The "original" netbook was the Psion netBook (Score 1)

Why is it that the 'original' netbook - the XO1 - can get 9-10 hours of battery life

Psion released the netBook in 2000. I have a Psion Series 7 (upgraded to netBook firmware). It runs Opera on Epoc, is wireless compatible (well, only to 802.11b and only with two wireless cards ;)), has a wonderful keyboard (the best I've ever typed on at that size), gets 8-10 hours of battery life, has a 640x480 4096 colour touch screen with stylus, has an email client, third party instant messaging solutions, Office-compatible word processor and spreadsheet, and a JVM (which is stuck at about Java 1.2 I think). It has no HD (but does have a CF card slot and since you can get CF up to 32GB now...) and is instant off and on. I bought the docking station to sync with the PC through PsiWin.

I wonder why the form factor has been so neglected after it was done so well eight years ago? I can only speculate that it didn't sell all that well at the time. The original design doesn't need much done to it - were you to give me:

• A good browser w/updated JVM and a decent level of Flash
• Updated office software with better compatibility with Windows out of the box
• A better screen (1024x600 is plenty at that size, and OLED for preference)
• Built-in 802.11n and 3G
• Instant messaging

... then I'd take your arm off.