Netbooks were a class of tiny laptops which hit their peak over a decade ago, with the idea being that you could use the Internet and do your computing on the move with ease. Unfortunately manufacturers were scared of them eating their profits from bigger computers, and they were invariably built to a very disappointing spec. That doesn’t lessen the appeal of small form factor laptops though, and [bob-foss] is here with a simple hack to make one.
He’s taken a hinged keyboard case made for one of the previous generations of iPad Mini, and paired it with a high-end Lenovo gaming tablet by way of a 3D printed replacement for the original Apple-grabber. We said it was a simple hack and it is, but it’s no less elegant for that as the detail is what matters. This isn’t a mess-of-wires cyberdeck, instead it’s a machine you could pull out on a train and get some work done.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to take a wallow in what that netbook thing was all about, we took a look at the phenomenon back in 2020.
It could make one hell of a cyberdeck
I still have a couple netbooks. One of them I modded to hell and back with improved wifi (external antenna), max RAM (32-bit, so only 3.5 gigs), and a stripped down Linux. The CPU was the weakest part that I really couldn’t do anything about. I was about to install a touch screen, but got a normal laptop instead. Just got tired of fighting it’s limitations.
I had an EEE 1025c that I managed to get 64 bit working on the N2600 processor through a BIOS flash. Between that and the 4GB of ram, that extended its life quite a bit but even Linux couldn’t make it a daily driver level computer after 2022 or so. Sucks they couldn’t make new motherboards for them like they did with some of the Thinkpads.
I loved my netbook, it was a little dell that I was able to get osx snow leopard running on. I was so proud of that little under powered hackintosh.
I did the same with my Dell Mini 9! It performed the task admirably and the keyboard was surprisingly unshitty to type on
Aah yes! I had one those! Such satisfaction getting OSX on it. Fun times. Sucks up all your free time but was challenging and fun. Have better things to do now! I prefer to enjoy the outdoors and nature. Still can’t bring myself to throw out boxes of collected computer junk. LOL.
Minimalism is driving unobtanium parts! More shelves and bins; labeling optional!
USB Type-B cables are bound to make a comeback when 00s tech is the new retro computing scene. Invest now in UsbTypeB-Coin before you miss your opportunity!
The title and article are a little misleading. He repurposed an iPad mini keyboard case for use with an Android tablet. And there are keyboard cases available for that Lenovo tablet.
This isn’t really about netbooks. It’s nicely done but the balance and feel of a tablet keyboard case is usually very different from a true laptop or netbook — even a very cheap or outdated one. Usually on tablet cases the keyboard weighs next to nothing and is very thin while the tablet holds all the weight. Typing is often a completely different experience because you can’t adjust or balance the screen the same way or apply the same typing style to the keyboard.
I have a Ericsson MC12, Eee900, GPD Pocket and GPD MicroPC 2 – all within a few steps of where I’m sitting. The featured device is nothing like them.
GPD’s products are the closest I’ve seen to a modern take on netbooks.. I have the GPD Micro PC myself, but have lusted strongly for some of their other models. The swappable KVM module in Pocket 3/4 provides functionality I’ve wanted for years (I think there are some firmware mods for certain ThinkPad models that do something similar…but it’s sweet that an off-the-shelf product is available)
Also, Sony Ericsson is inextricably linked in my mind to Pierce Brosnan.
The MC12 allowed mobile internet long before most people even had an email address and the upgrade to CE2.0 was a physical board swap! Being able to work on docs and spreadsheets? PowerPoint?? For me, it’s biggest letdown was lack of mp3 playback. A player did come in to existence years later but I’d long moved on (T68, P800/900/910).
I had an EEE thing, was cute and compact but once decent iPad keyboards came out there was little it did better than an iPad, and the relentless onward march of the web means it can’t do any “netbook” things now.
I think that’s what killed netbooks – from continuous security updates to OS and browsers to deal with JS based attacks on memory, to SSL evolving to HTML5 and JS updates, and not to mention the sheer amount of code on many websites now. The idea of a “low spec” device to connect to the web doesn’t work. You now need an “average” device to make the web work, and a “good” one for video editing and local AI models.
Back when netbooks were envisioned we’d have laughed if you’d said JS code could perform attacked directly against memory.
So he took a keyboard made for a tablet (be an iPad) and modded it to fit a different tablet (Lenovo Android Tablet) and calling it a Netbook. Wow. Can we make a Cool Clock next?
if you really want the 10″ form factor, i don’t know what’s available…but you can get a 12″ celeron n4000 laptop these days for about $200 that is, imo, everything a netbook was supposed to be.
“celeron n4000 laptop these days for about $200″ You really like to talk about that old craptop. You can get them cheaper than 200 on eBay now. But why? Besides being small. The specs and performance is trash. I got a ThinkPad t495 with an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U, 8GB DDR4 onboard, 250GB NVME SSD for around 150ish 3 years ago in mint condition. Bigger screen for sure but way better specs. Before the price hikes on almost everything I upgraded the RAM to 24GB (16GB stick, new) and the SSD to 1TB (new). All together it was under 250. On eBay right now I can get a Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet 11.6″ Touch | i3-7100U | 8GB 128GB SSD for $179.99 (in my state, 20 minute drive away from my town) and I know I can talk them down to $150. That is with one battery and SSD unlike other listings for less without the battery and SSD. If you really want the netbook feel buy a 10” Chromebook and install Linux or use as is.
n4000 has good battery life, no fan, little heat. it’s not subtle. depends on what you want. the n4000 is fantastically over-powered from my perspective. something that is more powerful but makes a lot more heat is ‘trash’ to me. i’m actually willing to pay a lot more $$$ for a ‘premium’ laptop but they are all hot fan abominations. you can easily pay $1500 for a new laptop (or get the 5-year-ago version of used it for $200) and not get anything that suits me nearly as well.
anyways, the article is about netbooks, not good deals to be had on big hot retired gaming rigs.
“anyways, the article is about netbooks, not good deals to be had on big hot retired gaming rigs.”
It’s not even a Netbook. It’s about a “high-end Lenovo gaming tablet” that has a bluetooth keyboard with a 3D printed cover to fit that tablet. I didnt even listed any “Gaming Rigs” in my last post. You clearly don’t know what the systems are that I posted. I’m just posting how you can get better hardware for cheap now day compared to old hardware that can’t do more than basic work. My ThinkPad T495, small and light enough. Weights 1.4lbs more than the first Asus Netbook. Has a fan, can’t hear it and doesn’t get hot.
Original point of a netbook was to be cheap and to get online. Windows ruined that.
“12″ celeron n4000 laptop these days for about $200”
That is a terrible price. You have not seen the prices now days. The Chromebook version is under $100 to what I seen as low as $20. Or you can go with a bigger screen version that is not a Chromebook for more. But most of these laptops have the RAM and storage solder on. Still you can get systems with better CPUs, no fan, and battery life, and better spec for about $200. I had a Chromebook with a Intel N150 that was small, no fan, 8GB RAM and 64GB EMMC for $200 new from Best Buy when it was on sell.
If you want a “Netbook” you are going to buy a cheap trash laptop with little to no upgradability, slower hardware and flimsy body or one of the over price one that you might as well buy a normal laptop unless you have a use for it.
Point of my post is that you can get better hardware for cheap now days. It’s not all gaming hardware, enterprise workstations, and machines that sound like jets. I also have a few passive cooled computers. Thin Clients. I have a HP T640 with an AMD Ryzen R1505G that is passive cooled. It’s not the same as the normal Ryzen CPU but still pretty fast and was under $80 when I got it with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD.
If you know what to look for and understand the hardware you can get systems for good prices to meet whatever your need is.
man! you’re determined to miss the point. an impressive performance. my hat’s off to you!
when i describe a hot/loud laptop as a ‘gaming rig’, i’m explaining my point of view. i wouldn’t want that much cpu power in my lap unless i wanted to play videogames. from my perspective, it is a gaming rig, not a productivity computer. that’s my perspective, but it’s also the frame of ‘netbook’, a traditionally anemic platform.
these n4000 machines that i’m describing as “about $200” have been below $300 new for about 5 years and you can indeed buy them now new as low as $150 today, which i consider “about $200”. that difference doesn’t exist to me. and of course you can get them used basically for free.
but the thing i’m struggling hardest to get across to you is that there are different users, and different use cases. if you don’t care about the weight, if you want to put an “only” in front of “60% heavier”, that’s you. that’s who you are, what tradeoff you will make. when you say “better” to describe something with trade offs, i hope you can see, you’re describing you. you would make that trade off. that’s great!
when i’m talking about netbooks, i’m gonna bring up the n4000 which is shipped in hundred of cheapo fanless laptops. doesn’t that make sense, for netbooks? of course not everyone wants one! i thought the whole product category was basically invented to market early intel atom processors to a public that was used to much more powerful offerings?
i’ve got 2 cores in my lap, the most expensive operation i endure is mp4 decode that generally doesn’t even use half of one core. i’ve got 8GB RAM but i only use 2GB (i barely even benefit from the caching because i don’t do much file i/o). i’ve got 224GB of SSD but after a year of consciously wasting this massive storage, i have only managed to use 36GB. i consider a lot of trade offs but i have zero marginal utility for more of those. i have not perceived an ‘upgrade’ to my laptop since 2013, when i retired my lenovo in favor of something way less performant.
i do have one PC where i want big specs. but other than that, it’s not just my laptop…all around me are computers that are too far along the performance-heat curve for my use case. i just don’t need it.
that’s not you. i get it. that’s me.
Just going to call you out on this. You backlash someone because you assume they don’t know what you are talking about or get the point. You keep using the Celeron N4000 without thinking of other hardware that can replace it for a cheap price and better performance. You are using that one CPU for your argument.
You start out with “anyways, the article is about netbooks, not good deals to be had on big hot retired gaming rigs.” Which Joshua states that the systems posted are not gaming machines which later you have to justify your meaning on what a “gaming rig” is to you as “i wouldn’t want that much cpu power in my lap” when there are non gaming systems that have high end CPUs, your point is invalid. This article is not even about a Netbook. It’s a gaming tablet (Lenovo Legion Y700) with a keyboard cover. But again you use “gaming rig” as a “hot/loud laptop”. with a CPU that gets hot. There are plenty of systems that are hot and loud that is not a laptop and are not a gaming computer. Too many people think that only laptops exist for computing.
So safe to say that you think a gaming rig is a hot and loud computer with a lot of CPU power that can not be used as a productivity computer. Guessing you never used a laptop that is made for CAD/Engineering use. Do you think the same for desktops and servers too that have high TDP CPUs? CPU power is not all about gaming. The are gaming machines that use AMD Ryzen 3 and Intel i3 CPUs which are not that powerful.
He also brings up the Intel N CPUs, the N150 which is a replacement of the Celerons and Pentiums (which Intel does not make anymore) which you ignored. The Intel N CPUs are in the same field as those CPUs. They are better in performance with the same use case and price range.
You go on saying “you’re determined to miss the point.” and “but the thing i’m struggling hardest to get across to you is that there are different users, and different use cases”. You went ahead and assume that. Because someone doesn’t say it or state it in any other way doesn’t mean they don’t get it. But in a later reply (not a direct reply because your last post can not be replied back to) he says he does get it. The Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet 11.6″ Touch is a good example as a good idea of hardware for some one that doesn’t need much due to the low powered i3 CPU and price. If people don’t need much, they look at price more.
Most people look at price and not specs when looking at computers. Not everyone is a geek and will pick this or that. Using your systems as an example why you think it is good (which you only named off the CPU besides for your last post) is not good enough for the debate. You keep reusing this system over and over but you still go on to say “there are different users, and different use cases”. For your use case, yea, it might be fine.
@Greg A, Can’t replay to your last post.
I do get it. I use all different machines from low end systems, systems from 1999, and high end workstations. All of them have different uses. I have people complain at me because I have too many machines and why not just have one computer to why I even have a computer and just use a smartphone.
At work I work in IT and Engineering. I setup all different machines depending on their use. I am not going to put a multi core dual CPU workstation with a lot of RAM and a NVIDIA Quadro GPU at the front desk here for the receptionist. Because it makes no sense to do so for basic work.
The Chromebook I posted with the N150 CPU. Same price range as your Celeron N4000. A bit better specs and no fan. They are a replacement for the Celeron and Pentium CPUs. Low power, doesn’t need a fan, same or more RAM and storage. Some of the laptops fit the NetBook area. Those laptops can be got at the same price range as the Celeron N4000 price range you stated, even cheaper. I just don’t understand why someone will buy a under performing machine when you can get a “upgraded” version of it for the same price or cheaper or even a better system. We all have options. Hell the Psion netBook is good for some people as long they don’t need internet or modern media formats. I’ll go back to my old Palm TX if I still had it because I hate using my smartphone.
Our use cases are not the same as most people. We are a small fraction to them. People will buy high end systems just for email and video streaming. People will buy shit budget (under $300 Walmart Specials) laptops targeted at people going to school and complain they can’t play a video game or run Maya.
I stated how you can get better performing machines for the same price range as an option for other people to see. I am free to my opinions as anyone else on the internet.
I mean come on. The post is about a gaming Android Tablet that is higher spec compared to what some people need. Most people buy cheap devices anyway. Some bitch about them because they cant do this or that because most people don’t understand tech.
yeah you really don’t
Why you say that? You have a direct replacement that can be bought for the same price or even cheaper? But then again people will buy old computers and resell them because it doesn’t do this or that. Not everyone knows how a computer works.
You only use one system for your point as there are better systems for the same price and cheaper.
Throwing this out there. You don’t understand much about hardware from what you all posted. You try hard to justify your points and assume that people don’t understand or get the point and have to argue over stuff that you have not bother to research. You are pushing your point of view onto others. These are your opinions. Nothing more.
There is more than CPU power for gaming. GPUs add to that heat and sound. Not all systems with a lot of CPU power are for gaming. There are gaming machines with Intel i3 and AMD Ryzen 3 CPUs and these are not that powerful. Do you think the same for desktops, workstations, and servers with a lot of CPU power?
There are laptops made for engineers, CAD, audio and video production, and modeling that have high end CPUs and GPUs. These are not for gaming.
Intel still makes the Atom. GPD is a few companies that make a “Netbook” type laptop that uses Intel N250/i3-N300/i7 and AMD Ryzen 7/AI 9. But to you those are high end CPUs for gaming.
That is not even a point you made at first until your 3rd comment. You just used yourself, the laptop you own, and use case. I make a comment about different hardware and price points and that upset you in some way and you push back harder on your views.
Yea, whats your point? You think that people are going to spend the money they way you think because you said this or that? People spend money in stupid ways from time to time even paying more for less offerings.
Your arguments are solo based around you. You use the Celeron N4000 as and end all without looking at other hardware offerings. You push back and have to use “there are different users, and different use cases” statement when you didn’t bring that up until later on to defend yourself and lack of knowledge.
Throwing this out there. You don’t understand much about hardware from what you all posted. You try hard to justify your points and assume that people don’t understand or get the point and have to argue over stuff that you have not bother to research. You are pushing your point of view onto others. These are your opinions. Nothing more.
There is more than CPU power for gaming. GPUs add to that heat and sound. Not all systems with a lot of CPU power are for gaming. There are gaming machines with Intel i3 and AMD Ryzen 3 CPUs and these are not that powerful. Do you think the same for desktops, workstations, and servers with a lot of CPU power?
There are laptops made for engineers, CAD, audio and video production, and modeling that have high end CPUs and GPUs. These are not for gaming.
Intel still makes the Atom. GPD is a few companies that make a “Netbook” type laptop that uses Intel N250/i3-N300/i7 and AMD Ryzen 7/AI 9. But to you those are high end CPUs for gaming.
That is not even a point you made at first until your 3rd comment. You just used yourself, the laptop you own, and use case. I make a comment about different hardware and price points and that upset you in some way and you push back harder on your views.
Like you do. How are you going to justify your comment?
Your arguments are solo based around you. You use the Celeron N4000 as and end all without looking at other hardware offerings. You push back and have to use “there are different users, and different use cases” statement when you didn’t bring that up until later on to defend yourself and lack of knowledge.
the n4000 performs well for me in several laptops. there are similar chips with similar performance but they’re much less widely distributed and most of them have significant trade offs. fwiw, the rockchip rk3288 performs as well as the n4000 for me. other rockchip chips do not! i can’t say if the n150 performs as well but i did a bit of research when i bought a laptop last year and (a) it looks on paper like it does not, and (b) it is in far fewer devices, it would narrow my options considerably and for no benefit to me.
i’m really bewildered by how anxious you are that someone might not see higher MIPS / FLOPS as an upgrade. in a laptop, i care about low idle consumption almost to the exclusion of every other factor.
i’m absolutely not saying the n4000 is the only good deal, but if you are looking for a ‘netbook’, the plethora of cheap n4000 laptops out there is a great place to start.
Ok Greg we get it. You can shut up now.