OStatic

The announcement last week of a Linux-based smartbook from Lenovo was just one of several signs I'm seeing that Linux will maintain a foothold in emerging portable computing categories, including netbooks and smartbooks. Many people predicted that, with the arrival of Windows 7, which is squarely aimed at netbooks, Linux would fade on low-cost portable computing platforms. Here are several reasons why that is probably not going to happen.

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.

Because it's only proper to give credit where it's due, Matt Kohut, Worldwide Competitive Analyst for Lenovo, could be spot on in his prediction that Linux will remain a niche market on netbooks. Heck, netbooks could be called a niche market -- I guess it would all come down to how you define and apply niche in given areas.

Usually, when someone (particularly an industry analyst) puts forth such a prediction, it is followed by the reasoning that drew him to such a conclusion. Kohut explained his theory to TECH.BLORGE, highlighting a few issues Linux grapples with today, and many, many more that were laid to rest years ago.

As netbooks proliferate--based on both Linux and Windows--reviews are flowing in for many of the hottest models. Lenovo's IdeaPad S10, which, questionably, runs Windows and not Linux at this point, has been taken through its paces at Laptop Magazine (see the video). As a long-time user of ThinkPad notebooks, I'm not surprised to hear that they love the keyboard. Meanwhile, reviews are lukewarm for Sylvania's G Netbook Meso, featuring the Ubuntu Netbook Remix operating system. How do these compare to the Asus and Acer netbooks?

Lenovo is jumping into the sub-notebook netbook fray with its new IdeaPad S10, to be priced at $399? The diminutive S10 systems are one-inch thick and weigh just over two pounds. Without a doubt, this move comes in reaction to the pronounced success that Asus is having with its Eee PCs, and other small, inexpensive portable machines. At least in the U.S., though, it looks like Lenovo is not pursuing a Linux-centric strategy. Will it eventually do so?