World First Netbook User survey

Just last week, both Dell and HP leaked details on soon to be launched netbook models for the US market. This comes as electronics stores have trouble keeping Asian netbook models on the shelves.

With consumer confidence tumbling, users have become extremely sensitive to price points. Twenty-six percent will spend less for holiday gifts this year than just one year ago. Given this scenario, easy and affordable cloud computing applications may gain further market proliferation over the coming months.  Netbook computers make a perfect companion to cloud computing applications.

This in mind, ThinkFree pioneered “in-the-cloud-netbooking” with its recent launch of ThinkFree Office Netbook Edition. To better understand consumer buying trends, we specifically asked users(Over 4,000 Peoples) what they use their netbooks for and what is important to them in netbook applications. 

Following is what we learned and what we have to consider to make the offfice mobile productivity suites

Most people are using their netbooks for …

• Business
  • Contact management
  • Calendar/task management
  • Document review, minor edits, emergency editing, edit on the go
  • Basic spreadsheets and presentations
  • View and edit PDF documents
• Blogging
  • Blog posting
  • Basic image editing
• Entertainment
  • Web browsing
  • Music, iTunes
• Communications
  • Email
  • Instant messaging
  • VoIP, Skype

Netbook users demand the following from netbook applications …

• Speed
  • High speed performance
  • Quick start up
  • Fast file load and save
• Small
  • Light on resources
  • Low disk space and RAM requirements
• Simple
  • Easy to learn and use
  • No feature bloat
• Compatibility
  • e.g. MS Office 2007, 2003
• Optimization
  • Adaptation to smaller screen dimension
  • Modern, concise UI

ThinkFree Develops Office Productivity Solution For Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Platform

ThinkFree Mobile to Target Global Mobile Computing Market

San Jose, CA (October 28, 2008) – ThinkFree (www.thinkfree.com), a leader in next-generation office productivity solutions, has announced that it is developing a new office productivity software called ThinkFree Mobile that is optimized for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets. 

What is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ?

Combine a 1GHz processor core, our sixth generation DSP and 3G connectivity with ultra-low power consumption to create new mobile devices with the performance to revolutionize the world of mobile computing. The Qualcomm Snapdragon platform empowers a new generation of Pocketable Computing Devices (PCDs) and Mobile Computing Devices (MCDs) that deliver real-time ubiquitous communication, high performance multimedia, location-aware content, full Internet browsing and productivity applications, all with the lowest levels of power consumption for all-day battery life.

Qualcomm is enabling new generations of devices that will take the mobile computing experience beyond anything that has been possible before:

All-in-One Pocketable Devices
The new generation of all-in-one Pocketable Computing Devices (PCDs) combines communication, entertainment and navigation, coupled with full Web browsing on a 4” display. Add a docking station to link to printers, external keyboards, monitors and other peripherals.

Mobile Computing Devices
Mobile Computing Devices (MCDs) offer a revolution in computing and communications in a thin and light form factor with a 7-12” display and full keyboard. MCDs are perfect for viewing movies and maps, or editing spreadsheets and documents while also having access to full Internet browsing and social networking. Dual-mode MCDs allow for notebook and tablet/reading mode to further improve the user experience.

BenefitsNew mobile computing devices based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform deliver:

• Day-long battery life
• Ubiquitous, real-time connectivity: WWAN, Wi-Fi® and/or Bluetooth®  technology
• Rich Internet experience with full Web browsing
• Access to real-time “personalized” location-aware content with built in GPS
• Streaming and playback of locally stored HD video content
• High performance 3D UIs, games, maps and more
• High-quality still pictures and video clips
• Access to social networks through instant messaging, video conferencing and chat
• Productivity with third-party applications

Qualcomm Anchorage with a new reference design prototype appeared at CES 2008 .

They are the new shiny and tiny laptops. They have created a whole new market some say. They made Microsoft re-issue Windows XP licenses despite desperate efforts to tout the new Vista.

While netbooks at first glance appear to be low budget, low performance laptops — for many professional users they are anything but a replacement. They seem to form a natural extension to their existing laptop and desktop setup. Browsing, reading and typing away on these new little things is simply a breeze. Perfect ergonomics for airplane rides and coffee shops alike. Top that with battery run times close to 8 hours on a single charge. The netbook is a dream come true for today’s mobile worker. A device that extends and supplements the laptop and desktop workhorses still used in parallel for the bigger jobs.

With more and more employees filing expense reports for the cheap $350 netbooks, what position do enterprises take? Especially when it comes to outfitting the little ones with yet another expensive MS Office license. One for the desktop, one for the laptop .. and now one for the netbook too?? That sure is not gonna fly forever.. Especially as netbook mania takes hold among employees while the sluggish economy continues to force enterprises across the world to quickly tighten up budgets just to stay afloat.

ThinkFree Netbook Edition is a MS Office compatible alternative with a mean set of collaborative features that form the ultimate office app for on the go. Agilitywise, MS Office eats up 1.5 GB of your precious tiny netbook disc space while ThinkFree Netbook Edition clocks in at just under 70 MB.

Even when running a Linux-based netbook with pre-installed OpenOffice, take a look at ThinkFree Netbook Edition as its user interface is optimized for the smaller screen dimensions of netbooks and its runtime goes easy on the Intel Atom processor for more of that precious battery time. The biggest low-down however: OpenOffice has some serious layout issues when working with MS Office files.

Check out these examples for some messed up screenshots.

It never fails that when you’re on-site at a program, you call the office in a panic because the 50-page presentation they were supposed to send – the deadline for which is T-minus 10 minutes away – can’t be located.
In this day and age – no matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing – you can stay ahead of the curve with on-the-go applications.
By now, most pros are familiar with Google Apps, the office suite that offers e-mail, documents, spreadsheets, notebooks and more. There are lesser-known applications, however, that pick up (and subsequently take off) where Google falls short.
To help you make the most of your time between remote meetings, The Coleman Center has compiled this list of seven Web apps our guests have found helpful. The relevance of these applications to your company will depend on its size, of course. While some applications work for small businesses, they may not apply to larger companies – and vice versa.

Blinksale – An invoicing app that allows you to send “elegantly formatted invoices to anyone with an e-mail address.” It also offers professionally designed templates, importation of client records, tagging to find past invoices using keywords, and more.

ThinkFree – Turns portable devices into mobile offices. View and edit documents and manage files with increased productivity. ThinkFree Mobile includes performance enhancements to speed up loading and response times, providing more out-of-office work time.

Harvest – Tracks times, logs expenses, and keeps track of account receivables and revenue. You can use graphical reports to see the distribution of your company’s resources in a visual, intuitive way, and quickly create an invoice to bill a client. Harvest lets you do it all, so you can run your business with style and ease.

Blist – Sharing your lists online is simple. Consumers and knowledge workers now have the power of a relational database, combined with a user interface that’s easier than a spreadsheet.

PayPal – With a free app now available for download onto the iPhone, PayPal users can buy and sell their eBay tchotchkes from anywhere in the world – whether or not there’s an available Wi-Fi connection within range.

Vello – An audio-conferencing service that allows you to call participants simultaneously, making meetings more productive. There are no dial-in numbers or access codes to remember. First, upload contacts from Microsoft Outlook using the Vello Contact Sync Tool. Then select the participants from your computer or mobile phone, press “Call Now” or “Schedule,” and the call begins. Simple as that.

Remember the Milk – PC World says that this task-management application “reinvents the to-do list.” Features include an intuitive interface that makes managing tasks fun; maps to see where your tasks are located in the real world; the ability to share, send and publish tasks and lists with contacts; and an option to receive reminders via e-mail, text and instant messenger from AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo!

This short list is just the tip of what’s now available online and on-the-go to help you manage your office while you’re away from it. If you have a business-based Web app that you live by, tell us about it in the comments section.

From Coleman Center