If netbooks are dead in the water...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| caitlyn Dec 18, 2011 4:28 PM EDT |
If netbooks are dead in the water why do so many stores, even WalMart, still carry them? Retailers generally only carry things that sell and turn over quickly. Methinks rumors of the death of the netbook have been greatly exaggerated. What we need is a manufacturer OEM distributor who is willing to ignore the Microsoft demands and put out a netbook with better specs and Linux. That might actually sell. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 18, 2011 9:11 PM EDT |
Intel and MS both want to kill the netbook off, in favour of pricier hardware that is friendlier to their sales strategies. For a while imposing arbitrary limits on screen size, cpu and RAM and storage was a workable hindrance, but the technology has moved on to the point that this is no longer a tenable tactic. |
| caitlyn Dec 18, 2011 9:40 PM EDT |
The problem is the manufacturers are sticking to those limits and that is what really hurts netbook sales. We need a manufacturer/vendor who is where ASUS was in 2007: very little market share, adequate capitalization, and a willingness to take a risk on something different. Put out a netbook with a dual core processor and 4-8GB of RAM. It would have to run Linux to hit a decent price point. Watch what happens... |
| BernardSwiss Dec 18, 2011 10:45 PM EDT |
So... now we get "Ultrabooks", instead. Two or three times the price, a half or a third the battery life, Little more than a "slim" laptop without an optical drive. And Intel may have to subsidize these to the tune of $100 per. Oh, 'scuse me -- that's just "marketing support". Meanwhile Apple is saying they may have to find something a little lighter on the battery requirements. But apparently the CPUs alone on these babies cost almost as much as a "netbook". Hmmmm.... |
| cr Dec 19, 2011 12:54 AM EDT |
A comment on Slashdot attached to the same article as this thread states that netbooks are quite popular in the third world. If so, then we'll still see netbooks marketed to fill the demand, they'll just have more Shenzhen-associated brandnames on them as China picks up the slack. |
| JaseP Dec 19, 2011 2:08 AM EDT |
The reason for the change?!?! Netbooks don't produce the margin per shipped unit that Dell wants... Netbooks aren't corporate client ticket items either. Other companies can produce consumer grade netbooks, cheaper and better than them. But, the netbooks were a big seller for Dell,... so, it was bean counters and M$ sales reps putting the idea to kill the netbooks into Dell's mind. |
| gus3 Dec 19, 2011 2:29 PM EDT |
@JaseP: It isn't "margin", it's "kickbacks". Less power in the netbook means the damage from crudware is more visible, providing a less satisfactory user experience. Cleaning out the crud means they (Dell et al.) get less from third parties who don't get to put their gunk into the system. |
| jdixon Dec 19, 2011 3:19 PM EDT |
> It isn't "margin", it's "kickbacks". While technically correct, gus3, it's a difference which makes no difference. The kickbacks are one of the things which gives Dell their profit margin on a machine. So you're both really arguing the same point. |
| gus3 Dec 19, 2011 7:01 PM EDT |
@jdixon: the difference is big for the OEM's. It's what makes Windows systems profitable. Without the crudware, Windows would be a losing proposition (or at least less of a winner). |
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