Appetite for disruption

Disruptive technology tends to breed further disruption. The imminent introduction of Google’s Android operating system – already growing in use as a cellphone platform – on Asus and Acer’s netbook offerings could prove to be one such disruptive trend. There is also talk of a new breed of netbooks based on ARM chips, which are usually found in smartphones and use less power than Intel’s Atom offering. They cost a lot less to produce and, being smartphone oriented, could promise all-day battery life along with super-quick boot times. Some observers see this as a gilt-edged opportunity for manufacturers to finally break free of the WinTel duopoly, but cynics point to lower ARM performance and the fact that Windows 7 will not be interoperable with ARM, instantly shedding hordes of Windows-addicted users. Apple fans, by contrast, are getting excited: ARM architecture is currently used in both the iPod and iPhone and the rumour mill is in overdrive with speculation that the company will soon move into the netbook space. The company has repeatedly junked netbooks, stating that it’s not a market it plans to enter, but a close relationship with ARM and rumours around an order for large-size touch-screen technology that would suit the netbook space, are fuelling speculation that some kind of tabletor netbook-style device from Apple is imminent. That Apple already has a quality mobile version of its OS X operating system on the iPhone is only adding to the puzzle. Netbooks, according to Gartner, outsell the iPhone in unit terms (5.6 million netbooks sold in Q3 2008 against 4.7 million iPhones). Whether Apple can – or even wants to – shed its love affair with the premium price tag is another question.