I think that netbooks are in the same state as MP3 players once were. We all can agree that it'd be great to have SOMETHING that fills this need, but none of the gizmos available quite scratch the itch.
I'm sure that some company will figure it out, and we consumers will all say, "Yes! That's what I wanted all along." Which is the nature of innovation, after all.
I don't really get all the animosity towards netbooks. Personally I love mine. Upped the RAM to 2 GB and Win7 Home Premium absolutely flies on it. It's perfect for when I'm out and about, or simply want to relax on the couch. An overpowered, and equally overly bulky laptop has no use for me, as I can simply use my desktop if I want/need more horsepower.
I had an acer 10", because the 11" at the time came with an Atom proc adn Vista, and was HORRID!. But 3 months later they bumped the proc to a Core solo proc and Win 7, and wireless N, I LOVE this thing. I can take it to coffee shops/bookstores, set it on the table with other people and it doesn't take the whole table. I can do anything I need to do on it, boots up under 1 minute, nattery lasts 6 hours. If i'm stuck ina coffee shop for more than 6 hours something is wrong anyways. Not sure why anyone wouldn't want one actually.
I have a 8.9" Acer netbook and love it. It has the small, 3-cell battery on it and I could care less as I NEVER use any laptop or netbook on battery power. Pretty much everywhere I go there is an outlet available so I would much rather plug in and totally forget about the battery. I keep my netbook in my RV so that I don't need to drag my fullsize laptop out to the RV when packing for a trip.
I can't see why someone would pay more for an iPad since it isn't as capable as a netbook. I think the iPad will be short lived...
My wife has an Acer 10" and she loves loves it. It is easy to carry when traveling - even on the motorcycle. It is just fine for checking email visiting forums, etc. I prefer it to a laptop for portability.
I love my Netbooks. I have 2 of them. Jumped on the bandwagon with the original Asus 7" EEEpc which we used on holiday in Greece a couple of years ago. Connected to a friend's Wifi it was fine for browsing and checking emails.
Bought an Advent 4211 10" model (MSI Wind U100 Clone) more recently. It runs Windows XP, rather than Linux. Upped the RAM to 2Gb but the 80Gb Hard Drive is sufficient for carrying a few Movie and Music files on for when we're away. Played the AVI files fine through VLC player while on holiday.
Although it has built-in wireless we bought a Broadband Mobile USB dongle for where there's no access. Used it on a recent trip to Dover where I was browsing the 'Net checking online traffic reports and updating my Facebook status on route, whilst the wife was driving! Bought a higher capacity battery than the original which gave about 3 hours use. The new one gives nearer 7 hours, albeit making the Netbook a little more bulky at the back but nothing detrimental in my opinion. We found the extra battery life great to while away the time whilst delayed in an Airport lounge recently.
Personally I think Netbooks will survive as a versatile, compact, portable device for mobile Internet access. Wouldn't be without mine now!
What do folks think about preinstallations of Windows 7 Starter on many netbooks...would Home Premium be better\ I suspect so
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