Plus, because Sovereign is a financial institution governed closely by privacy laws, the netbooks would need to be well encrypted and secured, he adds.

Rapp estimates that to fully encrypt a fleet of netbooks would be costly and "not truly justified for such low-end devices," he says. "Therefore, we typically purchase higher-end laptops for our users that already have these necessary capabilities."

Rapp says he would consider a netbook as a complementary machine for certain users. Similar to Boyer, Rapp thinks netbooks are best suited for workers who travel frequently. "Netbooks are ideal for air travel and in airports and hotel lobbies. They're a good complementary device that let you be lean and mean while traveling."