chad bruels

Everybody is going ga-ga over netbooks; everybody except me. These machines are getting smaller and smaller to the point where they are not usable in an effective way. Plus they are a luxury item and this is not the economic environment where new luxury items are likely to succeed.

Smaller is sexier in the tech world right? Absolutely, but it still has to be usable. Netbooks are getting smaller and loads of companies are getting their new little machines out into the market and people are loving them. However, after having a netbook many people are saying things like, "Great! Can I get a little bit bigger hard drive though?" "I love this, but I wish it was a little faster." "This machine is awesome. Can I have one with a DVD player?" These missing features are taking away from the usability of the product and as people demand more features the machines will stop getting smaller and start getting bigger. Eventually, machines that can be called netbooks will die out and we will simply be left with smallish laptops.

Another point on size and usability is the keyboard. Many netbooks have cramped keyboards that just aren't comfortable to type on; even people with smaller hands have complained about this fact. For example, Japan saw this happen in the cell phone industry. Their phones got smaller and smaller to the point where they were too small and then the form factor had to change and get larger again. This change was also impacted by a desire for more feature packed phones, and we've seen that begin to take effect in the U.S. cell phone market. A few years ago cell phones were quite small and featureless. Buttons were getting harder to press and screen real estate was hard to come by. The industry simultaneously demanded phones that were easier to use and had more features. Now nearly everyone is carrying a smartphone that is packed with features and larger than the phones of the recent past.

In these troubled economic times (drink!), we can't afford to buy luxury goods, and that's what a netbook is, a luxury computer. To most people, a netbook is a second, third or even fourth machine. And while inexpensive, it's difficult to justify the expense of such items during a recession.

But Chad, doesn't the lower price-tag of these machines make them more appealing during a recession? Possibly. However, I think for people that need to buy a new computer right now, a netbook won't provide all the functionality they require. Netbooks are short on some features, and if you really need a new computer and can justify any expense for one, it's not much more to get a full-featured laptop that better serves your needs.