Forrester Research: Netbook V2.0- Better Than Laptops?

The mobile tech arena is as diversified as it’s ever been. Smartphones have grown in capability to the point that some folks now use them as their web device on the go; the portability of netbooks lets others carry a full computer everywhere they go. There are also Mobile Internet Devices (MID) trying to gain a foothold in the consumer space, and the plain old notebook is still hanging around looking for attention. Together these forms bring a lot of functionality to the user, but with various degrees of convenience. A new report by Forrester Research attempts to determine what types of devices are considered the most convenient for the average user.

The report looks at how each type of device performs with applications, working in the cloud and its portability. It’s an interesting attempt to quantify how convenient each type of gadget is to use. The most interesting finding, in my view, is how the Netbook v2.0 outscored the standard laptop in many areas, in particular that was found to be almost as convenient to use as its bigger sibling. This convenience quotient takes the use of applications into account, so basically the finding is that the second-generation netbooks will be nearly as capable as the bigger laptop.

One of the most interesting device categories they used for the analysis is the “Netbook v2″ category, which is defined as second-generation netbooks. The report describes these as v2.0 netbooks that will be appearing over the next 12 months with “more powerful CPUs and graphics engines; Windows 7 running on the devices; and embedded mobile broadband.” The authors’ findings are that these v2.0 netbooks will approach the utility of “real” laptops and surpass them due to a better convenience quotient. It’s an interesting observation and, one we should begin to prove or disprove right away as these v2.0 netbooks are already starting to appear.