The Past, Present and Future of Portable IT Rental

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It seems as if the tablet may have just killed the Netbook—the once popular option for consumers on-the-go, according to tech site CNET.

When the Netbook came onto the scene in 2007, it was all the rage for those business people or students on the move providing all of the latest laptop technology in one very compact package. After Intel took the lead on the Netbook front, other manufacturers followed suit, much like we are seeing today with the iPad and subsequent tablets from other makers.

However, now tablets—most notably, the iPad—are at the head of blame for dropping PC sales, and it seems the smaller, more portable devices seem to be the final nail in the coffin for the unfortunate Netbook.

But CNET further points out that the tablet isn’t entirely to blame. The Netbook failed to keep up with the latest innovations in laptop technology. Writer Dan Ackerman points out that the Netbook failed to evolve even after the first couple of generations. "Netbooks settled into a comfortable niche of a 10.1-inch display, 1GB to 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows (first XP, then Windows 7 Starter or Home Premium)," said Ackerman, adding the top and bottom tiered Netbooks have few distinctions between them.

While the features of larger laptops continue to advance, Netbooks remain stabilized as manufacturers (seeing the market trends) continue to pile their resources onto the development of tablets. According to market research like the recent study conducted by research firm Context of iPad consumption in Western Europe, the fully loaded 64 GB 3G iPad 2 took up one third of all sales since its launch. Of overall tablet sales, Apple’s iPad accounted for 80 percent of the market in the first quarter of 2011.

We haven’t seen the Netbook completely fall of the radar at Vernon Computer Source, and neither has our UK affiliate, Hamilton Rentals. While the iPad and now the iPad 2 have definitely seen a peak in interest (admittedly taking away from the appeal from Netbooks) there are companies that still inquire for Netbook availability for training purposes or the occasional exhibition.

To learn more about IT rental in the U.S. or U.K., visit us at Vernon Computer Source and Hamilton Rentals.