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The differentiating factor between the two (for me) is that I consider an ebook device to use technology which makes it easier to read, as opposed to technology that makes it better for gaming/videos and so on.
A netbook usually has an LCD screen, many ebook devices use eink or some kind of display technology which is easier to read.
Eventually the resolution on LCD screens will reach a level where reading on them becomes easier. But for now I consider the ebook devices niche products which are better for reading plain text on. Ebook devices are also usually designed to be held like a book, netbooks usually require a table or a lap (depending on how warm they get).
Because ebook devices are so simplistic, they don't need power chewing CPUs as well, unlike the netbook which needs a lot of power for the screen and cpu. So the ebook product usually gets better battery life and still fills a niche netbooks don't 'exactly' cover.
My view is that within 5 years netbooks/tablets will be so advanced (esp as batteries and screens advance) that their disadvantages will be tiny. Dedicated ebook devices will boom for a few years but then tablets/netbooks will dominate the mobile computing sector including mobile reading.
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