Exclusive: We love Datawind’s little PocketSurfer mobile web devices, but with the next generation of netbooks packing 3G internet connectivity built in, have you ever wondered what the company’s going to do to stand out? It seems Datawind has an answer: we’ve just found out it’s planning a full netbook for next year, and even unlimited web access to boot!
We sat down with Datawind chief operating officer David Elder to talk about the new PocketSurfer2R when he let slip that a bigger, better netbook is on the way from the company. “We’re heading down that road. Next year you’ll see a netbook product,” he told us.
There’s no specs yet but it will be bigger than the current palm-fitting range. “I think we need to make a form factor differentiation – we’ll offer a decent size of screen. Right now we’re in negotiations with prospective manufacturing partners. People are very excited, it would be ridiculous of us not to enter (the netbook market).”
Just about any company that’s ever made anything with a battery seems to be making a netbook these days, but what makes this news such an exciting prospect is the possibility of mobile browsing without a monthly bill.
Like the current PocketSurfers, Elder says “it would be contractless”. Datawind is even looking into unlimited useage, based on its recent experiments with subsidising costs with online ads: “We’re confident that we’d more than offset data costs with cost per click advertising.”
Elder wouldn’t give any more away, but you can bet we’ll be first with the details when they drop, and in the meantime, stay tuned for our hands on with the new PocketSurfer.
Out TBC | £TBC | Datawind
