Apple announced the arrival of their newest product, the iPad. Looking something like an overgrown iPhone, it fills the perceived market need for a tablet computer. However, during the iPad's introduction, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked about whether a netbook could do all the things he was after.

Jobs said that Apple wanted to create a device that could do web browsing, email, sharing photos, listening to music, gaming, reading ebooks better than existing devices. In doing so, he delivered a stinging rebuke to the netbook market in saying "The problem is that netbooks aren't better at anything. They're slow, have poor displays and run clunky old PC software. They're not better than a laptop at anything".

In an earnings report last year, Apple described the netbook market as being "nascent" and that they were watching the space keenly. However, in declaring the netbook a dead end they revealed a lot about their own markets. In today's presentation, Jobs announced that Apple had sold is 250 millionth iPod and 3 billionth app from the App Store. In other words, Apple's revenue is now tied to the iPhone ecosystem. It's little wonder that they aren;t going for a netbook and declared the platform as junk.

So, for all of you with a netbook, don't despair. Just because Jobs says the netbook is dead doesn't make it so.

By Anthony Caruana