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Can NetBooks & Tablets Co-Exist?
bsk_cw writes "According to Computerworld's Serdar Yegulalp, there has been a lot of talk about whether the iPad will take the place of the netbook — or, in fact, whether it will eat into the market share for more mainstream desktop and laptop computers. But, he continues, the iPad has a long way to go before it becomes a netbook killer — if only because it has created a space all its own."
...except you can't save anything, print anything, access any random website, or access any random bit of data.
It's not really a computer in the usual sense.
It's not even comparable to an Apple computer.
It's all dependent on this idea that a computer, even an Apple computer is "too much for the masses to deal with".
Although that's contrary to the old Apple propaganda. The Mac used to be the proposed solution to all of normal consumer's PC difficulties.
It's still no less valid. It's just less under Steve's thumb and less successful and not quite as tied into Apple's previous successes.
There's no market inertia or vendor lock associated with it that Apple can exploit.
The iPad doesn't need to be castrated despite the protestations of fanboys.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
"Of course there are other options and apps out there which can hack together this functionality"
It's called GoodReader and it is hardly a hack.
"where you expect the functionality and it isn't there"
Download the app to do it and the functionality will be there. Or do you complain that a netbook can't do something if it doesn't come pre-installed with the program to do it as well?
"I fear will never be resolved is the lack of a stylus" unless you go out and buy one and then the problem is resolved. Penultimate works quite well. Given the touch resolution of the touch screen on the iPad you'll never get it down to single pixel as it will discard such small contact points as noise.