The iPhone changed the smartphone market in the blink of an eye and the iPad looks set to do the same to the Netbook market. At this time you can go out and buy a Netbook for under £200 which will have a lacklustre screen, a cramped keyboard and specifications which make you wish you had paid £100 for a proper laptop. The Netbook market has never truly lifted off and the aim of the industry has been all about price rather than offering a user experience that makes the owner ‘want’ to pick it up and play. The iPad could change the Netbook industry in the blink of an eye.
Of course the iPad is not meant to be a Netbook at all and has no intentions to enter this market, but the addition of a keyboard and the potential for multi-tasking suggests to me that it could gain traction among those who want a portable computing solution which brings some fun to the experience at the same time. If Apple can make an iPad with superior components at a low price point there is no excuse for Netbook makers to not do the same.
If you want a Windows laptop you can pay £299 for a well specified unit which will do everything you ask of it. If you want an Apple laptop you will pay upwards of £700 for the same thing. A Netbook costs £200 yet the iPad will cost approximately £300 to give you the Apple experience many people want. The cost of an Apple laptop is high in comparison to Windows laptops, but you will get a much longer life out of it and superior hardware. It is hard to then reconcile the smaller cost differential between Netbooks and the iPad which courts exactly the same argument.
Apple will not put out a hardware keyboarded iPad because that will encroach on its other markets, but for many people an iPad with an optional keyboard represents much better value than a Windows or Linux powered Netbook. Me included.
I have no interest whatsoever in an iPad. I absolutely adore my Netbook. I don’t find the keyboard cramped and I never wish I had bought a ‘proper laptop.’
If the iPad works for you then go for it. That’s the beauty of humankind. We’re all different.
I’m slightly confused by your article, I know an awful lot of people with a netbook who absolutely love it and who wouldn’t want a laptop. Even several folk at work who are tech mad seem to have one knocking around as they are so portable. The Vista netbooks in my local tescos seemed to be sold out almost as they were put out (though they might not have had much stock, I’ve no idea on that one).
I have a Compaq netbook and I have to say it’s very good for what it’s designed for. Keyboard, screen and speed are all what I expected. You can pick it up for around £200 and it’s a much more capable machine that the iPad (which will likely cost £400).
It’s really down to what you’re expecting. I don’t mind having a constrained iPhone but for something as large as an iPad I’m not so sure.
I waited until I saw what the iPad would be then decided that it wasn’t what I wanted. I now have a Sony Reader Pocket for eBooks and a second hand HP TC1100 tablet pc. Maybe something with a Pixel QI screen will come out in the future that can replace both, ideally with a 7″ screen.
I can completely see how the iPad will work well and suit a lot of people and I have nothing against it. But I love carrying around my Eee netbook and there is no way an iPad could replace it. Web browsing only makes up a fraction of what I use it for. I need Windows for certain apps; I need USB ports and a keyboard (even if it is a bit cramped I can type pretty fast on it) and for lots of other reasons. And I’ve never considered paying another £100 to have a 2nd full size laptop because it’s the form factor of the netbook that makes it what it is.
I’ve been eyeing up a netbook which has the same specs as my 2 year old laptop. Except that it runs XP instead of Vista, and I may need to up the RAM to 2GB. It also costs 229€ instead of 799€ I paid for mine! I could even get an external drive for it if I want to burn dvd’s and what not for under 50€
Regardless of price, the difference between a netbook and the iPad is that you can do whatever you like with a netbook whereas Apple will only let you do what it thinks you should do.
The iPad I am sure will look great. But at £300-400 you can get a full blow Windows 7 laptop, everything included.
As you correctly identify in your article, Shaun, I don’t think the iPad is intended to compete directly with netbooks. Netbooks are basically cheap laptops, slightly more portable than their larger siblings, but laptops all the same. To use them you have to be sitting as a desk, or have them perched somewhat precariously on your knees. (Personally, if I’m in the market for a laptop – I’d rather get a decent one.)
The iPad is first and foremost a handheld device. It is intended to be used casually, in much in the same way as you would use a notepad, magazine or paperback book; something that you can easily pick up and put down anywhere in the house or office, and that will always be ready to use the instant you pick it up, without having to worry about a power brick or cable being close to hand. It’s small and light enough to hold in your hand, or to support lightly in your lap, or even to lie next to you on the armrest of your sofa.
My iPhone is currently computer of choice for many tasks, despite the limitations of its small screen. It’s way quicker and more convient to pull out of my pocket for quick reference, web surfing and checking email etc. than it is to break out my laptop. But it is still just a smartphone. Now, imagine that I have an iPad sitting beside me on the sofa; which device do you think I am going to use then? (Even more tellingly, which do you think I would pick up first if a laptop/netbook and iPad were sitting side by side?)
Put simply: the slim, light form factor, combined with the long battery life, big screen, blistering speed and dedicated multi-touch interface will make the iPad far more pleasurable to use than my iPhone. Don’t get me wrong: I love using my iPhone, but the experience will be so much better on that big screen.
Moreover, the bigger form factor opens up a whole world of possibilities for application developers. Mac developer Omnigroup has already announced that it will port its entire suite of productivity applications to the iPad (most of which would have been impractical on the iPhone), and I’m sure it is just the first of many. Developers have done wonders with some of the applications for the iPhone, but imagine what they are going to do with the big canvas available to them on the iPad.
I will use my iPad for reading ebooks, newspapers, magazines; to check and respond to emails, check and update my calendar, jot down quick notes, create and update spreadsheets; create, edit and proof-read documents; plan projects, surf the web and play games – all of which will be be far more pleasurable, immediate and immersive than on a bulkier laptop/netbook, which I would have to prop-open on my knees, or on a smartphone, which is too small for extended use and more intensive computing tasks. (Aside: I spend a lot of time flying, and have always found it awkward to use a laptop on those tiny tables attached to the back of the seat – the smaller footprint of the iPad and not having to have the screen open vertically will be a boon.)
I have little doubt that I will soon get used to tapping out notes and emails with the onscreen keyboard, and when I really need to crank out some words, I’ll just drop it into the keyboard dock or use a BlueTooth keyboard. Crucially, though, the keyboard will not get in the way when I’m reading, flipping through a book, watching a movie, playing a game, or passing the iPad between family members and friends to share photos, movies, magzine articles or to play games. The form factor, weight and drop-dead simple interface of the iPad will be critical in those situations.
For the purposes and situations I have described above, a netbook would be a poor subsitute 90% of the time, so I’d choose the iPad in a heartbeat. Laptops and netbooks have their place, for sure, but I think the iPad occupies a space that they can’t compete in.
If you use an iMac, as I do, the great advantage of the iPad is much better synchronisation for a whole range of applications. I have an eee Netbook upgraded to a 64 GB SSD (solid state disc) – in a mobile device SSDs are definitely the way to go. Its a great unit, but the big disadvantage of netbooks as travelling companions is that they are not instant on/off. The iPad is really slick, but as others here have pointed out it is not much use for doing any serious Office work – a huge negative.
Small computers need a small (light) operating system that is optimised for the small screen and relatively low performance processor/memory. I don’t know why the Apple company is so anti-keyboard. A netbook unit running a slightly modified iPad OS would make a superb device. (Incidently the Psion Netbook with its clever hinge mechanism solved the problem of tapping/touching the screen without the unit falling over backwards, a much better solution than the more usual swivel/twist screen.)
Equally there are many iPhone users who would jump at the chance of owning a keyboard version.
And finally I agree, the price of any Apple/Mac equipment is always a pain.