Are Netbooks on the Way Out? April 5, 2010
Have Netbooks Jumped the Shark?
Borrowing the term that originated from the “Happy Days” episode where Fonzie jumped a shark on water skis while wearing - you guessed it - his leather jacket, I’m wondering if netbooks haven’t gone the way of “Happy Days” in that infamous episode and also jumped the shark.
The term refers to that point in a show - or whatever you might be using it on - where it’s rapid decline begins. You can look back and point to that particular instance in time and say “that’s it …. that’s when it jumped the shark. It’s downhill from here.” That’s exactly what happened to “Happy Days” and that appears to be what is happening to netbooks.
Two clues for me personally where this:
- My 18 yr old son has lamented about the limitations of his netbook over the past month for doing anything but surfing the web and email after trying to create logo choices of my wife’s photography business.
- During my latest stroll through Costco last week I noticed that they no longer were carrying any netbooks after previously carrying 4 different models.
Now, Bloomberg’s Business Week online is indicating that iPad’s release has caused a significant lag in netbook sales. Netbook sales were expected to increase 33.6% in 2010 Q1 against 2009 Q1 numbers. The problem with that figure is that 2009 Q1 growth over 2008 Q1 was 872%. That’s a significant slowdown and a strong indication that the world is possibly moving on from the netbook to the iPad or at least they are definitely hedging future purchases as they await the first reports from users of the iPad. Strong reviews of the iPad as it becomes widely distributed may be a death knell for netbooks across the board.
Don’t get me wrong - I still think they have their niche. But I used to believe they were a decent field computer for business travelers. They may still be, but I’m starting to see their limitations more clearly.
