Are Netbooks Worth It?

Since my European backpacking adventures is almost upon me, I’ve been thinking of taking along a netbook as my primary computer. That got me thinking about the popularity of netbooks in general and whether they are sufficient as one’s only computer. In my last post, I speculated that the performance is good enough to perform office tasks and web surfing. Streaming video and games are not there yet. This time around, I was sorely tempted by the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, which offers 9.5 hours of battery life, 3lb lightweight design, and 92% full-size keyboard. Sadly though, I could not justify spending more on extraneous luxury products given the economy (a paradox, since my spending would help drive growth).

During my research, I found that Intel is trying to downplay the desirability of netbooks as a mass market device by casting them as toys for kids and cheap gimmicks. Still, consumers aren’t buying that argument. There is clearly pent-up market demand for small, mobile, cheap, and light computers that can all of what most people expect and desire. If Intel avoids leading the market, VIA and AMD need to pick up the slack in offering alternatives to the Atom. VIA’s Nano is a good start, but the company lacks the ability to get OEM penetration (a marketing skill), so sadly there are very few models available using that CPU.

Update (09/19/09): Funny comments from Nvidia’s CEO shamelessly promoting the Ion platform