Comments on: PC biz headed for a wireless shakeup

By: Syed, Riyadh Saudi Arabia

Syed, Riyadh Saudi Arabia — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:57:34 +0000

People who were attracted to the laptops purely because of their mobility will move to the netbooks, But people who need more than just mobility will still invest in the higher end laptops. Gamers, Software Developers & photographers are some of the groups that will probably never buy netbooks.

By: Hyperion, Washington DC

Hyperion, Washington DC — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:23:16 +0000

I work for an .edu and I have to say that I think netbooks will not only catch on, but will easily grow into their own segment, needing all the support for the user community that can be provided.

Will it be a primary computer? I hope the answer is "no". But the netbook as a concept cannot be beat for portability and on the fly work if needed.

When you consider that most people only do 5-6 things with a computer, this is a perfect solution for plane travelers, coffee house flies, and others who only need the minimum when they are on the go.

Just to clarify, I consider those 5-6 things to be:

Web surfing

Games

Document writing

Printing

Music and movie storage and management

These simply tasks can be easily handled by a netbook. Not having an onboard optical drive, is not that big of a deal if people stop to look at how often they really need one.

The netbook also has a future for public school systems that have wanted to put computers in the hands of it's pupils, but have not been able to afford even the cheapest of laptops.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:07:42 +0000

where do i get my stuff cheap ?

By: Marc, Charlotte, NC

Marc, Charlotte, NC — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:08:55 +0000

Let's see. You get a "free" computer from the phone company in exchange for paying them $100/month. It comes with a 3 year old brain (CPU) and operating system. You download $1,000 worth of music and movies from iTunes during your first year of ownership. Then you buy a few applications, say to edit photos or play games and find it's slower then the computer you just replaced. Doesn't seem like such a deal to me…

By: Ed - Walnut - CA

Ed - Walnut - CA — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:07:37 +0000

Almost forgot. I wonder what kind of impact this will have on landfills, etc. I've seen how disposable and discarded "free" cellphones end being trashed for the newest flavor of phone. I hope these companies are prepared for the impact and cleanup they will be RESPONSIBLE for in 5-10 yrs of dirt cheap laptops….better hope they are trully green.

By: ED - Walnut - CA

ED - Walnut - CA — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:03:29 +0000

This is great for non-tech savvy peoples looking for their first pc to get connected. A net book is just a large smart phone IMHO. No where near as powerful and functional as a laptop and home pc. If anything, you will get milked for much more from the "netbook" people for added functionality that in the long run is far more costly than a real laptopl

By: Jim - Bellaire - TX

Jim - Bellaire - TX — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:07:28 +0000

The bright side of the netbook craze is that it is driving the price of full-featured laptops down.

By: Eric, Cincinnati OH

Eric, Cincinnati OH — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:46:39 +0000

This can't be that great. So you get a free netbook that retails for $200-$300 but you have to pay $100+ a month for the service. Its great if you wanted wireless internet from the wireless telcos but outside of that its not a great deal.

By: Michael Ross, Forest Grove, Oregon

Michael Ross, Forest Grove, Oregon — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:13:02 +0000

Netbooks are selling – and the line between high end phone and low end computer is only likely to get blurrier. Further, TVs and PCs are likely to merge – and TV networks will scramble as it becomes easier and cheaper for anyone to originate and broadcast shows to a wide audience without benefit of help from the networks. But this all doesn't spell bad news for PC makers, as the author suggests. It's simply an expanded role for the computer. There will always be a role for the full sized laptop – typing business reports, spreadsheets, database work, and yes, movies and gaming are not likely to migrate down to the smart phone level soon. PC makers ARE going to have to adapt to an increasingly commoditized market, with lower margins, and are going to have to pump up volume, particularly in regions like APAC, Latin America, and Africa, in order to continue growth. But whole new market segments are opening, and he who captures them, wins.