Why iPad has not put paid to cheap but handy netbook

The humble netbook looked like it would be sacrificed at the altar of Apple and the iPad, but there is still demand for it, writes Ian Campbell

REWIND TO last January and Steve Jobs is unveiling Apple’s iPad and taking pot shots at netbooks, the mini-laptops which he derides as slow and clunky as he carves out a space in the public’s imagination for a shiny new experience.

Nine months later with half a dozen rival tablets close to launch, you could be forgiven for thinking that the tsunami of Apple hype would have killed off netbooks for good, but not so, according to manufacturers.

“We still find strong demand for it as a low-cost internet access device,” said Ben Cranks, HP’s desktop and notebook specialist. “Cost is king for most businesses at the moment and netbooks offer a cheap way to work on the go. The biggest interest comes from highly mobile users who are on and off flights all day long.”

Samsung Ireland tells a similar story. “Netbooks are still strong for us. It’s an ultra portable entry-level product, lower cost than the iPad and aimed at different users,” said Paul Toland, channel manager.

In 2007, it was Taiwanese and Chinese companies, Acer and Asus, who pioneered the market for a device to fill the gap between smart phones and laptops. Such was the public’s enthusiasm for the product that HP, Dell and Samsung soon joined the fray and shelf space was found in PC stores for a new product category. This was a phenomenon driven by consumer appetite rather than marketing and media hype, which might explain why a lot of observers remain snobby about their worth.

When Jobs dismissed netbooks as cheap laptops, he inadvertently highlighted their strongest selling point. Cheap may be an ugly concept in Apple’s world, but millions of consumers are happy to pay less. At €499, the iPad is at least €200 more expensive than entry-level netbooks.

His accusations of clunkiness are justified but reflect a fundamental problem that gave netbooks bad press. “People mistakenly bought them as cheap devices that would do everything. That was never their aim,” said Colin MacHale, Intel’s country manager in Ireland. “They are a companion to a home system so that people don’t have to bring everything they have on their corporate or home machine with them when they are travelling.”

Cranks and Toland highlight other strengths that Jobs conveniently overlooked, the things that you can do with netbooks that you can’t do with the first iteration of the iPad. No web cam, USB slots or the ability to run multiple applications are among a list of iPad omissions that will jar with avid social networkers, who like to have all their digital tools at their fingertips.

The absence of Flash from the iPad is a whole other debate. Apple’s decision to leave out a browser-based application that is used to drive much of the web’s animated content. It may have been a political decision, but it is also foolish according to HP’s Ben Cranks. “Flash has become an essential part of the web experience if only because a lot of websites rely on it to drive their online advertising and get revenue. I’m somewhat perplexed by its omission and delighted that we have it on all our netbooks.”

The iPad represents a new product category, a first step in coffee-table computing which means many features were sacrificed in pursuit of an uncluttered user experience. The fundamental difference is that netbooks are a mobile tool for producing as well as receiving content while the iPad is all about consumption, ideally from Apple’s online stores.

The consensus is that anyone who has to type in lots of data, whether it’s a word document or a spreadsheet, is going to feel a lot more comfortable with a responsive physical keyboard than a touchscreen keypad. Yes, Apple will sell you a wireless keyboard as an accessory but it will set you back another €69.

“You can sit a netbook on your lap and use it as a fully functioning notebook-style computer whereas tablet products are limited to consumption,” said Toland.

Colin MacHale agreed that the old-style interface is still king. “Like it or not the mouse and keyboard are still something that most applications need and the way that most people will interface with their machine.

“Clearly, the iPad has been a phenomenal success and we’ll see more of that type of touchscreen technology but there is a place for both.”

The boundaries between products – smartphones, tablets, netbooks – will only blur further as gadgets offer multiple interfaces. Convertible devices are already available that let you turn netbooks into touchscreen tablets, jack-of-all gadgets that cover every option. “The main message is to get a device that is appropriate to the way you intend to use it,” said MacHale.

NEXT GENERATION NETBOOKS GETTING UP TO SPEED

NETBOOK PERFORMANCE is expected to improve with the Intel Atom N550, a new dual-core processor that is being used by a new wave or products, including the Samsung N150 and HP Mini 5103.

"It's another iteration of Moore's Law that we bring to every area we work in," said Intel's Colin MacHale.

Samsung's Paul Toland believes it will address the sluggish speeds that have put some consumers off. "The current netbook processors were equivalent to a five-year old Pentium and had to be designed that way to work in a smaller product. Dual core will absolutely improve that."

He also stressed the importance of power. Six cell batteries are already available that take running times up to a possible 10 hours.

"The whole concept of netbooks is about portability and not having to plug them in, so battery life is as important as performance."

Manufacturers have also introduced a number of features to improve boot-up time, including a launch application that lets you surf and check e-mail without having to wait for the whole system to start up.