Netbooks have many doors beating Apple iPad

Although the iPad is called a netbook replacement device by Apple, the analysis shows that the tablet lacks many features to compete with netbooks .

At the launch of the iPad tablet on January 28, Apple CEO Steve Jobs described ' netbook as a low-cost laptop has tried hard but failed to create a third middle segment. smart and laptop '.

' The problem with netbooks is that it has nothing to stand out for, ' said Steve Jobs.

However, many comments on the iPad are nothing better than the iPod Touch. Others claim to change the iPad's name to iNetbook.

Jeff Orr, an analyst with market research firm ABI Research, said the iPad has nothing to be sure of.

' Many features are still missing in the iPad such as Flash support in browsers, webcams or external storage slots ,' said Jeff Orr. 'The price of the iPad and its feature gaps are still wide open for other tablet makers .'

ABI predicts about 4 million tablets such as iPads and lesser-known products like the Archos 5 will be produced this year. That is only a fraction of 35 million netbooks produced last year and is expected to be higher this year.

' Most people who buy netbooks make decisions based on their mobile needs, while tablets are a luxury device targeting households, ' said Jeff Orr. ' The ABI study predicts the launch of iPads and many other tablets will have little impact on netbook revenue in 2010. '

This is a comparison between netbooks and iPads in the main elements:

Design: iPad wins

The iPad is only half an inch (1.27 cm) thick, weighs 0.6kg, half the weight of most netbooks. The iPad also has Apple's signature fashion style.

Camera: Netbook wins

No webcam, the feature has become the standard in today's low-end smart phones, is the omission of the iPad. Blog technology ReadWriteWeb comments' this is a serious shortcoming of the iPad. Because images and videos are now an important part of web interaction that people are familiar with . '

Keyboard: Difficult to defeat

IPhone and iTouch users will love the touch experience on the iPad. But some technology experts question whether users can do anything without a keyboard. The iPad has a device to plug in a keyboard, but it's not as convenient as a netbook.

Screen: Netbook wins

The 9.7-inch size of the iPad is about the same size as most netbooks, but some netbooks currently have 11 or 12-inch screens. Thus, a point for netbooks compared to iPad in terms of screen size. Meanwhile, netbook screens launched this year used OLED technology with better brightness and less power consumption.

Software: Difficult to defeat

People who spend a lot of time on entertainment may like the ability to tightly integrate the iPad with the iPhone operating system, iTunes multimedia software and the iTunes app store. But to run company applications or email, netbooks using Windows operating systems will be more convenient.

Web surfing: Difficult to beat

The surfing speed of the iPad is quite fast thanks to the 1GHz processor. And the iPad also supports wireless Wifi or 3G connection from AT&T service provider to connect to the Internet anywhere. The iPad models support 130 USD more expensive than models that only support Wifi but US users have to pay an additional fee of 30 USD / month to surf the web freely or limit 250 Mb data / month for 15 USD. The cost of 3G services on iPad is cheaper than surfing 3G on netbooks or laptops (an average of 60 USD / month in the US). On the other hand, the iPad does not support Adobe Systems' Flash, the popular feature on the web available in Linux and Windows, two operating systems installed in most netbooks.

Storage: Netbook wins

The iPad has three different types of flash memory capacities including 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. That memory is equivalent to netbooks using SSDs but lower than netbooks using regular hard drives. Moreover, netbooks also have an SD card slot and USB port to increase the capacity when needed while the iPad lacks both.

Price: Netbook wins

The iPad starts at $ 499 and the most expensive version supports 3G up to $ 829. Netbooks typically cost between $ 250 and $ 600-700.