[speakeasy]

http://news.yahoo.com/acer-asus-stop-mak...00299.html



It looks like the final nail was put in the coffin of the netbook. Asus and Acer have killed their lines of netbooks. There might be a few new ones left to grab online, but the writing is on the wall, these are a dead niche.

They were the perfect travel computers. I have a 10" Asus EeePC that I still use 4 years later. They had SD slots for uploading pictures onto an actual 160G hard drive, various USB ports, video outputs, a real keyboard and track pad, headphone jack. Typing on the tiny keyboard took some getting used to but you could do actual real work on them and have the benefits of a very light-weight computer that takes almost no space in your bag, with long battery life.

Steve Jobs killed the netbook with his iPad. An item not designed for producing anything but consuming. They are almost useless for productivity, multi-tasking is a bitch, typing long-form emails or docs on a screen is trial in patience. No hard drive space or multimedia slots for cameras so forget emptying your camera card on them while traveling. They do nothing that a netbook couldn't do, except look cooler. Tablets may have faster processors for games, but why the hell would anyone buy a $500 tablet just to play games when a Wii can be had for less? I then see people on the plane with their tablet plugged into a blue tooth keyboard and a stand to angle the screen and I'm like WTF, if you're going to do all that why not just get a netbook??

The sort of light, quick access that a tablet offers can just as soon be served up by my smartphone. I think a netbook combined with a full-featured smartphone is a perfect combination. Plus you can tether the smartphone as a hotspot to avoid paying hotels for wifi access.

[Aliblahba]

I had an eeepc 901, that after upgrading to 2gb of RAM performed as a desktop replacement. Netbooks were a great thing for traveling. Mine took a beating, and finally needed to retire which is why I upgraded to a Tab.

The netbook was more versatile, but for laying in bed, walking through the house or airports, hanging out in coffee shops, ect, the Tab does well. I still carry a laptop, but could live on a tablet for a 4 day trip.

I still contend Asus made by far the best line of netbooks.

[WesternCancer]

Damn, I made it through the first few years of university on one of these things. You could plug it into a monitor for a big screen then take it to class and it didn't take up much space. Great machine, but like alib says not too great for just cruising on your bed or during travel.

[OldRich]

They just rebranded into Ultrabooks now and I'm glad they did. These netbooks are way too slow for anything but light browsing and words. Give me a Zenbook 13" any day.

[speakeasy]

(01-20-2013 03:26 PM)OldRich Wrote:  

They just rebranded into Ultrabooks now and I'm glad they did. These netbooks are way too slow for anything but light browsing and words. Give me a Zenbook 13" any day.

Yeah, but netbooks can be had for as low as $200. And they get the job done as long as you aren't using them for gaming or graphic design. Ultrabooks start at around 3x that price.

Demand is still out there for netbooks but I think they are killing them because they make better profit margins on tablets.

[BurnFirst]

My iPad is a full on music production studio, among many other productive things. Never liked laptops, too unwieldy.

[Hotwheels]

I standard size laptop isn't terribly big, so I never saw the benefit of a netbook. I don't usually bother with a separate bag for the lappy anymore. Just throw it in my suitcase with the rest of my shit and out the door.

I definitely have no interest in a fucking ipad.

[Tuthmosis]

People who consume--rather than create--content seem to like tablets (iPad, for instance). I've had an iPad for a long time now (it was a gift) and I still can't find a good use for it.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

NOOOOOOOO!

I was just planning to get a netbook. Tablets annoy me to no end and I think their capabilities are quite limited. Ultrabooks are light but very bulky, so they're not replacements either.

Anyways, fail

[storm]

Netbooks were killed because they were unprofitable. The competition to drive prices down led companies to make extremely marginal profits on them. I imagine most companies were happy to get rid of their netbook line.

If you want a good cheap travel notebook get a used thinkpad X series, they run around $200 on ebay and I imagine they'll beat the pants off any netbook. Same size, much better build quality, real size keyboard (if a little cut in at the edges), real processor.

[Tex Pro]

My guess is that tablets will start featuring removable keyboards in the future like the Microsoft Surface tablet:



Although, the Surface tablet hasn't been very popular, so who knows.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Anyone knows if there is a possibility for a tablet (maybe with a keyboard too) that can be folded? Say, into 4, 6 or 8 rectangular sections like a Monopoly or Risk board. That's a thing that I'd totally buy.

[freshcream]

That's what HPs new computer does. I like it. When I'm just lying around reading...

[RandalGraves]

I've had a netbook that's served me faithfully for 3 years so far. It's lightweight and more discreet than a laptop. I guess the advantage of a tablet combined with the keyboard is you have a touch screen too. Oh well.

[brianmark]

I have a great light 3.5 pound Toshiba notebook, but it was loaded with all my important documents. I went to Thailand and wanted a computer that was light and actually had a real keyboard for typing. I bought a Gateway Netbook, which probably weighs less than 2 pounds, at Walmart for about $228 in November. It's great for typing and I probably typed 100 pages on it while I was gone. If you have any interest in creating and not just viewing, you should pick up one before while they are still making them.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-20-2013 04:25 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

People who consume--rather than create--content seem to like tablets (iPad, for instance). I've had an iPad for a long time now (it was a gift) and I still can't find a good use for it.

Have you tried using your Ipad for this?



For the record, I still use the old school "Ipad" :

[Asaxon]

I actually like a tablet for reading this forum, newspapers etc. Much easier to hold by the pool than a laptop. For output I have an acer which is netbook sized but has the power of a standard laptop, however, cost me $500. I dabbled with the thought of a cheap netbook but when trying them out they needed 10 secs just to load a browser or open a windows menu...

[polymath]

I've used a netbook since 2011....my current one has a SSD so I can throw it around, dual core processor and Windows 8, extra RAM too. I think it's the ideal computer. If it got hit by a bus I would only care about a few files that weren't backed up.

I want a computer that's fast and useful, but portable and inexpensive. The netbook pretty much sits at the sweet spot for all that.

Here's hoping that the niche will be filled soon.

[RouteBackwards]

How interesting. I literally planned to grab one of these since I'm not comfortable banging around my three thousand dollar lap top.

Maybe there will be a ridiculous price dip to get stock sold?

[Asaxon]

If you have the cash try the acer v5: netbook size but full laptop performance for $550

[Cincinnatus]

Damn, I had an Acer a few years ago that cost me $299 + tax. Great little computer. Shameful really, I'd been contemplating getting another one recently.

So are any manufacturers left making $200-$300 netbook style computers?

[rvz77]

There are some 12 inch thinkpads and dell latitudes
IMO they are amazing. Very powerful yet not as costly as the ultra books.
Net books are/were good.. but going forward I am not sure how much can the atom processors handle.

[Anon-A-Moose]

(01-20-2013 02:58 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

They were the perfect travel computers. Steve Jobs killed the netbook with his iPad. An item not designed for producing anything but consuming. They are almost useless

Little Bluetooth keyboard. Also fuck Steve Jobs. The iPhone did more to fuck up men's lives than probably any other invention (except maybe social media, which is itself imo a fucking abomination) in the past decade.

[maccc]

I had a 10" MSI Wind netbook for 4 years or so and it was awesome. I was running OSX86 on it performed very well. Was able to do all web browsing, Excel, and some minor Photoshop CS4 work with it. Only reason I stopped using it is because it fell off the top bunk in a hostel and got a small crack in the corner. I ended up giving it to this Russian girl who was in uni and couldn't afford her own.

Now I got a 13" Macbook Air and loving it. Less than 3 pounds, easy to bring on planes, exceptional battery life, and can handle everything I throw at it. I routinely have Excel, Photoshop, Acrobat, Skype, LogMeIn and Chrome running with 10-15 tabs, and it does it all with no problem.

[mental]

You can use android tablets and phones as netbooks with a USB OTG cable (which can be used to connect any USB device to android) and a USB hub. You can even make your own OTG cable.