Centralized Standards

One of the biggest issues with netbooks was that there was a hodgepodge of netbook designs on store shelves without any clear indication of what customers would get from them. Ultrabooks, on the other hand, are defined by standards developed by Intel that must be met to qualify for the Ultrabook moniker. Its a smart idea that should provide better clarity to consumers.

Netbooks were underpowered and many consumers found they were incapable of running their essential applications. Ultrabooks, on the other hand, are designed to provide a level of processing power similar to what current notebooks have. And over time, their power will only improve. Solid performance isnt lacking in Ultrabooks the way it was in netbooks.

Although netbooks were better at holding a charge than their larger counterparts, Ultrabooks are designed to set a new standard in the portable space. In fact, a computer cant qualify as an Ultrabook unless it delivers at 5 hours of battery life on a single charge or better. Thats a key selling point for the platform.

Its hard to say if consumers were really ready for netbooks when they were first introduced. Sure, they bought the products in droves for a while, but sales quickly fell off the cliff after tablets arrived and owners realized they werent that useful. But with more people going mobile than ever, consumers are far more ready to buy slender PC designs such as Ultrabooks.

As noted, netbooks died in part because of tablets. But Ultrabooks dont need to worry about that. The form factor is competing with lightweight notebooks, not tablets, which are already on store shelves in huge numbers. Consumers will already have a good idea if they want both products or not. Most importantly, consumers will quickly learn that Ultrabooks are not meant to replace tablets.

Ultrabooks might not replace tablets, but they are designed to replace the notebooks consumers already have. Thats an important factor to keep in mind. When the first netbooks hit the market, they were designed as a lighter alternative to heavier notebooks. And eventually, that led to their downfall, because while they were lighter, they couldnt match larger notebooks in performance and they werent integral to many buyers mobile computing experience. Ultrabooks are different.

If Ultrabooks didnt have the kind of vendor support they do, there would be a good chance they would fail. After all, without prominent vendors making the devices, no one would care. But major companies, including HP and Dell, are investing heavily in Ultrabooks. Thats more than what can be said for netbooks right now.

The nice thing about Ultrabooks, unlike netbooks, is that they can be used as a consumers only computer. They come with full-sized keyboards, solid performance and larger screens. They provide highly portable computing power that simply begs to go on the road. Netbooks were light and highly portable, but they failed to deliver a compelling computing experience.

If there is anything that the enterprise is searching for right now, its portability. Companies around the globe want their employees to be productive no matter where they are. Ultrabooks can offer that. And they can unarguably do it better than netbooks, since companies wont need to make big performance concessions to get Ultrabooks working in their operations.

Theres no debating that netbooks were popular 18 months ago and now theyve lost their appeal. But unlike netbooks, which entered a market with no precedent, Ultrabooks can capitalize on that installed base of customers that bought netbooks and have moved on. After all, they might have liked netbooks for one reason or another, but pushed it aside because their computer was too small or not powerful enough. Ultrabooks solve that issue.