When Steve Jobs said back in January that the iPad is “way better than a laptop, way better than a smartphone” – because it was “so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone” – people were sceptical at best. Now, more than a week after its launch, their doubts have not yet been completely exorcised.
While it may be obvious that an iPad could never compare with the raw general computing power most laptops offer, placing it alongside the laptop’s more specialised cousin, the netbook, seems more realistic. We take this opportunity to see how they compare in terms of their ease-of-use and functionalities.
Let’s get down to it…what makes a netbook better than an iPad?
- Multitasking – Though the latest announcements about the iPhone OS 4.0 explicitly state that multitasking will be available on the iPad by Fall 2010, it remains to be seen if the form in which it will arrive will compare to the known efficacy of netbooks, which with quite a bit more RAM will definitely have an easier time keeping up with the most hardened multitasking user.
- Web camera – Apple Inc. might really have goofed up on this one. A very common use for a MID, laptop, smartphone, modern tablet is to allow you to stay connected with your friends, family, and colleagues from across the world.
- A complete browsing experience – No matter how much Apple wants you to believe that Flash is not required and how many times Steve Jobs might say the iPad offers the “best browsing experience you’ve ever had”, much of the world – innumerable small webpages and large webpages – still work on Flash. Though changes are on their way and many sites are offering iPad compatible versions, you can expect it to take a while before even a quarter of all the sites in the world will do so. The smaller sites might possibly never convert, and one should not underestimate the value of those sites.
- USB-connectivity – The holy grail of inter-device connectivity, USB support will allow you to connect a variety of devices to a netbook, from game controllers to external storage devices, USB modems to printers, webcams to digital/handycams, even those devices (like some PMPs) that require to be charged through USB.
- Storage – The iPad will offer a maximum of 64GB storage, and does not provide built-in support for SD (SDHC) cards. It does provide a SD card-reader dongle however, but, in typical Apple control-freak fashion, it will only allow you to import images and videos on to your iPad. Compare these limitations to most netbooks, which offer 320GB HDD space, external flash drive support, and built-in SD card support.
- OS of choice – Not only will you not be limited to what applications are available in the Apple App Store, you can install a variety of OSes, from Ubuntu to Windows 7 Starter; and depending on the sufficiency of your netbook specifications, even full-scale versions
- A built-in keyboard – The iPad’s onscreen keyboard, reviewed by many to be fast and responsive, still takes up more than its fare share of real-estate on the screen, especially in landscape mode. The iPad, weighing in at 2.4 pounds, is also too heavy to allow holding it with one hand while typing with the other to be quite unfeasible. Though the iPad offers an external keyboard that serves just as well, it has to be docked, and the entire setup cannot be dangled on your lap like a netbook can.
- HD – The iPad will play only 720p HD, while quite a few netbooks offer 1080p HD video.
- RAM – With the iPad bearing just 256MB of RAM, you can expect the speed and scope of applications developed for it to be limited, though they will undoubtedly be speed-optimized. Compare that to netbooks, many of which offer 2GB RAM, with upgrade options.
- Replaceable battery – One day, your netbook battery will give up, as will an iPad’s battery. But, it is far simpler to buy a new netbook battery and replace its old one than on an iPad, for which you will have to pay a $100 and surrender your old tablet. It might also take weeks for Apple to deliver the new device, depending on their service coverage in the area you live in.
Also to be noted, is the fact that if you wanted a touchscreen device, but not with the limitations of an iPad, you do have the option of getting a touchscreen netbook. The combination of both touch-screen input along with keyboard/mouse give those netbooks that do offer it an added advantage.
To be truly fair, we look at where an iPad might pull up ahead of a netbook. Read on to check it out.
Let us look at some aspects of mobile computing where the iPad might have an edge over netbooks:
- 10 hour battery life – Yes, it really does have a battery life this long, with several different tests confirming it, while actually playing video for a substantial portion of the time. However, its battery is not detachable or replaceable; though just like a netbook or laptop it will give up one day. You will need to pay $100 to get the battery replaced (technically, you will get a new battery in a new iPad, with your old tablet having to be returned – causing all sorts of data backup headaches)
- Accerelometer/GPS/magenetometer – Though these features may not really be an advantage, they will allow applications to offer some very unique functionalities, such as UI auto-rotate, turn-by-turn navigation, location-aware search and networking, and much more.
- 3G – Available in the higher-end iPads, this will give users great data/voice connectivity and transfer speeds, only useful if you have 3G networks in your area.
- Touch-screen – Though not really an advantage, those looking for it will find to be responsive and a delight to use on the iPad. However, while some may consider a touchscreen to be an intuitive input method, the ease and tactile comfort provided by a keyboard (yes, even a netbook’s) and the accuracy of a mouse cannot be underestimated. Some functions however, like drawing or writing directly by hand. Some netbooks however, come with touch-screens.
- Boot-up time – The iPad, with a stunning 30 day sleep/standby time, will switch on almost instantaneously whenever you want it to. All netbooks have to boot-up however. But to be fair, quite a few netbooks offer a feature that is variously called “Always-ON”, “Express Gate”, and many other things by different manufacturers, which allows you to access your mail, browser, and some of your media before and while your computer boots-up.
So, is the iPad really for you? Do you feel that it is more useful? Do let us know what you think…