IBM isn’t a name that you’d associate with netbooks – in fact, since they sold their consumer computing division to Lenovo, you probably don’t associate them with PCs at all anymore. It comes as something of a surprise, then, that IBM has decided to team up with Simmtronics to offer a super-low cost netbook. It comes with Ubuntu, but it also comes loaded with IBM Client for Smart Work. Client for Smart Work includes IBM applications like Lotus Symphony and LotusLive cloud collaboration.
Want one? Well, sorry, you can’t have one – unless you live in Africa. The Simmbook (boy, what a name) is only going to be available in Africa for now. It also isn’t really meant for personal use. Here lies what IBM is getting out of the deal. The Simmbook is really meant to be used as part of a cloud computing solution and most of its productivity software won’t work without a connection to the cloud server. IBM will of course be happy to sell you the servers on which you can host your cloud. A video in IBM’s press release about the product goes into more detail and reveals that IBM really sees the Simmbook as a client computer which should be connected to a server.
In other words, curb your enthusiasm. Unless you live in Africa. Chances are good that any of us western-world netbook users would take one look at the Simmbook and scoff. As you can see in the photo, it even has those funky trackpad buttons which are on the sides instead of the bottom. But $190 bucks is pretty damn cheap, and I’m sure businesses in Africa will be interested.
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