SlashGear Japan
Given the usual refrain that accompanies any new netbook announcement – “under the hood there’s Intel’s N270 1.6GHz Atom processor…” – you’d think the silicon company would be happy with their lot in life. However it looks as though they’re not so sure; Stu Pann, vice president in the sales and marketing group at Intel, has described netbooks as “not something you’re going to use day in and day out.”
The issue, according to Pann, is of positioning in the marketplace and the intended buyer. What was perhaps intended to open up new segments – such as developing markets, where traditional notebooks are too expensive and over-complicated – has instead begun cannibalizing entry-level laptops in existing markets.
“We originally thought Netbooks would be for emerging markets and younger kids, and there is some of that. It turns out the bulk of the Netbooks sold today are Western Europe, North America, and for people who just want to grab and go with a notebook. We view the Netbook as mostly incremental to our total available market” Stu Pann, VP of sales and marketing group, Intel
Pann went on to criticise the netbook form-factor as unsuitable for regular use, claiming: ”if you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size, it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out.” The Intel VP was speaking at an IT supply chain conference.
[via CNET]
4 Responses to “Netbooks not suited to daily use, claims Intel VP”
BlueBrat November 28, 2008
Worried about sales of the cheaper products! People live with the smaller screen regardless, they don’t care; they bought a cost-effective tool and are happy with its price. Stop forcing stuff on us we don’t want.
+1Tiffany G November 28, 2008
Checking a bank balance on the go, keeping up with emails, checking the news… none of these things require a full-blown laptop. If that’s all someone wants to do on the go why is that wrong?
They sound shocked that people quit accepting the artificial capability gap between PDA’s and laptops; if I were them I would be too. It means I can’t keep convincing people to buy more than they need for the uses they have.
+1Patrick Moorhead November 29, 2008
This isn’t a new debate. While the “1 hour” comment is harsh, the netbooks vs. notebook debate requires more discussion. There are many pro’s and many con’s to the netbook which very few people discuss.
I have documented them here at my blog: http://blogs.amd.com/patmoorhe.....fault.aspx
NeutralNetbook Fan April 14, 2009
I can not agree. I am sure netbooks could be used as notebooks
+1