Netbook study finds that netbook buyers don't know what netbooks are
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted June 24th 2009 1:04PM
posted June 24th 2009 1:04PM
Oh noes! According to some market research dudes, the average consumer cannot tell the difference between a netbook and a notebook. We're inclined to believe that this is simply because the average consumer hasn't perused this handy chart, but what do we know? Of course, the readers of Engadget are an intelligent and sophisticated bunch, one that understands all the intricacies of this -- one of the most important questions of our time. But what about the folks that need to sell netbooks (and notebooks) to 18-24 year olds, one of the main demographics that manufacturers hope to reach with their products? Hit the read link for what's sure to be a gripping (if wicked expensive) report titled Netbooks II: A Closer Look. Or, if you're only moderately curious, feel free to check out the PR after the break.
NPD Finds Consumer Confusion about Netbooks Continues
Port Washington, NY, June 22, 2009 – Netbook, notebook – they sound the same. According to a new report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, many consumers believe the two have the same functionalities. NPD's Netbooks II: A Closer Look report, found that 60 percent of consumers who purchased a netbook instead of a notebook thought their netbooks would have the same functionality as notebooks.
That confusion about functionality is leading to some dissatisfaction. Only 58 percent of consumers who bought a netbook instead of a notebook said they were very satisfied with their purchase, compared to 70 percent of consumers who planned on buying a netbook from the start.
Satisfaction was even harder to ascertain among 18- to 24-year-olds, one of the main demographics manufacturers were hoping to win over with the new products. Among that age group, 65 percent said they bought their netbooks expecting better performance, and only 27 percent said their netbooks performed better than expected.
One marketing aspect that has interested buyers is the portability factor. It's been the key marketing tool for netbook manufacturers, and consumers agree that it is a great feature. Sixty percent of them said that was a main reason they bought their netbooks. However, once they got home, 60 percent of buyers said they never even took their netbooks out of the house.
"We need to make sure consumers are buying a PC intended for what they plan to do with it," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "There is a serious risk of cannibalization in the notebook market that could cause a real threat to netbooks' success. Retailers and manufacturers can't put too much emphasis on PC-like capabilities and general features that could convince consumers that a netbook is a replacement for a notebook. Instead, they should be marketing mobility, portability, and the need for a companion PC to ensure consumers know what they are buying and are more satisfied with their purchases."
Methodology
Nearly 600 adults from NPD's online panel who were identified as netbook owners completed this survey between April 27 and May 4, 2009.
Really? Cause I do that on a regular basis with my HP Mini 1000 running OSX (I switch between Windows 7 and OSX on it). I can surf the net, be on iChat, have Entourage running as well as another program without a hiccup.
Actually I would have to partially disagree. In many cases you are correct, but I am running Photoshop CS4, firefox (running pandora), Thunderbird, and Digsby and am having no problems on my Mini 9. And it doesn't have any problems running flash or streaming video over the internet.
On the other hand, my friends MSI Wind or Lenovo S10 have more problems running all these. Part of the reason is only 1GB of RAM and the standard HDD.
So for me, my netbook can do all that my 15" notebook does. No it does not have a ODD, but I hardly ever use those anymore and I just create iso's if I need. All the games I would ever want to actually run on a 9" screen run fine.
Your kidding right? None of those programs are particularly intensive. I could run all of them on my 450mhz G3 Power Mac if I desired. The original Eee PC running an underclocked 900mhz Celeron (at 650mhz) could handle those programs (or equivalents), and netbooks with a 1.6ghz Atom even more so. On my Eee PC 4G I usually have Firefox, Adium, and Skype open at the same time, as well as openoffice if I'm taking notes. The only point you really have is with Flash, which in my experience runs decent on YouTube. The only time flash is really slow on me is full screen or with Hulu. Even then setting the quality to low will allow it to run decent. This is with a celeron machine also; I'd imagine the much faster Atom Netbooks could handle it just fine.
"1) Mail
2) Firefox
3) Adium
4) Entourage"
Damn son, you are *really* pushing your MBP to the limit.
@SlaterGS
You're running Photoshop on a netbook? That's jus' crazy talk! I am impressed.
Those are the network programs I have running. There are more:
5) iCal
6) iTunes
7) Word 2008
8) PowerPoint 2008
9) Transmission
10) Photoshop CS4
And it's mainly Word and Powerpoint that can make any computer chug along.
@webran61
Photoshop actually runs very well. I was surprised the first time, but it handles 50-100mb files without a problem.
Dude, you should get an Eepcif that's all you're running.
My Eeepc runs web (20-30 tabs open on 'Fox most of the time), mail, Adium, iTiunes, uTorrent and a few other things in the background with no problems. It won't run Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop or games very well (or at all...) but you're A-OK with Office, mail, net and lightweight apps.
You ever actually used one??
Umm yeah, you could be running a netbook NP, Even more so if you hackintoshed it. I on the other hand cannot due to the fact that my hands feel like they are going to fall off when i try to type on a netbook, but i got the carpal tunnel.
InterNET => NETbook
WEB => Spiders?
of course you can run all those on a Netbook
(just one at a time...)
The whole thing about the 'netbook' word and meaning, and the money spent to investigate people to know if they know what they are is what makes less sense honestly. Can we call these 'things' computers again?
Bestbuy had a guy in a Polo explain the difference between a netbook and a notebook.
He wasn't a sales person, but a guy from HP who was paid to tell consumers a netbook != (notebook==Laptop)
I like hanging out at BestBuy and harassing the shopboys by correcting the lies they tell about Netbooks/notebooks/etc. A good time is had by all.
I'll take my Macbok Pro over a netbook any day.
Netbooks are really quite overrated.
I would take a wallet filled with money for other things than an empty one. If your video editing, then duh, MBP, but if its for internet, portability, or things like that, I would take a $300 netbook over a $1700 MBP any day. So don't try and compare two totally different products.
Ok, I'll bite.
Exactly how much more expensive was your MBP? I'm sure I'd take my brother's 330D BMW over my 1988 Ford Escort, but it just isn't in the same league.
Gets me to teh shops tho.
I use my MBP for gaming websites, youtube, and watching HD video.
Also who needs a car when you can walk around the bay area?
Macbook Pros start around $1100 dollars, where'd you pull $1700 from?
@Gordy
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
Took the middleground for both, I didn't know what MBP he was talking about. Netbooks also start at $150-$200, your point? Fine $150 and $1200 (13" from apples site.) 15" $1700, and 17" $2500.
You really can't compare those 2, of course you would want an MBP over a netbook. But Macbooks are just a totally different league.
I don't know how many time customers have come into my store and ask me "What's the difference between a notebook and a laptop?" And I say the same thing every time because I know what they are "trying" to say: There is no difference, but there is a difference between a notebook and a netbook. Some people pick up on it fairly easily, others think that it is going to do everything including gaming. I make sure that they know that it is not powerful enough to do high power work, but for internet, email, chat its fine. It doesn't matter how well you explain it, there will always be someone who just doesn't get it.
I don't think your typical consumer is concerned with the nomenclature. As stated before many people still refer to the monitor as the computer. Most people desire a good bargain and this is what they get with a netbook. Besides I know most of us use a netbook to compliment our desktop or laptops. For the rest of the community a netbook is suffice for basic things such as web browsing, listening to music, watching videos, and editing basic documents (great for tweens).
Who can blame them... there are full on budget laptops that, after being loaded with crapware, perform just as poorly as their smaller net book counterparts.
A girl at my school purchased a netbook (Acer) without knowing that it was a netbook (I don't think she even knoe/knows what a netbook is/was). She thought it was just cute small laptop and was shocked when flash (the program, not player) couldn't even run on her computer.
If you can upgrade the hard drive and memory then you can use it has a low end laptop. This will only good if you can put a copy of Win 7 pro on it.
Acer just announced Aspire laptop/notebooks starting at $480 might be better deal then a $300 netbook
Acer Aspire AS5536
* 15.6-inch LED-backlit display
* 2.1GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 QL-64 dual-core processor
* 3GB of memory
* ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
* 320GB hard drive
* 8X DVD drive
* Available now starting at $479.99
Wow when did the new fisherprice come out with the bigger screen?? I'm buying!!
But can it run.............oh nevermind.
Oh noes....
The chart is out of date.....please amend for smartbooks.
"Even though nearly 60% of all netbook owners say they purchased their netbook because of its portability, almost 60% say they use it solely in the home."
There are only so many college students in the world. Most others don't need a notebook for business purposes, as their office desktop suffices. Those "mobile professionals' [God i feel like a lenovo sales rep] tend to gravitate toward more robust full-laptops.
are netbooks ONLY for college students, am i saying? No, of course not, it's just that few others realize the full ulitity
While the college thing is probably true, obviously the market is even smaller since there are a lot of college students studying things that require full power computers. Everything from design to science, so its probably just the English/Literature/Art History types.
the average consumer - an endless supply of funny.
ha ha ha
Fact of the matter is to the average consumer if it runs windows or osx then it's a working laptop.
While the speed might be slightly slower, a consumer looking at prices isn't going to expect this to run high performance apps. It's a cost benefit that the consumer will figure out, and with today's return policies you're never stuck with a system.
Notebook and Netbook are the same, it depends how you break them down and what a consumer is concerned with.
Vinnie Barbarino: I'm sooo confused!
I think thats why that purchased a netbook, they all suck. If I wan't 486 performance I would pull mine out of the basement.
If you don't know the difference then you don't need a computer
Notbooks and Netebooks, it's all too confusing.
I don't think intelligent people would even participate in that survey
yes, people are computer ignorant!
why is this a surprise?
98% of the population has never heard of Endgadget! Just knowing this site means you can't relate to the ignorance of the masses!
they see the $$ and race to it
only to realize that they get what they pay for-- not what they wanted