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Over the course of the past year, there has been a lot of hype in the media about the new netbooks. Netbooks are purported to bridge the gap between handheld devices such as the iPhone or the iTouch and laptop computers such as the MacBook. And although netbooks are marketed to provide everything people need, the fact of the matter is that they are simply failing to measure up.
By and large, consumers are reporting general dissatisfaction with their netbooks. Dissatisfaction is so great, in fact, that netbooks may very well fall by the wayside as just another fad in the world of technology. All too many people are being swayed by the hype and fail to recognize the truth about netbooks. These individuals should take caution and read this article before purchasing a netbook. The fact of the matter is that if it is portability people are after then an iPhone will assuredly deliver everything they need. And those who are in the market for a fully functional computer need to consider a MacBook as an option.
The first problem with netbooks is that they are extremely slow. While they are marketed as a small computer, they perform at only a fraction of the speed of MacBooks or other laptop computers. Users report serious problems when more than one tab is open at a time. Many users are even reporting that their netbooks crash when they attempt to run more than one program simultaneously. Users who have any experience with MacBooks or other Apple computers find netbooks so sluggish by comparison that they tend to avoid using their netbooks at all cost.
The second problem with netbooks has to do with their size. Most netbooks come with only a seven-inch screen, which means that only a small segment of a Web page can be viewed on the screen. Users must constantly scroll down through the screen while browsing the Web, and tool bars and other applications confound this problem even more. While it is true that iPhones have significantly smaller screens than netbooks, the screen resolution on an iPhone is much better. Moreover, iPhones can be configured so that text is resized to fit the screen, meaning that even the small screen of an iPhone or an iTouch has better viewing capacities than most netbook screens.
Along with the problem of a small screen comes the problem of a small keyboard. Netbook keyboards are necessarily smaller than keyboards on MacBooks, making it extremely difficult — if not impossible — to type quickly. In fact, most users find that iPhones are just as easy to type on as netbooks.
Perhaps the greatest selling point for netbooks is their low prices. However, considering that their functionality is so low, it doesn’t make sense for consumers to buy them even if they are a good deal. Furthermore, iPhones and iTouches are still cheaper than most netbooks, so users who are looking for a bargain need to consider their alternatives. The bottom line is that iPhones, iTouches and MacBooks provide users with more for their money than netbooks.
