HP, Lenovo, and other companies may be introducing so-called smartbooks, which combine some of the elements of a smartphone and netbook into a single laptop-like device. But according to the Inquirer, Asus is taking a slightly different approach by developing a netbook that has a mobile phone that fits into the laptop.

Not only will you be able to make calls on the phone, but the phone will actually work as a 3G modem for the laptop. In other words, you pay for one data plan and you get to use your mobile phone and your netbook on the same network for the same price — although it’s not entirely clear if you can use both at the same time.

According to the Inquirer, the Asus netbook will use a phone module from Modu, which is already available for purchase separately.

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet. But with the Computex trade show coming up in just two weeks, I suspect we may hear some details soon.

via Netbook Choice

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6 replies on “Who needs a smartbook? Asus planning a netbook with pull-out phone”

  1. Reminds me of previous acer ferrari models that included a VOIP phone that fits in the pc card slot.

  2. I would rather see a 5″ – 7″ ARM tablet with 3G/Wifi and a bluetooth head set that nests into the tablet for storage and charging. Why pull out a complete phone when you really only need the ear piece and mic?

  3. It would actually make more sense to me if that netbook was more like those redflys. The module should be actual processing unit for that device. The netbook just a larger screen with some more hdd space. I think it would combine best from smartbooks and smartphones as it essentially has them both 🙂 .Would be nice with cortex a9 or even with snapdragon.

  4. reminds me of the via concept that i think packard bell made use of back when netbooks where new. Interesting that they choose modu btw, i had almost forgotten about that company.

  5. While Lenovo has be quite about their Skylight, HP seems to be progressing on the Smartbook space.This mobile device attached would just be an add-on gadget.

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