OSNews:

OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/20764/iPhone_iPod_Touch_Aren_t_Netbooks Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:13:28 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343344 http://osnews.com/thread?343344 my net book with 160gb hd.. has tons of XP progams, docs, games, MP3s, some movies and MSoffice2003...
Can an ipod do that ? Why buy an Ipod or Iphone when
my netbook can do all this while an Iphone cant....

Besides ... do i really need a phone every breathing
hour in my life. I grew up when phones were a home appliance.. its still a home appliance. Sorry Steve! Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (beosguy@gmail.com) Comments Right http://osnews.com/thread?343348 http://osnews.com/thread?343348 ok, so this the excuse for Apple not weighing on the the netbook market. Well lets face it even if they did they'd want a premium for their netbook.

I found it rather funny ipod touch and a iphone classed as a netbook, I guess thats one way of saying we dont have a answer to this market. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (SlackerJack) Comments RE: Right http://osnews.com/thread?343349 http://osnews.com/thread?343349 The could pull a sony "netbooks are dangerous for our bottom line so lets make a droolworthy $900 one" Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (_txf_) Comments What is a netbook? http://osnews.com/thread?343351 http://osnews.com/thread?343351 First with regards to the iPhone I would argue that it is not even a phone. Why call something by one of the functions it has? I believe it is more appropriate to be identified as a souped up PDA with a cellular application.

The device that I believe would fit the Wikipedia definition, though yet not in the classic netbook form, would be the Nokia N800/N810, the latter having a hardware keyboard. These devices can run a full OS with multitasking and with a screen res of 800x480 can connect to a bluetooth keyboard. The option to disconnect the keyboard on a classic styled netbook is not available. Therefore, I would argue that these Nokias are even more flexible and portable. KDE anyone?Edited 2009-01-13 23:45 UTC Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Machster) Comments By definition in this article, this means.. http://osnews.com/thread?343354 http://osnews.com/thread?343354 That a netbook running Haiku/BeOS isn't really a notebook because it doesn't support Flash or Java, right?

Or, for that matter, a smaller device that still has a PC laptop resolution that uses a touchscreen only, also can't be claimed as a netbook, because it doesn't have a tactile keyboard, is that also true?

Absolutely, there are disadvantages to any touchscreen keyboard of any type when it comes to tactile feedback, which (for most people) will tend to slow people down. Then again, how many people can honestly type as fast on a keyboard the size you find on a PDA or phone mutant, as they can type on a full-size computer keyboard? I'm guessing: none, if even only by a small margin.

But, for the portable market, there are also disadvantages to the tactile physical keyboard that a touchscreen doesn't have: for one, the bulk to make it work and worth bothering with, and two, you can't readily reconfigure a physical keyboard to do exactly what you want for layout.

I won't try to say the iPhone/iPod Touch qualifies as a netbook, but honestly, for those that don't want to constantly be carrying things around that require an extra bag, they can be quite effective, while the added bulk (even though it isn't much) and the need to recharge every so often (in comparison to the freedom of the iPhone/iPod Touch) and carry around cords as a result definitely puts them in a useful category all their own, away from the netbook. In other words, I don't see either one eating the market share of the other: if a full-sized computer is what's needed for the task, people aren't likely to pop out something like an iPhone, but if it isn't absolutely needed, a netbook is just more bother than it's worth. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JonathanBThompson) Comments RE: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343358 http://osnews.com/thread?343358 So you're saying that a Netbook running Linux can't be called a Netbook because it doesn't run Microsoft software? Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Macrat) Comments RE[2]: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343360 http://osnews.com/thread?343360

So you're saying that a Netbook running Linux can't be called a Netbook because it doesn't run Microsoft software?

Where, exactly, did you come up with that idea? I don't see the connection. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (darknexus) Comments Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343362 http://osnews.com/thread?343362 It just seems like much ado about nothing really... Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments RE[3]: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343363 http://osnews.com/thread?343363 The post I replied to is complaining that an iPhone can't be called a Netbook because it won't run his XP programs. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Macrat) Comments Flash and Java... http://osnews.com/thread?343366 http://osnews.com/thread?343366 Its not that the iPhone can't handle Flash and Java its that Apple doesn;t want to handle Flash and Java and I say good on them. Is Flash and Java support what people consider a superior web experience? I don't, I don't even fin them necessary (especially Java) and if video sites like Hulu would gt their ct together, I wouldn't need flash at all on my Mac. For all of the sites I visit regurlarly (including this one) its a pretty damn decent experience on the iPhone.

I find it silly to argue over the definition of what a netbook is. The iPhone is more of a MID and a brilliant one at that. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (apoclypse) Comments RE: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343367 http://osnews.com/thread?343367

It just seems like much ado about nothing really...

Because compact cars and motorcycles are really pretty much the same thing. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE[4]: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343369 http://osnews.com/thread?343369

The post I replied to is complaining that an iPhone can't be called a Netbook because it won't run his XP programs.

I think you read too much into that. Though the OP was referring to XP it was really a much more general point: the software run by the OP's netbook is the same software run by a typical x86-based system. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (darknexus) Comments Discussion on void http://osnews.com/thread?343370 http://osnews.com/thread?343370 Netbook is absolutely nothing but a buzzword.
It make small laptop looks cool.

For some user and iPhone/touch/N810 will be a perfect fit, others will find more value in a, small but cooler than a notebook, notebook. If it's a netbook or not, what's the deal?

As for the "battery efficient", most netbook have 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 hours battery life. How is that more efficient than notebook? I have the same working time on my Macbook pro with a more powerfull cpu and a 6" bigger screen. Yes the battery is smaller, but the ratio isn't better.Edited 2009-01-14 01:04 UTC Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sanctus) Comments RE: Flash and Java... http://osnews.com/thread?343371 http://osnews.com/thread?343371

Its not that the iPhone can't handle Flash and Java its that Apple doesn;t want to handle Flash and Java and I say good on them. Is Flash and Java support what people consider a superior web experience?

Maybe arguably not a "superior web experience" but Flash is required these days to have a reasonable web experience and to not include Flash as part of the iPhone is rediculous. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments Well if you're going to get picky about it... http://osnews.com/thread?343374 http://osnews.com/thread?343374 There is only one Netbook:

http://www.psionplace.com/hardware/Psion-Netbook-2000-09-05-psion-p...

However, I think the discussion basically comes down to form factor. They're all computers of some description, they're just in different boxes.

Here's a question: Is the N97 a Netbook? Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Nicholas Blachford) Comments Absolute Garbage Article http://osnews.com/thread?343375 http://osnews.com/thread?343375 This "story" is ridiculous. Obviously the term netbook still doesn't have a clear cut definition, so the author merely posits their own, and that's the basis of the rest of the article.

So...by the author's reasoning, a G1 should count as a netbook, while an iPhone does not simply because one has a hardware keyboard, and the other does not. As for flash and java...that's already been discussed thoroughly in other threads above.

How about I make my own random suggestion (don't worry it has just as much weight as the author's). An iPhone/Android "smart-phone" is really just a miniture PC that can fit in your pocket and just so happens to work as a phone as well. The ambiguous "netbook" class of laptops, UMPCs/MIDs and the like are merely a cheap trend that floats between an iPhone/Android class smart phone and a full fledged laptop. How's that?

I could go on...but I already have here: http://zephyrxero.blogspot.com/2009/01/netbooks-umpcs-and-like-will... Edited 2009-01-14 01:26 UTC Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ZephyrXero) Comments Whatever works for you http://osnews.com/thread?343376 http://osnews.com/thread?343376 This debate is a bit pointless... Consumers do not really care in what category their precious little toys
is categorized... What's most important is: They just works! (no pun intended)

I believe that for all active web-browsing (i.e. commenting on osnews) you are far better off with a laptop)

For all passive browsing (i.e. Just reading and not contributing to the overall knowledge of mankind), you can use with an iPhone or iPod touch.

So, I am using my MacBook to write this comment but I read the original story on my iPod Touch. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (shadow_x99) Comments RE: Whatever works for you http://osnews.com/thread?343380 http://osnews.com/thread?343380

I believe that for all active web-browsing (i.e. commenting on osnews) you are far better off with a laptop)

Depends on the size of your hands.
I believe Thom has stated that he has small hands and zero problems typing on his aspire one.
I think the size of my hands is about average and I don't really have trouble typing on the same model (keyboard wise). A slightly bigger keyboard wouldn't hurt but it's far from necessary.

Maybe I take a 10-20% speed hit but I can touchtype and that's what really makes or breaks a product for me. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RandomGuy) Comments Integral part of the web ? http://osnews.com/thread?343382 http://osnews.com/thread?343382 Sorry no, Flash is *not* part of the web. It is *not* a W3 standard, and has no place on the real web, the one envisioned by Tim Berners-Lee, the one that brings information to all and everyone regardless their platform. Period. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mmu_man) Comments Not open http://osnews.com/thread?343386 http://osnews.com/thread?343386 My first thought was that you can't consider iPhones/iPods as netbooks because they're not general PCs, something which netbooks are a subcategory of. You can't perform general tasks on an iPhone/iPod, such as move files wherever you like, install whatever software you like, and run a compiler to build new software.

That alone rules out the netbook category. The form factor is another matter altogether. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ohbrilliance) Comments I don't understand the confusion http://osnews.com/thread?343387 http://osnews.com/thread?343387 I don't understand the confusion people are having:
Netbooks are small laptops.
PDAs are palmtops.

So what if the iPhone packs a great deal of functionality into a small device - so does my PDA!
I have MS Office, wifi and a few different web-browsers. I can play MP3s, DivXs, all sorts. It has a PDF reader, terminal server client and even 3D games like Tomb Raider.
However it's still a PDA as it sits in my palm and not on my lap.

So in short - yes it's impressive what comes in small packages these days, but if it sits in the palm of your hand then it's a PDA and not a laptop/netbook.
As the saying goes: "you can teach a cat to bark, but it's still a cat."

All this huffing and puffing from Apple is nothing more than marketing.Edited 2009-01-14 03:22 UTC Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments RE: Integral part of the web ? http://osnews.com/thread?343388 http://osnews.com/thread?343388

Sorry no, Flash is *not* part of the web. It is *not* a W3 standard, and has no place on the real web, the one envisioned by Tim Berners-Lee, the one that brings information to all and everyone regardless their platform. Period.

Uh, it's on the real web. lots of content is posted on the net using flash. You can't define something as not part of the web just because you don't like it. By your criteria the web cannot be extended without W3C blessing, and if that was the case, we wouldn't have half of the goodness we have now.

Streaming video, music, flash, javascript (which started out life as a proprietary extension developed by Netscape) even ActiveX force change and growth. A lot of the extensions in HTML and XHTML are to try and give the web capabilities that proprietary bits have been providing. Oh, and Tim Berners-Lee invented a text and static image web, even cgi came later.

Move forward, don't live in the past. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BluenoseJake) Comments RE: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343390 http://osnews.com/thread?343390

my net book with 160gb hd.. has tons of XP progams, docs, games, MP3s, some movies and MSoffice2003...
Can an ipod do that ? Why buy an Ipod or Iphone when
my netbook can do all this while an Iphone cant....

I can't speak for the iPhone, but my PDA can and that's a few years old now.

As I said in an earlier post - I think the difference is down to ergonomics (appolagies for the poor spelling) rather than software.
One device is designed to be opperated from the palm and the other from the lap / tabletop. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:27:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments Silly article. http://osnews.com/thread?343393 http://osnews.com/thread?343393 I think the iPod Touch can be considered a netbook - I certainly use it that way myself. Heck, I don't even need to take a laptop with me on trips - just bring my iPod Touch, and I can stay in contact with folks, pass the time with fun games, listen to music, type to-do lists, view all sorts of files, jot down notes, watch movies, thumb through photos, check email, surf the web, add events to my calendar, etc, etc... It's a fun device and better designed than any netbook I've come across at this point. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (NathanHill) Comments iPhone as netbook http://osnews.com/thread?343394 http://osnews.com/thread?343394 It's quite far fetch to say that an iPhone is a netbook. fundamentally a smart phone and a small laptop are very different

However you can use an iPhone ALmOST as a netbook by using some smart software such as WinAdmin and ThinServer. This will allow the iPhone to run almost all the XP software

The following links will show you how-to :-

http://www.app-to-date.com/2008/08/7015/
http://www.aikotech.com/thinserver.htm Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Different) Comments RE[2]: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343395 http://osnews.com/thread?343395 Maybe not. Who cares?

Words do not have absolute, universal meanings, which can be a little disconcerting to the ultra-rational. iPhones are so similar to netbooks, it makes sense to call them netbooks sometimes. And even if it doesn't make sense, it hardly deserves its own article on OSNews. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Dutch_Cap) Comments RE: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343399 http://osnews.com/thread?343399 iPod touch is not a Netbook. But that does not necessarily mean there is not a reason to buy it. Tons of reasons. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (middleware) Comments RE: By definition in this article, this means.. http://osnews.com/thread?343401 http://osnews.com/thread?343401

That a netbook running Haiku/BeOS isn't really a notebook because it doesn't support Flash or Java, right?

While I agree with much of what you say in your post, I do have to point out that the analogy used here breaks down to quickly too be useful.

The important difference is that the netbook in question is not incapable of using Flash/Java/etc. It's the operating system you've installed on it. If you install LoseTheOS on something, you lose the right to bitch about your computer not being able to run Firefox.

And perhaps that's an important distinction between the iPhone/iPod and real netbooks, one that no-one has mentioned yet - a true netbook is capable of running a variety of OSes. The original argument stated it well: a netbook is more of a scaled down PC, and the iPhone is more of a scaled up smartphone. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rexstuff) Comments RE[3]: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343406 http://osnews.com/thread?343406 Ultra-rational my ass!
Apple would call dog doo on a stick a netbook if that helped them make more money. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RandomGuy) Comments RE[2]: Integral part of the web ? http://osnews.com/thread?343410 http://osnews.com/thread?343410 The web is supposed to be about freedom and not proprietary closed source plugins such as flash, quicktime or activeX. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ari-free) Comments RE: iPhone as netbook http://osnews.com/thread?343411 http://osnews.com/thread?343411 but that's almost like an X Window terminal that's hooked up to a supercomputer and calling the terminal, a supercomputer. The iphone isn't really running the OS of your choice and therefore it is not a netbook. It's a closed platform, like an Xbox. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ari-free) Comments RE[5]: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343413 http://osnews.com/thread?343413 So if someone brought out a iPhone port of openoffice.org would it be a netbook the? .It already has a webbrowser and email, which other bit of software is it missing, does google docs work with them, do they count as the 'missing software' ?
Isn't it a bit like saying a Linux box is not an PC becuae it doesn't run Photoshop (ignoring WINE for a second).

It seems to me no one has a real arguement against the iPhone / iPod Touch being a netbook without restricting the definition of what a netbook is to deliberately exclude Apple devices, Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Vargol) Comments RE[2]: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343414 http://osnews.com/thread?343414 Is the Messerschmitt KR175 a compact car or a motorcycle? Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments Comment by Soulbender http://osnews.com/thread?343416 http://osnews.com/thread?343416 My first thought was "Of course they're not" closely followed by"but who really gives a shit?". Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments RE[3]: Integral part of the web ? http://osnews.com/thread?343417 http://osnews.com/thread?343417 And this is where this little thing called "reality" comes into play. These plugins and extensions fill a need not filled by anything else at the time of their introduction or not even now.

As someone above said, lots of good stuff came out of proprietary technologies, and cited JavaScript as an example.

Flash is also great because, let's face it: there are things on the web that can't be done without Flash at the moment. Flash is not only about the banners as some web purists would have you believe. And let's not forget that Flash sparked a lot of development in SVG implementation in major browsers.

Quicktime and Flash video lead to the introduction of proper media support in HTML5

And if it wasn't for ActiveX we might not have AJAX now (Microsoft introduced the XMLHttpRequest object in 1999).

So, as you can see, a lot of advancement was achieved by competitors adopting and improving each other's extensions.

As for W3C, I don't think they move fast enough and seem incapable to drive innovation and raise enough support among browser developers.

Please understand that most (almost all) people want first a functional web and are not interested in open source, freedom as in whatever or other purely theoretical issue.

So, keep your image and text web (use NoScript, don't install Flash, Quicktime, Java etc, hell, even better - also block the images) and I'll keep my fully featured web. No one's forcing on you things you don't want.Edited 2009-01-14 09:21 UTC Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (pandronic) Comments RE[3]: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343420 http://osnews.com/thread?343420 It's a trike with a carapace, it's a low-spec 1950s commuter vehicle, it's a collector's piece, it's an example of post-war German engineering, it's a scooter, apparently an improvement on an invalid car, and it's sort of cute.

Utility, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder :-) Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (orfanum) Comments RE: Comment by Soulbender http://osnews.com/thread?343423 http://osnews.com/thread?343423 Too right. This is semantics, not news. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (B12 Simon) Comments RE[3]: Integral part of the web ? http://osnews.com/thread?343430 http://osnews.com/thread?343430 who said the web was about freedom? It's about information exchange. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BluenoseJake) Comments Better question... http://osnews.com/thread?343434 http://osnews.com/thread?343434 The wrong question is being asked - in a nutshell, "does the iPhone / iPod touch fit a broad, excessively-equivocal definition of what a 'netbook' is?"

While the iPhone / touch may meet the definition, I really doubt that people have that definition in mind when they use the word "netbook." I think most of us use "netbook" to mean "like a laptop, but smaller/lighter."

The reasoning in the ArsTechnica article is pretty silly. I could just as easily find a source that defines human beings as "bipedal primates," and then argue that chimpanzees are also human, based on that definition.Edited 2009-01-14 11:02 UTC Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments RE: oh yea! http://osnews.com/thread?343438 http://osnews.com/thread?343438

Besides ... do i really need a phone every brathing
hour in my life. I grew up when phones were a home appliance

If the phone aspect of the iPhone offends you so much, you can either buy an iPod touch or simply turn off the phone function on your iPhone when not at home.

My cell phone is turned on and with me 24/7, that doesn't in any way mean I'm willing to accept calls 24/7. Some times having access to phone when you're out of the house is really quite handy. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dagw) Comments RE[2]: Right http://osnews.com/thread?343440 http://osnews.com/thread?343440

The could pull a sony "netbooks are dangerous for our bottom line so lets make a droolworthy $900 one"

Give me a macbook air like casing with a 9" screen, a blazing fast SSD drive, 6-7 hour battery life, and the same sort of touchscreen technology found in the iPhone and Apple can have my $900. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dagw) Comments RE: Well if you're going to get picky about it... http://osnews.com/thread?343449 http://osnews.com/thread?343449 I like what you did there... EPOCH32 vs Symbian... well, no, unless Nokia licensed the term prom Psion, I guess. It's certainly the logical successor, but then there have been a lot of Symbian phones recently that could also fit the bill. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (memson) Comments RE[2]: Splitting hairs? http://osnews.com/thread?343477 http://osnews.com/thread?343477

"It just seems like much ado about nothing really...

Because compact cars and motorcycles are really pretty much the same thing. "

You dont see people arguing about compact cars and motorcycles being the same though do you...yet they are about the stupid phone and the stupid teeny notebook. So your point was? Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments Erica should have stayed at TUAW http://osnews.com/thread?343512 http://osnews.com/thread?343512 I can't stand her useless rants. I really wish she had stayed put at her old job and brought down the quality of journalism at TUAW as opposed to the more respected Ars. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Squuiid) Comments RE[3]: Right http://osnews.com/thread?343525 http://osnews.com/thread?343525 Except that even sony has reasonable margins. with device equivalent to sony's, apple would charge at least an extra $100 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (_txf_) Comments netbooks are "allowed" to multitask http://osnews.com/thread?343532 http://osnews.com/thread?343532 apple does not allow its developers to make applications that can multitask on the iphone

http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13866 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (pjbuchan) Comments iPhone/Netbook http://osnews.com/thread?343533 http://osnews.com/thread?343533 I agree that an iPhone isn't a Netbook.

But I'd say that for a large majority of users, the distinction simply isn't important.

Basically, if you already have an iPhone, it is likely you won't be lugging a netbook around with you. If you are, then it's probably for a specific need.

The iPhone form factor/functionality ratio ranks it higher than the Netbook form factor/functionality ratio for a large majority of users.

Most people are content consumers rather than creators, and the iPhone consumes content with the best of them. It's obvious limitation being screen size.

But, in fact, we've seen many comments about the iPhone being too big already, and many want something smaller. Yet, carrying a small phone + a netbook seems to remove any form factor concerns.

Because any smaller, and the iPhone really starts to lose its attractiveness as a content consuming device.

Hard to see a dedicated blogger using something like an iPhone for covering an event, like say Mac World. They'd use a netbook or a full laptop.

However much like many folks are content with carrying the smaller, modern "point and shoot" digital cameras, vs the larger "prosumer" cameras or the full boat SLRs, the iPhone fulfill many of the tasks of a netbook for more consumers. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (whartung) Comments It's about what you use it for... http://osnews.com/thread?343560 http://osnews.com/thread?343560 I don't care what you call it... But I use my iPod Touch for most of the things that a user would use a Netbook for...

Browsing the web
Email
Keeping my finances
Music
Movies (for both the iPod and watching on real TV's)
Games
Network Admin (VNC, ssh, ping)
Maintain contacts
Calendar

KRR Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (krreagan) Comments RE[2]: Flash and Java... http://osnews.com/thread?343602 http://osnews.com/thread?343602

is required these days to have a reasonable web experience

Really? And here I have a Flash blocker installed in my web browser so I can AVOID that "reasonable" web experience. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Macrat) Comments RE[2]: Whatever works for you http://osnews.com/thread?343611 http://osnews.com/thread?343611 Sorry if I misled you... I was refering to the fact that it is a bit hard to write some complex text with an iPhone/iPod despite what Apple may want to make you believe.

In that regard, you need a Laptop (I'd like to say that a Netbook IS a laptop for me... Just an underpowered one) Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (shadow_x99) Comments Must ... comment ... on ... unimportant ... article http://osnews.com/thread?343646 http://osnews.com/thread?343646 While I agree that this topic ranks pretty low in the "who cares" stakes, I still have to comment here.

The problem is that the term 'netbook' is subjective. Even the objections that Thom raised are subjective:

1. Small screen. At what size does it become a netbook? 2"?, 3"?, 7"?

2. No Flash, keyboard et al. Is it a netbook if it contains at least one of these? All of these? Who decides?

3. It's not a laptop. What makes a "laptop"? Clam shell form factor? Is the EeePC a laptop, or the Nokia communicator?

Also, it is claimed that the first definition states that it must be a laptop to be considered a netbook. This is possibly false. The definition states:

"Netbooks may look like laptops, but they don't have the full capabilities of a computer."

You can read this quote to mean:

1. Netbooks look like laptops, but they don't have the full capabilities of a computer.

OR

2. Netbooks sometimes look like laptops, but they don't have the full capabilities of a computer.

Anyway, I'll shut up now, as I'm sick of typing network every time I meant to write netbook. Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (HappyGod) Comments Size matters http://osnews.com/thread?343675 http://osnews.com/thread?343675 If it's smaller than a standard paperback book, then it's not a netBook.

If you can't read the text of a web page from the same distance you'd read a paperback book, then it's not a netBook in 'my book'.

Pun intended.... Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (quatermass) Comments RE: It's about what you use it for... http://osnews.com/thread?343676 http://osnews.com/thread?343676 But you'd secretly really prefer a slightly bigger screen wouldn't you? ;-) Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (quatermass) Comments