Netbooks, whats your thoughts?

[QCassidy352]

As I've posted before, I don't "get" the netbook market.

The difference between a netbook and a macbook is 1.5 pounds. The difference between an iphone and a netbook is putting it in my pocket vs. carrying a bag.

IMO, this second difference is far, far more significant. If I'm going to be taking a bag, I'll "burden" myself with the extra 24 ounces and bring a real computer with lots of screen space, an ample keyboard, and plenty of horsepower. If all I need to do is internet and email then an iphone (or other smartphone, if you prefer) is quite capable of doing that.

There's one situation in which I can see a netbook being useful - if you
a. have a desktop at home, and
b. need more than internet and email on the go (word processing is what seems most obvious to me), but
c. don't need the power or screen space of a real notebook

That seems like a pretty limited situation to me. But apparently millions of netbook buyers realize something I don't.

 

[PlaceofDis]

As I've posted before, I don't "get" the netbook market.

The difference between a netbook and a macbook is 1.5 pounds. The difference between an iphone and a netbook is putting it in my pocket vs. carrying a bag.

IMO, this second difference is far, far more significant. If I'm going to be taking a bag, I'll "burden" myself with the extra 24 ounces and bring a real computer with lots of screen space, an ample keyboard, and plenty of horsepower. If all I need to do is internet and email then an iphone (or other smartphone, if you prefer) is quite capable of doing that.

There's one situation in which I can see a netbook being useful - if you
a. have a desktop at home, and
b. need more than internet and email on the go (word processing is what seems most obvious to me), but
c. don't need the power or screen space of a real notebook

That seems like a pretty limited situation to me. But apparently millions of netbook buyers realize something I don't.

that pretty much does sum things up for me honestly. i need more power than my iphone could handle, but not as much as a full laptop. there is one other important factors to consider as well. price and physical size.

the weight is really a non issue. i agree. but a netbook is physically smaller and means i can fit more into my bag when i am on the go than i could otherwise, without having to have a ridiculously large back either. and a netbook is much,much cheaper than shelling out money for a macbook. and if you are constantly on the go with the machine that means its also more prone to damage, accidental especially, and i'd say that my dell mini is built a lot stronger than my old macbook, if only because it is so tiny. also i wont be fretting about it since the cost of it wasnt so high.

all this makes a huge difference especially when you're taking it with you everywhere, and for me, on my bike so much its one less worry.

 

[kolax]

Here's what I'd want a Mac netbook to look like.

11" display, full sized keyboard, multitouch trackpad (smaller, but still a lot more usable than any other netbook).

I'm not very good at mockups, so excuse the crap quality - but something along those lines would be awesome. Visualise the concept of it.

 

[sushi]

Here's what I'd want a Mac netbook to look like.

11" display, full sized keyboard, multitouch trackpad (smaller, but still a lot more usable than any other netbook).

I'm not very good at mockups, so excuse the crap quality - but something along those lines would be awesome. Visualise the concept of it.

Interesting. I like the idea.

Problem with many Netbooks is power. As long as you can run Mac OS X decently I think it would be popular for those who have a desktop at home.

 

[Srai-W]

Interesting. I like the idea.

Problem with many Netbooks is power. As long as you can run Mac OS X decently I think it would be popular for those who have a desktop at home.

I actually don't mind that at all. Better than the mock-up ninemsn had a week back or so. If it ran OS X then it would be awesome. One thing I have been looking at - all this Windows 7 stuff, will that mean it will run on netbooks??? Ok, before anyone wants to bash me - I use both so am open to either Windows or . The only thing is that my dell running vista is an absolute pile of horse ****. But all the hype about Windows 7 makes me think if it was to run on a netbook..

 

[chewietobbacca]

I actually don't mind that at all. Better than the mock-up ninemsn had a week back or so. If it ran OS X then it would be awesome. One thing I have been looking at - all this Windows 7 stuff, will that mean it will run on netbooks??? Ok, before anyone wants to bash me - I use both so am open to either Windows or . The only thing is that my dell running vista is an absolute pile of horse ****. But all the hype about Windows 7 makes me think if it was to run on a netbook..

Apparently, Windows 7 will have a Netbook version for it that is meant to run on it (probably slimmer requirements, interface changes, etc.) so MS is certainly watching out for it right now.

And Win 7 is supposedly faster than XP with less memory requirements than Vista, so it will be a prime choice for an OS on a netbook

Until then though, I've installed Mac OS X on my Acer Aspire One (w/ 6 cell battery) and I take it everywhere - its tiny, light, cheap, and runs both OS's quite well actually.