“For months we’ve been hearing that tablet PCs – led by Apple’s iPad – are hurting netbook sales in a big way,” Jeff Bertolucci reports for PC World. “But are they really?”
“For now, touchscreen tablets appear to be luring consumers away from netbooks but analysts believe in the long term, netbooks will hold their own in an increasingly fragmented mobile device market, particularly as computer makers address user complaints by enhancing netbooks with faster processors and new capabilities,” Bertolucci reports.
“Netbook shipments in the US fell 34 percent from the third quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010, according to research firm Gartner. The likely culprit? A certain tablet from Apple comes to mind,” Bertolucci reports. “”
Full article here.
We need to make the iPad independent of a Mac/PC
“tablet PCs lead by the iPad”
The most complete bullshit statement floating around the news today, somewhere between Bagdad Bob’s “we’re crushing them beneath our feet” and Bush’s comical “Mission Accomplished” aboard the aircraft carrier.
Try losing the “tablet PCs lead by” and just say iPad. Tablet PCs were around for 10 years and did squat and are still doing squat, or less than squat.
You sure aren’t hearing much about netbooks these days unless it’s a story like this wondering where they went.
Here’s the answer. They were a sh*tty alternative to a laptop to begin with and were a solution looking for a problem.
And yeah, “pc tablets” indeed. Give me a break
Is this the same device that wasn’t gonna go over to well cause it looked like a iPod on steroids? LOL. Well it was one purchase I will never regret.
Has Apple’s iPad killed the netbook?
Impossible. Many netbooks run some variant of the venerable and widely regarded Microsoft Windows. That’s what consumers want. MAC has yet to figure this out and simply license Windows to save themselves.
The unlikely few people who buy I-Pads would have to learn a whole new operating system made by a company with a sad history of overpriced, proprietary, toy-like products. People know Windows, netbooks are inexpensive compared to MAC and there are way more programs for Windows. Even some MAC fangirls can figure it out.
Nice attention grabbing headline MDN, but the reality is netbooks are alive and well–especially the ones running Windows.
The question we should be asking is ‘Have netbooks killed MAC’s I-Pads?’
Your potential. Our passion.™
@Zune
Well said, sir. Always refreshing to get your insights to set us straight. I am selling my AAPL monday. Thanks so much.
Welcome back, Zune!
Hey ZT, what’s your take on Android? I need direction.
@Jd
Why? That makes no sense!
In response to the question in the title; Yes!
Now move on please.
I love Zune Tang and miss him when he’s not around!
@Zune Tang®: “The question we should be asking is ‘Have netbooks killed MAC’s I-Pads?'”
@HughB: “I am selling my AAPL monday”
Awwww, crap, ’nuff said. Count me out, too.
Let’s hope not ’cause I may want an 11″ MacBook Air sometime next year
@ZT nice to see you back. What happened did that “netbook” of yours break?
While Zune was running Registry Mechanic he suffered a BSOD, thus explaining his long absence.
Get a Mac Zune, we want to see you more often!.
I wonder if the new iPad can run FaceTime with both the front & back cameras enabled at the same time so I can sit in front of a mirror and chat with myself.
A better question would be, “Does Apple have the perfect netbook killer combination?” One part iPad, one part iPhone/iPod touch, and one part 11.6 MacBook Air. All are in a class of their own.
@Wingsy
Not only that, but with several mirrors and a little practice you will be able to perform self-administered group therapy.
Reading analysts is amusing as long as you don’t take them too seriously.
Netbooks being impacted by iPad is a myth says one in the article ‘perpetuated by Apple fanatics’. Another says netbook sales are down due to bad economy etc. and not the iPad.
Analyst dudes : if the bad economy etc is pushing down netbook sales how do you account for booming ipad sales? (I’m not making light of people suffering in the economic crisis but I think if you make a GREAT enough product it’s going to sell bad economy or not. Netbooks obviously are not compelling enough.)
@ Davewrite
I find netbooks quite compelling. I feel compelled to giggle every time I walk by someone trying to be productive with one…
Just yesterday I saw a pharmacy rep using a netbook with a touchscreen, but she had to use a stylus – not her finger. I never once saw the screen respond to the first “touch” – on average, it took about 3. Although she joked that her shoulders got a good workout trying to get it to work.
zune tang -I don’t get it – your posts are I’m a an MS slave so I have to post this – where is your self worth ? Do you really just live just to look at mac stuff and post what you think ballmer would like ?
Ballmer doesn’t care man – he allegedly fired someone cause they didn’t say bing enthusiastically enough – if you want to fight for something fight for something useful. I think the phrase is have a good hard look at yourself !!
THe stuff on this website that you are responding to is because people care about the product they are proud to own not because people want to try to protect a shit product via monopoly
“address user complaints by enhancing netbooks with faster processors and new capabilities”.
In other words, the net book is becoming a small laptop. Nobody is killing the net book. The net book is killing itself.
Netbooks are their own worse enemy. The majority of Netbook owners have learned their lesson and have move on to a real computer or a iPad.
Netbooks are never going to be big deals because there’s no profit in them. PC makers acknowledge they have razor-thin margins on netbooks; they were just trying to catch cheap consumers who wanted cheap mobile devices. Once something better came along, poof, consumers disappeared.
PC makers will never put much money or design time into netbooks because they can’t: there just isn’t enough profit in them.