

Have You Seen Apple's Netbook? - cwisecarver
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/12/29/have-you-seen-apples-netbook.aspx

======
pg
_What's the netbook have that the iPhone doesn't? More disk space, a keyboard,
and a larger screen._

He forgot the most important thing: being under the user's control, including
the ability to install arbitrary software. The closedness of the iPhone is its
Achilles heel.

~~~
wyday
> The closedness of the iPhone is its Achilles heel.

If the iPhone was targeted just towards hackers, then yes I agree that
closedness is its Achilles heel. But the presence of the "regular schmo" in
the market negates the closedness problem.

The more regular schmos the iPhone attracts, the larger the market for the
hackers.

I cite the profitability of Windows applications as an example of a closed
system that works to the benefit of both the hacker and the schmo despite its
closedness.

~~~
Raphael
You don't need permission from Microsoft to write a Windows program. You just
need to know a bit about the Windows API. Apple actually screens iPhone apps,
so it is more of a closed system.

~~~
wyday
It wasn't a perfect comparison, I know. I was talking about closedness in the
private API sense. Namely, the private APIs in Windows (see the lawsuits
against Microsoft in late 90's early 00's) vs. the private API in the iPhone.

------
notauser
I agree that Apple probably sees the iPhone as their netbook competitor -
because the netbook market is not one market (duh) but several.

'My' slice of the market is the working-on-a-plane set, who value a 7 hour
battery life, a good keyboard, low weight, and a big SSD that can survive a
Turkish taxi ride - preferably while not being a $2,000+ mugging magnet like
the Air...

But I'm not stupid enough to believe that the netbook market I'm part of is
bigger than the slice who just use theirs to surf the Internet, and if you
look at just that market the iPhone (or especially the iPod touch) is a pretty
good proposition.

~~~
nailer
'I agree that Apple probably sees the iPhone as their netbook competitor'

Well, they've stated they don't see much value in current Netbooks in the
past. But I personally think they've already changed their mind - Apple make
dumb choices occasionally, but they're smart enough to see when they've failed
- see the Apple TV, or original Mac-only iPod. We'll know this as soon as they
have something for people to buy.

Your needs - valuing battery life, portability, and a reasonable price over
powerful specs - are actually common for most netbook users.

An iPhone is not a Netbook substitute. Ever tried browsing for two hours on an
iPhone? Writing a long email or Facebook comment? Wonder why people who own
iPhones also want Netbooks?

Edit: Could someone please explain what was offensive or factually incorrect
about my post to moderate it to zero?

~~~
qqq
Don't complain until -5. It's just one random guy didn't like it. Doesn't mean
anything! At least 10% of the lurkers here must be dumb -- it's just the
averages.

~~~
nailer
I see your point, but I'd always thought HN was bastion of civil disagreement.

------
GHFigs
I don't understand why this is so contentious to so many people. It's a very
simple idea: the iPhone platform excels at many of the things people buy
netbooks for. The things it doesn't excel at are done better by a real laptop
or desktop than a netbook anyway. Ergo, Apple--who already produces both--
doesn't see a market in between.

------
tortilla
I would love an iPhone I could dock (external display, keyboard, mouse, etc.).

------
siong1987
I own a Macbook Pro, a EEE Pc, and an Iphone.

Iphone is a good tool for communication and simple web browsing. But, it is
not a substitution for my EEE pc. I use my EEE pc for web browsing because it
has a bigger screen and a bigger keyboard(both are functional and convenient).

And, I strongly believe that network providers will soon come out with plan
that you can sign up a 3G sim card and a 3G-enabled-netbook for a two-year
contract like many countries have in the world right now.

------
mikeryan
I love my iPhone whole heartedly, but I still have a netbook on the way (mini
9 as a matter of fact). A few things you can't do on the iPhone.

1\. Run Background Tasks (IM anyone?) 2\. Edit MS Office Documents 3\. Edit
Code 4\. Power Point 5\. Run Windows Apps (this is important to me because my
other main PC is a Mac - so having a small cheap windows machine comes in
handy)

~~~
potatolicious
I think you missed a big one:

6 - Not be a massive pain in the ass to use for extended periods.

Yeah, I can get on IMDB and check a film's ranking pretty easily, but I can do
it 10-20x faster on a laptop/netbook. Multiply that by another order of
magnitude for composing long emails, or even trying to dive through multiple
pages of a site rapidly.

The iPhone does some things capably (moreso than its competitors anyway) but
it is far from the "best" solution, not even close.

------
gamble
Apple has held off producing a mid-range tower for years despite the howls of
critics, since it would cannibalize Mac Pro sales. It shouldn't surprise
anyone that they aren't leaping into a category with razor-sharp margins that
directly competes against their core laptop products.

------
joshsharp
It's true. I have an Eee and an iPod Touch, and I use both for idle browsing,
checking email, and Twitter. Guess which I use more?

The Touch. It's always on, ready to go, and the apps are _made_ for the
device. Doing things on the Eee feels far too clumsy next to the Touch, so I
hardly ever use it. It turns out I don't really _need_ a netbook for the
things I'd use it for - it's much more enjoyable using my ipod.

Although, I've thought a couple of times that netbooks could use an "app
store" to promote development and use of apps designed for that tiny
resolution. That might make me reconsider.

------
cwisecarver
I read the article the same way GHFigs did. Apple sells a machine that handles
light web browsing and email well for a reasonably cheap price. Like their
competitors they also sell more expensive, more powerful machines that do more
stuff, are more pleasant to use and are less portable. The difference is
Apple's is based around mobile data. Most other netbooks are just adding that
now.

It is a closed platform. Like most Apple products (Apple TV, iTunes DRM'ed
songs) it's closed unless you want to put in the time, effort and risk of
opening it. Then you can pretty much do anything that the hardware is capable
of doing.

------
zitterbewegung
yea they are going to take the guts of the iphone and make it into a
sublaptop. Considering the low end of the EEE pc's are the same clock speed no
one would notice the difference.

