Netbook vs. iPhone: A better comparison
I'm going to break from the well-established tradition of comparing Netbooks to notebooks. This time my yardstick is going to be the smartphone. And no better yardstick than the Apple iPhone.
Verizon is selling Netbooks as kind of an upscale smartphone
(Credit: Verizon)This post updates a year-old piece (which, by the way, at least one writer took exception to).
As the holiday-shopping season approaches, many consumers face an ostensible choice between an inexpensive Netbook or more expensive notebook. I personally face that choice (or, at least, I thought I did).
Let me state up front that though I have used Netbooks on a temporary basis, I have never owned one.
I (now) believe that Netbook comparisons to mainstream laptops (which will always disappoint because Netbooks are slower, screens smaller, keyboards more cramped--and this list of comparative shortcomings is long) is really the wrong way to look at it. Let me illustrate.
I recently interviewed the chief technology officer for a large school district in Louisiana that had purchased a lot of Netbooks. And I asked what I thought was the most pertinent question: weren't performance and screen size a concern? She quickly pointed out that my perspective was all wrong.
In short, students in K through 12 are accustomed to iPhone-size screens and performance. So moving to a Netbook is a big step up. From this perspective, the screens are large, the keyboards expansive, and the performance more than adequate.
This suddenly made a lot of sense to me because of my personal experience. Take the iPhone 3GS (or Motorola Droid or BlackBerry Storm, take your pick ). To state the obvious, in many respects, this is a personal computer platform for e-mail, texting, Web surfing, music, navigation, YouTube, and the list goes on.
In other words, the iPhone is for consuming data and media as well as light production. Like the Netbook. But the Netbook, obviously, takes this to the next level. It adds a keyboard and a larger screen, which also makes it potentially a better production platform. So, it's an iPhone Plus, if you will.
And here's the real proof in the pudding. Where do you see Netbooks being sold these days (think Nokia Booklet)? At phone carriers, like Verizon. The last time I visited a Verizon store, it had 3G Netbooks prominently displayed right next to the Motorola Droid.
The point seems obvious to me now. Want to be more productive? Step up to a Netbook. And this follows the same logic of the CTO at the Louisiana school district. And upcoming tablets and media pads from Apple and others will also be marketed as a high-end iPhone-like device, in my opinion.
So, in the next month or so when I try to sort out which Netbook to buy (This CNET review says the HP Mini 5101 is one of the best Netbooks on the market now), I'll be shopping for an upscale smartphone not a stripped-down notebook.
NOTE: I'm not suggesting that anyone replace their iPhone with a Netbook. My point is that a Netbook can be used as an inexpensive adjunct to an iPhone or Droid for people who need to be more productive than an iPhone (or Droid) would allow.
Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec. 
Also, the iPod touch has trended toward a much younger demographic.
Umm, hello, a *ton* of notebooks have "always on" connections -- in fact, the same 3G connectivity the iPhone uses.
Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, etc., *all* offer netbooks with "always on" 3G.
the author points out that many netbooks are being sold at cell carriers with 3G cards built in, so they have the same always on capailities. plus with bluetooth tethering, the same thing can be achieved.
All iPhones have a "always on" internet connection. Not all netbooks have this capability. And I would not classify it as a TON of netbooks have this data service. Many, but not most. Regardless, the universality of a data connection for iphones is what makes them a more capable device (on the whole)
Another desperate attempt to justify the purchase of a uselessly compromised device.
McD
A 3.5" [or 3.7" for that matter] screen is a thumbnail compared to a 7"-13" screen on a netbook.
Hell, these e-readers are better suited for web browsing that a smartphone.
Watch somebody use a iPhone closely and observe how they are constantly zooming and scrolling to read a page that is formatted for a bigger screen.
And, let's not forget the lack of connectivity on a smart phone. No dongles for standard USB/Firewire/VGA/HDMI/DVI connections.
If your lucky, you'll get a dock that plugs into a flat screen TV.
These smartphones have opened a Pandora's Box that they will become victims of if they don't evolve immediately.
"constantly zooming and scrolling" ? - Have you ever used an iphone? Not only are many sites optimised for used on an iphone, but generally you only tap once to the informartion you want
Agreed! haha
Though I am looking forward to the UMID M2 that upgrades the specs without increasing the size.
iphone is a phone, netbook is a mini-laptop, it's like bicycle vs mini cooper.
I agree with jumpjetta & Renderman2009
My Thinkpad gathers dust now that I have one of these nifty Acers with a 10" screen. It was three hundred bucks. So what if it gets lost, cracked, dropped, or completely fails (I have a solid backup system). The device at that price is not disposable, but is a game changer based on the low price. Also, I love the size and portability. Fortunately they thought enough to make the power adapter small as well (have you seen mini notebooks with relatively large power adapters?). Why carry the notebook? The bigger screen is nice and I tell myself that one day I will enjoy the benefits of the extra screen size, but day after day the Thinkpad stays closed and the netbook gets toted.
What about the additional power from the notebook? I am a Windows user and am not going to include games in this discussion any more than to say that generally netbooks, notebooks, and smartphones are not viable permanent substitutes for a desktop. All Windows users know the reality of living with a Windows machine. The faster processor, ram, etc., is nice when the machine is new, but after it has become "seasoned", the performance degrades. I can use an old Compaq M300 pentium notebook running XP just as well as my Thinkpad or shiny new netbook, but I don't because the PC slot has failed and the USB port cannot be accessed when the CD is installed (it's that old!). The performance difference is noticeable, but still comparable. I wouldn't switch choose to carry my Thinkpad over my netbook due to performance advantages.
No other device has been able to displace my desktop computer. No matter what I use for "production" or other purposes, I rely on my desktop when I am at its station for the convenience of the installation, my peripherals and cables always at the ready. There is no compromise on screen size, keyboard. My desktop synchronizes files with my portable devices, although honestly it really only matters that I synchronize with the netbook (I am just not using the Thinkpad much and did not renew my MobileMe subscription). Having the netbook and the desktop sync'd is a true luxury and I am thankful that the technology has finally become free, easy, and reliable. No netbook nor smartphone has made an impact on my use and reliance on my desktop.
All that said, I think smartphones can become more useful for "production." We are all too aware of the Pre bringing the physical keyboard to knock out some iPhone sales. I "produce" less on my iPhone that I did on my Treo 650 because typing on the iPhone sucks. I play with voice recognition from time to time, so perhaps that is a step that would bring smartphones to the next level as far as "production", but with obvious limits brought by verbalizing in non-private settings. I cannot see a smartphone being as useful or capable as a netbook to the extent that I would leave the netbook at home when I see the need for production.
Similarly, a netbook could never replace the phone. A phone always finds a place on one's person due to the communication function of the phone. We are willing to carry a device that does more, but only to the extent that we retain the availability of the phones on our persons. A 10" netbook will never be as portable or available as today's phones (nevermind tomorrow's phones!).
Do K-12'ers really believe that netbooks are more useful because they are accustomed to their phones? Perhaps they are more accepting of the small screens because they are aware of how limited is their ability to type into smartphones and because they have never become jaded with notebooks sporting screens from 13-17 inches. Besides, kids generally like gadgets, so why say no? I like gadgets, too.
The netbook has made a significant impact on me. I would like to go from a 10 to 12 inch screen, an extra gig of memory, and a wireless mouse that doesn't require a USB stick (eg bluetooth). But I appreciate the built in SD card reader, USB ports, and very importantly the reasonable battery life. If they reduced the netbook so as to primarily act as a keyboard and screen for my iPhone, what would be my advantage? I see none.
I'll take a nice glazed donut over an iPhone any day... especially for dipping in cofffee.
He is saying that a netbook is a step UP from an iPhone.
L2Comprehend.
You have to think like a young (read: 12-18 year old, maybe even to 21) person. They do everything on their cell phones. Pictures, text messages, websurf. So a netbook would be a step up. Does a cell phone compare to a laptop? Not even close. Especially mine: I have an Alias 2, as Verizon does not yet have an iPhone. (Get a Droid? I think not.)
I have an iPod touch that I use more like an iPad. It houses my calendar, a calculator, several useful business apps, some games, and about a week's worth of music. Beats a Crackberry all to pieces.
But it doesn't replace my Mac. I work from my Mac, and it does all the stuff I need it to. When Apple releases a Mac netbook, that might be just what I need when I travel.
I can see a time, though, when what we have is a smartpad with Bluetooth headset for calls. The final merging of computer and cellphone. It's coming--and sooner than some would have us to think.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Portability is they key. If you can't throw it in your pocket, it doesn't matter if it's more powerful.
"It's coming--and sooner than some would have us to think."
No, it's not. You simply have no idea what you're talking about.
Give-and-take as needed between portability and size/power.A real knife is easier to use than a pocket knife except when you can?t help it.
Personally, I have an iPhone, a MacBook Pro, an iMac, a Mac tower, and a cluster of Linux servers. I look at netbooks and think it might be nice to have one, but I wouldn't be able to always carry it with me like the iPhone, and I wouldn't be able to work on it full time like the MacBook Pro. Its use would be very limited, wedged between the iPhone and MacBook Pro.
The bottom line here is that for years we had laptop->desktop->tower and now we have iPhone->netbook->laptop->desktop->tower. All we did is add two more levels at the "less capable, but more portable" end.
What may be interesting is where Apple's rumored tablet device may fit. I'm still not sure I see a place for it. They're literally have to design and engineer something many of us didn't know we wanted.
Clearly, mobility not only requires easy portability to ensure accessibility, and the smaller the portable device the more often it can be used without sitting down. In addition, the more "multiodal" the interface is, the more flexible the communication contact will be regardless of the dynamics of the environmen. When a person is mobile, there is no guarantee for when they can talk, listem,read, or type. That's where the flexibility of a handheld "smart-phone" can insure maximum accessibility and availability for making contact and exchanging (short0 information.
Obviously, when you need to more than that, you will need to use a larger device (bigger screen, keyboard), and probaly have to sit down (or stand at a tabletop) to that. So, if the real needs of a schoolkid, (or any consumer) is to communicate, rather than do homework, guess what they will then carry around with them, vs. what they may use at home or in a library?
The iphone forces you to use a laptop/netbook as your central server from where you manage your content. Although one can imagine an enhanced mobileme service in the future which will mean managing all your iphone content via the cloud...
So I see this article stating the obvious and missing an important point...what do you need to manage/view your content and will that ever be a single device?
Can you save documents on the iPhone?
Can you run more than 1 Apple Approved Application on the iPhone?
Can you put any software you want on the iPhone?
I would think Google's Android is a better comparison as you can do all of the above but let's face facts.
With the current speeds of the processors in todays smart phones there is no way you can even begin to compare them with NetBooks.
Especially the Toy That the iPhone has turned into. You may have 85K apps available the quality of the apps are poor at best. You cannot return the apps if you don't like them.
And for the biggest downfall of the apps most are games. I'm 46 years old. I don't want or need to play games on my phone or netbook for that matter.
I want usefull Apps that give me productivity. Save the iPhone for the "Island of Misfit Toy's" as Verizon suggests. It's even a lousy phone because of the network it's on.
1 out of 3 of my calls are dropped. So you may say it Toy than it is a Phone or Netbook.
The fact of the matter is that the more apps are available, the greater chance that an app that *you* will find useful exists. Nobody expects you to download all 100,000 apps. No iPhone user is required to download games.
Your logic here is completely defective.
If you have problems with your calls being dropped, I won't argue that. I assume you live in the United States and are using AT&T.
- by Dan7637 November 15, 2009 2:45 PM PST
- netbooks are the misfit toys, theyre crap
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- by bctexas November 15, 2009 5:43 PM PST
- Anyone who thinks the iPhone is crap is truely an idiot, I agree completely, and so does MILLIONS of other people. Not just a couple hundred thousand like drooid fan wannabes.
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (80 Comments)if you think the iphone is crap then your an idiot