Opinion: Why Netbooks Are Doomed

[Guest]

I've used an MSI Wind for a while. The absolutely, front-and-center, #1 problem with it is that the touchpad is so sensitive, I end up losing my typing position all the time; often wiping out large swaths of text in the process.

The crunchy mouse button, the bad position of the control key, and the rest don't really matter as much. When I do web browsing, e-mail reading and PowerPoint, it's actually an acceptable machine. I think it helps that the first thing I did was wipe the Windows XP and install Windows 7 RTM (from my MSDN subscription).

And the netbook actually manages to run Wizard 101 at playable frame rates!

 

[DokkRokken]

I've been using an Acer One Netbook since last year, and I don't know how I lived without it. Notes are far much easier to take down, and I can organize them better without all the paper clutter and waste. Previously, I had to haul around a big 15.4" laptop and constantly worried about damaging it; with a netbook, I can throw it in my backpack, and not worry too much about it being roughed around. I've rarely had problems typing on my netbook, nor have I had problems with using MS Works or Open Office.

The size of the screen hasn't been much of a bother, and the resolution is fine for my needs. Browsing the internet with Google Chrome is a pretty good experience, and reading Toms, and about 95% of other websites is a breeze. I just got used to the keyboard with a little practice, and now I rarely make any errors, and I haven't had any of the issues the author's wife is complaining about.

This article is funny, and does bring up the obvious shortcomings of a netbook. But too many people buy these things thinking they'll do more than they can. Had people done a little more research, and followed the old adage, 'try before you buy' , then they likely wouldn't be complaining as much.

 

[El_Capitan]

Still, another comment from a netbook user - don't buy netbooks thinking they'll do more than they can.

You know what my gripe about netbooks are? It's a gimmick. Instead of coming up with innovative ways to build smaller and lighter notebooks with longer battery life, they're packaging up junk out-of-date hardware just to make a profit out of them. You know what happens when they get popular? The race for better low-priced notebooks goes away. Instead, you get a polarized $900 low-end notebook vs. a $450 high-end netbook. People, you can get very nice notebooks for $450, why spend $100 less getting something that can do jack shite?

 

[Guest]

El_Capitan, you don't seem to get the key difference between that $450 notebook and a netbook - portability. My netbook is the first laptop I've ever owned that I had no qualms about taking with me everywhere. I have no use for a 14 or 15 inch notebook that weighs 6 pounds and is close to 2" thick. Or even worse, my old Dell 15.4" that weighed in at around 8 pounds with extra battery installed (and it still didn't come close to my netbook's battery life).

I'm sorry you still can't get why other people buy and use netbooks, but how about this - if you don't like them, don't use one. Just because I and others like me find them to be wonderful little machines doesn't make us "idiots."

 

[DokkRokken]

[citation][nom]El_Capitan[/nom]People, you can get very nice notebooks for $450, why spend $100 less getting something that can do jack shite?[/citation]

Notebooks that were 1-200 dollars more did have better performance, but they were too big, and too heavy in comparison. The market has since changed, but I needed something small, and portable then, and a netbook offered that in exchange for a performance hit. I didn't mind, and my basic computing needs have never really strained my netbook, so I'm a happy customer. I'm not sure what your definition of 'jack shite' is, but if it includes basic web surfing, writing documents, spreadsheets, and email then a netbook is more than up to the task, and it does them well. YouTube, and Flash may lag, but I don't feel particularly deprived; not as if anything much on YouTube is worth watching anyways, and I'm better off taking notes in class.

If I need some muscle, then I have my desktop. For most other tasks, a netbook is not only acceptable, but perfectly suited for them.

 

[Guest]

I personally love my ASUS EeePC. It's a 10.1" little wonder. I bought it to replace my 15.4" laptop that I had bought at the beginning of college. Since then I've brought my desktop to school and do heavy computing at my apt.

I wanted a netbook because the battery life and portability were very appealing. I have no problem carrying around a netbook, as opposed to my 8lb 15.4" notebook (man that thing was heavy). I don't know about other people, but I've been able to watch movies (granted not HD, but I was never into HD anyway), create powerpoints, write papers, and PLAY GAMES. When you buy a netbook, do you honestly buy it with the expectation that it will run full 3D FPS's? No. If you do, you should go jump out a window or something. But my netbook plays games like Zuma, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Plants vs Zombies and other small casual games perfectly fine. If you want a computer for heavy gaming, get a desktop replacement, or better yet, use your desktop.

 

[williamvw]

[citation][nom]El_Capitan[/nom]Netbooks are specified for target audiences. Who are these target audiences? Idiots?[/citation]
Heya, Capitan. You know I share your opinion, and I appreciate the support. However, perhaps you could join me in refraining from insinuating personal attacks ("idiots?") against other readers. Everyone is entitled to an educated opinion, whether we agree with it or not. Clearly, there are many usage models and user types. My hope is that the majority use their systems in productive peace and not as a tool for spewing unwarranted and unfounded maliciousness at others.

 

[Guest]

Wow, I'm surprised to see this article at a tech site. I bought my Asus Eeepc 1000HE the first month it was released. I've run the default Windows XP and Ubuntu Netbook Remix and have been able to enjoy the internet fine on both. Currently I'm in Windows I run Firefox and Chrome fine on it. I also can split screen run Firefox and Star Office's spreadsheet program to cut and paste between the two. I spend anywhere from 2-5 hours a day on it during the week and easily spend twice that on weekend days. It took me about 1 month to get used to typing on the keyboard, but now I type just as well on it as I do on my work keyboard which is a standard desktop keyboard. I'm 6'4" and 260 lbs., so I doubt your wife has hands larger than I do. I do not want a cell phone for web browsing hours at a time. Bored sitting in the car waiting on a kid or wife, sure, but not for regular use. After getting used to using my netbook my work laptop (an IBM ThinkPad) feels like an unwieldy brick. My netbook is perfect for use on the couch while I watch t.v. or for browsing in bed before hitting the hay. I have a desktop computer with a 20" LCD screen 3 feet away from me and I never even bother using it. The wife and kids use it, but I never do.

 

[Guest]

Whoa there Mr. VW, how dare you have biased opinion...as if there's another kind. I did have to laugh at someone calling you an idiot, then using the word EFFECIENT.

I could see using a Netbook, but we got a full-sized notebook for the larger keyboard and more horsepower (it's my son's gaming machine...mostly Lego games).

-seth

 

[lashabane]

I find it hilarious when people talk about portability as being the main point to purchase a netbook over a laptop. A 15.4" laptop weighs what, 8 pounds? If a person can't carry 8 pounds around with them all day with no problem, they're just zombie food.

 

[williamvw]

[citation][nom]lashabane[/nom]I find it hilarious when people talk about portability as being the main point to purchase a netbook over a laptop. A 15.4" laptop weighs what, 8 pounds? If a person can't carry 8 pounds around with them all day with no problem, they're just zombie food.[/citation]
I wasn't going to say it, but since you opened the door... I used to haul 15-20 pounds of books and gear around college all day. My cousin just started at Brown, and his constantly-carried backpack holds an 8-pound laptop with all cables and charger plus books, totalling about 30 pounds. Shaving off 5 pounds by opting for a netbook? OK... But if I can be 10-20% more productive with that 5 pounds, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Life's too short, and the extra exercise doesn't hurt. I can see other valid reasons why students might prefer a low-end netbook (price being one), but weight?

 

[Guest]

[citation][nom]lashabane[/nom]I find it hilarious when people talk about portability as being the main point to purchase a netbook over a laptop. A 15.4" laptop weighs what, 8 pounds? If a person can't carry 8 pounds around with them all day with no problem, they're just zombie food.[/citation]

You're missing the point. Nobody's saying they're unable to lift 8 pounds. Hell, I lift and carry weight in the 50-200 pound range regularly at work. However, when I have my netbook, it feels like I'm not carrying anything at all, which is kind of the point, right? I mean, if your laptop is your only computer, I can understand needing something more substantial. But when I'm mobile, I'm only doing the absolute basics like surfing the net, checking and writing email, Open Office, and watching movies or light gaming (most PC games I play are so old they work great on a netbook).

I find it strange that the anti-netbook crowd can't seem to avoid using subtle (or not so subtle) insults to try and make their point, while those of us who enjoy netbooks simply state why we like them. I've said it before, I'll say it again - if a netbook isn't for you, don't get one! Just 'cause you don't like them, doesn't mean I can't.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]A concerned visitor[/nom]Epic Fail.I still use my 701, however, I will concede that a 10-11 inch form factor is better both for screen real estate and keyboard. Anything bigger compromises weight, and the whole point of a 'netbook'The whole point of a 'netbook' - I don't like this term myself - is to have a small form factor terminal, that lets you do simple things and _NOT_ heavy lifting, being highly portable and easily networked.I do not know about you but >50% of my time is just email and web browsing, simple word processing/sheets or watching multimedia that my Eee handles just fine. The other portion is spent with long compile jobs or other batch jobs that I have to do on other machines.WHICH by the way I can supervise quite simply by ssh. I can even tunnel X if I want a fancy doodah GUI.A netbook as it stands (with probably about the same grunt as a PIII 600MHz laptop from yesteryear but with MORE RAM and FASTER/MORE STORAGE, runs COOLER and has usually BETTER BATTERY LIFE) is more than adequate for these needs.And... before you've gone and said it, I can run XP fine on these things too, if you must have your windoze. 2gigs RAM, RTF-internet and optimize it.Frankly, I am surprised an article like this (opinion as it may be) can appear on tomshardware. Shameful.[/citation]
Reminder:This is a web site for "layman users." Try not to forget that.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]Luscious[/nom]I think rather than bash netbooks you should have taken your bad-mouth !@#$%^ wife down to the !@#$%^ Best Buy/Fry's and have her try out the !@#$%^ keyboards on some !@#$%^ models before buying. True, very few netbooks have ergonomic keyboards, but from my experience the Toshiba NB205 and HP mini come pretty darn close.As for performance, they are indeed capable. Web browsing in full screen, 3G built-in, office, multimedia... If what you're trying to do won't work on a netbook, you can still get a 13" with power to spare. Netbooks are not meant to fill every need, but for many folks netbooks do make a good productivity tool.The truth is, you bought the wrong model, and now you're using your lack of research/knowledge to knock every netbook out there just because it didn't work out for you.It's lame biased opinions like yours that turn me off Tom's Guide.[/citation]
Luscious--Opinion articles are encouraged to be biased if they are backed up with details. Just because this writer's experience isn't the same as your own doesn't automatically make him wrong. However--I'm glad his opinion riled you up enough to say so: that's the whole point!

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]snowmanwithahat01[/nom]This guy is a complete idiot...Netbooks have a niche market. I'm a student and I have a desktop which is more powerful than anyone needs... but that doesn't do me any good when I need to take notes in class. Hence the purchase of an Asus Eee. Clearly netbooks are targetting very specific buyers... anyone trying to call them a cheap solution or trying to apply them in that way is a complete idiot.First and foremost they are;CHEAP -- yes... college students (like myself) gobble them up because who the hell wants to spend $1000 for a weak desktop replacement when my desktop is still going to be 3x more powerful... EFFECIENT -- I have class from 8-5 most days.. I need something that can last all day withou ta wall charger... hello netbooks... good luck doing that on ANYTHING else.The only downsides of netbooks are things he highlighted, slightly smaller keyboard. 95% of a normal keyboard is more than comfortable. The only time it would become ridiculous is if you're mentally handicapped and possess no motor skills at all. You just have to know what to look for... full size shift key, ctrl key and fnct keys in the right spots... stuff like thatOf course performance is a downside... you're using a computer that's intended to last 8-10 hours on only a 6 cell battery... a battery of the same capacity would only last 1 hour in most laptops. If you're smart you won't load the operating system up with junk and it will handle things just fine.Overall, take it for face-value. Realize it's a lightweight, effecient, and under-performing machine. It is built with specific uses in mind. Take the price into consideration and realize that you have something that you'd literally have to spend $2,000 for to rival... "Ultra-portable" laptops... you know the super thin, super expensive things running core 2 duos... that still don't have the matching battery life.So, don't try and make them into something they're not... any person that bitches and moans about being able to play video games on their netbook is a complete idiot who doesn't understand the target market or function of the device.[/citation]
If you can't write a dissenting comment without name-calling, you don't belong on Tom's Guide. We're thoughtful people with a keen and subtle understanding of the nuances of tech debates--if you're not, you don't fit in.

 

[DokkRokken]

[citation][nom]swimmrdave[/nom]I find it strange that the anti-netbook crowd can't seem to avoid using subtle (or not so subtle) insults to try and make their point, while those of us who enjoy netbooks simply state why we like them. I've said it before, I'll say it again - if a netbook isn't for you, don't get one! Just 'cause you don't like them, doesn't mean I can't.[/citation]

That's what has surprised me as well. It's almost like some people here had their dogs runover by an Intel Atom. I had no idea that my small machine, that has let me efficiently take notes during school, and help run my business makes me some kind of 'idiot' .

As for the weight issues, I'm not a small guy by any means. In fact, without trying to sound too boastful, I'd say I'm actually very nicely built. But hauling around a bunch of books does begin to grate on me after walking around campus, and between the transit stops. I also haul around a lunch, water, and a change of clothes, so saving a few pounds here or there is a good thing.

Plus, as I mentioned before, the amount of paper waste I've saved is tremendous. Also, the notes on my netbook are well organized, and I can easily supplement them, add diagrams or hyperlinks that pertain to course material; this has only helped me study much better.

 

[Guest]

I bought my wife an MSI Wind u100 last year (10 inch screen), which came with Windows XP Home. She loves it, and it does everything she needs. She isn't a power user or a gamer. Just last week from my Technet subscription, I loaded Windows 7 Ultimate on it, Office 2007, Firefox (set not to cache anything + Adblock Plus + Better Privacy), Eeye Blink Personal, about a dozen casual flash games converted to executables, WinRar, PowerISO (for virutal CD / ISO mounting from an external Hard drive) and locked the thing down with Applocker (also giving her a standard user account and setting UAC to max).

It runs great, and it's a fairly bulletproof little animal. The only upgrade I did was bump the RAM up to 2GB. It actually has more battery life with Windows 7 than XP.

For basic tasks and portability... Netbooks are just fine at their price range and aren't going away any time soon. Heck I'm probbly going to get another one for my daughter that is in college.

If anything is going away... it would be the mid-range Notebooks... because as technology evolves and gets cheaper obsolete... it will find it's way into the Netbook area... and higher end will find it's way into the mid-range... and so on. So if anything, Netbooks will eventually offer even more bang for the buck in the future.

As for the people saying their phones and pda's are superior... I disagree... I have an iPhone and can't stand surfing on a 3.5 inch screen. It only gets used for emergencies.

 

[mmaa11]

Being new to the realm of on-line comments, the vitriol and name-calling is quite surprising – especially when the subject is merely an opinion about the potential future of a popular piece of tech. Most people recognize outbursts like these speak volumes about the author/speaker - and contribute almost nothing to a useful exchange. But, if this medium is one’s sole domain for therapy, I guess lashing out is to be expected…

As to the debate at hand – netbooks – my Samsung NC10 is fabulous. The matte screen to my eyes is crisp & bright, battery life can be 7+ hours depending on power mgm’t, wireless & Bluetooth are strong - and working on planes, trains and in other tight places has not been this easy since the (very) old days of my beloved Mac Powerbook Duo 280c.

Out of the box I bumped the NC10 ($399) to 2GB ($23), repartitioned the drive and added an NEC portable DVD ($59, bus & brick powered). I can’t speak about games or heavy photo / movie editing – but it easily runs everything I need w/o problem.

In the office, where portability is unimportant, it’s hard-wired to an older LG LCD monitor (1280x1024 – 32 bit), a powered USB hub, an external wired keyboard, a wireless mouse, an old Linksys cordless skype phone, the NEC DVD, a 320GB USB drive, and an old 900Mhz antenna to broadcast tunes / podcasts / news to various nearby headsets & speakers via the headset port. Via wireless network it connects to a couple of 1TB NAS’s, a handful of printers and a few other computers. The NC10 fits in just fine.

Unplugging it from this hydra takes maybe 10-15 seconds - then I’m out the door with my favorite piece of tech. And it’s traveled to three continents without a hitch.

Is the screen too small? Certainly. Would I like more power, speed, memory? Absolutely. Does my lousy typing sometimes mess w/ the track-pad? Of course. Is this my only laptop? No. Do I travel w/ any of the others? Not if I can help it. Do I regret my purchase? Not for an instant. For $481 (399+23+59) I’ve got a terrific machine whose useful life will be lucky to be measured in years. When the Samsung n510 comes out, I’ll definitely consider an upgrade (but only if it has a matte screen) and the NC10 will go to a relative, at least 3 of whom have already expressed keen interest. Will the n510 and its brethren be eclipsed by newer models with dual-core ULV chips and even better, lower power screens? Of course.

To me, whether netbooks are here to stay is less important than whether they effectively blew up the log jamb of two historically lousy options for PC laptops: heavy, cheap, ugly breakable monsters vs. really nice, way-way-too-expensive ultraportables. Even Apple had to pay attention – though they claimed immunity. Seems to me netbooks have done a nice job shaking things up. And my NC10 will be a great pleasure to use for the duration - all for an investment representing less than six months of coffee.

BTW, I’ve appreciated using TomsGuide as one of a handful of resources offering what seems to be fairly balanced info – thanks.

(and now, for anyone still seeking therapy in this venue – time to pile on!)

 

[Guest]

The main (only?) argument of the anti-netbook crowd seems to be, "If I don't personally find a product useful, it shouldn't exist!" Kinda lame; just saying.

Anyway, I enjoy my netbook and get a lot of use out of it. Like some of the others here, I have a desktop for when I need power, and I'm more than willing to sacrifice that power in the case of the netbook for the sake of portability and battery life. Yes, I could plug my laptop in in class, but it's much nicer to be able to charge it at night, and then take it to class the next day and never worry about charging it at all. That's the point of a laptop to me.

Nothing wrong with people who don't find it powerful enough, but I'm not sure why they would expect power from a cheap, light, long-lasting laptop. Power isn't everything, and I'm patient enough to wait another second or two for OpenOffice to start up.

 

[williamvw]

[citation][nom]mmaa11[/nom]To me, whether netbooks are here to stay is less important than whether they effectively blew up the log jamb of two historically lousy options for PC laptops: heavy, cheap, ugly breakable monsters vs. really nice, way-way-too-expensive ultraportables. Even Apple had to pay attention – though they claimed immunity. Seems to me netbooks have done a nice job shaking things up.[/citation]
Excellent comment, mmaa11. Probably the most astute thing anyone has said here, my own comments and the article included. I'm glad you enjoy your Samsung and wish you and it many years of happiness together. 🙂