For many people, it's a safe bet that the iPad will not replace or preclude the purchase of a Netbook. A quick look at the specifications and it's pretty obvious why.

The iPad is definitely not a laptop and that's not necessarily a good thing.

(Credit: Apple )

As this tweet succinctly put it: "What has no webcam, no multitasking, no HDMI port, and (possibly) no Flash, and costs $500? Hint: Not a netbook." This tweet, of course, is referring to the Apple iPad. And, by the way, you can eliminate the parenthetical; the iPad definitely does not support Adobe Flash video. (Also see this post at Gizmodo.)

But specifications aside, here's the most fundamental difference. The iPad is what analysts call a purpose-built device. It does certain things very well (e.g., video, Web browsing, e-reading) and other things (most notably office productivity apps) not so well or not at all.

The Netbook--though not as fast as a standard laptop and handicapped by a relatively small screen--is still a PC and is capable of doing pretty much everything a standard PC does. In other words, it's a general-purpose device.

Then there's the physical difference. Consumers who make the leap from a notebook or Netbook to a tablet will immediately recognize the ergonomic limitations of a tablet. In short, the inconvenience of not having a physical keyboard: the keyboard on a laptop also acts as a ballast--or stand--for the screen. Needless to say, that's why laptops decorate Starbucks tables and airplane trays. (Yes, Apple will sell an iPad case that serves as a stand but that does not make it a laptop.)

That said, preemptively panning the device is foolhardy. Consumers will undoubtedly find novel ways to use the iPad. And I will likely be rubbing elbows with an iPad user at Starbucks as soon as it hits stores.

This Aava Mobile design uses the upcoming Intel Moorestown chip. Devices using the chip can multitask.

(Credit: Aava Mobile)

How important is the ability to multitask on tablet-class devices like Apple's iPad? Important enough that the feature will likely be touted as a trump card for Intel-based smartphones such as a tablet-size phone from LG due later this year.

How do we know this? Watch the embedded CNET video below, which I took at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, and find out. Toward the end of the video (the 2:55 mark), Pankaj Kedia, director of Intel's Global Ecosystems Program for Mobile Internet Devices and Smart Phones, makes it clear that multitasking--in this case using Intel's Moblin operating system--is a marquee feature for devices running on Intel's Moorestown chip technology, due sometime in the next few months.

Kedia shows three applications running but is quick to add that "you can have more apps running."

Of course, on an Apple laptop, where a user can easily have a dozen or more apps active, multitasking is taken for granted. For example, users can watch a video feed while writing an e-mail. For the iPad, however, Apple is betting that the snappy interface, as demonstrated in this CNET video, will more than compensate for the lack of multitasking.

On Friday, I asked Keida about the importance of multitasking on Intel-based smartphones and tablets.

"Consumers want to do multiple things at the same time: listen to music while browsing the Web, look for directions while looking at your calendar and talking with your friends, and so on," he said in response to an e-mail query. "Multitasking is one of the key differentiators for the LG GW990 smartphone, based on the Intel Moorestown platform," he said.

To date, Intel has gone public on three Moorestown-based designs. The LG GW990 smartphone, the Aava Mobile smartphone, and the OpenPeak tablet. "The LG GW990 is a product, while the Aava and OpenPeak are two of our leading reference designs, which will generate multiple end-user products," he said. "As we launch Moorestown in [the first half of this year] and products begin to ship in (the second half of the year), you will hear about additional customers."

The most power efficient of Intel's new series of mobile processors will start appearing in new laptops in February, according to the chipmaker.

Sony Vaio Y series uses Intel ultra-low-voltage processors

(Credit: Sony)

The Core i3, i5, and i7 processors are slated to replace most of Intel's older generation of Core 2 processors across its mobile, desktop, and server lines. At the Consumer Electronics Show last month, Intel introduced mainstream mobile processors based on the Core i design--the Core i3 and i5.

Though laptops using Intel's standard-power Core i mobile processors have already hit store shelves en masse, systems using the chipmaker's ultra-low-voltage, or ULV, Core i processors will begin to appear "in early February," according to an Intel representative. These new processors include the i5-520UM and i7-640UM. Because ULV chips consume relatively little power, they are used in laptop designs in order to offer longer battery life.

High-profile laptop lines that currently use Intel's older Core 2 ULV chips include the Dell Adamo, Toshiba Portege R600, Sony Vaio Y, and Hewlett-Packard Envy 13. The most widely used processors have been the SU9400 and SU9600. Dell, last week, began offering steep discounts on its Adamo laptops that use the SU9400, cutting prices by about $500.

With the new i3 and i5, Intel is changing the way it rates power efficiency to account for the new "Arrandale" chip design that packages the graphics silicon together with the main Intel processor.

A Core i chip rated at 18 watts will now be considered a ULV processor, compared with the 10-watt rating of the older Core 2 technology. This is done to account for the additional power load of the graphics circuits that, before, were in a separate chip package called the chipset.

To date, Apple's MacBook Air has used Core 2 low-power processors but the Air's processors run at relatively high speeds of 1.86GHz or 2.13GHz, higher than ULV-designated chips in other ultrathin laptops, and therefore are not as power efficient.

Though Apple is expected to use Core i5 processors in its upcoming MacBook Pro lineup, it is not yet clear which processor Apple would opt for in a new MacBook Air model--if indeed Apple is planning an imminent update for this model.

As performance laptops based on the Intel Core i5 processor proliferate, older Core 2 models look, well, old. That means Apple's core silicon is past its prime.

This Toshiba 13.3-inch laptop packs the Core i5 processor and a touch screen.

(Credit: Toshiba)

What began as a trickle about a month ago is now a torrent of new Core i-based notebooks. Although lower-end Core i3 processor-based systems are widely available for the more budget-minded, the Core i5 is now powering performance laptops for those willing to pay a little more money.

The mobile i5 and i7 chips are, in a word, fast. Made on Intel's cutting-edge 32-nanometer manufacturing process, they handily outperform the older Core 2 Duo. Tech Web site AnandTech said the i5 processor delivers "the single largest performance improvement we've seen from a new mobile processor in years," and Tom's Hardware said it "boasts the best balance between desktop-class speed and true mobile usability we've ever seen."

Dell: The Dell 15.6-inch Studio (S15Z-3630CPN) offered at Best Buy is a good example. Priced at $1,049, it comes, as many systems do, with the popular Core i5-430M processor (2.53GHz) and an ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics chip with 512MB dedicated video memory.

Other features for this Dell Studio model include 4GB DDR3 memory, a 500GB Serial ATA hard disk drive (7200 rpm), two built-in 2W speakers, a built-in optical drive, and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system.

Apple, by comparison, offers a 15-inch aluminum MacBook Pro for a pricey $2,299 that uses the older 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo and comes with specifications that are otherwise pretty similar to the (much) cheaper Dell system.

Hewlett-Packard: A $1,299 15.6-inch HP Envy (considered the company's consumer luxury laptop line) offers similar specifications to the Dell system but with more powerful graphics silicon. In addition to the Core i5-430M, it comes with a more powerful 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 graphics chip, a 320GB disk drive (7,200rpm), and 4GB of DDR3 memory.

The HP Slate will use Windows 7, but what isn't known is which chip will power the Apple iPad rival from Hewlett-Packard.

This is an important question, as there's a world of difference between an Intel Atom processor and, let's say, a low-power Core 2 or Intel's latest-and-greatest chips based on the "Nehalem" design, referred to commercially as the Core i3, i5, and i7. Atom chips (with one exception) use a single-core processor--which can struggle under moderate to heavy workloads--while the more powerful Core 2 and i series chips use two processing cores.

HP has been careful not to reveal the silicon inside. And the company has declined to answer queries about internal silicon specifics. So, let the guessing games begin.

In order to make an educated guess at what HP may have in store, here's what Phil McKinney, chief technology officer at HP's Personal Systems group, said last month (see video) about the HP Slate: "North of what a smartphone is, smaller than a Netbook and notebook. Something thin and light but allowing (consumers) to have that rich media experience. They can do everything on that one device versus having to carry a variety of devices. I want to browse, I want to watch my movies, I want to be able to listen to my music, I want to read magazines and books."

Well, all of those things can be done on an Atom-powered Netbook, but the experience isn't always smooth--even when using the new "Pine Trail" Atom. The upcoming Moorestown Atom is a different beast and is slated to power tablet-like (i.e., large-screen) smartphones. So, Moorestown is also a possibility.

And anyone in need of further proof of Moorestown's viability, just check out the Open Tablet 7, which is based on Moorestown.

And just to keep the discussion interesting, there is already some chatter about a future Atom processor on a Japanese-language PC technology Web site. That site, PC Watch, speculates that upcoming ultrathin Sony Vaio laptops are possible candidates for the processor.

That leaves us with a bevy of low-power versions of more powerful Intel processors: the Core i and Core 2 Duo chips (as mentioned above) and the Celeron and Pentium processors. The ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, for instance, delivers stellar battery life. In a laptopmag.com review, an HP Pavilion laptop lasted more than nine hours.

Finally, low-power Core i5 and i7 processors will be appearing in new laptops in the coming months, but whether these are suitable for a tablet device is questionable.

Whatever chip HP has decided to use, it will not be an insignificant choice as the iPad's operating system coupled with the Apple A4 processor will be no slacker.