Comments on: Apple Says Netbooks Cramped, Terrible, Junky, Not Mac-Worthy — Buy an iPhone Instead!

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:30:37 +0000

My netbook runs FEA,CAD, MS Project, and fits easily the small bag I carry to work. Can’t do that with a iPhone. If you only use a computer for is email, spreadsheets, documents, gaming, and browsing, the lack of need of a netbook is understandable. If carry my notebook around, it takes up twice the space requiring me to tote a dedicated bag for it. Good for Apple but I respectfully disagree.

By: Rocky Romero

Rocky Romero — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:32:19 +0000

This discussion while valuable, it ignores where the market may take us in the near future.

Imagine the iphone v6.0 as the center point of the personal computing environment.

This is where the iphone is the hub and peripherals (keyboard, mouse, large & small screens, mass storage,etc) are connected seamlessly.

This processor will be fully software compatible for PC, MACS, etc.

For travel all that I would need to do is lift the iphone and go with whatever peripherals that I need or attach to what's available on my route while connecting at high speeds with the cloud.

That's where we are heading with this and I want to be there.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:20:00 +0000

@ Rene,

You need to get past the idea of detachable. That is not going to happen and I would expect someone who blogs about Apple to know that.

By: Bringit

Bringit — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:30:17 +0000

A silly statement to come from Apple. Rolls Royce might never build a motorcycle, either, and sometimes “cramped” is “just right.” The Air is beautful but that price point…

By: icebike

icebike — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Netbooks do fill a niche, but I agree with thekevinmonster that its over hyped.

They can be great for the traveler, especially when small enough to be carried in hand, like a book.

To date the run time is not all that spectacular, but when that is solved, these things could take off.

The Kindle is the precursor. Watch that area.

As for Apple, they will dis the netbook till 6 months before they release one. Then they will add a feature (multi touch or something) and claim its totally new and "years ahead" of the competition.

By: maniacfive

maniacfive — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:37:47 +0000

When i was in the market for a laptop, i specifically went for a 13" ibook because it was small. Its getting on a bit now and i had been thinking or perhaps looking at a netbook to replace it, but you know, If im not using my iphone for email and the web, if i do need a bit more, say a holiday or a trip with a digicam that i want to email photos home etc... the iBook is plenty small enough for that. I dont think its that much of a drag to carry around.

I just dont see the need for a netbook. Though having said that... A smaller version of the macbook Air? Yeah. i'd go for that.

By: antonioj

antonioj — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:45:42 +0000

to consider the iphone has a proper netbook replacement two things are needed:

1 – external bluetooth keyboard support

2 – ms office for iphone ok, i guess docs to go or quickoffice can do the trick

By: frog

frog — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:00:02 +0000

I have a MacBook infront of me, but I’m reading and replying to this on my iPhone.

By: thekevinmonster

thekevinmonster — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:42:29 +0000

I think that this whole 'netbook' craze is kind of a mislabeled phenomenon.

A netbook isn't anything different from a regular laptop. It has a screen, a keyboard, a pointing device, and a network adapter. They are simply affordable, and as small as manufacturers can make them and still have them be functional for touch-typing on.

A UMPC on the other hand was an attempt at a 'new' genre, a micro-tablet with no keyboard that had a touch-able screen (as opposed to the RF pen digitizers on tablet PCs.) Since you couldn't type on them, and they were expensive, I think that segment kind of pooped out.

The reason I find my iPhone so useful is that, since it's my cellular phone, I always have it with me everywhere I go. As a result, if I need to use the internet for something or need access to another program, my phone's right there and it's perfectly usable for most of the things I use the internet for. A UMPC-sized tablet wouldn't be so useful, because even though it is smaller than even a netbook, it's still another big thing I would have to carry around.

I think Craig Hockenberry has said that he thinks some kind of media extender ala Apple TV would be the real device Apple is going to sell. Instead of something that competes with the iPhone (by having persistent network access like a 3G-enabled netbook) or something that competes with the MacBook (by being a regular laptop, just mini-sized), Apple would release something which fits into life in a different manner.

Unfortunately, I don't see how having Front Row on a keyboard-less tablet is anything different than an iPod Touch. However, the iPod Touch is really an iPhone without a phone, not an iPod with Touch.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:26:36 +0000

To be honest, the only thing the ipod touch doesn’t have right now, is a larger screen. All I do with it is webbrowse, read news articles and books with stanza. A larger screen(say, paperback book size) – and nothing else – would be a must have.