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nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,537
9,504
Its definitely not a netbook. I own a netbook and the 11" Air is way better!
 

Apple OC

macrumors 68040
Oct 14, 2010
3,667
4,328
Hogtown
Wow I still can't believe some of you think its a netbook. Theres no way you guys have ever owned a netbook (I own three eeePCs).Please push your MBA like I did, you will be pleasantly surprised at their power.


people are just giving the gears here ... most people do not care what people call them

maybe soon all Laptops and Notebooks will be called Netbooks.

When someone asks ... can I use my MBP with a monitor as a Desktop?

we say yes ... but whatever you do please just do not call it a Desktop.

They are all just computers in the big picture. :cool:
 

ReallyBigFeet

macrumors 68030
Apr 15, 2010
2,956
133
Wow I still can't believe some of you think its a netbook. Theres no way you guys have ever owned a netbook (I own three eeePCs).Please push your MBA like I did, you will be pleasantly surprised at their power.

Thats because you are comparing a 2010 MBA to a 2007/2008 netbook.

Compare it to a 2010 netbook like a Dell/Alienware M11x. Then you'll see the light. Its a MODERN netbook, and likely a trend-setter. The industry has been watching the 'classic' netbooks erode the profit margins of the full-sized laptops for some time now. But with Apple's introduction of their netbook, it will likely re-vitalize the Wintel netbook market by introducing a slew of older C2D processor-based machines with SSD configurations (or a free subscription to a cloud-based repository for your files).

Give it 2 months, max, and watch the rebirth of the netbook with Apple being the benchmark to beat.
 

snorkelman

Cancelled
Oct 25, 2010
666
155
Wow I still can't believe some of you think its a netbook. Theres no way you guys have ever owned a netbook (I own three eeePCs).Please push your MBA like I did, you will be pleasantly surprised at their power.

didnt bother with the original underclocked 800*480 eee but I've owned a couple of netbooks:

EEE900 Intel Celeron 900MHz teeny 8.4" display and cramped keyboard

MSI U100 1.6GHz Atom and 10.1" 1024x600 display and almost full sized keys

plus a bundle of ultraportables - Dec Highnote, DEC Highnote Ultra, PCG 505, Portege 3480, X505, X40 and X41

Personally although theres a bit of an overlap, the 11.6 MBA better fits into my idea of a high end natural evolution of the netbook than a traditional ultraportable.
 

zartemis

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2010
37
0
In 2008 I had a 2 y.o. AMD dual core desktop and a dell mini 9 netbook. My dell mini 9 netbook booted faster than my desktop but my desktop could edit non-AVCHD video and run photoshop better than my mini. The desktop could edit HD, barely. I loved both.

I now have a liquid-cooled overclocked i7 desktop with SSD with 6G ram and an 11 inch MBA. Interestingly, my MBA (just like the dell mini) boots faster than my desktop (15 seconds vs 25 seconds for my i7 SSD desktop). But when it comes editing HD video and re-encoding audio and video, my desktop SMOKES the MBA.

In the last 4 months I upgraded both my desktop and my netbook, the relative performance of my MBA to my current desktop is similar to the relative performance of my dell mini to the desktop I owned in 2008.

So, I see nothing to indicate that the MBA is not a netbook. Yes, the MBA is way more powerful than my prior netbook. But so is my desktop.
 

Kenrik

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 21, 2004
332
49
it's more or less the same speed as the top of the line desktops of 2005-2006

I can play any game and run any program from that time period at MAX settings.

Not bad considering it's only 2lbs and uses 10 watts..
 

rotobadger

macrumors 65816
Sep 18, 2007
1,272
159
Again, if we're putting the title "netbook" on a computer based on performance alone, then any laptop that's 5 years old or so is a "netbook".;)
 

1appleAday

macrumors regular
Mar 27, 2008
195
0
The bottom line is: it's very lightweight and has small form factor, but it's very capable for daily tasks. That's what matters, not how u categorize it.
 

Kenrik

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 21, 2004
332
49
The title "netbook" came about because that's all they were good for... browsing the net.

This is an ultra portable..
 

gianly1985

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
798
0
Thats because you are comparing a 2010 MBA to a 2007/2008 netbook.

Compare it to a 2010 netbook like a Dell/Alienware M11x.

Except that's called a "CULV-laptop", not a netbook. (and BTW it weighs double than the MBA, and has a worse display quality, half the contrast, half the brightness, see Anandtech)

Likewise, the MBA is a CULV-laptop. No matter if the screen is 7", 11" or 13".

Also, sub-notebooks and thin&lights existed well before netbooks. Should we call them "netbooks" too because they squak like a duck?

On average a netbook is roughly defined like this (and that's been quite CONSISTENT in the last 3 years of the netbook era):
- cheap and bad LCD panel
- an ATOM or ATOM-like CPU (not a full blown C2D, even if LV/ULV)
- GPU not good for 3D gaming with current gen games
- 1-2gb of ram (there may be exceptions)
- cheap squeaky build quality
- non fullsize keyboard (again, there may be exceptions, I said "roughly", but that's not about 2008 vs 2010 as you were implying, the AVERAGE, the GROSS of the netbook sales is like I'm describing, both now and in 2008)
- a 10 years old operative system (XP) or a castrated cheap version of the current operative system (called Win7 STARTER EDITION, not even enabled to change wallpapers!!!! 32bit only!), whereas the Apple CULV-laptop comes with the FULLY FEATURED version of the current version of OSX, in windowsland we could call it OSX Ultimate x64 (mind you, Win7 Ultimate costs like 399$ alone, like a whole netbook).

Hence, the Macbook Air is not a netbook.
 

wirelessmacuser

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2009
1,968
0
Planet.Earth
Counting my brand spanking new MBA, I now have three netbooks. The Apple blows the others in the weeds. My ego does not require me to conceal the fact that my MBA IS the best netbook ever...:)
 

ReallyBigFeet

macrumors 68030
Apr 15, 2010
2,956
133
Counting my brand spanking new MBA, I now have three netbooks. The Apple blows the others in the weeds. My ego does not require me to conceal the fact that my MBA IS the best netbook ever...:)

Ditto. We should develop a secret handshake or something.

Member # 00002 of the "Not afraid to call the new MBA a netbook" club.
 

zartemis

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2010
37
0
Its a ton more capable than a netbook. A netbook can not run the programs I listed above, the Macbook Air actually runs them really well.

Ah, but that's YOUR workflow, not mine. My MBA cannot handle MY video-editing workflow, hence it I leave it to do the lighter tasks I want on the go and use my real computer to do my heavy workflow.

To me a netbook is a laptop without an optical drive, with a screen under 12 inches, a weight under 3 pounds, at least 4 hour battery life and 2 or more year-old cpu performance compared to top of the line cpus. It is a definition that is not time bound (as any atom-based cpu definition would be). It is a machine good for on the go work but not cutting edge performance of the day.
 

gianly1985

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
798
0
Counting my brand spanking new MBA, I now have three netbooks. The Apple blows the others in the weeds. My ego does not require me to conceal the fact that my MBA IS the best netbook ever...:)

Yeah also the Powerbook 12" is a netbook.

And the 2004 Sony Vaio X505 is a netbook:

20101101-knr6tt6kygn9ss2trwimfnt3jx.jpg


And also the 1992 Powerbook Duo is a netbook:

20101101-k4rxq3rqe1misad8kkb7bkf4jm.jpg


Everything's a netbook, my ars is a netbook, surf on it.

Now back to listening to Justin Bieber, kids.
 

jmazzamj

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2009
199
0
I wonder if those who say the 11.6" MBA is a netbook have ever used one. I'm currently typing on a netbook (a hackintosh, but still an Atom/Intel 950) and I can tell you all for sure it's not even close to a C2D 320M combo.
 

gianly1985

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
798
0
To me a netbook is a laptop without an optical drive, with a screen under 12 inches, a weight under 3 pounds, at least 4 hour battery life and 2 or more year-old cpu performance compared to top of the line cpus. It is a definition that is not time bound (as any atom-based cpu definition would be). It is a machine good for on the go work but not cutting edge performance of the day.

Yeah, to you.
But that's not what a netbook is on average.
You totally miss the point about the CPU with "2 years old or more performance". Isn't it a little too wide? "2 years or more?" So it could be 2 years or 10 years? Because that's what we're talking about. A Core Duo from 5 years ago will do circles around an Atom but not around a CULV (Air) or a Arrandale-ULV (m11x).
To create a not time bound definition, we can just say that the CPU of netbooks offers sub-par performances, very limited multitasking and the BARE minumum to surf the net and light office. That's what on average netbooks HAVE BEEN (who cares what are "to you", with all due respect) in their 3 years of existence.
 

highscheme

macrumors regular
Jun 10, 2009
182
3
The Powerbook 2400c is also a netbook

The Powerbook 100 is a netbook imo

everything ever made is a netbook
 

gianly1985

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
798
0
The Powerbook 2400c is also a netbook

The Powerbook 100 is a netbook imo

everything ever made is a netbook
Agreed.
I'm hungry, gonna have some netbooks.

But first I'm gonna drop a netbook, better grab my ipad.

Netbooks netbooks netbooks.

My ego does not require me to conceal the fact that everything's a netbook.
 

zartemis

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2010
37
0
BARE minumum to surf the net and light office.

I did photo editing on my dell mini, it had more than the bare minimum to surf the net and light office and it was more powerful than my 2002 desktop (which lasted me until 2006). So it's not a netbook either?

Technology advances. A definition based on maximum actions possible is still a time-bound definition.
 
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