The whale and a minnow: Is the tablet really killing the netbook?

Maybe it is, but there are many reasons for the netbook to hold its own.

KARACHI:

Whether you’re an iPad sceptic, like many geeks, or infatuated with it, like many consumers, we’ve reached a point where the balance of tablets and netbooks is beginning to tip in the favour of the tablets. This is happening both in sales and even hardware performance. In fact now smartphones are also challenging netbooks.

Even Microsoft has admitted that netbook sales have been on a slow but steady decline over the past two years. Sure, some of it is due to the fact that there has been an overall decline in the sales of PCs as well, but that is because a lot of people are using more powerful laptops as desktops. But the drop or stagnation in netbook sales is widely attributed to the tablets. Chipmaker Intel, whose Atom CPUs power most netbooks, has also reported that sales have been slower.

And many analysts who follow tech trends feel that this is not over yet, that the cannibalisation of netbook sales by tablets could still get bigger. According to a report on the internet, Craig Skinner, senior consultant at Ovum, a Melbourne-based analyst house, said, “The netbook numbers have certainly been dropping off, and the obvious thing that’s been eating that has been the tablet devices. I think that we certainly haven’t seen it finish reducing yet. We’re still at a very early stage of the tablet adoption. We still have quite a long way and a lot of growth there.”

Many of these same analysts however believe that the netbook is not going to die out completely, especially as more powerful models keep rolling out. They will still be a hit with those who want something ultra-portable but with a keyboard.

Why the tablet popularity?

Basically, it is all about size, or is it?. The kind of work we used to do once with machines that were like huge boxes and weighed a ton, is now easily done on smartphones, and tablets. So one aspect that appeals is the form factor. But looks can only take you so far.

I feel it is a little bit more than that. I think it also has a lot to do with what people want to do with their devices. When you’re doing a lot of word editing or photo editing, drawing or working on a spreadsheet, you want to use a notebook or desktop to do that.

The tablet technology is ideal for a bit of typing, social networking and reading. The tablet really focuses on that different, specialist role, whereas the netbook tries to do a bit of everything and doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well.

The intuitive ease of use of the tablet weighs in too. Netbooks are basically a watered-down PC platform that still runs standard software, which can often frustrate consumers. On the other hand, tablets are based on smartphones, so they have simpler operating systems and apps are developed specifically for the devices and their multi-touch screens.

Form factor

The single form factor of the tablet, with no keyboards, is perfect for many uses, such as having the tablet on your lap to watch TV or movies. After all, the basic question when comparing the two is that how often do we need a keyboard? So if a task doesn’t need a keyboard, then it’s perfect for a tablet. So I am guessing the best, when it comes to tablets is yet to come.

Not having a keyboard also makes tablets ideal for use on trains, planes and other crowded places. And as for the missing keyboard, if more typing is required, then a Bluetooth or USB keyboard can be attached.

The netbook fights back

But there are still areas where the netbook has an edge over the tablet. Tablets are smaller, lighter, easier to break, more prone to being dropped and more at risk to being shattered or impaled by an object in your bag. Also, most tablets (even with cases) leave their screen exposed.

Even with inventions like Swype, I find all on-screen keyboards cumbersome and inaccurate. They are hard to use and always leave me in a frustrated rage. Yes, some tablets will have keyboard built in, but then they are just a laptop with a touchscreen.

Even with the age of wireless, some people need to connect peripherals to their computers such as hard drives, DVD drives, printers and more. With the form factor of tablets comes the removal of things like USB ports. This doesn’t allow for easy printing or connection to peripherals.

And last but not least, the operating system. No matter how much iOS, Android or any other mobile OS try, they are not suited for full time use and in the same vein, Windows 7 and Mac OS X are not suited for touch. In order for tablets to have even the remote possibility of succeeding, there needs to be a full-fledged tablet OS. This must have all the drivers and features of the big boys, with touch friendly features. Even Google’s much anticipated Android Honeycomb is still a far cry from being a desktop replacement.

Verdict

So it remains to be seen if the predictions will meet their forecasts, but all indications now are that tablets are likely to take over computing where a keyboard is not essential. And that’s a big slice of what we do. But also, that the netbook is far from dead, yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2012.