What's a netbook and why, if at all, do you need one?

Netbooks, sometimes called tablet PCs, seem to be all the rage lately. Not completely sure why? Me either. Let's go over a super simplistic and watered down version of what they are, what they are not, and what they could be--and mostly likely will be, one day--if the universes align.

They Are:

• Small devices that appear to be laptops.
  
• Quite inexpensive, or can be with many running under $500.
• Cheap.
• Did I mention they cost less than some of the high-end iPods?
• The hip new gadget to give away as a prize or incentive.
  

They Are Not:

• A replacement for a laptop.
  
• A "real" laptop, don't be fooled.
  
• (very) Pretty.

They Could Be:

• Your ultimate on-the-go-multimedia connection. Think souped-down laptop, or souped-up phone.
  

I read an article on Slate.com a while back that really changed my view of these quirky and seeming useless little guys. The author made a good point about our needs when it comes to computing on-the-go. He argues that when we need to do work--real work--we usually sit down at a "real" laptop or computer, one with enough computing power to do the complex tasks like word processing, design, coding, etc. And when we're not doing work we're usually surfing the web or communicating via email, chat, facebook, etc. He calls this lightweight network computing, I call it leisure computing.


The good news is that there are a few specific requirements to create the ultimate leisure entertainment machine, and only a few. It needs to be portable and lightweight, so we can take it out wherever and surf/share at a moments notice. It needs to have wireless capability and run on a pervasive and low-cost network, i.e. the cellular network. And it needs to run on a zippy, efficient operating system (OS) that doesn't hog processing power.


In his words, "I'm suggesting that the thing we think of as a netbook should really be something else—a flat-panel, touch-screen tablet that can do photos, music, movies, e-mail, games, and full-function Web browsing. The device would include a small amount of onboard storage but would depend on the Internet cloud for most of its resources. Why no keyboard? Because then the device would be conceived as an appliance. You'd use it mainly for passive computing—for reading e-mail and Web pages, for looking at photos, for sharing documents in a meeting. You'd keep it on your lap to scan Facebook as you watch TV or bring it to bed to read the news before you go to sleep. You'd catch up on your e-mail as you ride the bus to work; you could respond to that e-mail using the on-screen keyboard, and when you get to the office, you could connect a USB keyboard."


Sounds pretty awesome and spot-on to me. So I'd suggest you think about this before running out to buy a netbook that's on a super sale deal. A laptop for $400 seems to good to be true, and unfortunately it probably is. Really think about what you'd use your netbook for, and then talk with someone who knows something about technology to make sure the device will actually perform in the manner you expect it to. I'm not saying that every netbook is inferior, rather that the "want" they are currently positioned to fill doesn't necessarily address our true needs from a stripped-down, super-portable computer.

But don't completely discount the netbook. Keep it tucked away in the recesses of your brain and wait until some more of the particulars above are addressed, specifically the ease-of-net-connectivity. This is key to any portable device. These mini-computers are on the right track and I'd bet you a fountain Coke that we'll see their reincarnates having a pretty important place in all of our lives.


Next stop, stream the content directly to our eyeballs. Just kidding (not really).