In today’s mobile world, Netbooks and iPads are trying to find their place. Will one push out the other?
In fact these are two completely different devices with different operation. Netbooks are good for those who need just email web surfing. The iPad has higher potential due to its more powerful innards.
It’s obvious that tablets are trending to be the main device that common users will use to browse the web and perform many simple functions. A Netbook will still have its use, as the ergonomics of a plain keyboard will be more useful for those who not only browse the web, but do word processing and email. We should also keep an eye on handwriting recognition technology, as that will determine just how much a tablet like the iPad will be able to replace low end PCs in the future.
Depending on the organizational needs, one could make a case for just one or both. Most Netbooks for example, will come with a version of Windows allowing you to run almost any Windows application directly on the device. In terms of iPads, you are limited by what is available in the AppStore. Each has its place in the world; however, you need to fully understand the organizational needs before picking one or both for the environment.
And maybe, Netbooks will be swamped by iPad and the Android Tablets will become an irrelevant marginalized segment by 2013? Even today, the iPad is a better device for almost every task one might use a Netbook (web/email/music/video/games) for. It is definitely better as an eBook reader or web-surfing device.
