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Lenovo's Smartbook: The Company Can Still Back Linux

I'm surprised that more people in the Linux community aren't talking about Lenovo's smartbook, which it announced yesterday. Powered by a Qualcomm ARM Snapdragon processor and sold by AT&T, the new smartbook is Linux-based. Lenovo has had an up and down relationship with supporting Linux, and smartbooks may represent a good way for the company to get back on track with an open source platform.

The Lenovo smartbook won't be officially introduced until the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and there are few details on it, but it is known that it will be Linux-based. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols reports, based on a talk with Qualcomm:

"The smartbook, which adds 3G data telephony technology and GPS to a netbook design and size-factor, will be built on top of the 1 GHz Snapdragon chipset. This un-named Lenovo smartbook will be an instant-on design with 720p HD video, GPS for location-based services, and a large battery that can deliver power for 8 to 10 hours."

Vaughan-Nichols also suggests that AT&T will probably sell it as a subsidized piece of hardware under a two-year wireless service plan, which would make sense. The biggest thing to note of all, though, is that Lenovo--one of the biggest and most respected providers of portable computers--hasn't shut the door on Linux systems. Dell is continuing with its line of Linux, netbooks, too, and its essential for these big players to support the operating system as Windows 7 proliferates on netbooks, and Chrome OS for netbooks looms, possibly arriving days from now.

• linux
• Lenovo
• smartbook

by whiskey on Nov. 16, 2009

Something stroke me as odd some nights ago when I saw the first Lenovo ad on TV for Latin America (that I know of) announcing their brand and the fact that they use Intel chips, and did not mention Windows. They even went as far as depicting computer usage without showing you what OS they were using. That alone tells me that Lenovo might have something up their sleeves and, if it is the case and they are reading this by any chance, I would like to suggest you push forward a bit harder for Open Source and maybe even preinstall Ubuntu, and advertise it. This is exactly the kind of marketing and exposition that Linux needs :D

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by sola on Nov. 17, 2009

Yes, the smartbooks are a good opportunity for Linux to shine.

Since Microsoft has only Windows CE for this range of devices (ARM processor, not x86), a well customized Linux can be a strong offering for a smartbook.

MS will not be able easily claim dominance here since they cannot play the compatibility card here.

Given the price range of these machines, MS will be in a hard position to use plain market tactics since they won't be able to make a better offer.

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