The middle ground won't work for Netbooks
The Netbook is looking more like a notebook nowadays.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)According to a study released on Tuesday by market research firm NPD Group, Netbooks are confusing customers. Sixty percent of the nearly 600 adults surveyed said they bought a Netbook instead of a notebook because they thought they had the same functionality. Had they known that they didn't, many of those respondents would have purchased a notebook instead.
"We need to make sure consumers are buying a PC intended for what they plan to do with it," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "Retailers and manufacturers can't put too much emphasis on PC-like capabilities and general features that could convince consumers that a Netbook is a replacement for a notebook. Instead, they should be marketing mobility, portability, and the need for a companion PC to ensure consumers know what they are buying and are more satisfied with their purchases."
Baker makes a fine point. Netbooks aren't notebooks. They're not nearly as powerful as their larger counterparts, they're cheaper, and they're typically more suitable for those who want to go mobile. But that line between Netbooks and notebooks is quickly blurring. And it's starting to backfire.
When Netbooks were first released, they were easily identifiable. But today, that's not the case. Numerous PC vendors have been releasing notebooks sporting superior components in a thin-and-light package. They boast more processing power, a bigger display, and a price tag that isn't much more expensive than Netbooks.
For example, Dell's Inspiron 13 laptop sports a 13.3-inch display, a 2.0GHz Intel Dual Core processor, Windows Vista Home Basic, and a 160GB hard drive for $499. It weighs just 4.6 pounds.
The company's top-of-the-line Netbook, the Mini 12, has a 12.1-inch display, a 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor, Ubuntu Linux, and a 40GB hard drive. Its weight starts at 2.7 pounds. It costs $399. To have Windows XP installed, the Netbook will cost $499--the same price as Dell's Inspiron 13.
Given the differences, I'm willing to bet that most consumers, when given the option, would choose the Inspiron 13 over the Mini 12. It has a bigger display, more processing power, and the same price tag, if Windows is desired.
That's a problem.
The crunch
Netbooks have another issue: smartphones. With the release of the
iPhone 3GS,
Palm Pre, and other powerful smartphones over the past few months, one of the Netbook's strengths--portability--is being tested.
Anyone who owns an iPhone 3GS knows that it's a powerful device. Surfing the Web is quite rewarding. Getting basic work done isn't all that difficult, thanks to a variety of great apps. And checking and responding to e-mail is made simple with the iPhone's Mail app. The same can be said for the BlackBerry Bold, the Palm Pre, and countless other smartphones that are quickly bridging the gap between the desktop and the mobile phone.
That's not to say Netbooks aren't superior. In my experience, Netbooks have provided a more rewarding Web-surfing environment. Editing documents is much easier on a Netbook. And checking and responding to e-mail is just as simple.
But NPD found that most people just aren't going mobile with their Netbooks. According to the firm, 60 percent of buyers said that after the purchase of a Netbook, they never took it out of the house.
That's a problem for Netbooks. If its key advantage is portability, and users are instead bringing their mobile phones with them on a road trip, the Netbook is forced to compete almost exclusively in the home, where the notebook is king. And as I detailed earlier, it's becoming more difficult to choose the Netbook over the notebook.
What can be done?
Inhabiting the middle ground between smartphones and notebooks isn't going to help the Netbook market maintain strong growth.
That's why I think that the decision to sell Netbooks with Google Android installed is such a great idea. Android might not be an operating system with which most people are familiar, but it provides a different value proposition for the consumer, making the Netbook unique. And Android Marketplace applications extend its functionality.
Maybe mobile apps are the future for Netbooks. Or maybe a touch screen is.
Touch screens are in high demand. And since most PC vendors are loath to use touch screens in devices outside of tablet PCs, it might be a good idea to put them into Netbooks.
But in the end, it's tough to say what might help Netbooks from being cannibalized by smartphones and notebooks. They offer some real value to consumers, but if those consumers are being confused, it's time that vendors start finding better ways to differentiate Netbooks. Maintaining the status quo simply won't work.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
It's like demanding that a consumer get certified in Real Estate sales before buying a house.
You also forget that this is a dynamic market, and that folks buy these things for different reasons. They could be buying a cheap little netbook for their teenaged kid to use, or they could just want something for their non-tech spouse (e.g. a netbook would be perfect for my missus, since all she does on her notebook is surf the web, do emails, and play an occasional flash-based game on the thing. OTOH, I sometimes plug my notebook into the home network and make it part of a mini render-farm, or I use it as an impromptu gaming box).
Some folks may have a notebook/netbook hanging around for other reasons, reasons that no one else would ever think about (I once had one strapped down in my RV trailer as a photo-repository/movie-player/game-box during hunting season, since between it and a 15" LCD monitor, the whole shebang drew only 1/3 the wattage of a small television and DVD player).
But the thing is people get pissed off and act like its the companies fault most of the time because they didn't make a educated decision.
When people buy a car for 10 - 320k they ussually do a little more research so I don't see why they can't do the same when purchasing a piece of electronic equipment.
Netbooks are called netbooks because they are portable and light adding all this extra crap just makes them notebooks does it not?
If size and weight become the only part that differs it from Notebook class.
Remember that many ultraportable laptops also have internal DVD writers installed. Netbooks, most notably, don't have them. And many ultraportables have much higher (4-6GB) RAM options as many Netbooks max out at 2GB. I wouldn't run Vista Home using a 1.3GHz Netbook with only 1GB of RAM.
If the carriers had more affordable data plans - something akin to residential rates for DSL/Cable, $20-$30/month, then you'll see more netbooks leaving the house more often.
Until that happens, people are just going to continue to use their iPhones, Pre's, whatever for their mobile internet access.
Many of the consumers that have rushed out to get a Netbook were only looking for a "deal" on a cheap laptop. I'm sure many of them disregarded the fact that what they were buying is termed "Netbook" and for a technical reason.
There's a reason my local Costco can't give away their supply of the HP netbooks. Most shoppers want to have a small, lightweight laptop; but they also want computing "muscle", generous storage space, fast WiFi, rip & burn DVD/CDs, and ability to run Office apps along with a long list of other possible applications like Photoshop & etc. Netbooks weren't intended for that would be money wasted.
The only people to blame are the companies themselves. There is a huge market for netbooks that can fit in your pocket, it's just someone somewhere forgot what the point was.
iPhones and the like are great to have for people who want to check prices on items when they are out at the store, or to check weather, traffic, movie times, directions, etc ... as well as texting and making phone calls. I can't see composing too many documents on it or trying to work with a large spreadsheet ... and gaming is limited, as of now.
Students should probably stick to having a notebook. They can bring it to class, library, whatever and still have the processing power for gaming or certain projects that a netbook might not be able to handle.
Overall, the consumer should be able to know what they are buying before they buy it. Either by doing research on their own or asking questions to someone who knows. It usually comes down to Portability vs Power. Manufacturers of Netbooks should bring down the prices as much as they can to differentiate them from notebooks. If that extra cost goes into miniaturization, then that's kinda difficult to do. But if the higher prices are simply because Netbooks were a marketing trend ... then they deserve to be outsold by notebooks.
Smartphone in the other hand can be used while standing, queuing, walking, driving (regardless of how the danger escalates).
Personally, other than the airplane case where space is very limited, I don't find trouble with carrying slightly larger and heavier notebook. If there's a place to seat and put the computer on, then larger notebook is more comfortable.
But the smartphone is far different.
Just about every post I read here reminds me of that episode.
Take day- or two-day old news, rewrite it, and then analyze it by saying stuff like: "Most PC vendors don't want to put touchscreens in portable computers, therefore they should put touchscreens in portable computers" and "These netbook things will be cannibalized by laptops and smartphones," two things have been around since long before netbooks and that netbooks have been actively cannibalizing since they hit the market.
I'll wait till I can get full web page viewing and a dual core, or a much faster single core, machine. I liked the low energy usage and the low heat output (which my ASUS A8JP creates a TON of heat with it's dedicated video card.
Supposedly dual core atoms for netbooks are coming this fall. Dual Core Netbook + expresscard + decent low end GPU = sold
I find myself using my home computer much less these days simply because I get so much done with my iPod touch. This class of devices is the future. Many other countries, this is already pretty well accepted; for example, the Japanese run their lives around their cellphones.
Now that you can get so much accomplished with a device that fits in your pocket, the widespread adoption of netbooks is doubtful.
i agree with the jist of this commentary and with the comments above; consumers simply need to be more educated.
I always research my purchases before I make then, be it a computer, TV, washing machine, or car. I know all my options and make the best choice for me. When I worked at Sears people used to want the cute camera or the cheapest TV and then I'd end up with returns...
Also, I'd like to mirror the previous comments about Netbooks crossing the line when the screens kept creeping up in size.
Customer : "Wow this laptop is small and cheap!! Is is good?"
Vendor : "Of course it is, it's HP, that s a good brand eheheh"
Customer : " Whoaaa an HP for so cheap !! I buy it"
Vendor * Mission accomplished *
Netbooks just don't make sense when you can get a smartphone for $200....which incidentally also make phonecalls.
They are the ones who started blurring the distinction between netbooks and notebooks. Netbooks were always meant to be lightweight and light-usage devices. Manufacturers never miss an opportunity to mislead the consumer.
Second to blame: The retailers
The kindest thing that could be said of the sales staff is that they are completely and utterly clueless regarding the technology they are pressed to sell. That is not the staff's fault however. When corporate spends most of the training regimen on *How to deny customers Price Matching -- even though we have a Price Matching Policy!*, there is no time for training them on the distinctions, limitations, pros and cons of netbooks vs. notebooks. Retailers never miss an opportunity to screw the consumer.
But when I'm home and just want to surf the internet, check email, etc., I'm completely happy with my little Nokia n800 MID. It doesn't have the performance of a computer, and the screen is only 4.3" large, but I can get 5-6 hours of internet access on it and the web views are clean and sharp. But it wouldn't work at all as a teaching tool.
So perhaps the real issue is that Smartphones and Netbooks do different things and that purchasing the one doesn't preclude usefulness from the other.
Still, if I could only use 1 device, it would have to be the Netbook. It does everything the Nokia does, and more, but in a somewhat larger size.
You pay a lot for internet on that smartphone. The additional cost over a budget cell-phone plan over the contract life that you take to get that smartphone at a subsidized price is astounding. Add it up sometime if you never have. You are definately the ones paying a premium for service.
Meanwhile, I have internet at work and at home. I am only on the go from home to work and work to home until the weekend comes around. If I am on the go during the weekend, I have my netbook with me. I purchased a used Asus 1000 EEE and loaded Easypeasy 1.1 on it. It boots in <40 seconds, and it's life ranges from 5-6 hours straight. With suspend to disk, I can leave it on all day and use it only when I need it with even faster boot times. Firefox fits on one page, and I rarely have to scroll horizontally. I can easily check e-mails, and I can reply to them with much more ease than a smartphone. If I'm sending several replies, the time I save is already more than the amount it took to start up. I have N64, genesis, and NES emulators running smoothly on it. On the go retro gaming is great, especially with the long battery life.
For a phone, I don't really use one. I don't pay for one, and I use mostly e-mail. I check so many times a day, that I can usually respond quicker to an e-mail than I ever could to a voice-mail. When I do want to talk to people I use skype, and they can see me when they are talking with me.
This only really works so well for me because I live so close to a lot of free wi-fi spots, and I have always been able to find them rather easily when I travel. If you live far from free wi-fi, then it would seem that you are stuck with 3G and a netbook would not be very useful at all.
- by SMR-Steve July 7, 2009 3:55 PM PDT
- I strongly disagree with this article.
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(26 Comments)I was in the stone age with my P4 until June. I compared my P4 with a few notebooks and netbooks. Since I really craved XP, a cheap HP Mini is what I went with. When my P4 tower died this month...I've only been using my netbook. I installed my printer drivers, and put my documents on the new computer. I have not looked back. This shatters my P4 experience. It's not a Core 2 - Quad core laptop, but with the emphasis shifting away from high end gaming and towards internet/cloud apps, this little netbook soars compared to my old tower. To be frank, if MS lifted the ram NERFing requirements, there would be very little to distinguish between netbook/notebook. I feel liberated from optical disks with this netbook, like I felt liberated from floppies on my last computer.
I was expecting to have a second computer to surf on, but necessity forced me to view it as my primary and though I thought I would be disappointed, I haven't been. And it smokes my p4 in making movies in movie maker. :) It is superior in every way to my old system. If you are wanting a computer to exceed a purchase made in the last 2 years, then netbooks will be a rude awakening. But otherwise, netbooks are a powerful alternative, filling in the notebook role as notebooks replace the desktop.