Will netbooks become obsolete with Windows 8?

Abe Olandres September 4, 2012 · 1 min read

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Windows 8 is just a month away and Microsoft is preparing huge budgets for its public launch. The company has even offered upgraders a huge discount (just under $15) to move up to Windows 8 if they recently bought a computer.

That doesn’t seem to be the case for netbooks though. You see, Microsoft has set the minimum resolution of Metro style apps to 1024×768 pixels. Problem is, Intel and netbook manufacturers have set the standard resolution of netbooks to just 1024×600 pixels.

Microsoft has outlined 3 major reasons why they had to set the minimum resolution of Windows 8 to 1024×768 {see their blog post here}.

They argue that only 1.2% of Windows 7 users have a screen resolution below 1024×768. The other 98.8% of Win7 devices (tablets, laptops and desktop computers) fit perfectly well with the minimum resolution.

This leaves netbook owners no option to upgrade to Windows 8. Either manufacturers are stuck with Windows 7 for the rest of the netbook’s lifecycle or Intel will agree to increase the standards it has set for netbooks. I think it will be the latter.

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Abe Olandres

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Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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60 Comments

de todas recomiendo · 12 years ago

? No me parece que lo que has desarrollado resulte de esta forma.
Debieras documentarte mejor o modificar las elementos de
indicacion.

GhostHunter · 14 years ago

The bottom line, there will be netbooks for a long time to come. They serve a particular market that cannot be served by more expensive laptops and underpowered tablets.

Tablets are nice but not the proper tool when you are writing a long article. On-screen virtual keyboards on tablet are okay for entering short messages but a pain to use for much longer articles, etc.

OS does not have much to do with it.

Vaans · 14 years ago

I’m still sticking with win7. It’s right for me. The win8 looks more suited to for tablets rather than laptop and netbook computers.

R2 · 14 years ago

Eventually it will become obsolete but not sooner or later especially here in our country.

Iyan Sommerset · 14 years ago

Cherrys aren’t going away just because Mini Coopers are available.

DISAGREEEE · 14 years ago

Windows 8 will be faster than W7 and WinXP. It will be more fluid, will have fast boot times and will be using less resources. Netbooks with lower resolution will still be able to run Windows 8 through a registry hack but will not properly display some apps and will feel stretched. I think Intel will raise the display in netbooks mainly because of Windows 8 and also, I think it’s time for netbooks to get a boost in specs.

nolierich · 14 years ago

I really like windows 8.. its just too perfect for an os.. this will be the os of the world.. a hybrid integration in an os a superfast boot time.. windows os will be the thing of the future

Ghosthunter · 14 years ago

@Yuja

I would rather still have Windows XP on netbooks but the recent batches of netbooks do not have driver for Windows XP. So you are forced to use Windows 7 for them. Also many devices do not any more come with WinXP drivers like printers, scanners, etc.

John · 14 years ago

why? w7 is faster than xp

poweruser · 14 years ago

Running Windows XP in these days is like not getting a vaccination for the worst disease in the world – obsolescence.

Seriously, people should stop Windows XP because it’s getting unsecure and more vulnerable every single day. Additionally, developing apps for older OS is definitely a pain.

Ghosthunter · 14 years ago

WinXP requires less resources to run as compared to Win7. It is like using two cars to get from point A to point B. It does the same thing but one car uses a 1.5L engine while the other uses a 3.0L V6.

Most users don’t need the latest OS version. All they need is something that works well on the hardware they have. Win7 will crawl on the first generation Intel Atom CPUs (N280 series) and still runs slow on the N500 series Intel Atoms, only in the current series Intel Atom N2600/N2800 dual core cpus does Win7 run fast enough.

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

“WinXP requires less resources to run as compared to Win7. It is like using two cars to get from point A to point B. It does the same thing but one car uses a 1.5L engine while the other uses a 3.0L V6.”

> Well, I think you forget to consider that this is only applicable to older hardware. With newer hardware, 7 utilizes equal or less hardware resources. It’s not as if Microsoft (and 3rd party developrs) can stay supporting old hardware for long.

“Most users donâ€™t need the latest OS version. All they need is something that works well on the hardware they have. Win7 will crawl on the first generation Intel Atom CPUs (N280 series) and still runs slow on the N500 series Intel Atoms, only in the current series Intel Atom N2600/N2800 dual core cpus does Win7 run fast enough.”
> Oh yes, okay you can run XP until 2100 and don’t throw away your netbook until then but if I were you I’ll make sure it is not connected to the Internet at most times because like the other commented said – vulnerabilities are just around the corner and with all support for XP ending at around 2014, go figure.

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

Grammar Nazi: *forgot.

Furthermore, I present to you some disadvantages of XP that really makes us IT people want to ditch that OS as much as possible

– For administrative accounts, programs are run with the permissions of the user – no standard-then-elevation-as-needed feature, i.e. User Account Control in Vista and later. Security disaster.
– Deploying and maintaining a Windows installation is much more easier in Windows Vista and later to the Windows Imaging Format – customize an installation, store as a single file and it will be installed anywhere. With XP, the disk image is HAL-dependent.

Ghosthunter · 14 years ago

Just saying that not all of us work for a company with unlimited budgets for their computer network. As much as the limits of an older OS like Windows XP, it does run very well on lesser hardware.

We would all be happy to be running Windows 7 and the latest hardware with Core i7 and 8gb of ram, 500gb SSD drives, etc. but reality sometimes gives us a more modest budget and we have to make do with what is available.

Yuja · 14 years ago

If that is the case, i would stick with Win7. But honestly…im still with XP PRO

GhostHunter · 14 years ago

Also netbooks have developed a proper niche in developing countries like in the Philippines and India. It provides a very affordable option to owning a computer.

Tablets will never replace having an actual computer. Even with the numerous choices of low cost tablets that have come to market, a tablet is still not an equal to a computer’s functionality.

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

Oh God, have you at least seen the Microsoft Surface Pro? ( Not mentioning those Windows 8 tablets outed recently in IFA, Berlin, Deutschland )

TLDR: That will make you salivate and throw your netbook immediately if you have the money and the tabs are waiting in the store.

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

Okay, lumalabas na naman ang pagiging TechNazi ko at midnight na.

“a tablet is still not an equal to a computerâ€™s functionality.”
> Well, AFAIK, “tablet” is a shorthand for “tablet computer”. You mean by computer, only “PC” or computers whose architectures are “x86” or “x86-64” ? Well no. So, if your idea of a tablet is the iPad or Iconia that you say “a tablet is still not an equal to a computerâ€™s functionality.” – that’s not the state of the game now.

GhostHunter · 14 years ago

With Netbooks, the OS itself is not as important as to it’s functionality. The fact that Windows XP was fine with netbook users for many years until MS finally pulled the plug on XP is just an example.

Given that, most current netbook users will be content staying with Windows 7 for the foreseeable future (with their netbooks). For as long as Windows7 will give adequate functionality (internet access and for office softwares like Word/Excel), there would be little reason for netbook users to upgrade from Windows7 to Windows8.

ric · 14 years ago

windows 7 will be to windows 8 what windows xp is to windows vista. imho, there really is no need to upgrade to the latest os so long as your current os still has security updates supported. that said, no, windows 8 will not kill netbooks; at least not here in our 3rd world country. :)

Bruised Wayne · 14 years ago

If you categorized a so called netbook based on price/affordability, that line has been already muddled now that a sub 18k models like the ASUS X401U is breaching the netbook’s affordability factor plus a generous 14inch display to boot.

Netbook with small form factor and low res screen should now be given permission to die as affordable laptops with HD displays and reasonable screen real estate rises.

Alex · 14 years ago

I guess not… net books will still be on circulation, unless the tablets will drop its price or supply features that might over take the net books.

*Also, please support my new blog: http://alex-the-informer.blogspot.com/. Thanks!

tmcr7 · 14 years ago

That’s what they also predicted when tablets came. Hanggang ngayon buhay pa ang netbooks.

ty · 14 years ago

when those tablets with external keyboards come close to the price of net books. That’s when netbooks will be phased out.

memkou · 14 years ago

i don’t think, laptops, specifically netbooks, should replaced by tablets. tablets are not capable of doing what netbooks mostly do; and, there are some tasks that are easier done with netbooks than with tablets. Also, imho, I think Microsoft should do a separate OS for tablets and not integrate tablet features on desktop/laptop OS.

OBOB · 14 years ago

correct, in fact I found a netbook more productive than a tablet. Netbooks will surely be the go to gadget of the masses.

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

That’s because most prolly the tablet you’re talking about is the iPad or Iconia tab.. let’s see come full-pledged x86 on Windows 8 tablets!

abrahamdsl · 14 years ago

That’s because most prolly the tablet you’re talking about is the iPad or Iconia tab.. let’s see come full-fledged x86 on Windows 8 tablets!

Ratheon7000 · 14 years ago

probably, in developed countries that is. but for developing countries, there will always be demand for cheap netbooks. afterall, netbooks serve the same purpose as windows 8 tablet; create docs, surf net, casual games, etc., just minus the cool form factor.