Laptop Thoughts: Netbook Navigator Nav 9 Slate PC = The Suck

"With friends like these, Microsoft doesn't need enemies. Reminiscent of the exceedingly mediocre Archos 9 PCTablet, little-known company Netbook Navigator is entering the market with the 8.9-inch Nav 9. This Windows 7 slate has even shorter battery life and an equally frustrating resistive touchscreen. Oh, and it costs almost as much as two entry-level iPads. It's a shame, too, since Microsoft, already late to the tablet game, has barely any Windows 7 slates to show for all of its talk about going after the iPad with "big guns." So far, this seems the best its partners can do."

Ouch. But you really have to wonder what the guys at Netbook Navigator were thinking with this product? "Hey, let's make something that's twice as heavy as an iPad, an awful resistive touch screen, and costs twice as much as an iPad. Win? WIN! <high fives all around>" If you can't bring a product to market with some sort of notable advantage over your competitor, what's the point? Sure, it can run real Windows applications, but with a battery life of only 2 hours and 47 minutes, you won't be doing that for long. Windows 7 is an ugly choice for slates - that seems to be a clear fact based on what we've seen thus far.