@Robert Hahn
I own a Windows netbook, two Windows laptops, and an iPad 2. The only one I use now is the iPad 2. In fact, I haven't touched the netbook or the laptops since I got the iPad 2 when it first came out. The 17 inch laptop is literally being used as a riser platform for one of my desktop displays. The 15 inch and the netbook are high on top of a cabinet gathering dust.
You cannot easily operate a laptop or netbook while standing. It's a bizarre circus balancing act to use them if you are sitting in a chair without a table. The iPad 2 can be used in either of those situations, easily. It's superior in every way that counts in a portable device. It weighs less. It's much less bulky with a larger display. It runs longer on a battery charge.
Plus, it has better performance. Is the CPU more powerful than a netbook? No. Is the user experience still faster? Yes. What matters is how fast the device accomplishes real tasks and how fast it responds to user interaction. The netbook, in particular, was a sluggish beast next to the performance of my iPad 2. Plus, my iPad 2 does a LOT more than my laptops and netbook ever did. Yes, I said, "a LOT more."
The biggest point all the netbook/laptop fanatics are overlooking is the vast software variety on the iPad 2. A computer doesn't do anything without software. More available software equals more you can do. I'm doing many things on my iPad 2 that I never considered doing on a laptop or netbook. There was simply no easy way to do them. I'm even doing things I never thought of doing until I saw applications for them in the App Store.
The second biggest point netbook zealots overlook is hardware support. Third party hardware support is vast for the iPad 2. I have direct memory card readers, a USB port, HDMI output, and a couple of keyboards for my iPad 2. There are also docks, stands, stereo systems, A/V connectors, clock radios, interfaces for musical instruments, mixer boards, turntable interfaces, and much more. Best of all, I don't have to carry any of them unless I plan to use them, which drastically reduces carry weight for the 99.9% of the time I don't use any of it.
Only the very narrow-minded who are severely in a rut would believe a netbook does more. I used a netbook for two years before I got my iPad 2. It was frustrating. I'd like to see netbook users record and edit a video while sitting in a seat on a bus. I'd love to see them create and edit a music track to go with the video while standing in line at the DMV. They seem to be one-trick ponies who always want to sit at a table and use only Microsoft Word. Funny thing is, the iPad 2 can do that, too. Remote desktop access works great.
In a nutshell, people who simply can't embrace new ways of doing things should stay shackled to a fat, sluggish, netbook. For the rest of us, the iPad 2 is an easier, faster, less-bulky, far more versatile choice. If Windows 8 tablets can match all of that functionality at a similar price, they should do really well.
There’s been a lot of talk about Windows 8 and in particular Windows 8 on tablet devices lately. While there’s no doubt that Windows 8 tablets are on the way, because these devices will be based on ARM architecture rather than the traditional x86, the Windows experience offered by these devices won’t be the Windows experience that people expect.
