Yes and no. The original netbooks claimed some ability to run native apps, but did it poorly. Chromebooks don't claim to be more than Chrome, but do that well. A small part of this is Google Docs, but a bigger part is the general rise of webapps.
> The original netbooks claimed some ability to run native apps, but did it poorly.
Back during the peak of the Netbook, my main PC went down. While I waited for parts I hooked up an ASUS Eee PC with Windows XP. Not only was it able to drive a 21" monitor, but also Skype video chat, my browser, and full screen YouTube without any stuttering or issues.
Netbooks got a bad rep' but frankly they were incredible value for money and even to this day have a somewhat unique form factor. Sure, you can buy ultrabooks, but they're a lot bigger and still heavier, plus they cost $800-1000+.
So I guess my only point is, sure, Netbooks are limited. They cannot game realistically, and full screen HD video is about the height of their potential. But they still do a lot of stuff extremely well, could run Office flawlessly, as could they run browsers.
Chromebooks have limited functionality, but not because it HAS to be that way, but because that is the product Google is selling. That's fine, but let's not pretend that Netbook's inferiority was the reason. And even if we pretend that it was, the hardware today kicks what Netbooks had in the butt.
