Netbooks Will Win Over Tablets In 2010

Computerworld has an interesting article on why netbooks will still be hotter than tablets next year, even among all the scheduled releases of the latter for next month’s CES. By and large, tablets have been a hot topic for many years now though it hasn’t really taken off. From what I see on the landscape, everything the tablet was supposed to address was handled by one device or another. The netbook was the answer to a cheap mobile computer, the handheld MIDs like the iPod Touch and Archos for portable media consumption, eBook readers like the Kindle and Nook for reading on the go and of course the smartphone for basic handheld communications. All of these could have been solved by a tablet computer had there been one that was affordable, easy to use and well-supported with applications for its touchscreen.

While a few companies have already begun to tackle the problem, it will take some time before the ecosystem gains enough steam so that we will have tablets that are just as easy to use and intuitive for us as netbooks are. Right now, all the big companies from Intel to Google are building to push netbooks to more people with their new low-power processor and easy-to-use OS. It will also take some time for tablets to become as powerful as netbooks while still remaining slimmer and lighter than their contemporary counterparts.

While I’m even more eager than the average consumer to get a tablet in my hands, netbooks seem to be the better alternative at the moment with its attractive price point and plenty of support through manufacturers, software companies and retailers, not to mention having a very active hacking community.