Photo: Compaq

Hewlett-Packard revealed the Compaq Airlife 100 on Friday as an alternative to both netbooks and tablets. The device, which is being referred to as a smartbook, combines the vertically integrated software and hardware found in a Smartphone with the form of a micro laptop.

Advantage

Hewlett-Packard is betting the advantages of a simplified user interface combined with touch-screen technology could give it the leg-up on netbooks, while being an alternative to the iPad. The one kilogram (a little over two pounds) smartbook has built-in wi-fi b/g with 3G as an optional extra. Its 10.1-inch touch-screen has an unconfirmed resolution, however a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM powers the smartbook. The storage consists of 16GB internal storage, 512MB of flash storage and an SD card for expandable storage. Its operating system – and what it derives its smartphone-like capabilities from – is Google’s Android OS.

Limited Distribution

The Compaq Airlife 100 will be available only in Europe and Latin America through distribution partner Telefonica. It appears HP, the largest PC maker in the world, is playing it carefully with its smartbook by testing its product in a small, focused marketplace to see if an international rollout is both viable and warranted.

With variety comes confusion

The increasing variations on mobile computers are to the benefit of manufacturers, for they can distinguish themselves from their competitors. But it may be to the detriment of consumers who may be overwhelmed by the product choice. Shopping for mobile devices has gone from simply choosing a laptop to selecting between laptops, netbooks, tablets and now smartbooks, in a matter of just a few years. The electronics giants are, in innovating, giving themselves the unenviable task of having to educate consumers who are unable to immediately distinguish between mobile device types. Whether Hewlett-Packard can educate consumers, circumvent netbooks, and one-up the iPad with the Compaq Airlife 100, remains to be seen.