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When people ask me some advice before buying a netbook, I always make a disappointed face. Indeed, from my geeky point of view, netbooks are the worst computers ever created by the IT industry. So, do not even expect from me any positive statements about these gadgets. In fact, I think these devices are useless and are just pushed because of an irationnal and already old fashioned trend. Let me explain to you my point of view.

First and foremost, netbooks are generally cheap (above €400, I consider they are too expensive) but they deliver very low performances. They are dramatically slow because of their Intel Atom processor (which was supposed to be incorporated in smartphones...)

2nd. There is nothing they can do properly. The user experience while using a netbook is so disenchanting, that you fastly understand you can not ask too much to these "baby PCs".

For writing my thesis, I managed to schedule some interviews with people who are working on or promoting ICT as an enhancer for development. Consequently, I had the opportunity to meet very passionate and fascinating people. My meeting with Thierry Devars, Responsible of the international relations at the Information Society and Media DG (European Commission), was one of the most informative and transparent I ever had. M. Devars was a very good educationalist and we talked almost two hours about development issues. I thank him for all his advice, and for his frankness. Listening to him convinced me more than never, that ICT and development were very relevant topics, and that the future of emerging countries, specially Africa, will be closely related to these issues.

The other meeting I would like to talk about, was the one which allowed me to touch and use the controversial XO computer, made by the One Laptop Per Child foundation. As you may know, the main mission of this NGO founded by Nicolas Negroponte (MIT), consist in bringing education to rural areas in developing countries, thanks to a low-cost computer, initially priced at US$100. Finally the XO is more expensive than expected US$180, but it is a great educative tool. I wanted to personally test it to make my one opinion on this device.

Let me introduce you to the LEMUR, the first commercial device runs by multitouch technology. Launched in 2005, 2 years before Apple released the iPhone, by JazzMutant a French visionary start-up the LEMUR met with great success in the "microcosm" of electronic music.

"The true innovation of the Lemur lies in its unlimited touch points. Live performers are no longer limited by a single mouse click that does one task; they can now use all of their fingers for true multi-tasking. Lemur's multi-touch technology makes it possible to use all ten fingertips to accurately control multiple user-interface objects simultaneously. The agile responsiveness and radical differentiation of the Lemur has set the standard of what a controller should be".

This short presentation from the JazzMutant website perfectly demonstrates what the LEMUR is about : an amazing and futuristic instrument for playing music in a more intuitive and spectacular way. World famous artists like Daft punk or Björk and others like Raw Hedroom, Richard Devine or Stephan Bodzin have adopted all the LEMUR with enthusiasm. After viewing some music videos featured LEMUR, you will probably understand why... For my part, I am totally seduced by this extraordinary product and I am waiting for the day when I will be able to test it for real!

A phone with more features than the iPhone is not necessarily better. But I can't deny this LG VIEWTY KU990 looks interesting and it can be more efficient than an iPhone and many circumstances. But again, the reason why the iPhone is so seductive is because Apple has spent more than 2 years and has obtained almost 200 patents to be able to conceive the most intuitive and the smartest user interface never created for a cellular phone. That is the BIG difference...

So as said the website Wired, "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, Apple must be feeling mighty good about itself right now. These handsets all try to emulate the quintessential Jesus phone with touchscreens and copycat graphics. But when we roll up our sleeves and drill down, cracks begin to show."

Wired - iClone: The Very Best iPhone Imitators

The Multitouch screen developed by Apple for the iPhone has introduced a revolutionary user interface which today seems push the competition to inovate more and more in this field and make up their own answer to block or at least to limit the Apple breakthrough. Even if a large number of computer companies were also working on this kind of interface (see the Microsoft "Surface" technology for example), Apple has forced its competitors to react quickly and showing what they got.

By the way, Dell has recently introduced its new Latitude XT, a inovative tablet PC whith an brand new sensitive and capacitive touch technology. The Dell Latitude XT's screen "senses the touch of a finger with no pressure leading to better accuracy, response times, screen durability, and ultimately, a better user experience".

To allow you to see how it works the following trailer is taken from a longer video you could watch on the Dell's blog Direct2Dell. To be honest, I find this initiative really interesting, but I'm waiting to see the Apple answer, because I'm sure Mac OS X can offer a better interaction and a more intuitive user friendly interface. What do you think?

Latitude XT: Capacitive Touch and More

Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC Release and Our First Thoughts