From the Nikkei Weekly, this very interesting report about a $200 PC that was recently exhibited in Taipei:
” (At the Earth Tech Computer’s booth at the COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2007)…two other interesting notebook PCs are (being) exhibited.
…The other one is Eee PC 701, which weighs 0.89 kg. This is a so-called “zero-spindle PC,” a mobile PC without a hard disk, in which a 4-16GB flash memory is integrated. This is not a high-performance PC but a “practically portable PC.”
The company announced only that it incorporates the CPU manufactured by Intel Corp., but it is supposed to be the A-series, which is also incorporated in Fujitsu FMV-U8240.
The main memory is 512 MB, while the display is 7-inch LCD (estimated resolution is 800 x 480 dot). It is sized 225 (W) x 165 (D) and 21-35 mm in thickness. The battery life is approximately 3 hours.
This product incorporates Linux as the OS because it is targeted for China, but installation of Windows XP is also possible. According to the keynote speech by Intel, the price is $199 (for 2GB version).
Now, I admit that most of us (me included) may find a 7″ screen practically unreadable and 2GB of memory completely inadequate, but it is worth bearing in mind that this may finally be the breakthrough product that accelerates PC penetration in the developing world.
Related Post: Has the $100 PC finally arrived?
June 29th, 2007
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Business 2.0 recently published a list of 11 companies with “11 big ideas that will change EVERYTHING”.
Usually I am deeply suspicious of lists such as these (and to some extent the US-slant) but there is no doubt that there are some nice companies highlighted here.
Three of the eleven are European – which is very nice. alarm:clock euro believes this is proof that “When it comes to telecoms, finance, and Internet apps, Europe is more disruptive this time around…”
It goes on to say that:
“During the last big wave of investment in technology ventures, aka the bubble, we were writing more often about European followers that had innovated to serve the local markets here and companies that had a small part of new disruptive value-chain. It is looking a little different this time around. Three out of eleven disrupters identified by Business 2.0 are European. “
Oddly, not a single company from Asia on the list (neither from Israel). This is the full list (have not yet looked at all of them so will reserve judgement on my personal favourite for later)
- Netvibes: Customizable start pages (nice, tried it many months ago)
- BlueLithium: Highly targeted ads on the Web
- SalesForce.com: A web-based challenge to enterprise software
- Coghead: Tools for building customized business apps
- Clearwire: Nationwide wireless broadband network
- Jajah: free phone calls/ no downloads/ no headsets (cool)
- NextMedium: Automated Product Placement (I need to dig this more)
- EEStor: Ceramic power source for cars (if true, its mind-blowing; could not find the link to their ewbsite; possibly in stealth. Here’s a little bit more about the technology)
- Zopa: Peer to Peer lending (tempted to try it; will give it a spin to see how it works)
- NanoLife Sciences: More precise cancer treatment
- Applied Location: satellite-based system for toll collection, traffic congestion management, and pay-as-you-drive insurance
September 24th, 2006
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I thought this was amazing… Jog to charge mobile phones
until I came across this…In-sole design to charge mobile phone ‘on the move’
It’s a bit odd that these two seemingly related news stories – appearing within a few weeks of each other – are actually about two different inventions occurring in two very separate parts of the world. On the other hand, it may just be a cool coincidence.
August 11th, 2006
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Seth Levine (VC Adventure) wrote this post about the mania surrounding Web 2.0 about a month ago…I particularly liked his last para where he quotes David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners:
I personally don’t buy it (at least for me). But then again, I subscribe to David’s notion that most of this is about luck anyway, so maybe it doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re on – as long as you’re working with people you like and having fun.
From the various conversations that I have had, the Web 2.0 fever has yet to cross the pond. I am not sure (a) whether or when it will take off here in Europe (I think Asia will be next) and (b) why is it taking so long. Two possible explanations (slightly tongue-in-cheek) – the (relatively) “older” web population in Europe and a laid-back attitude towards cutting-edge technologies… Or perhaps it is here already and I am missing it?
July 20th, 2006
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In its latest monthly bulletin, go4venture (a tech-focused corporate finance advisory firm in London) notes that,
“it is…worth pointing out are two “native” US investors (i.e. with no European office)…(made) an appearance in
Europe, both as lead investors:
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Tollwood Venture Capital (www.tallwoodvc.com), a $180 million first-time fund (2002) specialising in semiconductors, which led the investment round in Cavendish Kinetics. This is their first investment in
Europe.
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VantagePoint Venture Partners (www.vpvp.com), a leading venture and private equity firm with over $2 billion under management, and specialising in what they describe as “financially, structurally, and/or technologically complex deals”.
These two deals are examples of the trend frequently seen by Go4Venture when working with its clients: the increasing internationalisation of the venture capital industry. This trend is driven by sector expertise, with VCs delivering higher value-addition than in the past. Like many other industries, venture capitalism is becoming increasingly sophisticated, particularly in Europe where progress towards more professional VC firms is noticeable.”
VantagePoints’ investment was in SolarCentury (UK), which completed a €8 million Series A round of funding. The company designs, installs and maintains tailor-made solar photovoltaic solutions for homes and other buildings….
And as the bulletin noted, “This is an unusual example of a Series A (at least first VC institutional round) led by a VC from a different geography”
July 6th, 2006
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In a remarkably prescient article – published in Aug ‘04 - Prof. Martin Haemmig makes “The Case for International VC Firms“
July 5th, 2006
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