As content and applications shift into the cloud and communications and computing merge into one gadget, an increasingly mobile lifestyle is demanding new and innovative device form factors. Alternative approaches to the traditional PC and handset will play their part, but more radical designs are also emerging - the newest of these is the cloudbook.
This report is based on interviews with device OEMs, retailers and resellers and provides a comprehensive analysis of the new cloudbook device segment, providing insights into the anticipated evolution over its first five years and the impact it will have on related markets, from notebooks to netbook to tablet devices. The factors that will drive cloudbooks and the competitive pressures it will face are also discussed in order to develop a picture of its place in the connected devices landscape.
Topics of coverage include:
- What is a cloudbook?
- Does the market need a cloudbook?
- The new device landscape
- Critical factors for cloudbook success
- Software as a service (SaaS)
- Notebooks vs. netbooks vs. ultrabooks vs. tablets vs. cloudbooks
- The software platform
- HTML5
- Cloudbook OS players
- Bill of materials and pricing
- Channels to market
- Market size and forecasts
Companies and organisations mentioned, discussed or reviewed include:
Acer
Adobe
Amazon
Apple
ARM
Asustek
AT&T
Citrix
Freescale
Google
HP
Infineon
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Intel
Kogan
Microsoft
Montavista
Motorola
Mozilla
Nokia
NVIDIA
Opera
Oracle
Palm
Phoenix Technologies
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Qualcomm
RIM
Samsung
Splashtop
Sun
Toshiba
Ubantu
Verizon
VMWare
Wind River
Xi3
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Answers and opinions are provided with respect to the following
essential questions:
- What is the expected size of the cloudbook market in 2011?
- Will Microsoft enter the cloud OS space?
- What proportion of cloudbooks will support 4G connectivity?
- Which device vendors are embracing the cloudbook opportunity?
- What is the typical cloudbook BOM?
- What are Google's objectives for Chrome OS?
- Why is virtualization important?
- Will there be a winner in the cloudbook vs. ultrabook battle?
- How is the BOM anticipated to evolve over the next five years?
- Is there a strong role for carriers in cloudbook retail?
- Why is the enterprise a sweet-spot for cloudbooks?