach a hinge and a keyboard and trackpad.

If things go very wrong, you can still put Android on it and sell it as a commodity (that would be a pity, though).

I'd go for the four core variant, just for spec bragging, which is the most powerful selling point today, even if we all know that it's mostly insane. By the way, two cores keep dormant if not plugged to mains. Oh, and I want a thirteen inch tablet - That IS a spec to brag about!


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:58 am 
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:20 am
Posts: 242
My vote would be something "in between"...

First a Smartbook, dual core, similar SSD as today, 512MB RAM, a *high* resolution 10" would be fine. Audio, webcam, memory card, etc as before. Wouldn't mind an Ethernet connector. Would like an option with a bigger battery.

Then a Smarttop, quad core (no need to save battery, should be able to be very cheap anyway thanks to lower BOM than the Smartbook), similar SSD as today, 512MB RAM.

Not really interested in a tablet...


Last edited by takemehomegrandma on Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:03 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:41 am
Posts: 19
No matter what you do, make sure you have at least 1 full size SD Card Slot on the outside (and USB host(s) also on a Tablet!). The other Slot can be microSD if you want to save space.


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