Comments on: Stick a fork in netbooks, they’re done

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:30:43 +0000

Actually, I’d say the Intel Atom Windows 8 devices are a more modern version of the netbook. RT can’t run legacy apps like netbooks could.

By: marees

marees — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:57:11 +0000

You missed one more netbook initiative… MS Windows RT …only drawback costs thrice as much as a chromebook

By: Luscious

Luscious — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:27:59 +0000

I too was saddened by the demise of netbooks in 2012, but I feel the blame is more on Intel and MS for their restrictions crippling the platform. My benchmarks prove even a N570 can match a Core 2 Duo on certain tasks. Factor in as well that Intel stalled both Pine Trail and Cedar Trail for months – right at the time when netbooks were at their peak. Combine all that with the iPad release, and you have a recipe for a product segment failure.

The funny thing is though that netbooks still continue to garner a niche audience. Despite being more than a year since I wrote about it, my article on 101 things you can do with a netbook continues to be at the number 1 spot in my site’s rankings:

http://lgponthemove.blogspot.com/2011/11/tech-tips-101-things-you-can-do-with.html

And even if 10″ form-factors die off, 11.6″ models continue to thrive. 12″ notebooks have always been a lucrative market, especially within the enterprise.

By: marneydavide

marneydavide — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:23:34 +0000

Netbooks will go away when the need for fast and accurate text input goes away. I see iPads out there with Bluetooth keyboards, and I laugh. Not only do you now have two different pieces of equipment, you have put them into either two separate protective covers. Of course, you could put them into one clamshell-like cover which makes them into … a netbook.

The Chromebook isn’t an anomaly.

By: alexmedawayhasleftthebuilding

alexmedawayhasleftthebuilding — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:51:21 +0000

i did see an interview where he just said, “the phone was more important. after we made the iphone and took a breath, it was time for the ipad.”

and again he was right. as great as the ipad is, the iphone is the most successful piece of hardware of all time.

By: Brb Robertson

Brb Robertson — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:25:57 +0000

The latest netbooks are hardly underpowered. The Intel N2600 SOC appears to Windows/Linux OS as if a quad-core 1.6GHz processor (dual-core with 2x hyperthreads per core, but physically set to appear as four cores) with a decent 3650 GPU, and hardware HDMI decoding for Flash/H264/Divx.

The netbook format is handicapped by the Microsoft screen limitations, and the Intel memory limitations, but provided they run Windows OS the majority of users learned to live with the limitations. Fortunately, because of auto-sizing of screen views on the Internet to accomodate smart-phones, the screen limitation is not a problem that’s getting worse on the Internet.

With WiFi/n netbooks are particularly good as ersatz TVs, for IPTV/PVR – and maybe that is particular to the UK because of the BBC’s excellent service. But why would I want to hold a tablet for video viewing when the netbook sits on the arm of my chair etc without me having to hold it.

By: statspotting

statspotting — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:35:31 +0000

is there a reason you can think of, why steve jobs worked on the phone first and tablet later, in spite of actually getting an iPad prototype first?

http://statspotting.com/2012/12/why-did-steve-jobs-decide-to-make-the-iphone-before-the-ipad/

By: EricLKlein

EricLKlein — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:57:46 +0000

Still awaiting a proper tablet that has full MS Office (and Endnote) support that can easily be connected to a VGA projector (as found at most conferences).

No product that I have seen on the market can support these requirements yet

By: Adrian

Adrian — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 13:47:55 +0000

In a sense it’s kind of sad. The little secret I discovered about contemporary netbooks is that they are actually the best choice for a portable “normal” business laptop since they have the same power of a business machine that is about 6 years old meaning you can do everything you need for about $300!! Obviously if you are into watching high definition movies and other CPU intensive activities, then you need something more powerful but that is not what most of us do during the normal course of business. My Acer has proven to be one of the best work computers I have ever owned! It’s a secret discovered by accident. The PC industry almost shot themselves in the foot if everyone else, or at least everyone in the corporate world, had discovered this. Companies could have saved themselves a fortune. My two cents!!

By: alexmedawayhasleftthebuilding

alexmedawayhasleftthebuilding — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:57:44 +0000

steve job’s introduction of the iPad says it all. for a new product to merit existing, it has to do something totally new. the way you can just grab the internet with your hands with the ipad, the way you can carry it around easily and have conference calls or watch video or play games portably on a rather large screen, are completely new (just try carrying a laptop around and holding it in one hand). and so, again, jobs was proven right in that he understood that the ipad was not just the oversized ipod touch people were calling it at first.

in that same speech, jobs laughed off the netbooks that he was about to kill. “it’s just a cheap notebook.”