There’s no point to rehashing why netbooks don’t provide a good enough consumer experience to justify their brief popularity. And even as they’ve improved dramatically — you can watch video on them now! — it’s still very hard to find a compelling argument as to why you’d prefer one over a tablet. According to ABI Research:
Media tablet shipments surpassed netbook shipments this quarter, reaching 13.6 million units, compared to just 7.3 million netbooks. Netbooks had previously led the way with 8.4 million shipments in 1Q11, compared to just 6.4 million media tablets.
So say your goodbyes while you can, you lovers of netbooks. Unless you’re too busy playing with your iPad. [BGR]
Ben Zemm
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 8:55 AMI’m reading this on my netbook, you insensitive clods! A portable 10″ Ubuntu machine with 3G access is fantastic: developing apps and reading websites on the train, etc. I have an iPad but that is only for games, not real work. Even short comments on websites is a bit of a PITA on the iPad.
olearymo
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 9:34 AMnoone remembers netbooks? really? I still see them quite often. More often than iPads, for that matter.
What a strange thing to say.
Pat
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 9:41 AMWell for starters, when traveling, some places still only have Ethernet connection.
I still like my display port, usb ports with charging, sd card readers, keyboard, storage space with space (i.e A HDD)….
When these feature come built into tablets, I still want a netbook.
lolwut
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 9:50 AMthe only gripe i have with current tablets is, im such a touch typist that typing on any tablet frustrates me too much
tony
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 9:52 AMi also own an ipad and a netbook, i must be getting old, i feel alot more of a need for my netbook to do work. i have only ever used my ipad to play games and browse websites
Sushruth
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:03 AMI can do a whole lot more with my netbook than with my tablet. Each has its uses, but as far as productivity goes the netbook is still more versatile than any tablet.
Just my opinion.
poltak
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:14 AMTry coding on the go with a tablet… That’s the only reason I bought a netbook over a tablet at the time. Sure, you can do that on a notebook, but it’s hard to find a $200-300 notebook that isn’t a 2.5kg+ 15″ monster with a goddamn optical drive.
I now own a 13″ lightweight notebook and 7″ tablet and they work great together, but I don’t regret my decision to purchase a netbook over a tablet at the time. If I was in the same situation now and still strapped for cash, I’d still go the netbook for various reasons.
Richard
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 7:14 PMPersonally I wouldn’t attempt to code on either a notebook or a tablet. The tablets worth considering lack the keyboard and software to do an awful lot and the netbook is lacking the real estate.
I’d much rather carry a 13″ or larger system…if it needs to be mobile get an Apple Air or one of the new Ultrabooks.
Pariah
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:15 AMLet’s see you do some actual work on an iPad from more than a barebones “office suite”. Let’s see you write applications on an iPad. Oh, and I wouldn’t mine being able to connect to an external display AND charge my device at the same time, or even just use external memory.
Interestingly enough, as far as tablets have come, why is the iPad 2 still reliant on a PC? I can put it in it’s place and force it to sync to a netbook if I wish.
Frer
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:28 AMThe person who wrote this article should get out of his or her room and see the world, your family has stop using netbooks it doesnt mean the world do the same
simon
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:39 AMi love my netbook
i use my netbook daily, so much so that the battery has literally 5 minutes full charge remaining from its 6hr claimed life.
i want a new netbook, tablets are fine for mucking around, but u cannot beat a physical keyboard attached to a perhaps less capable machine than a optimized tablet, but a hell of a more funtional unit be it linux or windows
id buy a new one today if i could afford it and it had the right specs
give me a ultra netbook, something thin, 10inches, 1366×768 and a dual core atom, thats all i ask for, is it too much? :(
arc04
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:14 AMand your prayers have been answered
http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1215B/
tis a little beast, plays sc2 and cod
Pete
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:52 AMRemember UMPCs? How about MIDs?
The people who use and used netbook will either go for one of the following 3 groups next time.
iPad, or other RISC based tablet, they are lighter and cheaper but not as powerful. They still feel more powerful to a normal user because they startup quicker and use less power when turned off. But they’re not so good for productivity unless you tweak it beyond its original purpose.
Ulrabook, has a keyboard but much more powerful and attractive for just a little more cash.
cheap laptop. Netbooks were originally best for users who just wanted to browse the net and would pay less for something that could do that. Like my parents. An old Acer netbook just follows them around the house running Windows XP. These days, laptops are a lot cheaper, so they’ll get a cheap Acer laptop with a full 14 to 15 inch screen.
I don’t think there is any market left for anyone who is buying a new computer today.
TSH
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:13 AMI can’t speak for the USA and other places, but in Australia you can’t get an ultrabook or not-shit slate for ~$300 (especially if you want a keyboard with that); and if portability is key, 10″ seems to be the sweet spot.
Netbooks remain the choice for cheap, ultraportable computing with a full-featured desktop OS.
TSH
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:09 AMNo doubt, 8.4-7.3 million is a drop in sales but I’d hardly call it precipitous. Netbooks remain a good solution for ultraportable computing on the cheap, and 7.3 million customers (this quarter) would agree!
MotorMouth
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:13 AMInteresting, not one comment in favour of tablets. I always thought netbooks were a complete waste of time until I saw the first iPad. At least a netbook can do stuff a smartphone can’t.
I recently bought a second-hand netbook, a Sony P Series (they never called it a netbook but I don’t know what else it could be), mainly to try out Windoze 8, and I’ve surprised myself by how much use I am finding for it. It runs some of my serious applications, including real-time music sequencers/softsynths, much better than I would have thought. I find myself using it more than my big machine. OTOH, the only thing I could see a use for with a tablet is the interweb, which I can do as well on my phone.
I can’t see much of a future for tablets. Once phones start packing Tegra3 level hardware, docking devices like the Motorola Webdock for Atrix or what Sony have done with their new Z Series will make a lot more sense. Even now, something the size of an iPad would make a lot more sense if it was just a display that you plugged your iPhone 4S into. Of course, Apple wouldn’t make as much money off something as useful as that, so it won’t happen.
jeremy
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:18 AMsales dropped for a simpler reason I suspect – netbooks now are not a lot “better” than they where a few years ago (not do they need to be), and netbooks last quite well, so people buy them and use them for years. There was an initial “surge” as people realised how useful they where, now they are at replacement rate with only the school market supplying new users. My eee is still going strong after 3 years, booting fast, getting shit done when I need it. Bad for the sales of vendors, yes, but hardly “death”.
Merc
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11:23 AMI’m currently on a netbook that I purchased last month. It’s fantastic for all of the non power-intensive computer-based projects that I need to do, with decent portability in a familiar shape.
Tablets still strike me as odd things that are too flimsy, or awkward, with even less of that computing power we have all become quite fond of. Not to mention how much touch-typing sucks on anything lacking a physical keyboard. And if you say you can get one for a tablet, doesn’t that just make it a silly laptop?
Adil
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 9:10 PMMy teacher always kept one in her handbag and took it out if nesseacary. Netbooks are extremely portable.