Lance Esondi asked:




The iPad was said to become the netbook killer. At it’s low price and the portability it offers with huge battery life, it almost seems that the speculation of a netbook killer was right. But this falls apart when you start looking at the details. The iPad falls short of actually killing off the netbook market.

Netbooks can multitask. The iPad is limited to one application at a time just like the iPhone. On a netbook you can be writing in a word processor, listening to music, browsing the web, using spreadsheets, and many other functions all at the same time. It’s easy to work with and use like you would a laptop. The iPad does not have this functionality making it difficult to really argue it’s better than a netbook.

Netbooks have full browsers. Without Flash support, it’s hard to argue that the iPad is a full browser experience. If one wants to get into a hotel room and catch up on some shows on Hulu or other network sites, it’s possible. On the iPad you will have to purchase the show through iTunes as it’s not possible to watch video in the browser.

Netbooks have expansion ports like USB. If you need more memory, the ability to install additional applications, or additional hardware, the standard USB port will take care of this allowing you to use thousands of additional components. The iPad can’t without USB ports. It will be much easier to store media, print, and almost everything else with a netbook.

Netbooks, even the high end versions, are still cheaper than the lowest priced iPad. It’s hard to justify paying 30% more for something that does at least 30% less.

Matthew