The idea of this blog when I started it about 6 months ago was that it would look at the “always on” mobile internet; the permanent connection that the latest generation of mobile phones is giving us to the internet, and how that affects what we can do, and how we interact with it. The idea was that everything would be done on my mobile phone.

Today, I’m breaking that self-imposed rule. I’ve currently got my hands on a Netbook- specifically, the Acer Aspire One. (More specifically, the sapphire blue, 8.9″ screen, 1Gb RAM and 8+8Gb SSD storage model, running a Linux operating system.) So rather than writing about mobiles from a mobile, today I’m writing about Netbooks on a Netbook.

Physically, Netbooks bridge a gap between laptops and mobile phones. The large colour screen of devices like the iPhone mark them out as being “smartphones”, but if the actual devices were any larger, it would become a detriment; a phone needs to be small enough to fit into a pocket, and it needs to be light enough that you can comfortably hold it up for a reasonably long period of time. The design of a Netbook, on the other hand, means that they are about as small as they can be without creating a problem with the way they work; the keyboard is a key feature that distinguishes it from smaller devices, and although not as big as a full size keyboard, it is about as small as it can be while still being usable for general typing. Although the general measure of Netbook’s size is the screen (diagonally, in inches), this isn’t really a key metric for it’s usability. It’s the size of the keyboard, and the resolution of the screen that really matter.

There is an argument that there is no such thing as a “Netbook”; that the name doesn’t actually mean anything, and is purely a marketing gimmick, and they are nothing more than small, cheap laptops. No doubt there is some truth to this; in the same way that “Web 2.0″ didn’t really mean anything that the World Wide Web didn’t already cover, “Social Media” doesn’t really mean anything not already covered by the “Web 2.0″ buzzword, or mobile phones are “just” a telephone without a wire, Netbooks are simply small laptops. But this difference changes the way you can comfortably use them.

Back in the 1980s, we had what were called “Portable Televisions.” In fact, their portability was limited to the fact that you could lug them around the house; they were heavy and were rarely were moved anywhere. Although laptops are far less unweildy than these old TVs, most of them tend to be used in a similar way; the focus of their portablity in terms of the way they are actually used is often limited to being moved from room to room, and the fact that they can be stowed away out of sight when not being used. Essentially, most laptops are simply “portable” versions of desktop PCs.

Netbooks place the focus on mobility, rather than mere portability; not just a device that you can carry around in a bag, but something that you can carry around all day without being bothered by the size or weight.

The size and weight of the aaspire One is really impressive- this is what makes it a truly mobile device. Admittedly, I have a habit of carrying around more books and papers than I need to, but this fits into my bag without me even noticing the weight. In fact, if I were to remove my Moleskine notepad, a paperback book and a 40 page printed document that are in there at the moment, at 1kg they would take out more weight than the Aspire One (900g) would add. (You could argue that the Netbook could replace them; personally, I’m not so sure- but that’s a subject for a different post.)

This particular model was chosen specifically to illustrate the differences between the “typical” laptop and a netbook; rather than a 120 gigabyte hard drive, it has 8 gigabytes of internal storage, and an additional 8 gigabyte SD card. While this might be a negative factor in terms of storage space, the lack of moving parts means that it’s better equipped to deal with being carried around, knocked around in a bag or occasionally dropped without damaging all that data. But the other point is that you shouldn’t need all that storage; one of the ideas of the Netbook is that it’s online; with services like Last.fm, Flickr and YouTube, and various other ways of keeping your data stored online, the need for dozens of gigabytes of local storage is changing.

But perhaps the real future of these kinds of devices aren’t as a replacement for a “proper” desktop or laptop computer, but as an additional machine. Not something to store every photo, video and document you own, but just the ones that you want to work on. According to Nielsen Online, there are 14 million people in the UK who use the internet at work, and with 60% of households having broadband internet connections, the vast majority of these are probably also using the internet via a computer at home. In other words, the idea of using more than one computer isn’t a new one for many people, but something that they are already doing; perhaps with one “main” computer, or a centralised “cloud computing” solution for managing files etc, or just carrying around a USB storage device and working from files on that from different computers.

The only two negative points that I can find are, firstly, the speakers, which are on the base of the unit, which is raised slightly at the front. On a desk, this means that they are raised slightly. But if you’re using it on your lap, or in bed, this means that they are probably going to be slightly muffled. Secondly, the touchpad is very close to the keyboard, meaning that I’m occasionally finding that I’m tapping it while typing, which means that when typing, the cursor jumps to wherever it happens to be pointing at the time.

This leads me on to the operating system; although the Aspire One is available with a Windows XP operating system installed, I’m using the Linux option. I’m familiar with Ubuntu Linux, so I’ve already got an idea of the differences (and similarities) between Linux and Windows. My feelings on the preinstalled system are mixed; on one hand, I can see the reasoning behind the way it’s been set up- it’s as simple as possible, while staying thematically very similar to the Windows look and feel (in terms of title bars and the colour scheme. However, it feels like it lacks the flexibility of Ubuntu; the range of free, open source applications that Ubuntu makes it easy to install via Apt-get seems like an odd thing to omit (or at least hide.) I can’t help imagine that Acer has missed the mark; people who want Windows will no doubt take the Windows option, while people who choose Linux will probably want to make the most of the flexibility that Linux offers. It seems like an own goal to make this difficult to access the tools needed to make the most of what Linux can offer. On the other hand, anyone familiar with Linux will have no trouble installing their preferred distro, as the hardware being used is clearly already supported.

Although my current laptop is aging somewhat (a Compaq Presario V2000, released in 2005- I think), the Aspire One has a processor that runs at about the same speed (1.6GHz), yet weighs just over a third of it’s weight. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that the netbooks that we will see over the next year or two are going to change the way we think about the shape of computers all over again. What that means is that the way we will use them- not necessarily sitting on a desk or a table, but comfortably sitting on your lap on the sofa, in bed, or anywhere that you want to use it- will also be changing. There are already offers from mobile networks in the UK that are subsidising the cost of a netbook with contract network costs; however, they are relying on 3G USB dongles for connectivity, and t’s only a matter of time before 3G is built into the netbook. So perhaps this will be a future alternative for mobile contract renewal offers; rather than offering new handsets, customers might be offered a free laptop with internet connectivity and a limited amount of free data each month. This would be a great way to encourage mobile internet use, and a hook to get people into the habit of using the internet on the go without having to move to an expensive or complicated phone handset.

Exactly what that will mean for the multifunctional mobile phone, or the television that might be on in the background rather than the focus of your attention, remains to be seen.