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Netbook or Notebook?
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New Sony Vaio netbook (Sony photo)
There seems to be as much news on technology Web sites about netbooks these days as there is coverage on news sites about Sarah Palin or Michael Jackson.
Netbook buzz is heavy with the latest news about Sony finally entering the market, AT&T Mobility offering a netbook with a service contract and Best Buy selling a Compaq netbook for 99 cents along with a Sprint service contract.
But all the attention to netbooks begs the obvious question: Should you buy a netbook or a notebook?
Specifically, what do you gain when you buy a netbook instead of a notebook and what do you lose?
Netbooks are portable computers that are generally less expensive, smaller and have fewer software applications and other features than do notebooks. Many run on Microsoft’s previous generation Windows XP operating system and have slower processors and less memory than notebooks. They typically stick to the most in-demand features such as a Web browser, a wireless Internet connection, e-mail and word processing applications, a media player and USB ports for peripherals.
Netbooks start at around $250, versus $500 for notebooks, and competition and production efficiencies will likely drive prices down further. And just like cell phones, netbooks can be bought for still less if purchased with a service plan for Internet access from a carrier such as AT&T or Verizon. If all the functionality the user needs is Web surfing, e-mail, IM or watching You Tube videos, that’s a great deal.
Netbooks also have better battery life than notebooks because the smaller screen and the slower processor use less energy.
But the case against netbooks is that they can be inadequate for power users. I can imagine using a netbook only to discover that an application or feature I needed was on my notebook back home but not on the netbook in my hands. Sure enough, an NPD Group survey of 600 netbook owners, released June 22, revealed that 65 percent of them said they bought their netbooks expecting better performance than they actually got and only 27 percent said their netbooks performed better than they expected.
Also, not all netbooks are value priced. The Sony Vaio W-series netbooks due out next month will list for $499 in the U.S. but the equivalent of $630 in Japan. Yes, you can find full-featured notebook models for less than that, although Sony has always been a pricier brand than HP, Dell and others.
But in the fact that netbooks have less memory and slower processors than notebooks lies what may be the seeds of their eventual demise. What are netbook makers going to do to improve upon netbooks in future iterations but to add memory, faster processors and more applications? Their size will likely stay the same as that is their chief design advantage over notebooks. But eventually, there will be no other distinction between notebooks and netbooks.
One thing that bodes well for netbooks is their sales volume. A computer industry hurting from flat or declining overall PC sales due to the recession is pleased at the unit sales growth of netbooks. An IDC spokesman says its analysts expect netbook sales to hit 26.4 million units this year, a jump of 127 percent from 2008.
Personally, I could use a netbook in some situations. I made the mistake of buying a notebook in a hurry and bought one with a 15.4-inch screen that weights six-and-a-half pounds. Lugging it all day in a briefcase around the Moscone Center in San Francisco is grueling. Toting a two-and-a-half pound netbook would bring welcome relief.
As in anything, the answer to the netbook-notebook dilemma is “to each his own.” But for those struggling with the buying decision, there are multiple netbook sites to visit. Netbooks have their own blog, too. I’d suggest a visit to the Consumer Reports Web site, which has a buying guide for netbooks, although accessing it requires a subscription.
For more info: Many of my fellow Examiners have been writing about the netbook market as well.
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