Netbooks have been quite popular in the past couple of years, and they are only going to get better. But not everybody is going to play by the rules and compete with netbooks with netbooks. Companies such as Microsoft and Apple have been working on their very own tablet devices for months now. We first heard about the iPad a few months ago. Fast forward to March 2010, and the device is only a month a way. In fact, you can pre-order your iPad on March 12th. The ads for the iPad are already out, and the device is being touted as a netbook killer already.

The device is designed to be a tablet, a personal handheld device, and an e-book reader all fit into one device. And it costs you as much as some of the best netbooks on the market. While Apple iPad is a very exciting device, it’s not the only device that aims to challenge netbooks. Microsoft has been secretly working on its Courier device for months now. The device comes with dual 7 inch screens and is multi-touch capable.

As Engadget reported in its video, the device is expected to be an e-book reader and a digital journal. It also seem to work great for designers and artists as well.

Of course, you can expect such a revolutionary device to be portable and thin as well (weighs only 1lbs). Apple iPad is super portable as well. Both these devices can’t necessarily replace your netbook. They are not designed to be desktop computers on the go. But they do make working with documents, images, and video a breeze on the go. The only downside seems to be the price at this point. Apple iPad is affordable but still could cost your close to $900 if you go with the best model (not counting the cost of wireless service). Microsoft Courier will probably cost somewhere in that area as well. Our hunch is that netbooks will continue to survive against this next wave of innovative devices. But the competition is certainly getting stiffer.

Your turn: netbooks vs. iPad – which one are you more likely to pick up this year?