iPad Will Beat Netbooks With "Magic"

entirely_fluffy writes "In a talk intended to woo investors, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said the iPad will win over potential netbook buyers, but not because of specs or features. No, Cook said, the iPad's magical properties will seal the deal. 'The netbook is not an experience people are going to continue wanting to have,' Cook said, according to Macworld. 'When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it ... I have a hard time believing they're going to go for a netbook.'" Another thing that would help would be a camera and a $100 discount, but hey Magic is cool too, provided they have enough mana.

Comments

Re:$100 discount?

[Hyppy]

Everyone was estimating $999 based upon the foolish assumption that it would actually be a useful piece of gear as opposed to a glorified e-reader.

The magic of a black box

[Microlith]

So many people treat computers like a black box that I wouldn't be surprised if this does give netbooks a run for their money. It's doubtful that it will take hold in the more technically oriented community (closed as it is,) but in the "I don't care I just want it to work" arena it may do quite well.

As for what the hell the magic is, above and beyond being a giant iPod/iPhone, I do not know.

Re:The magic of a black box

[natehoy]

Does it honestly need to be anything more beyond a giant iPod Touch?

I would never have spent the money on an iPod Touch, but I won one in a contest. I'm a full card-carrying geek, but at the risk of losing my geek card, the iPod Touch was a magical little device. It's absolute crap for listening to music (limited storage space, crappy tinny speaker, etc) but as a little miniature computer it is truly amazing. I played with it for about 1 day before my wife latched on to it and wouldn't let go (what the hell? saved me buying her an iPhone).

During the time I've used it, I found myself occasionally thinking, "gee, you know, the interface is top notch, the tablet form factor is perfect for casual surfing, but I just wish the screen was bigger".

The geek in me hates the closed nature, the fixed memory, the non-replaceable battery, the Reality Distortion Field telling me what apps are OK for me to run and what are not.

The "screw it just want to surf the web in the evenings and maybe read a book occasionally" is fighting with the "but you can't spend $600 for THAT!" accountant in me over whether I want one.

A netbook is cheaper, probably has better battery life, is less "closed", and by all accounts is a better solution to any problem you care to name. But, sitting in bed or lounging in the easychair wanting to look up some obscure bit of trivia or watch a video from the Olympics (can't do it on the desktop - Linux Users Need Not Apply at nbcolympics dot com), I find myself snagging the iPod more often than I dig out the laptop. The tablet-style form factor is just too convenient.

Re:$100 discount?

[stoolpigeon]

This is reflected in the framing here as well. The ipad can beat netbooks? Well, for the money I can get something better than a netbook. But that comparison wont be as flattering so the bar is pushed lower.

Re:Sorry Netbook wins still

[betterunixthanunix]

You missed the most important thing: a netbook will run any application I want it to run. I do not need someone's permission to run the programs I want to run. No app stores, no being denied software, no being treated like an imbecile.

Stop mentioning Netbooks

[Alistair Hutton]

Apple reallllllly need to stop mentioning netbooks.
The cheap, gimped, version of the iPad is twice as expensive as a netbook. Every time they say netbook it reminds people that there's a perfectly adequate device that is in many ways more capable than their device for far less money. Everyone was initially amazed that Apple had produced a tablet computer for $500, their amazement waned when they realised Apple hadn't produced a computer.

Re:That Explains The Updated SDK

[Anonymous Coward]

It's amazing how dense the majority of the Slashdot audience is.

For the wide majority of people, the functionality of an iPad and a netbook are exactly the same.

Can you browse the web?
Can you email?

Those two questions make up a huge percentage of most netbook users experience.

Factor in the app store and it is no contest.

Cult of Personality? Puhleaze. The "magic" he is talking about is the same "magic" that most users see when comparing a command line interface to a well designed GUI.

Re:Hunters..

[Antiocheian]

What I like about a netbook:

      * Linux
      * Windows
      * Openoffice
      * Microsoft Office
      * Photoshop
      * Ivona voice reader
      * Keepass
      * Paint Shop Pro
      * Qimage
      * Mplayer
      * Media Player Classic
      * Handbrake
      * FFdshow
      * Goldwave
      * Imgburn
      * SmartDraw
      * VNC
      * Remote desktop
      * Firefox
      * Opera
      * Fallout 1
      * MAME
      * Virtual PC
      * VMware
      * Flash games
      * C64 Emulator
      * Amiga Emulator
      * Spectrum Emulator
      * Qt
      * USB devices
      * Ultraedit
      * PSpad

Re:That Explains The Updated SDK

[Pojut]

iPad doesn't support flash, which means no redtube, youporn, etc.

My call is for the netbook. ;-)

Re:That Explains The Updated SDK

[ElectricTurtle]

Doesn't hatin' on your own customers kind of put you in a similar moral position as those business owners who catered to the gay community in California but then turned around and voted against their equality? 'We'll take your money, but secretly we think you're pathetic...' No wonder you're posting as AC... ;-p

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you completely, it just seems disingenuous.

Re:Hunters..

[dragonxtc]

You forgot about Flash Based Porn

Re:Hunters..

[ryantmer]

what I don't like about a netbook:

keyboard too small for real typing
not much cheaper than an introductory laptop
lousy processing and ram compared to same introductory laptop
made of same low quality parts as same introductory laptop
windows sucks on small screens

What I don't like about the iPad:

No keyboard.
Not much cheaper than... a netbook (actually, more expensive than most).
Lousy processing and RAM compared to... a netbook.
Made of the same low quality parts as... well, all consumer electronics.
Crippled OS is hardly an OS, on any size screen.

So... what makes it better than a netbook, again, Apple?

Re:Sorry Netbook wins still

[Attila Dimedici]

Oh, look, someone who doesn't get it. The iPad is not a computer. If you want a computer, buy a computer. You obviously want a computer, based on your list. Don't buy an iPad - it's not the product that's right for you. You'd do about as well buying a dishwasher - it's not the product you want. The iPad is, however, the product that a lot of people will want - people who aren't looking for a computer because the iPad is not a computer.

Did you even read the summary? If the Ipad is not a competitor to netbooks, how is it going to beat them? If the Ipad is a competitor to netbooks, how is the OPs comment evidence of not getting it? Netbooks are computers, Tim Cook said that the Ipad was going to beat them. That means that Tim Cook apparently thinks that the Ipad is a computer.
I agree that the Ipad is not a computer. Therefore it is not a competitor to netbooks. It is, also, not cheap, which means once again it is not a competitor for netbooks. But the article we are discussing is talking about the Ipad competing with netbooks, so comments talking about things that netbooks have that the Ipad doesn't are valid.