iPad vs. Netbook

[ipoddin]

3G iPads come without contracts. I would never consider buying one of those subsidized netbooks that come with an expensive contract. So if you were choosing between a netbook with a contract and a 3G iPad, the iPad would make a lot more sense.

I have a reservation for a 16 gig wifi iPad but I may decide to let it go and wait for a 3G version. I don't mind calling up At&t and activating it for a month if I'm about to go on a trip where I'd need it. I'd simply let it run out and activate again the next time I needed it. I bet I could get away for $15 to 30 a year and have 3G internet with me when I go on vacations. Even with free wifi at hotels, I'm stuck waiting till I get to my room to do anything with it. I could use the 3G at a rest stop on the highway if I wanted to.

I remember one time my daughter was late turning in a paper and she didn't tell us until we were on the road to go pick up her brother on the other side of the state. I grabbed my netbook and we piled in the car. Once she had the paper typed, we had to get off the highway and look for a coffee shop with free wifi so she could turn in her paper. I would have gladly paid a one time $15 to get it turned on so she could upload her paper without getting off the highway and burning up gas looking for free wifi. But I would never consider $40-60 a month worthwhile just in case we ever needed 3G on the road again.

It's all a personal decision, but I'm still not convinced a 3G iPad is worth it for me. I have an iPhone and an Android phone. So in your situation, I could have looked up the coffee shop with wifi on the phone. I'm already paying a monthly cell phone fee so no need to add another monthly fee to my bill. If I need to look something up where there's no wifi, I'll use my phone. It's always with me anyway.

 

[rittchard]

Was iPad designed to replace the Netbook? I thought they were 2 separate products for 2 different markets, but I keep seeing people compare them.

People often don't want to outright say the iPad is a "Netbook killer" because netbook lovers will get all riled up, but in many ways the iPad was indeed intended to replace the original generation of netbooks, and that's why you'll continue to see comparisons.

When netbooks came out, what were the big things about them that mainstream users loved? Portability, price, and battery life. What do/did mainstream users use them for the most? Web-surfing and email, maybe light gaming and video.

Now look at the iPad - it's about half the weight and has the form factor of a pad of paper, so it's considerably more portable, with comparable release price and battery life to a netbook. For the core functions of web, email, video, audio, photos, and gaming it's going to be a better/friendlier experience. It will have an "instant on" functionality that trumps wake from sleep on the netbook, let alone full booting from a cold state. The only X factor is lack of a true keyboard which may or may not be a concern.

We can get into the details about how much more functionality and "open" netbooks are, they have USB ports and cameras and can support Flash and multitasking, blah blah blah. Hell my HP Mini can play Dragon Age on it, and you can see the next gen of Netbooks are coming out with more power and longer battery lifes to compete. But the fact is for most common usage the iPad effectively replaces the need for a netbook, and depending on the user's core needs, possibly even a laptop. In the long run, I believe the majority of users will tend to gravitate toward what is easiest and most functional and pleasing to use, and the iPad is a great start in the direction of negating the need for a laptop.

 

[AJsAWiz]

I am replying to this on a netbook I plan to sell after I get my ipad. I am some what concerned about typing on the ipad, however I don't do well cone the netbook.

We shall see...

Same here, typing this from my netbook, but I will be keeping both. They are totally different devices that serve different purposes.

 

[Ichneumon]

I don't really get these "The Ipad doesn't have real OS" comments. Why wouldn't the Ipad OS be real and if the OS is not "real", why would you want a real one on such a device? The Ipad is made for surfing the internet, checking mail, social networking, iphone-like games, watching videos and "light" word processing. It does that as good as a netbook does, even better. For all the other stuff, you wouldn't want to use a tablet or netbook anyway.

 

[AJsAWiz]

If your laptop doesn't have 3G, it makes sense to have the 3G iPad. This is especially the case if, like me, you also do not have an iPhone.

I agree. If I didn't have the iPhoneGS I'd probably get the 3G iPad

 

[ViViDboarder]

People often don't want to outright say the iPad is a "Netbook killer" because netbook lovers will get all riled up, but in many ways the iPad was indeed intended to replace the original generation of netbooks, and that's why you'll continue to see comparisons.

When netbooks came out, what were the big things about them that mainstream users loved? Portability, price, and battery life. What do/did mainstream users use them for the most? Web-surfing and email, maybe light gaming and video.

Now look at the iPad - it's about half the weight and has the form factor of a pad of paper, so it's considerably more portable, with comparable release price and battery life to a netbook. For the core functions of web, email, video, audio, photos, and gaming it's going to be a better/friendlier experience. It will have an "instant on" functionality that trumps wake from sleep on the netbook, let alone full booting from a cold state. The only X factor is lack of a true keyboard which may or may not be a concern.

We can get into the details about how much more functionality and "open" netbooks are, they have USB ports and cameras and can support Flash and multitasking, blah blah blah. Hell my HP Mini can play Dragon Age on it, and you can see the next gen of Netbooks are coming out with more power and longer battery lifes to compete. But the fact is for most common usage the iPad effectively replaces the need for a netbook, and depending on the user's core needs, possibly even a laptop. In the long run, I believe the majority of users will tend to gravitate toward what is easiest and most functional and pleasing to use, and the iPad is a great start in the direction of negating the need for a laptop.

Ok... Several things.

Considerably more portable than what? My EeePC is smaller and I can fit it just about anywhere and not worry about the screen cracking.

You need to have a computer too to put all your photos on it as well as get your audio. It's a gadget that is going to have to go along with another computer. You can't plug your iPod into the iPad and sync your music. You now have the camera adapter, but can you plug in your video camera and pull your video down from your movie camera? Remember, these are things that average users want to do and do easily.

I don't know how it can trump my (even aging) EeePC 900 on waking from sleep. When I was running Ubuntu Netbook Remix I was starting from sleep instantly and from a cold boot it would be to the desktop in 12 seconds. I've seen even faster online.

The thing is, the iPad can't replace a persons only computer. You have to have a laptop, desktop or a netbook to even get good use out of an iPad. It's not a computer. Netbooks ARE computers. A lot of people actually use them as their only computer because they are cheaper and a lot of people don't need the power of a laptop because they only want to do a bit of browsing, typing and emailing.

So do you get a Laptop for $1000 and an iPad for $500 or do you just get a netbook for $300 (mine was $180)? For someone looking for the SIMPLEST solution that does everything they want, they'll opt for the single device that does it all. Same reason why people bought the iPhone. It combined their phone and MP3 player. This is an additional device!

 

[r0k]

It's all a personal decision, but I'm still not convinced a 3G iPad is worth it for me. I have an iPhone and an Android phone. So in your situation, I could have looked up the coffee shop with wifi on the phone. I'm already paying a monthly cell phone fee so no need to add another monthly fee to my bill. If I need to look something up where there's no wifi, I'll use my phone. It's always with me anyway.

I'm paying for cell data as well for my Blackberry. But when I was in DC and wanted to tether my BB to my Linux netbook, I found I could not. If I had purchased tetherberry ahead of time I could have.

My daugter's essay was on the netbook. She had to log in to a school web site using a web browser and send it using her school groupwise email account which would never work from the lowly BB browser. So the issue was the sorry state of disconnectedness we tolerate when it comes to net access. Comcast, Att, Verizon and others are all quite content to soak us for as much as $50 PER MONTH PER DEVICE to access the net.

I'm also considering a wifi iPad with a MyFi gadget either from Verizon or another carrier. Then I'd be able to have any device that knows how to speak wifi get on the net any time I needed it to.

 

[rittchard]

Ok... Several things.

Considerably more portable than what? My EeePC is smaller and I can fit it just about anywhere and not worry about the screen cracking.

You need to have a computer too to put all your photos on it as well as get your audio. It's a gadget that is going to have to go along with another computer. You can't plug your iPod into the iPad and sync your music. You now have the camera adapter, but can you plug in your video camera and pull your video down from your movie camera? Remember, these are things that average users want to do and do easily.

I don't know how it can trump my (even aging) EeePC 900 on waking from sleep. When I was running Ubuntu Netbook Remix I was starting from sleep instantly and from a cold boot it would be to the desktop in 12 seconds. I've seen even faster online.

The thing is, the iPad can't replace a persons only computer. You have to have a laptop, desktop or a netbook to even get good use out of an iPad. It's not a computer. Netbooks ARE computers. A lot of people actually use them as their only computer because they are cheaper and a lot of people don't need the power of a laptop because they only want to do a bit of browsing, typing and emailing.

So do you get a Laptop for $1000 and an iPad for $500 or do you just get a netbook for $300 (mine was $180)? For someone looking for the SIMPLEST solution that does everything they want, they'll opt for the single device that does it all. Same reason why people bought the iPhone. It combined their phone and MP3 player. This is an additional device!

I have an original tiny EEE as well, but I never use it, it just sits in a drawer. Yes it's small, but it's chunky and still around 3 pounds, so it doesn't surpass the MBA for usefulness. The keyboard is tiny and ineffective and the screen is a bit too small overall; I ended up going with a larger HP netbook in the long run.

For syncing, yes I need another computer but I'd rather work with a full desktop experience (PC or iMac) where I can do video conversions, photo editing, real gaming and be pretty much unlimited in terms of processing power and storage. I don't deal with a video camera, but if I did I'd want to transfer to a place where I had tons of storage, a large screen and power to edit and manipulate the video, not to a traditional netbook. That's the base station, which gives a much better overall experience than a netbook.

On "wake from sleep" have you used an iPod Touch or iPhone? It's virtually instantaneous. Yes 12 seconds is not long, but as I said, in the long run if you had a choice every time you want to check something on the web or fire off an email, most likely you'll gravitate to the easier/faster one.

I understand that netbooks are computers, as I mentioned my latest one is nearly as powerful as an MBA, so they are definitely making excellent advances. I suppose at some point the dividing line between netbook and notebook will simply go away so we'll simply have very powerful (maybe even desktop equivalent), very portable net/notebook/computers. But in terms of pure convenience and user friendliness, that still leaves an opening for a simpler, smaller and friendlier device, and that's the space I believe the iPad is creating.

 

[ViViDboarder]

I have an original tiny EEE as well, but I never use it, it just sits in a drawer. Yes it's small, but it's chunky and still around 3 pounds, so it doesn't surpass the MBA for usefulness. The keyboard is tiny and ineffective and the screen is a bit too small overall; I ended up going with a larger HP netbook in the long run.

For syncing, yes I need another computer but I'd rather work with a full desktop experience (PC or iMac) where I can do video conversions, photo editing, real gaming and be pretty much unlimited in terms of processing power and storage. I don't deal with a video camera, but if I did I'd want to transfer to a place where I had tons of storage, a large screen and power to edit and manipulate the video, not to a traditional netbook. That's the base station, which gives a much better overall experience than a netbook.

On "wake from sleep" have you used an iPod Touch or iPhone? It's virtually instantaneous. Yes 12 seconds is not long, but as I said, in the long run if you had a choice every time you want to check something on the web or fire off an email, most likely you'll gravitate to the easier/faster one.

I understand that netbooks are computers, as I mentioned my latest one is nearly as powerful as an MBA, so they are definitely making excellent advances. I suppose at some point the dividing line between netbook and notebook will simply go away so we'll simply have very powerful (maybe even desktop equivalent), very portable net/notebook/computers. But in terms of pure convenience and user friendliness, that still leaves an opening for a simpler, smaller and friendlier device, and that's the space I believe the iPad is creating.

12 seconds is the cold boot. Sleep my computer is instant. It's a solid state drive. I agree with about the dividing line between net and notebook computers is getting much smaller, but I am just saying that the iPad can't replace a netbook for many people. Laptops, for many users, have already replaced desktops. Now netbooks are replacing their laptops. The iPad is a suplement by nature.

This is why Steve had it in the middle of laptop and iPhone. Also, laptops happen to be a big source of Apple income. Why would Steve give up selling a $1k Macbook to sell a $500 iPad? He wouldn't. He wants you to buy both. It's smart. I just don't see the reason to have all three, iPhone, iPad, laptop/netbook. I understand iPad and a laptop, I understand iPhone and a netbook and I even understand a netbook and laptop (with or without iPhone) if your laptop is big enough.

For me... I'm a gadget guy... iPhone, netbook, laptop and 2 desktops. I'd like an iPad but I don't think it has enough worth or new features that one can't get with an iPhone and a laptop/netbook.

 

[Alchematron]

laptops happen to be a big source of Apple income. Why would Steve give up selling a $1k Macbook to sell a $500 iPad? He wouldn't. He wants you to buy both.

Good call

 

[rittchard]

This is why Steve had it in the middle of laptop and iPhone. Also, laptops happen to be a big source of Apple income. Why would Steve give up selling a $1k Macbook to sell a $500 iPad? He wouldn't. He wants you to buy both.

Oh yeah I agree with that - but actually I'd say ideally he wants you to buy all THREE, including the iPhone

However I also think by creating this new middle ground he is trying to gain a whole new class of users (on top of the devoted fans and gadget freaks), in a similar way the netbook creators did, and that's why there is an inherent "competition". This is for people who don't want to spend the money, and/or don't need the capability of a fully powered laptop, or simply want something just portable enough to carry around all the time (but with a large enough screen to be more functional than the phone size). As you've noted, up til now the netbook has been the device that fulfills this role. But the iPad is poised also to fill that role - in a different (some will argue "better") way. At bare minimum reading and viewing documents is going to be much more natural than on a netbook. It appears that email and web browsing will also be a better overall experience. My guess is that for artists/drawing it is going to be great in a way that a netbook won't be able to compare since you are interacting on the screen directly. Ditto for students who could eventually have all their textbooks on the iPad and be able to outline and take notes directly on the text in a way that more naturally mimics real book interaction (check out the PadNotes app).

Then for people like my parents, who essentially use the computer for web browsing, email, and viewing photos or documents sent by friends, this device could theoretically replace their entire desktop. I imagine there is a market of extremely casual users that is still untapped, non-technical folk who just want something easy, simple (and even fun!) to take care of the basic routine tasks like browsing and email. This, again, is something the netbook doesn't typically do, as most do not provide an out of the box experience much different/easier than a conventional laptop or desktop.

 

[MythicFrost]

Whether you're watching video, flipping through photos, listening to music, reading e-books, e-mailing or browsing the web, navigating around w/ GPS, watching YouTube, the iPad can do it better -- this is because it runs a touch based OS with apps designed just for touch, and it has a big beautiful screen, and great battery life.

However unlike a net-book it can't run existing Windows or Snow Leopard applications nor can it play flash or java, accessories like a webcam won't work with it, etc...

If the above things aren't an issue for you, then the iPad will be great. If it is, o well. Some people don't want a touch screen

 

[zipa]

Whether you're watching video, flipping through photos, listening to music, reading e-books, e-mailing or browsing the web, navigating around w/ GPS, watching YouTube, the iPad can do it better -- this is because it runs a touch based OS with apps designed just for touch, and it has a big beautiful screen, and great battery life.

I can't see how any of these activities would benefit from a touchscreen vs. a keyboard + mouse/touchpad?

 

[Sketh]

First of all, I already started a thread of this nature a month or so ago, please review the results:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/862586/

Secondly, I'll reiterate my views from the first thread, the iPad will blow any netbook away when it comes to web surfing. In my experience netbooks have been laggy, although handy browsing devices.

 

[MythicFrost]

I can't see how any of these activities would benefit from a touchscreen vs. a keyboard + mouse/touchpad?

Touchscreen is just better and easier to use IMO...

Web Browsing... if you're sitting on the couch is pretty similar I guess, but more fun with the touchscreen, if you're out and about or walking around your house you can just hold the iPad with one hand and be comfortably browsing away, not on a net-book though.

I say video mainly because of the screen. Music, because the iPad is more portable.
E-mailing, well it is if you like virtual keyboards, if you don't then maybe not

Plus, a general reason on top of all my above reasons, is the apps are just designed really well. There's such a difference watching a movie on the iPad compared to the net-book, just in how you do things.

 

[bowlerman625]

I have had a few netbooks. The one I bought in December is the best one so far. I also have a MacBook Air. I'm thinking the 3G iPad I ordered will be in class all by itself!

I hope I'm not disappointed!

 

[meirvin]

I just shipped my 2.4 ghz 17" Macbook Pro out to a buyer, I have a 27 imac for work, I used the macbook for when Im at the girlfriends house to check email surf or on a trip, when I was at my office it sat next to imac and was a ftp machine. Hated packing it all up to go to the girlfriend so I had 3 power bricks everywhere it was heavy with the bag and all.

Soooo looking so forward to the 1/2 inch 1.5 lbs? ipad to do the same thing with exception of FTP ing (for now)

what people dont get is every ones needs are different if yours dont include a ipad thats cool dont buy one.

 

[newuser2310]

As much as i liked the idea of netbooks, more often than not I found them far too small. Imagine a giraffe knocking on your front door, I find them way too small to be considered 'functional'

If you just want to check email, browse the web and consume media on the move then a device the size of an Iphone is perfect.

How silly would you feel staring at that tiny screen and tapping away at the keyboard in your office at home? Its would be almost as if you bought a device designed for dwarfs.

The ipad is simply a device for consuming media. Its not trying to be a netbook with a whole load of functions that are impractical 'on the move'

I don't like Apple's recent "WE CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS" corporate activity but this device will simplify some tasks previously associated with a crappy netbook/heavy laptop/beige desktop.

 

[bowlerman625]

One can never have too many gadgets!

Amen!

I resemble that remark!

 

[newuser2310]

Amen!

I resemble that remark!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6uMZMRR2s&feature=related

 

[zipa]

Web Browsing... if you're sitting on the couch is pretty similar I guess, but more fun with the touchscreen, if you're out and about or walking around your house you can just hold the iPad with one hand and be comfortably browsing away, not on a net-book though.

Interesting. I've been fiddling with touchscreens for some ten years now, but I'm still (or maybe just because of that) amazed that someone would associate the words "touchscreen" and "fun"? Well, if you like waving about with your hands and getting greasy fingerprints all over your screen I guess it would be fun...

Sure, it would be more usable when you're walking around, but to me it's anyway to big to be an everyday carry-on, since I can't fit it in my pocket. Walking about at home I have no problems carrying my netbook in one hand and using it with the other, though.

I say video mainly because of the screen.

I've got a 10" 720p screen with the added benefit that it's able to stand upright without having to hold it or prop it up with something.

Music, because the iPad is more portable.

Not nearly portable enough to function as an mp3-player. Can't imagine someone duct-taping an iPad around their thigh when going for a run...

E-mailing, well it is if you like virtual keyboards, if you don't then maybe not

Virtual keyboards are dung. They are awful if you have to type anything longer than a sentence or two, plus they eat a whole lot of what is already a rather small screen after all.

Plus, a general reason on top of all my above reasons, is the apps are just designed really well. There's such a difference watching a movie on the iPad compared to the net-book, just in how you do things.

This is probably a very valid point, although I'm not sure how you could actually say that there is such a difference to a netbook, since I'm assuming that you haven't used an iPad to watch videos yet?

I am however tempted to get one to use as a portable photo album. It would be a really, really good device for that, but it's just too expensive for that. I bet that professional photographers will be all over it, though. It can't replace my netbook, so all the other features on it would go pretty much unused.

 

[zipa]

How silly would you feel staring at that tiny screen and tapping away at the keyboard in your office at home?

Not silly at all. In fact I do it pretty much on a daily basis (I type notes on it while my "real" computer is running a video-conference/presentation in full-screen mode), and even more so when traveling. But yes, I wouldn't use it as my main computer for sure.

 

[puppyflightclub]

Not nearly portable enough to function as an mp3-player. Can't imagine someone duct-taping an iPad around their thigh when going for a run...

youre reaching, but maybe it was a bit of sarcasm. were referring to the argument of iPad vs Netbook. Not iPad vs MP3 player/iPhone/iTouch/iPod

 

[bowlerman625]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6uMZMRR2s&feature=related

funny stuff!

 

[zipa]

youre reaching, but maybe it was a bit of sarcasm. were referring to the argument of iPad vs Netbook.

Yea, hence the smiley...

On that note, would there be something like Airfoil available for the iPad? Spotify + Airfoil + Airport Express is a pretty unbeatable combo IMHO.