EggXpert.com

Build Your Own Laptop - Almost

Published 22 January 08 08:31 AM | RjBass 

Blog Archive Repost

 

Build your own laptop........almost.

Published 26 November 07 09:35 AM | RjBass  Edit

So last night I was cruising around the internet looking up info on whitebooks.  A whitebook is basically a barebones/build it yourself laptop.  Back in 2003 and 2004 whitebooks were supposed to be the next big thing in PC's.  But where are they now? 

Over the last year laptops have overcome their desktop counterparts as the top selling PC.  People love the fact that they don't have to be chained to their desk.  With their wireless capabilities, and now with several cellular companies offering cellular broadband, there is almost no place you can't go with a laptop while maintaining a broadband internet connection.  Some RV and camping parks are even going so far as to offer their visitors free wi-fi via their transmitters mounted on trees.  Yellowstone park is even doing this.  So now while you are roasting marshmallows around the camp fire you can look up the best smores recipes. 

In 2003 and 2004 when the laptop market really started to rise, company's like Asus and MSI started to manufacture barebone laptops or whitebooks for the average end user.  These laptops were basically just the chassis with the lcd screen, keyboard, touch pad and a few onboard connections like wan, modem, usb ports etc..  The video chip set was also usually included.  Intel made a huge push for this with their Centrino line. 

A quick scan of the internet today will reveal a couple whitebooks available, all from Asus and Compal.  The MSI whitebooks seem to be non existent.  The few places that sell these whitebooks to the average consumer are not exactly well known online retailers.  Another quick scan of Newegg will reveal none of the Asus, Compal, or MSI whitebooks at all.  Likewise you also won't find them on TigerDirect.  I did find one on ZipZoomFly, but it was a lower end Compal that once fitted with all the necessary hardware would easily cost over $1000.

One reason why whitebooks were supposed to be the next big thing was for cost savings.  You could fit your whitebook with exactly the items you wanted, and could leave out the items you didn't need.  As we should all know by now, any new laptop purchase from any one of the big retailers will give you a laptop with highly bloated software that you didn't ask for. 

You can build your own desktop these days to your imaginations limit.  Desktops can be so highly customed that nearly nothing is impossible to achieve, depending on how big your pocket book is.  So after years and years of laptops being on the market, why are we still waiting for do it your self laptops?  Why are low cost high quality chassis not readily available?   

I don't want a laptop from Dell, HP, Gateway or whomever.  I want to build my own.  I want to get on Newegg, pick out my chassis and all other necessary hardware.  I want to build a small machine that I can take on the road to check my email.  I want to install only the software and hardware that I want, not what Dell or HP tell me I want.  I don't want to have to talk to some guy in India to have to get warranty support.  I want to be able to fix it myself, right now. 

This was supposed to be the next big thing in 2004.  But here we are only three years later and building your own laptop still seems to be a thing of the future.  Sure we can get on our favorite online retailer and get the small things like memory, hard drives, and optical drives.  The more adventurous can even change out their CPU.  But none of the user replaceable options are any good if it voids the warranty. 

Compal, Asus, MSI and others pretty much all make the laptops that you purchase from the big name PC makers.  You don't really think Dell makes it's own laptops do you?  Compal, while not really known in the end user consumer world, is the 2nd largest laptop maker in the world.  It would make sense for these company's to produce barebone kits for the do it yourself guy, and they do.  They saw the market out there for this sort of sale.  Intel saw it too.  But apparently the big online retailers don't think their is a market for them, or maybe they do see the market, but the barebones systems are just not available to them either.

In my business it would be highly beneficial to me and my customers if I could build my own laptops and sell them directly to my customers.  Yes they might be more expensive then the Dell and HP counterparts, but the convenience to the end customer, as well as the reliability of my business would be the biggest benefits to the end customer.  When they had a problem with their custom built laptop, they wouldn't have to call India.  They would call me.  And then they wouldn't have to worry about shipping the laptop anywhere, or waiting three weeks for some stranger tech guy to come calling to service it for them. 

Whitebooks, or barebone laptops seem to me to really be a hot ticket item all the way around.  I am going to continue to research this topic for you all.  I am going to find the best chassis available (if any), provide you links, hardware reviews etc....  I really think do it yourself laptops should be in the mainstream market.  So if the price is right, the hardware is available, and it is feasible to do so, hopefully soon, all of us system builders will be building our own laptops for our customers, and for our selves.  It's about time we did.    


Comments

# MaxN said on January 26, 2008 10:51 AM:

I was curious about building my own laptop and couldn't find online retailers that I know and trust. I would like build my own laptop, but it seems like it's more of a turn-key setup. You aren't picking out a motherboard and eaverything else to match. Instead you are selecting a factory-made, barebones notebook computer and adding on to it.

I guess it's the nature of assembling the parts for a highly portable computer. The componets have to be so carefully nested in a confined space that the parts and chassis have to be made for each other. It took a team of experts years of failure to successfully assemble the iPhone. There is a tangible benefit from the hundred-million-dollar effort that we reap when we buy a $400 handset.

From brand name laptops we get a similar benefit, but the prices are grossly inflated and the warranty support you describe is very frustrating. Add to the mediocre support the 'bloatware' of trial software and antivirus utilities that cripple the system's performance and may not come off the system through standard unintsallation and you have a very disappointing consumer experience.

What if you could pick your own notebook 'case'? It seems like that's the type of market revolution we're waiting for.

# Bullethead said on April 8, 2009 1:38 PM:

Ha, you think Dell, HP, Panasonic, Acer, MSI, Gateway, Compaq etc... are going to give up the revenue of the laptop to system builders.  Every 3 years you just about have to buy a new laptop and they are getting smaller.  Believe it or not System Builders do not lead the market, they find customers for the leading manufacturers.  Remember those forms to become a partner?  

Today, 97% of all laptops sold are not made in America.  The design is made here in America but the parts and assembly is cheaper to build in another country.  That is why you can buy a duo-core laptop for under $400 in the USA at almost any retail outlet.  Who cares if support is in india?  Its toll free.  

Anonymous comments are disabled