Netbooks are an opportunity for new companies – Freescale’s Rich Beyer

The Netbook market is an opportunity for non-traditional manufacturers to get into the computer business, says Rich Beyer, CEO of Freescale Semiconductor.

“The opportunity is not just for the chip-set companies with ARM, it will allow a new set of companies, it will allow systems companies development where anyone can win and grow into big companies,” said Beyer, adding “I think it’s going to be huge.”

While the traditional laptop manufacturers have come out with stripped-down notebook PCs, calling them Netbooks to catch the market up-swing, non-traditional manufacturers are using non-traditional microprocessors and operating systems to build innovative mobile terminals.

For instance the Canadian company Datawind has a £160 Netbook called Ubisurfer which uses a Samsung-made ARM processor, which comes with a year’s free connection to Vodafone’s network for 20 hours a month with a 5p a minute roaming charge in Europe and the USA.

The connection is via GPRS, not 3G, but Datawind has a proprietary technology which can load a web-page using GPRS in 5 to 7 seconds. After a year, you can buy a lifetime sub for 20 hours a month for £60.

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Another little number from HDG (High Definition Generation) which costs only £90 is the Linux cnMbook which uses a MIPS processor. A WINCE version of the cnMbook using an ARM processor costs £135.

“A sizeable number of companies have been able to build boards, and some of these have started to do development, not just manufacturing”, said Beyer.

Retail chains, particularly supermarkets, are said to be taking an interest in the Netbook market, and there’s the possibility of them developing own-name brands when they see what features their customers want.

“We call them Smartbooks”, said Beyer, “we’re pleased with the progress. Freescale has a fine processor and we and others are putting together the ecosystem to put together a high quality mobile experience. It’s not just about the chips, we are building the ecosystem with Linux, Ubuntu, Adobe and others. We expect products in the marketplace for Christmas.”

For ARM, which has yet to get a significant foothold in the computer market, there is a big opportunity. “We expect to see a handful of designs this year based on ARM “, says Warren East, CEO of ARM, “but it’ll be small in volume this year.”

See also: Electronics Weekly’s Focus on Linux, a roundup of content related to the open source operating system shaped for industrial uses.