Could Netbooks Take Hold In The Corporate World?
The biggest things netbooks offer to businesses are as follows: 1) low cost and 2) long battery life. With all those flights to Asia planned, having a machine that can last at least half the flight would be great, and of course, paying $400 or $500 per machine for employees sure beats paying upwards of $1,000 for a standard 14" or 15" notebook. Beyond that, the benefits are few and far between. For starters, most netbooks aren't powerful enough to handle everyday stresses of corporate life. 1GB of RAM just doesn't cut it anymore, and Intel's Atom (and similar) -- while respectable -- doesn't boast the computational abilities needed to crunch Excel sheets. Also, many netbooks do not have an internal optical drive, which could obviously cause problems in the workplace.
Additionally, no current netbook has a full size keyboard, and generally speaking, these less-than-standard boards slow down typing and could definitely frustrate workers who are simply set in their ways. Couple that with smaller than usual trackpads, and you can see that the complaints would probably start pouring in should netbooks overtake typical 15" notebooks within the office. Also, the 7" to 10" display is far, far too small for many workers. Imagine having to juggle five or six Excel sheets, an email client and a few IM messages with only 8" or so of screen space. Not fun. Sure, one could argue that workers could take advantage of a secondary display when in an office setting, but no current netbook is actually tailored to work with a docking station.
All in all, we don't really see a case for netbooks replacing standard notebooks in the corporate world. As we've outlined, the negatives simply outweigh the positives. There's always the chance that one or two employees would rather use a netbook, but to say that these miniature laptops are ready to be rolled out en masse would be stretching things. Of course, all that could change when desktop-level CPUs are designed to be more power efficient and LCD displays can be expanded by simply stretching the edges, but we're probably 10 or more years away from that kind of zany, almost cartoon-like technology.
Comments
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I agree in many areas on how you put the information. However, I really see netbooks more as a communication item. I also see them as an in between technology in a greater sense. They are what cam from sub micro machine's, and where a smart phone is doing the same thing in the opposite direction. As a side note Intel and from what I hear ARM processors are dropping to 32Nm, and SSD is becoming more realistic price performance wise. So the Atom and it's like in the processing world are on the lighter end of functionality. But, where do they go down from 32Nm 22-26Nm right and there are advancments on connectivity, as well as on the memory front as well. All these things enhance productivity while shrinking in size, lessening energy use and heat production. So I see a device between a full capability notebook and a smart phone in maybe 2 years. I think thats where it's going then add in wireless USB for slotless input, and a foldable or expandable screen walla the next device on a G4 network. |
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My own personal prediction? In the near term, small non-mobile platforms will be much bigger in the corporate scene than netbooks. The Ion, for example, has more than ample power and connectivity to drive a customer service station or teller stand, and are predicted to come in at an easy to swallow price point. PS - The Atom has PLENTY of processing muscle for Excel, it's just basic math. Putting together a PowerPoint presentation would likely tax it much more. |
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As long as GoToMeeting, LiveMeeting, Fuse, & QuickConnect work properly when you host a meeting from the Netbook/UMPC it could gain some footing in the corporate world. |
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