Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Dell Ditches Netbooks

Posted by timothy on from the but-what-about-mega-ultra-super-ueber-books? dept.

angry tapir writes "Dell has ceased production of Inspiron Mini netbooks; in effect ending its pursuit of the receding netbook market, at least for consumer sales. When Dell ran through its stock of the netbooks several months ago, it declined to manufacture more units."

8 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. iPad by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Interesting

    iPad killed the netbook market.

    1. Re:iPad by artor3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nah, netbooks are still great for portable work. If you travel a lot, and need a computer primarily for office apps and web browsing, then nothing beats a netbook. Tablets are more oriented towards media consumption -- games, video, that sort of thing.

    2. Re:iPad by BasilBrush · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Definition of an ultrabook: A MacBook Air copy.

    3. Re:iPad by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The iPad completely killed the mass netbook market. Now it's little more than a niche.

      I recently attended a large medical conference, and it was quite interesting to watch the people when they were between sessions. There were hundreds of people sitting around with their computers out, and it amazed me that the majority of them used netbooks. The Ultrabook/Macbook Air made up a close second place, while there were only a handful of the 15" luggables. The really surprising thing was how few people had iPads. I guess you can't beat a keyboard for writing notes.

      You may consider this to be a niche market, but anyone who has to travel and walk around a lot while carrying their computer will appreciate the netbooks for their weight. The fact that they are inexpensive means that you don't have to worry about the netbooks getting broken while you are travelling.

  2. Re:price... by couchslug · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "Most people stopped buying them because the manufactures forgot why people were getting them in the first place."

    Or because the manufacturers KNEW why people were buying them in the first place and preferred to guide them elsewhere.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  3. Re:price... by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's exactly why. I bought a used acer aspire one ZG5 model, one of the first netbooks recently for $100. I wiped XP off the little 8gb Solid State Drive and installed Peppermint2 OS on it and I friggin' love it. It weighs nothing, it's fast, it has a bright screen and even though its old now the battery lasts over 3 hours of web surfing. I've been hanging out in hospital waiting rooms a lot lately and it makes sitting there waiting all day a lot easier. I've got heavier machines for productivity, I just needed a netbook. Nobody really sells one anymore but there are lots of used ones around for cheap. Many people bought netbooks with the wrong expectations and they're in mostly good shape since they haven't been used much. The one I bought looks brand new.

  4. Re:next we'll hear that Dell is in trouble... by erroneus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would be more inclined to look in Microsoft's direction. Microsoft doesn't like Dell selling anything that doesn't have a Microsoft OS on them. Windows 7 can't really run on netbooks. Microsoft wants XP to go away. XP is the only Windows OS that can really run on a netbook. So it would make sense that Dell might be getting some pressure from Microsoft to stop selling netbooks. It wouldn't be the first time Dell bowed to pressure from Microsoft.

  5. Re:next we'll hear that Dell is in trouble... by Belial6 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I disagree. Tablets serve a purpose. On the other hand, tables are also a netbook that generally haven't been manufactured with a connector on the bottom that allows a keyboard to be added that makes it a netbook.

    It isn't so much of a debate of which will win in the long run, but how long it will take for the inevitable convergence.