It’s time. It’s time for the ultimate showdown. It’s the iPad vs netbook debate settled once and for all. Well perhaps not settled, but at least I will attempt to bring some information forward that will help you decide what to buy. iPad vs netbook. Is there a best choice?

If price if your only concern, the netbook clearly wins in the iPad vs netbook debate. Not only is the iPad more expensive, but you will need to invest in one, two or three accessories.

If productivity is your main concern then the netbook wins out for the iPad vs netbook debate. It’s not a clear cut victory for netbook computers, but certainly having the keyboard and trackpad is far superior to what the iPad offers out of the box. We will focus in on the iPad without the accessories for now. Sure you can buy enough accessories to make the iPad more productive, but we don’t think that’s a fair fight.

Battery life in the iPad vs netbook debate is largely break even. Both netbooks and iPad offer fantastic 8+ hours of battery life.

Portability is where the iPad vs. netbook turns in favor of the iPad. It’s thin, it’s like and therefore it’s very portable. In 2011 and beyond, with the upcoming Atom processors for netbooks, you will see fanless netbooks so those will  get lighter and thinner also. But for now in 2011 the portability winner goes to the iPad.

Clearly the iPad display is superior to the netbook displays. You are going to have a better experience reading ebook on the iPad than on a netbook. The question in the iPad vs netbook debate really comes down to how much ebook reading you will do and whether you are better off with a dedicated ereader like the Kindle instead of the iPad. Afterall, you could buy a Kindle ereader and a lower end netbook and pay as much for one iPad.

We will add to this iPad vs netbook debate in the coming weeks. We think it’s interesting and certainly you should have your say. Add a comment! Please!!