Multiple devices
As ever, it comes down to usage models, which again can be subdivided into communication and productivity.
A communications device only needs to enable relatively short pieces of written communication like SMS or Twitter. A productivity device should be optimised for writing longer pieces and for things like Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc.
"People are willing to carry two or three devices," said Timmons. "Connectivity and battery life are pain-points. Ordinary consumers are willing to invest in connectivity above and beyond phone calls for things like social networking and location based services." From this you can guess on which side of the communication/productivity divide the smartbook will reside.
The future form-factor battle will most probably centre on the two handed, bag-carried sector, with the phone and the PDA having merged into the smartphone years ago.
Consumers will face the choice of a smartbook type device, used primarily for communication, or a full notebook on which they will perform more complex tasks traditionally associated with the PC. They'll probably also still have some kind of desktop, or at least NAS, to store the terabytes of digital media they have accumulated.
It's not impossible that in this future scenario the term netbook will become obsolete and be viewed in retrospect as an interim form-factor that heralded the true convergence of the PC and telco markets.
There are going to be a lot of new and exciting devices hitting the market in the next year or so. One of the key factors in determining their success will be how well their unique offerings are explained to consumers, something not being done very well with netbooks right now, as they come to resemble notebooks ever more.
