Alex Kidman19 February 2009, 7:00 AM
Kogan plans for Netbook include community consultation.
Despite the well publicised setbacks with the Kogan Agora, it seems you can't keep an Aussie tech battler -- well, we're sure that's how they'd like to be described -- down. As
previously reported at APCMag.com, Melbourne-based Kogan Technologies is in the planning stages for its entry into the netbook field.
But instead of taking the by-now virtually standard netbook recipe (take one Atom processor, apply 1GB of RAM and XP home, shake well until slightly undercooked), they're taking the unusual step of checking to see what potential consumers might want in a netbook.
In a blog posting on the Kogan Web site, company founder Ruslan Kogan is inviting community comment on what form the Kogan-branded netbook should take. Some specifications, it would seem, are set in stone -- Kogan notes that "
the 10.1" screen size is the sweet spot between screen real estate and portability" and that "
an Atom processor looks to be the best balance of computing power and energy consumption", although he tellingly doesn't reveal which Atom processor; it could be the rather standard N270 that most systems use, or the Z530 that Sony's sleek-but-expensive Vaio P uses. Except, of course, that Sony would prefer people not to call the Vaio P a netbook.
What is up for grabs then? Well, for starters Kogan's curious to know whether 1GB of RAM is enough, or whether consumers would rather pay more for a 2GB system. He also wants to know if consumers would prefer Linux (and which flavour) or Windows XP. Based on APC's understanding of Microsoft's licensing terms for XP on netbooks, if he sticks 2GB RAM into a netbook, XP would be out of the question, although that could make for a capable enough Vista or Windows 7 system. The question of pre-loaded software also comes up, with Kogan name checking OpenOffice, Firefox, VLC, GIMP and Messenging software as critical, as well as the always interesting issue of netbook colour. Black would seem to be the obvious choice.
Naturally, given Kogan's general mantra of buying cheaply from what are claimed to be the same suppliers and manufacturers that the "name brand" models, they may well be constrained by either what they can get or the price that they can sell it for, so all this consultation may come to naught. If you want to have your two cents worth, comments can be added at the
Kogan blog.