Cartoon: Netbooks
It seems everyone and their dog is coming out with a netbook. Verizon and AT&T are the latest entrants in the race to produce the itsy-bitsiest, teeny-weeniest, underpoweredest laptop on the market.
Apple is the lone holdout, steadfastly refusing to cop to any plans to join the netbook stampede - although some have argued that they already have, thanks to the iPhone.
I have to admit, if the iPhone's keyboard was just a little better, and Safari just a little more Flash-friendly, I'd have no use case for a netbook at all... and as it is, I can barely muster a coherent argument for why I need one. Yet I covet them desperately. Desperately.
Which probably explains why so many people are still dying to get into this market. In a down economy, any product line with customers as irrationally interested as I am probably has at least some legs.
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I noticed that well-established netbooks manufacturers (asus, acer, msi) tend increse their prices and lower the gap between their netbook and notebook lines, while the newcomer's only weapon is lower prices. Thus, the competition in the market ensures netbooks will keep one of their key advantages - low price.
Low price will be the best key.
The iPhone's keyboard totally, absolutely sucks--if you're comparing it to a netbook. If you want to do any serious typing/reading, the netbook is your best bet (with the "regular" Blackberry being a decent compromise). For dudes that find a messenger bag at all times a necessity, and girls that carry around a medium size purse (those general totes you throw books/notebooks in), having a netbook around is very practical. But given weight and size, it'd be pretty difficult with a full-size laptop.
If you want to have something pocketable and that you can see in a few seconds, sure, the iPhone does a darn good job.
It's no wonder that people want to buy netbooks, especially in the current economy! Netbooks are affordable and can still give you everything you need, especially if you sign up for a GoEverywhere webtop. Users can save their files online, access Google Docs and ZoHo for their online word processors and spreadsheets, and even use several free software programs that have been uploaded!
And if you've got an iPhone you can access your webtop from there as well (or any mobile phone for that matter). It's convenient, and accessible from any computer with an internet connection.
It might be quite interesting to get a netbook like this.
Netbooks continue to bridge smart phones and bulky lap tops. Eventually, if the demand for netbooks continues to expand even during dire economic times, smartphones will adapt. The Iphone getting a qwerty is one example. One issue I have with netbooks is the associated security since they haven't been around as long; that's why I research them at this* digital security site.