The progress of netbooks reminds me of The White Stripes Song ‘Take, Take and Take,’ in which Jack White starts out saying that all he needs is to enjoy a comfortable seat in a bar. But by the end of the song, he'll be overwhelmed if he can't leave that same bar without a kiss from fellow patron Rita Hayworth.
Sure, we once thought that all we needed in netbooks was a cheap little lappie for email. But wouldn't be nice to have a bigger screen, a bigger keyboard, a better processor? And while you're at it, please throw in some HD video.
Dell had previously done all that with its $399 mini 10, which sports an Intel Atom Z series processor for HD video playback, an optional 720p HD screen, and even an HDMI port for hooking up a giant-screen TV.
I thought that was all that I needed. And then Dell showed off a version with an HDTV tuner, which spokesperson Anne Camden said should be available this summer for about a $50 upgrade. The tuner should pull in a good signal without an antenna in most locations, Dell claims. But if you're bounded by real (as at Dell's press event tonight), you can also plug in an included antenna to boost welcome. It worked pretty well, though I did see infrequent stuttering of the video feed.
