Comments on: The Netbook is dead. Long live the notebook!
Many companies showed systems they called Netbooks at CES, but most of them were really just small full-function laptops. Here's why the show marked the death of the Netbook concept.
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Silicon Valley-based computer architect and chip analyst Peter N. Glaskowsky attends a variety of industry conferences throughout the year to meet with industry thought leaders and dig into the future of computing technology. In Speeds and Feeds, he analyzes trends in system architecture and interface design, as well as market and political pressures surrounding those trends. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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Netbooks have changed how people think about computers. They are not underpowered laptops, but a new category, being used by people who have never owned a laptop. Laptops are portable PCs, that have to perform like PCs; netbooks are something new. The old guard are saying "why would you want something so underpowered?", but the new guard, who have their photos on flickr or Picasa, their documents on Google docs, their email on gmail or hotmail or Yahoo are more than happy. So I can't do video editing on a netbook? Well, boohoo!
Look, the term "horseless carriage" is still around and still occasionally used to describe automobiles, but only ironically. That term was created to describe automobiles built using the same configuration and manufacturing technology as horse-drawn carriages. It was a perfectly good term, but when the automobile industry moved on to more sensible chassis and body designs, it became obsolete.
Similarly, the term "Netbook" is obsolete because that just isn't what these new machines are. They're still small, but we've always had small notebooks, and size doesn't have anything to do with the "net," so that isn't enough to justify the continued use of the term.
Asus created a category and there is a strong demand for a small cheap computer, what ever you choose to call it.
Yes the original netbook concept has evolved and I think rightly. For me the resolution on the original 7" was too low, but the eeepc 1000 with a 10" screen (the unit is only fractionally bigger than the 7") has tempted me to splash out. In a household of that has many other computers (mostly XP/Vista) the one that is in most demand for leisure stuff is the Linux netbook!
One stat that interested me is that on Amazon.co.uk (Wed 21st Jan), Linux is on 9 of the top 20 selling netbooks.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/electronics/120100031/ref=pd_ts_ce_nav
Today's netbooks are cool but just imagine what OLED and computer on a chip with integrated SSD, could do for the category in a few years time...
The 'Netbook' term was given by those who *wanted* this to seem limited, since Windows itself wouldn't be able to do much on these specs. But for those who know, its a fantastic platform.
Netbooks are today, Small form-factor Notebooks were yesterday, and PDA's were a little further back as well. None of them have lasted. I think the closest you'll come to a lasting product is a mutli-function smart phone (ie. read the iPhone and the G1). Something that really meets the promise of mobile computing in your pocket.
I for one would rather have a cheap ($150 ~ $200) e-book reader than anything else. One that first of all LOOKS GOOD (ugg...the kindle and sony's are just lame looking), and second of all is a reasonable price for a product that does very little. Trow in wi-fi access, and simple browser (the things even currently run on linux) and perhaps a on-screen touch keyboard and even a simple drawing app for the 'delux' $300 model and there you go! The thing would be worth the price and you would add the benefit that it is not a notebook; meant for serious computing on any level and it reduces eye strain and allows good reading. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Alas I think it will always an only ever be a nich market. Oh, well.
Some Power User just need a dumb terminal to do the job and a netbook does that well also.
I do agree with the author that the netbook concept is inherently silly and only works for very inexpensive small form factor notebooks. The true netbook is just a larger PDA, with better ergonomics than a fancy cell phone. You can't (easily) do word processing and simple office work on an iPhone or it would qualify as a "net"book.
Some people need somethig a little larger, but not a full blown (expensive) notebook. However, as prices creep up, processors get more powerful, why get a $400 "net"book when you can get a much more useful $400 "note"book?
Netbooks are cheating you out of your money! They are selling you a notebook without an DVD burner, but still charging you full price! I'd demand my money back.
The way I understand it, what is actually happening is we are looking at the entire spectrum of computing devices and creating categories by most appropriate useage. Mr. Glaskowsky is making the argument that manufacturers are changing their 'netbooks' to the point where the devices no longer fall into the 'netbook category'. I agree with him here.
He also seems to be saying that devices that fall into the netbook category are pretty useless. This, I disagree with. I think there is a great need for computing devices that can handle high end communications, document editing, and internet. Low end notebooks ate too much, and smartphones are too little.
came across this article because I can't read enough about the T101h
Initially I thought the author was saying netbooks are dead because no one wants a very portable but limited function netbook for a reasonable price.
Now I think he is just saying they are making netbooks almost as powerful as notebooks so the 'netbook' name should be dead?
I represent a large mass of people who spend a few hours a day commuting to NY on the train and don't feel like lugging a 6 lb notebook home every day. At home I can VPN in through my desktop, I just need something if I'm working on the train or a clients site. A good deal of my time is CAD work, but even when I do have my 6lb laptop with me on the train I'm not doing CAD work, it just doesn't work well.
Excel, Word, Email, viewing PDFs.... that's all I want to be able to do with a Netbook (or whatever you want to call it). I couldn't care if there was a 5 lb notebook with a 15 in screen available for the same price, that's not what I'm interested in.
The author uses a catch-22 to try to backup his point....that a netbook with acceptable performance is not a netbook at all. So the idea of a netbook was designed (by the manufactures and marketers of netbooks) to fail after ~ 2 years . And they will cease using the term ' netbook " to market netbooks that have accpetable performance?
I think most would agree that a "netbook" is essentially a notebook , that is :
1) with small footprint
2) power efficient
3) generally lower cost
nothing more ........
A subenotebook is basically a netbook but difference being high cost bling bling, but inherently the same as far as small footprint , less capable, often more power-efficient, compared to typical notebook alternatives . AFAIK the subnotebook has always had a strong enough niche market in Asia for many years. Should this market die? like the netbook market the author claims?
A netbook is really just a way to market a lower cost small laptop. Some of these early generation NETBOOKS are poor performers and the average person would be better off with a typical notebook. But some of these are still very usable, and preferred as an acceptably usable ,interesting , affordable alternative to some of these other BORING offerings. The author confuses and seems too biased to acknowledge some of these things.
So a fast netbook is a a paradox?
And I argue that an ARM-based netbook is not a netbook nor a notebook. It's called a PDA and they have those already out. :P
That a fair majority of people disagree with you Peter, makes me wonder. Even the people that ARE agreeing with you get taken down a peg with a comment that tells them "yes that's nice but I'm more clever than that"
"by Peter N. Glaskowsky February 7, 2009 3:26 PM PST
Yes, very good. I agree.
And if it turns out that the tiger already existed for decades before lions evolved into tigers, and the only remaining lions are in zoos, we can reasonably say that lions are extinct in the wild.
It's not the best analogy :-) but it makes the point well. Thanks.
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I've got more use out of reading the comments than the article. I think the term IS poorly defined in the real world, but at the end of the day, it's a computer, and the specifications should be compared as such. If I want a lightweight computer and I'm happy with the specs, and it fits in my budget, then I'm the customer. It is the same thing that was said about the MacBook Air when it was released.. "where's the market.. why would you want a less powerful machine?!" but the answer that came was, I don't need all that much power, i travel a lot and it's in my budget.. or it's a luxury item I want etc.. and as someone pointed out, if you know what you're doing, setting up Linux right on one of these "netbooks" will give you a great experience since many distros of Linux can even run on a 386.
I guess the point I'm making is.. who cares! The name is just a flimsy marketing concept that helps shop owners sell it to the public. So as someone else pointed out, you've renamed their marketing terms and decided that the older models aren't selling as well as the new ones.. well done. But wait a minute.. the larger netbooks ARE selling well?! so maybe you should speak to their marketing teams and tell them to change the name because you disagree with their rights to name and categorize their products!
I disagree with you. Netbooks have essentially been driving the PC market in recent months. There's a lot of people out there that just want to browse the internet and use SaaS applications to boot instead of loading them on their PC. At least that's Goog'e's master plan. Also, as more users are adopting handset devices such as Appple's iPhone, Blackberry (and now the N97 that just came out recently) to browse the net and e-mail one another, those are incredibly small screens as well, much smaller than Netbooks. That kind of nullifieds your argument about smaller screens. Also, as you study the millenial generation, these kids will be entering the workforce arming themselves with handsets or netbooks like gun fighters in the old West. If you look at who is driving the Netbook market, it's Microsoft, Intel and the telecommunication companies that are offering free Netbooks in exchange for three year data service packages, etc.. Now you have a ton of vendors jumping on the bandwagon. Nvidia is even going after this market. Although I agree that some apps aren't right for the Netbook market, social networks, SaaS, college students and other things will drive this market in the future. The gaming market is still niche compared to the general PC market. Otherwise HP and Dell would be rocking with their gaming acquisitions they've made in the past.
best,
-M
I'm just saying that the machines that are selling so well aren't Netbooks, and those machines that ARE still Netbooks aren't selling.
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I will make 2 claims. Not only will the netbook survive and thrive (a 10-12 inch computer in my opinion), it will also revive the desktop.
The modern notebook is trying to have the best of both worlds (portabiity and power), and with that combination comes higher costs and less value. A notebook is much less powerful than a desktop at the same price point, while much less mobile than a netbook (let's face it, a netbook can do everything that you need it to do, on the go). What you get in a notebook is an expensive portable computer that's "kinda" portable and "kinda" powerful.
I would think the average consumer would rather shell out $1500 for a very powerful desktop ($1000-$1200) and a netbook ($300-$500) than a $1500 notebook that is "sorta" portable and "sorta" powerful.
Mark
So you don't consider the 10 inch computers netbooks? If you're saying the 7-inch computers are dead, I totally agree. But I believe the 10-12 inch, energy efficient laptops like the samsung nc10, hp mini 2140 and others will thrive and eventually overtake the 13-17 inch power hungry notebooks.
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Netbook is designed to be fun, easy, and take-anywhere. The sort of thing you toss in a beach bag, or fire up when you're four wheel driving or camping. I surf the web in bed on a Sunday morning, or on the couch while my wife watches telly, check the surf report on the way to the beach in the morning, check the weather forecasts while I'm camping, and navigate bush tracks with my USB GPS. None of these things I would do with a regular laptop (screen > 10", HDD instead of SSD) no matter how cheap it was. (too big, too heavy, too hot, too fragile, too expensive).
By design it is not intended to be used as a full notebook replacement. There is a reason the early ones ran a chopped-down Linux. Without dragging this argument into another OS battle, I think the biggest problem the basic netbooks have had is one of the expectations set. Badly set expectations by retailers selling the Linux ones like they were a "little laptop", and then getting home to find they got Linux and it wasn't like XP. A problem further exacerbated by the more recent to XP - switching to a HDD and filling it with Windows XP on envourages idiots to try rendering an animated movie on the thing - of course they'll be dissapointed, and of course articles like the one from this author will result.
In addition to how poorly written your article was content wise, you make no distinction at all that You Believe the new generations of netbooks (yes, what they're marketed as -- netbooks) are not netbooks.
You first mention how the 1st generation netbooks can only websurf, then transition into the newer EEE Pc line of netbooks. Giving the impression that not only do you still consider them netbooks, but also that they are not that much better than the first generation netbooks. You group them as if they were the same concept.
What you need to do is make it CLEAR from the beginning that you don't consider what we are familiar as netbooks to be actual "netbooks" (9-10" screens). Then you need to make a clear distinction of what you consider IS a netbook. Then work your way through the reasoning. If you read the whole article with the mentality that a 9-10" Atom N270 is a netbook, then you can understand why a reader would be so confused (in fact I'm sure there are still DOZENS of people who've read this, who still believe you think a 9-10" laptop is a netbook, and nodding their heads when they are dead wrong.)
The good: A decent opinion piece.
The bad: Poor organization. Lack of distinction in the mentioned products. Arcane definition of "netbook" that author leaves ambiguous.
Bottom Line: If you're looking for a clarification on the piece, read the comments. Otherwise, be prepared to leave with a huge misconception from the author.
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And if it turns out that the tiger already existed for decades before lions evolved into tigers, and the only remaining lions are in zoos, we can reasonably say that lions are extinct in the wild.
It's not the best analogy :-) but it makes the point well. Thanks.
. png
We should remind ourselves that the best selling computer of all time was the Commodore 64, which I recall seeing for $200 in K-Mart. (That would be closer to $400 in today's money, of course.) Notably that happened in an era before eBay and before there were a lot of used, outdated computers floating around.
When I was in school, I really wanted a small, portable, inexpensive computer that I could use to take notes at the library or run simple BASIC programs. Nobody made one. (The Tandy Model 100 was already out of production and obsolete.) There were only $1500+ DOS/Windows business machines.
Making a computer "powerful enough" for most everyday uses is a solved problem, it was solved years ago. Consider the iMac. . . When the iMac was introduced in 1998, it was the original "powerful enough" net-computer (the "i" was for internet, remember?). They were used for everything: email, browsing, photo editing, music, games, writing.
And yet, all the netbooks being sold today -- even the cheapest, lowest-spec ones -- are more powerful than the original iMac. A minimal "netbook" (bare bones Dell Mini-9, for comparison) has seven times the processor clock rate of the first iMac, 16 times the RAM, and the same sized drive storage. How is that inadequate? Have the kinds of things that people do with their computers changed so drastically since 1998? I can't see how they have. The argument that netbooks are failing, or have failed, because they were inadequate doesn't work with me.
- by lopez3000 July 9, 2009 7:09 AM PDT
- What happened Cnet?
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Showing 2 of 3 pages (82 Comments)This article is sooo biased, so partial, soo bad. It is a fact that netbooks sales are skyrocketing worldwide. If the Mr Glaskowski does not like it it is not a good reason to write so much crap. In my country netbook is the new boom. We ALL know that t doesnt have the features a notebook does, but most of all the people are not computer geeks, just normal people that want to surf the web or check their emails.