Less than a week ago, the Web was filled with stories like "Why laptops are better than netbooks". Almost wherever you turned, people questioned the netbook's capabilities. Then the Apple iPad arrived, and wherever you turn now, you'll find stories like "Why netbooks are better than the Apple iPad". Thanks to Apple, netbooks have received more positive coverage in the last couple of days than in the last couple of years combined.
Before Apple released the iPhone, you'd often find stories like "Do you really need a smartphone?". People simply felt they got what they needed by owning a cell phone. As soon as Apple announced the iPhone, competing smartphones eventually got more attention than what they could hope to wish for. Last year, during a heavy recession, the smartphone market was booming. That would be considered impossible only a couple of years ago.
If we were in the netbook business, we would have applauded Apple's iPad entry. Apple's mainstream appeal makes everybody talking about netbooks as if they're now going to rescue us all. That's priceless marketing that was impossible to count on only a few days ago.
The way we see it, the space between smartphones and laptops will now be the hottest topic for the next few years, and people will buy Web-oriented gadgets like never before with the introduction of prepaid data plans. And it's all thanks to Apple's mainstream appeal.
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