The iPad has already killed netbooks, and now it’s starting to do the same to laptops.

http://www.cultofmac.com/nvidia-macs-wi ... ears/97681


I was wondering if I would ever replace my laptops. Though I cannot see it ever replacing a desktop. With an iPad and iMac I doubt if I would need a laptop again. It will depend on what you do but for me I have a perfect setup.

What a thin article? We've already had a thread speculating Arm in Macs over on the Mac forum: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13566 and frankly I don't see why not, especially in the non-pro end of the range.

I do take issue that "The iPad has already killed netbooks". It hasn't killed mine which I use most days for real work. For me, the netbook killed the laptop and the iPad is a nice toy which is useless to me at work. Obviously a lot of people like them, but I can't really justify buying something so expensive that does so little.

It does depend what you use them for. I suspect that businesses will find any net book or iPad can do what it wants. It also depends on the software.

I cannot see it replacing desktops certainly not the iPad. As for impacts on laptop sales I think that depends on the customer segment. For some it will be an either or situation. I cannot see myself needing another laptop for a while not now that I have an iPad. So in my case it has killed the need for a laptop for me, and saved me a bundle in the process. For others a laptop will be far more useful. What I think is happening is that the market is becoming segmented. There will always be those who need a laptops power where as many can get away with an iPad or tablet/netbook. Years ago they thought households would only need one computer and now we have households with numerous devices. So I think that some households will have a few laptops and others none.

TBH I agree that the article was rather thin...

On a similar theme/note, I enjoyed Anandtech's article on the "future" of Laptops/Netbooks more: clicky.

If Intel do manage to enforce their their Design Specifications (they TM'd the term "Ultrabook") i think it'd be quite a nice step forward to combine both portability and power:

- <0.8" Thick (20mm) - Thinner than a Macbook Pro
- Use of SSD or SSD Caching for faster response.
- ~10 Hours Battery Life.
- <$1000.

All of which is hopefully achieved by a Mobile Sandy Bridge platform, with a shift to Ivy Bridge later when released.

Overall i think it's rather promising/exciting... but that could just be me.

I bought a laptop last time round. The 15.6" full HD display is about as small as I want to go on a mobile device.

I've tried netbooks and a few tablets, including the iPad, but the netbook's screen is just too low resolution to do anything useful - at least in my line of work. But there again, I am working on large Excel worksheets and project plans, as well as writing 100 page documents and browsing the web.

I wouldn't want a display with less than 1080 in the vertical - I prefer my desktop monitor, with its 1200 vertical, those extra 120 pixels make a huge difference.

The iPad and other tablets don't, currently, offer me anything I need. My iPhone and htc 7 Mozart are fine for calling up the odd page on the move. If I want to do any real work (lots of typing), then I dig out my laptop and a real keyboard. Likewise, for multimedia, the Mozart holds my podcasts and the iPhone my audio books (Audible haven't released an app for Windows Phone 7 yet). I don't really watch video, either on the desktop or on the move.

In fact my girlfriend keeps moaning that I never select anything to watch on television in the evening, leaving it to her to look for something, because, to be honest, there isn't anythng worth watching on TV most evenings. I also don't watch my DVDs as often as I used to. I've been watching Babylon 5 again the last couple of weeks, but that is the first time in months that I've actually got a DVD out to watch.

I just can't find a use for a tablet at the moment, so I can't see it killing the notebook for me - the netbook couldn't kill the notebook and the tablet is less useful, for me. It seems to embody what makes a smartphone useful, in a bigger case, which is less practical. I keep looking at things, like the Flyer or the iPad and think I'd like one, but then I look at the price and think, for a device that has no real use, that is a lot of money, I'd prefer to buy a new desktop or laptop for that money.

the Asus EeePad transformer running Android 3 looks a nice bit of kit ...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/262116

I think a lot of home users think they need a laptop, when actually a tablet would do them fine. A lot of them don't even know what a netbook is. My wife initially wanted a laptop and I bought her a netbook. When she got it, she said, "it's a bit small". Then the other day, she was going on about how much she liked it because it wasn't big and cumbersome like other people's and she could use it easily while sitting on the sofa.

And that is why I doubt I will need to buy another laptop. With a iPad and an iMac I can get the best of both worlds.

I think back in 2008/2009 netbooks were becoming big and I saw them in all sorts of places. Today in those same places I'm seeing tablets.
I think a tablet is probably easier to use on the go.

Many people don't need a laptop/netbook/tablet. My family only really need one, perhaps two devices, but they've pretty much all got one each...There is something quite personal about a portable device, it isn't just a portion of the hdd they have their profile on, it's physically theirs.

The line between Netbook and Notebook is very blurred.

My Netbook cost about £120 or so, but I use it exactly as I would a notebook - it's just lighter and easier to carry around. It even has exactly the same screen resolution as my 15" Toshiba, plus it's more powerful, better specified and the battery lasts longer. It was just smaller and cheaper. The Tosh is totally redundant.

I have my phone for light surfing etc. If there's something that needs more than a couple of sentences reply, then I fire up the laptop.

The netbook is used for either word processing on the move or for plugging into the car for diagnostic purposes.

I've tried using an ipad and it's just not for me.

This is exactly where my head has been at for over a week now. Having used a friends netbook here, it was nothing but frustrating. The keyboard is [LIFTED], the res is too small for Win7, and it can't handle even 720p mkvs or Youtube. BUT, it lasts forever and does browsing for people who don't know any better.

Then there's the 17" laptop I'm typing this on now. It's too big to be really portable, but it's very comfortable to use at a desk. Although it's old, it does everything (except game, but then few laptops do and it used to 3 years ago).

Tablets are just big phones without an optimised OS or apps (yet). Sure they're fun, but they haven't "killed" anything. Not for me. I think my next purchase (which could be imminent if this hinge gets any worse) is likely to be an 11-13" device with a good keyboard, Windows and a reasonable amount of power.

Off to read that Anand article now!

So is 11" a netbook or a notebook..?

It's what you do with it that counts.

That's a VERY good question. And if the marketing managers at all the manufacturers could figure it out and tell me, I'd appreciate it.

Read the article earlier, and done more reading. The 11-13" marketplace is chronically underdeveloped, and yet, to my mind, it should be the busiest. Netbooks are gay and notebooks are too big. Seems obvious to me