What we at Netbook Era are wondering is whether the Apple MacBook Air 11” is a netbook or a conventional laptop. After all, it has features that are specific to notebooks such as weight and size but also has features that are typical of everyday laptops such as power and premium pricing (in everyday life though, Apple laptops are always more expensive and the flash drives inside the MacBook Airs push up the prices).

We really think that Apple ventured into the netbook era, a domain that it has vowed never to get into but decided to play their card differently. If you go check out the various benchmarks available all over the Internet, you will notice that the MacBook Air 11” is pretty powerful and leaves most netbooks in the dust but heck, it’s as light and small as the best of them even if normal netbooks are 10” or 8”.

So what’s the verdict?

Well, we really think that the 11” Apple MacBook Air is no netbook. It’s a really tiny notebook computer and those pundits whose favorite song is to say that netbooks are dying will use this Apple laptop as the ultimate example of how conventional laptops can be as light, portable and cheap as netbooks while having power for everyday computing.

That’s our take on the situation and now it’s your turn. Are we onto something or did we completely miss the boat? Express yourself in the comment box below!

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clanlife/5119808939/

Recently though, there have been rumors of an 11″ version of the Apple MacBook Air. The problem with the 13″ version is that while ultra light, ultra portable and ultra cool it is also ultra big and uber expensive at $1500.

It should be noted that the low-end Apple laptop is the MacBook which retails at $1000. So, I am willing to bet that that the mini MacBook Air retail from $800 just over the retail price of the most expensive iPad.

All these are nothing but rumors though. But if you’ve been following Apple news you’ll know that most rumors tend to materialize than not. So, watch out for a MacBook Air netbook although Apple will never brand their mini computer as netbook!

See: Apple is reportedly readying a new MacBook Air

I read all 42 reasons and while I don’t want to spoil it for you, I have to say that for every argument there can be a counter-argument for the Apple tablet. Why don’t I let you check it out for yourself so that you can make up your own mind as to whether you agree or not?

Many months ago, tech pundits were predicting how the Apple tablet was going to make netbooks as obsolete as type writers. Now that the iPad is out and we’ve heard and read what it’s all about, we can safely say that the iPad is not killing netbooks anytime soon.

Here are a few reasons why:

1) The iPad is not a computer

Netbook buyers are computer users who want to do tasks such as web browsing, edit the odd word document, watch movies, listen to music and store data. The Apple iPad can do most of these tasks but it’s really limited. I kind of like the external keyboard accessory it comes with though!

2) Without Wifi or 3G Internet access, the iPad is just a bulky iPod.

An iPhone without a data plan can still make phone calls and send and receive text messages. An iPod without internet access can still play music, run applications and play videos. An iPad without an Internet connection is pretty useless as you could do everything you want to do with an iPod. Unless you strictly want to read a book or watch a movie.

As netbook uses his or her machine to perform tasks that a computer does with or without internet access.

3) The iPad is expensive.

The cheapest is $499. The best-selling netbook, the Acer Aspire One, can be purchased for $329. It’s still portable, capable and can be equipped with 3G for an always-on Internet connection.

Netbooks do what an iPad can do and even more and are cheaper.

I could go on and on but I am sure that you too have some points to add so let’s hear them in the comments section below.

Personally, I think that I will get the iPad eventually (two years from now or so) because I think that developers will come up with apps that will make the tablet very useful and different to a laptop.

So yes, I will be a geek with a Blackberry, a laptop and an iPad. What will be ditched are the iPod and iPhone.

I can’t wait to see people who will be hauling the iPad around listening to music on it as if it was an iPod. I am laughing out loud in advance!

However!

It’s interesting to note that all aluminum Apple laptops are now dubbed MacBook Pro computers. The old white plastic notebook is the only MacBook left. Industry observers are betting that yes, Apple netbooks are on the way and that the line will be called MacBook.

I don’t like to speculate or attempt to predict the future but the above MacBook netbook theory seems to make a great deal of sense to me. I am no expert in Apple’s business activities but one thing I know is that the Apple netbook waiting game is very, very far from over!

I have to hand it to Mike Arrington for ending our year with the juiciest netbook rumor ever. Apparently, in Autumn 2009, Apple will release a larger iPod Touch that will be the MacBook Mini netbook that we all have written about countless times saying that it would be announced in January at MacWorld.

Short of swearing on his mother’s head, Mr Arrington not only tells us that his sources are reliable and that one actually touched the device but he also teases us by saying that he will have more details soon.

I was probably one of the first Techcrunch readers. As time has gone by, I have come to trust this web 2.0 turned tech blog because all crazy rumors that it throws out into the blogosphere usually turn out to be solid stuff. So I guess that Apple figured out how to make a netbook the smart way by sticking to its trademark touchscreen no keyboards approach that made the iPod Touch and the iPhone hits. 

Yes, people will cry over the lack of a keyboard but will get over it just like they did with the iPhones and iPod Touches.

I am betting that this iPod Touch will sell for about $550 or $600 and that like the iPhone, it will be more than a super hit: it will completely take over the market. That’s if this global recession gives us all a break.

Wow, this iPod Touch “Magnum” is really going to change the netbook game. I can’t wait!

See: Large Form iPod Touch To Launch in Fall ‘09

The craze over Apple having to launch a Mac netbook has reached new heights because of sales figures showing that in November Apple has lost market share.

All the analysts and pundits are screaming and shouting for a netbook and that’s why in January Apple will give them one.

In a recession, everyone’s sales suffer. Even Walmart is having hard times although logically it should do well given that in hard times more shoppers are likely to pay it a visit for its low prices.

It seems that Apple desktop sales have decreased. You can’t exactly blame the recession for this one. For the last years, laptops have been eclipsing desktops in sales and that’s a trend that’s likely to continue even if the economy recovers by tomorrow afternoon and every single shopper becomes a millionaire.

Apple notebook sales are down too. That’s because no one is immune to a recession. No one. You either lose or you win but nothing stays the same in a recession. The whole computer industry is in a crisis. Every single company has seen sales decrease or stay flat. Apple is not immune.

Apple decided to play the computer game like Sony. Stay in the super premium league. But Steve Jobs did not get where he is now by not having an extraordinary PR acumen. He surely knows that he can stand pat and eventually things will go back to normal once the global crisis ends (because it will eventually. The question is when?). But, he also knows that the media is yearning for a Mac netbook.

In January, he will announce a Mac netbook not because it will boost the sales of Mac products but to appease the media and analysts. You know that the day after the keynote, the stock will go down if there’s no Apple ultraportable notebook. To prevent that from happening, Mr. Jobs will appease the crowd and do what’s smart from a PR perspective.

I personally think that a Mac netbook is not a bad idea. It will not re-ignite sales but it will do the job that the Mac Mini was supposed to do. The Mac Mini did not become a hit because for once Apple made a strategic mistake. It launched an affordable product in a dying category.

Like I mentioned earlier, desktops are slowly but surely on their way out. I am betting that in the near future, desktops will be used only by businesses. Even schools are going all laptops and soon netbooks. Do you still remember who called 2003 the year of the laptop?  Launching the Mac Mini was a smart and a dumb move at the same time. 

Smart because it was aimed at letting people experience the Mac touch for a low price and dumb because it was with desktops.

A MacBook Mini netbook will be a good product not to boost sales but to get all these iPhone and iPod users who are no Mac users to try out the Mac experience. The number one objection for non Mac users is: “It’s cool but it’s expensive!”.

The MacBook Mini netbook solves that problem. In marketing speak, it’s called a loss leader.

I have written before that with netbooks going all cloud, operating systems are going to become the least consideration when buying ultraportables.  Apple will do things right and create an OS that’s actually made for netbooks instead of taking Mac OSX and trying to make it work with netbooks. Imagine MobileMe coupled with other innovative things that are Apple’s trademark.

Apple netbooks will become a hit with the consumer. They will be the ultimate halo effect creator that everyone said that iPhones and iPods would be. That’s because netbooks are actual computers and these new users are more likely to try out Mac computers when they feel the need for more powerful machines. 

The MacBook Mini that will be announced in January will not save Apple in the short-term except for the stock price. In the long-term however, it will the tool that will convert Windows users to Mac en masse. 

And what about that famous quote: “We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk”?

Well, he then spoke of “interesting ideas” and another thing. At $500.o1, it’s no longer a piece of junk, right?

A Forbes article by Brian Caulfield entitled “Why Nokia Could Kill The Netbook” explains how the new Nokia N97 smartphone is going to stop the low cost laptop craze.

The Nokia N97 and no other smartphone for that matter will be no netbook killer. Mr. Caulfield provides arguments that seem logical to someone obsessed with gadgets but in reality have nothing to do with the average person, the ultimate user of the Nokia N97 or any netbook computer.

1) Mr. Caulfield writes: “After all, the Nokia N97 and even Apple’s iPod Touch promise to do everything a netbook does with one key difference: You can actually slip these suckers into your pocket.”

Who said that the average netbook user wants a mobile computing device that is that small?

I really think that everyone who writes about the netbook craze should first put his or her ear to the ground and figure out why people buy netbooks. 

People buy netbooks because they are cheap and portable versions of laptops. I will get into the price issue later but let’s talk about the portability now. A netbook is a mini-notebook. That’s what the average consumer is buying. He or she wants to do the basic computing tasks. Notice that I say computing. In his and her mind, a Nokia N97 is a phone with smart functions while a netbook is a computer that can do the basic tasks and still be portable. 

2)  “If you own a smart phone, however, you will use it every day”, also writes the Forbes columnist. That’s a supportive argument to what the Intel executive said: “If you’ve ever used a netbook, it’s fine for an hour,” Stu Pann, vice president of sales and marketing at Intel, told investors at a Raymond James IT supply chain conference. “It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out.”  (See: Intel Thinking Of Bailing Out of Netbooks)

Let’s make one thing clear. Mr Stu Pann meant that the netbook is not a computer that you can use all day, meaning that you can you could not for instance write a whole novel on a netbook as you would need a bigger and more comfortable keyboard and a wider screen.

All netbook owners are aware of this. If you had to run a poll, you will find that they do not use their low cost ultra portable laptops for intervals longer than an hour anyway. I still have to hear of netbook owners who do. And those who do, won’t mind anyway because they’re comfortable with it.

Saying that people would use the Nokia N97 is a little bit deceiving. Yes, they would have it in their pocket 24/7. But it’s not as if they will be actively doing even minor computing tasks like checking out Facebook (Robert Scoble dubs the Nokia N97, the ultimate Facebook device).

Does Mr. Caulfield really want to convince anyone that for example, a Nokia N97 user will spend all day crafting motivation letters to send to prospective employers? But, it’s more likely that the same person would do the same thing on a netbook.

3) Mr. Caulfield writes: “Putting the smarts of a computer, together with the Internet, into a pocket-sized device is the multibillion-unit market that Intel is scrambling toward. For Intel, netbooks are just a waypoint on that journey”.

If I understood correctly, he is saying that what computers can do so can smartphones (at least in the months or years to come).

Just because a smartphone can run a productivity application just like a netbook does not mean that people will want to write their autobios from their phones. What will happen and what is happening instead is that there are different types of apps being developed for the different devices.

For instance, I was reading the other day that in London, one of the bets selling iPhone app was an advanced police trap finder. Why would anyone want to use that on a laptop no matter how small?

4) The last quote from the article is: “And both Apple’s iPhone and Nokia’s smart phones boast hours of battery life.”

It depends. If you are going to watch movies on your iPhone mid-Atlantic flight, I doubt that you will make it to the other side with your device still on. I know that you could not really do the same with a netbook.

On the other hand, with some netbooks you can take notes from some university lectures all day and never need to be on the lookout of a power plug.

My point is that battery life in itself does not mean anything. It depends on what you need it for. You need long battery life on phones so that you can be reached all the time. You just need long netbook battery life to get you through what you need to do for short period of times (3-4 hours).

5) One think that tech insiders seem to forget is that netbooks and smartphones are different categories and the consumer (the person who actually dishes out his and her hard earn money) sees it as such.

To the consumer, a netbook is a cheap and portable laptop computer while a smartphone is a high end mobile phone.

A netbook is more of a necessity while a smartphone is a luxury.

I find that comparing netbooks and smartphones is like comparing buying a car to buying a bicycle.

The Nokia N97 is the Rolls Royce of mobile phones while netbooks are the cheapest and/or more portable brands of computers.

You can get some super expensive bicycles such as the ones used to ride the Tour de France and you can still get super cheap automobiles such as the Tata’s $2000 car.

A real smartphone user (such as the president-elect) is not carrying around a Blackberry, iPhone or Nokia N97 because they want an ultra portable computer. A real netbook user wants to save money on a computer and/or wants a computer that is ultra portable.

Saying that the Nokia N97 will kill netbooks is like saying that a Hyundai will kill the $20 000 bicycle because the Hyundai is cheaper.

The netbook will be killed by a cheaper/more portable and yet more powerful netbook or laptop. The Nokia N97’s job is to kill the iPhone and the Blackberrys and that’s will be quite a daunting tasks in its own as Nokia has been trying with all the N Series.

“Setting up the Eee to be a good companion to my Mac systems proved to be trivially easy. I simply downloaded Apple’s MobileMe control panel for Windows, which enabled me to synchronize my address book contacts and calendar information to the Eee. I also configured the Windows Mail client to connect to my MobileMe e-mail account via IMAP, so all of my mail settings are the same between systems.” - Hands on with an Eee PC netbook

Gentlepeople, start your rumor mills!