Ever since Steve Jobs got on stagecoach to announce the iPad , actual and prospective users have been comparing it to a netbook . Will the iPad replace netbooks ? Well , a netbook has a full keyboard , runs complete operating organisation , and can fundamentally track down any app you choose — so it has to be the superior personal computer fellow machine , right?PCWorldpitted the iPad against the netbook in a numeral of important categories , and found that the competition is closer than hoi polloi might expect .
Surfing the Web
One major use of these “ companion gimmick ” is to hop online promptly and channel-surf the World Wide Web from the ease of your couch , or on the bus , or anyplace where you ’re aside from your chief personal computer .
iPad : The iPad ’s lack of Adobe Flash support is definitely a problem for browsing . For every website that now offers HTML5 - ground video as an option to Flash , there are still scores of sites containing Flash advertizing , navigation , and lotion that will simply break on the iPad . away from that , though , thebrowsing experience on an iPadis pretty great . You do n’t have tabs in the web browser , but you may spread several pages at once and switch between them much as you may on an iPhone . textual matter and image look superb , and the power to rapidly whizz and rotate the projection screen orientation make translate large Sir Frederick Handley Page a breeze . Unfortunately , you ’re stuck with using Apple ’s Safari web browser .
Netbook : Since it ’s a microcomputer , a netbook gives you access to any internet browser you choose . You get full support for Flash , Silverlight , and the like . On the other hand , the screen is small and you ca n’t easily circumvolve or whizz along it the way you could the iPad ’s display . site that do n’t work well with a netbook ’s smallish covert and unimpressive resolution are more unmanageable to look at and record than they are on the iPad . And many netbooks , though they support Flash , do n’t offer enough performance to permit the substance abuser to watch high - def video swimmingly or to run demand flash game without bogging down .
vantage : Netbook . The ability of netbooks to see “ the whole entanglement ” and to run any web internet browser you choose give them the advantage , but the iPad ’s fluid zooming , rotate , and scrolling make the contest on this bar surprisingly close .
Getting work done
You ’re on the route and you have to edit a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet . Or you ’re sit down in class and want to take bill . Will the iPad get the job done , or do you need the full PC software admittance of a netbook ?
iPad : Pages , Numbers , and Keynote are somewhat good software on the iPad — though you have to make up $ 10 each for them . alas , the iPad extend no local storage , so run documents around is a real pain . Basically you have to e - mail them to yourself and open them from the Mail computer program or from your favorite Web ring mail guest , and then tocopherol - post them back when you ’re done . ( you could post written document from within the iWork apps . ) Many features within Excel and Word ( such as macro instruction and drop - down boxes ) wo n’t operate properly , either . The on - concealment keyboard is near enough for hunting and pecking , but exact extended notes or drop a line long papers or article is a task : You ca n’t really touch - case on the new keyboard . A number of iPad - compatible productiveness apps are available , and thing like Evernote work dandy ; but if you want to get any real work done , this is not the twist for it . Though you’re able to sync with Exchange , the Mail , Contacts , and Calendar apps are missing characteristic that business user rely on .
Netbook : As much as we dislike most netbooks ’ keyboards , they ’re endlessly more usable than the iPad ’s on - concealment keyboard . Because netbooks rent you run full - blown edition of Word , Excel , and PowerPoint , you’re able to do everything you need to do for clientele or school on one of these devices . sure as shooting , the limited screen resolution is a drag at sentence , but that ’s a problem with the iPad , too ( specially with spreadsheets ) .
Advantage : Netbook . It ’s not even unaired on this measure : Netbooks have the cleared reward . The iPad require a better keyboard or text - entry method , estimable spreadsheet support , and local storage — not to note built - in , organisation - wide mesh printing . Customized apps like Evernote are great productiveness tools , but if you need to do literal work you ’ll need a netbook .
Portability
People bed netbooks and tablets because they ’re small , lightweight , and portable ( they fit almost any bag ) , and they have farseeing assault and battery life . Which on - the - go twist make the better travel companion ?
iPad : You ’ll surely want some sorting of covering and/or stand to protect the iPad ; but beyond that , it ’s a bully locomotion fellow traveler . In the first place , it ’s small and lighter than even the modest netbook . And the IPS display delivers a wider range of view angle , so it ’s easy to get a clean view of what ’s on screen when you shore up it up on your circuit , defend it in one paw , or partake in it with someone sit down next to you . We do n’t have solid barrage life numbers yet , but the mountain chain we ’ve been hearing reported elsewhere ( 7 to 10 hours , depending on how you use it ) is comparable to that of a salutary netbook .
Netbook : Netbooks are far easy to have a bun in the oven around than full - feature laptops , but even the small ones are twice as operose and twice as fatheaded as the iPad . Many of them have poor displays with wash out - out color and bad look at angles , which can make them hard to see clear if you do n’t set the netbook firm on a punishing surface .
vantage : iPad . The iPad wins with its svelte design , unaccented weight , tantamount battery life , and superior screen .
Video and audio
Consumers like netbooks because they can utilise them to follow goggle box display , Web TV , and movies on the go . Neither netbooks nor the iPad have an optical drive , so everything you see has to be synced from your primary PC , downloaded to the twist , or pour . The same run low for music . But which political machine offers the better overall experience ?
iPad : Video certainly reckon better on the iPad ’s IPS display . patently , the lack of Flash support hurts your ability to view a lot of Web video , but the built - in YouTube app , the free Netflix and ABC apps , and the growing support for HTML5 video on key Websites help alleviate the problem . If you want to watch your own picture , you have to convert them to a compatible format in advance , which can be a drag . Of naturally , consuming video from the iTunes computer memory now on the iPad is easy to do . Audio quality through the build - in speaker is a bit weak , but well than we expected .
Netbook : In possibility , by virtue of being all over PCs , netbooks support any format out there . In practice , most of them struggle with eminent - def video and do n’t run Flash ( even the standard - def hooey ) well when expand to full screen . On the other helping hand , most netbooks have far more storage quad than even the 64 GB iPad for storing your music and video library , too . But the screen quality on netbooks is almost universally poor . The color , contrast , and viewing angle of the iPad absolutely kill any netbook screen we ’ve ever seen .
reward : Tie . Netbooks are more compromising , but they have carrying into action problems and bad screen door . iPads are limited and more difficult to get substance on unless you already do everything in iTunes , but the quality of the viewing and listening experience is much good .
Playing games
If you ’re go to deport your computer adjunct along with you everywhere , you ’d better be able-bodied to get your portable plot on .
iPad : turn over the way that the iPhone and iPod Touch take off as game machine , the stiff living for the iPad from secret plan developer is hardly surprising . Sure , you’re able to play your iPhone / Touch game in an enlarged musical mode , but that ’s not a great experience . Games optimise for the iPad are , so far , a immense leap over their iPhone / Touch brethren . The bigger silver screen and superior performance make possible a whole unexampled division of games . Though the game often carry higher prices than do games for the iPhone or Touch , they ’re still quite inexpensive in comparing to most stock personal computer games .
Netbook : When it comes to biz , netbooks leave a destiny to be desire . Netbooks can run any PC game that is playable without an ocular drive , but their performance is so poor that all the better high - end games are out of reach . Premium netbooks equip with nVidia ’s Ion graphics or those build on AMD ’s platform fare better , but they still pull users to accept too many compromises . Here , the fact that the iPad is a freestanding platform need specific musical accompaniment works to its advantage . Even Flash - based Web games can be difficult for a netbook to manage : Many wo n’t fit in the limited - sizing web browser window , and others often bog down when the game ’s activity get hectic .
Advantage : iPad . Despite the huge potential subroutine library of PC games that a netbook gives you admission to , we guess that the iPad has the gaming edge . By developing game specifically for that platform , developers are creating an splendid experience that you just ca n’t get from most microcomputer games on a netbook .
And the winner Is…
The selection of a succeeder is n’t as clearcut as you might suppose . The salutary selection for a PC companion really calculate on what you require to do with the equipment . If your primary motivation is a system for work , the netbook ’s transcendency is incontestable . For entertainment , however , the iPad has the edge , thanks to its superior overall play experience and better - quality audio and video — despite its want of flexibility . Netbooks have the advantage in graze the Web , but the iPad is a surprisingly equal to and pleasurable entanglement browsing machine even though it does n’t confirm Adobe Flash . At this point , with iPad prices starting at $ 500 , we think most users will get more for their money from a $ 350 netbook . But if Apple chop a couple hundred one dollar bill off the terms of its iPad , the decision would be much harder to make .
