Compare Netbooks

MSI's Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

2009-04-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

We already caught MSI's upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn't stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we've been cordially invited to feast our eyes upon the unboxing process. Right out of the gate, we have to share the disappointment in the lack of a rear panel for easily accessing the internal RAM and HDD, but at least the Atom N280 is a (minor) step above what we've grown accustomed to. Check the read link for all the pictorial delight.

Windows netbook market share continues to grow

2009-04-11T06:57:00.001-07:00

Nearly exactly a month ago, we reported how the Windows operating system dominated netbooks sold in the US. Approximately 90 percent of netbooks sold during November to January ran Windows XP and the remainder Linux. It appears that Windows extended this dominance in February, with 96 percent of netbooks running Windows during February 2009 according to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data.

According to Brandon LeBlanc from the Windows Experience Blog, one of the main reasons for this is the high return rates associated with Linux, as people expect a ‘Windows experience’. Apparently, Carphone Warehouse in the UK, dropped Linux netbooks due to a 1-in-5 return rate and customer confusion. Regarding Windows 7, he talks about the fact that they have been testing Win 7 on netbooks even before the feature list was complete. They are also looking to optimise the OS to be able to run any edition of Windows 7.

I would take the stats with a pinch of salt. What Brandon doesn’t talk about is the number of extensions that Windows XP has seen as well as the significant discounts offered to vendors. Indeed, the latest news we have heard on this is that Microsoft has now extended Windows XP for use on new PCs to April 30 2010. The inability of Windows Vista to run on netbooks forced Microsoft to offer very low cost licenses for Windows XP to kill off the threat of Linux finding a foothold on low cost hardware.

Also, with ARM-based processors pushing onto the scene in the second half of the year, we are likely to see more Linux based operating systems in these devices. Remember, ARM processors cannot use Windows XP/Vista/7, so will be limited to Linux, Android and Windows CE. With forecasts suggesting that ARM will find itself in 55 percent of netbooks by 2010, this Windows dominance may still yet turn on its head.

Apple to release netbook

2009-04-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

AFTER famously saying that Apple could not make a $500 netbook that was not a piece of junk, Jobs' Mob is about to make one.

That is not to say that it will cost less than $500, it is just that it seems Apple has finally woken up to the fact that in the middle of a recession no one wants to spend more than they have to on a bit of computer gear, no matter how nice it looks.

According to Dow Jones, Apple is planning to launch a netbook computer with a touch screen monitor as early as the second half of this year.

They will have screens that are between 9.7-inches and 10-inches although the rest of the spec, along with the cost is still being worked out.

Apple is apparently working with Taiwan's Wintek to make the touch-screen displays and Quanta Computer to assemble the new netbooks.

Last year, Apple messiah Steve Jobs refused to bless what was clearly becoming an emerging trend during the recession. He felt that the iphone was the only netbook than any Apple fanboy would need.

He told analysts that he was not "tremendously worried" the slump will drive customers to less-expensive PCs and he would continue to charge the earth for Apple gear. Then he made one of those comments usually attributed to the likes of Bill Gates, "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk."

Most analysts think that the Apple netbook will still cost an arm and a leg, thus indicating that yet again Jobs' Mob will have missed the point of netbooks.

Linux loses ground on netbooks -- can Android save it?

2009-04-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

Here's more evidence that the Linux threat to Windows is over: A new study concludes that Linux is losing ground in the netbook market. When it comes to Linux on the desktop, the war is over --- unless Android comes to the rescue.

A new report about to be released from Ovum paints a dim current picture of Linux netbooks. Laurent Lachal, Ovum's Open Source Research Director concludes:

after a strong start, Linux netbooks have now been overtaken by Windows netbooks and Linux is lagging increasingly behind in terms of sales.

And that, he says, is the bright spot for Linux as a desktop operating system:

Linux's performance in the netbook segment is still outstanding compared to its overall performance in the desktop market.

Ovum's conclusion mirrors that of others. I've previously written about a survey from the research firm NPD Group that concludes Windows now has more than 90% of all netbook sales.

However, Ovum believes that there may be a niche for a new generation of even less powerful and less expensive netbooks, powered by Google's Android operating system, based on Linux. These "appliances" will often be special purpose, rather than general purpose devices. As for Ubuntu as an alternative to Windows, Ovum believes its best days are behind it. Lachal concludes:

Linux vendors should focus on the netbook as an appliance and on specialised distributions, especially Android (which is currently focused on smartphones). These are more likely than generic distributions like Ubuntu to make it in the netbook appliance/MID [mobile Internet device] space.

Even there, though, Android won't be much of a threat to Windows as a desktop operating system. As I've blogged before, when it comes to Linux on the desktop, the game is over.

Review: Part I: Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook

2009-04-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

Manufacturer: Dell

msrp: $399 (base), $449 (with 1.6GHz Atom)

Although it's barely six months old, Dell's netbook effort has been advancing to where it's already on its third new design in the form of the Inspiron Mini 10. These early experiences have given Dell an opportunity to improve not only on what it did before but also weaknesses inherent to netbooks at large. That the Mini 10 is an improvement is certain; but, as we'll soon learn, it's possible that Dell has also been moving too quickly in some areas and not quickly enough in others.

design and expansion

From a superficial point of view, the new entry really is a close cousin of its smaller and larger counterparts in the Mini family. That's a mixed blessing in practice. The decision makes for a relatively attractive system that doesn't feel as cheap as some offerings: the Mini 10 has a single, large barrel hinge that prevents the display from wobbling in casual use or snapping apart easily. It's not quite as luxurious as we made out in the early hands-on, though: the palmrest is simply higher-grade plastic rather than metal, and there's enough plastic to make it clear Dell built the system to a price, even if it didn't cut corners. The result is still more reassuring than from some competitors.

Toting the system around is about as easy as with the Mini 9, as you'd expect given the one inch larger screen -- it's small enough to be carried in smaller bags. But it's not quite as thin and light as you'd think given the size, either. At 2.86 pounds in weight and 1.25 inches at its thickest point, the Mini 10 is heavy enough to feel more like a notebook that's had some surface area lopped off than a truly lighter class of machine.

As for the flush glass display: it's attractive, and it's half responsible for allusions in the hands-on to the system as a MacBook-like design. It adds to the upscale look and is surprisingly bright and colorful given the likely low-cost LCD panel inside. Its gloss is a partial nuisance. We didn't have many problems in practice, though its low readability with bright spot lighting in the background (a lamp or the sun, for example) may prove to be annoying given the carry-it-anywhere philosophy behind the system.

Expansion also produces the a mixed impression. While the three USB ports, card reader and audio in/out are par for the course, the HDMI video output is a definite edge over other systems. Most netbooks have just VGA out and, as a result, are limited to the fairly imprecise (and increasingly obsolete) standard. This lets users pipe sound, video or both through to computers that support it and even lets them turn HDTVs into makeshift external displays; however, without a built-in optical drive or the graphical power for HD video, it's not quite as useful as on a full-power notebook.

And Dell has unfortunately taken a page from Apple in the form of memory expansion -- or rather, the lack of it. Much like the MacBook Air, the RAM in the initial version of the Mini 10 is actually soldered on to a board inside the system rather than put into one or more RAM slots. Initial buyers are thus stuck with the system's stock 1GB for its usable lifetime. This isn't fatal given the focus of the system but really limits potential speed. Dell is promising an option for 2GB in the future, and this could be worth waiting for in at least some cases.

Laptops? They are so yesterday. Try a netbook

2009-04-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

Get ready for the next stage in the personal computer revolution -- ultrathin and dirt cheap.

AT&T announced last week that customers in Atlanta could get a type of compact PC called a netbook for just $50 if they signed up for an Internet service plan -- an offer the phone company may introduce elsewhere after a test period. This year, at least one wireless phone company in the United States will probably offer netbooks free with paid data plans, copying similar programs in Japan, according to industry experts.

But this revolution is not just about falling prices. Personal computers -- and the companies that make their crucial components -- are about to go through their biggest upheaval since the rise of the laptop. By the end of the year, consumers are likely to see laptops the size of thin paperback books that can run all day on a single charge and are equipped with touch screens or slide-out keyboards.

The industry was buzzing last week about these devices at a telecommunications conference in Las Vegas, and consumers will see the first machines on shelves as early as June, probably from the netbook pioneers Acer and Asustek.

"The era of a perfect Internet computer for $99 is coming this year," said Jen-Hsun Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, a maker of PC graphics chips that is trying to adapt to the new technological order. "The primary computer that we know of today is the basic PC, and it's dying to be reinvented."

An unexpected group of companies has emerged to help drive this transformation -- firms such as Qualcomm, Freescale Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics, which make cheap, power-saving chips used in cell phones and are now applying that expertise to PCs.

As in any revolution, the current rulers of the kingdom -- Intel and Microsoft, which make the chips and software that run most PCs -- face an unprecedented challenge to their dominance. Microsoft is particularly vulnerable, because many of the new netbooks use Linux software instead of Windows.

So far, netbooks have appealed to a relatively small audience. Some of the devices feel more like toys or overgrown phones than full-featured computers. Still, they are the big success story in the PC industry, with sales predicted to double this year, even as overall PC sales fall 12 percent, according to the research firm Gartner. By the end of 2009, netbooks could account for close to 10 percent of the PC market, an astonishing rise in a short span.

Netbooks have trouble running demanding software such as games and photo- editing programs. They cater instead to people who spend most of their time dealing with online services and want a cheap, light device they can use on the go. Most of the netbooks sold today run on an Intel chip called Atom, which is a lower-cost, lower-power version of the company's standard laptop chips. And about 80 percent of netbooks run Windows XP, the older version of Microsoft's flagship software.

The new breed of netbooks are built on cell phone innards.

Based on an architecture called ARM, from ARM Holdings in Britain, cell phone chips consume far less power than Atom chips, and they combine many functions onto a single piece of silicon. At around $20, they cost computer makers less than an Atom chip with its associated components.

But the ARM chips come with a severe trade-off -- they cannot run the major versions of Windows or its popular complementary software.

Netbook makers have turned to Linux, an open-source operating system that costs $3 instead of the $25 that Microsoft typically charges for Windows XP. They are also exploring the possibility of using the Android operating system from Google, originally designed for cell phones. (Companies like Acer, Dell and Hewlett-Packard already sell some Atom-based netbooks with Linux.)

The cell phone-chip makers argue that the ARM-Linux combination is just fine for a computer meant to handle e-mail, Facebook, streaming video from sites like YouTube and Hulu, and Web-based documents.

Freescale, for example, gave free netbooks to a group of 14- to 20-year-olds and watched what happened. "They would use it for Internet access when eating breakfast or on the couch, or bring it to class for taking notes," said Glen Burchers, the director of consumer products marketing at Freescale.

Qualcomm, the San Diego company that built an empire on chips for cell phones, recently introduced Snapdragon, a chip created for smartphones and ultralight computers. Already, the company has announced deals to sell the chip to 15 major device manufacturers, including LG, Acer and Samsung. Qualcomm said some Snapdragon devices appearing this year would have screens of 10 to 12 inches.

Intel and Microsoft warn that consumers should remain skeptical about the performance of a computer that costs less than $300.

"When these things are sold, they need clear warnings labels about what they won't be able to do," said Sean Maloney, the chief sales and marketing officer at Intel. "It would be good to wait and play with one of these products before the industry gets carried away."

Still, the rise of netbooks could hurt both companies. In its last quarter, Microsoft posted the first sales decline in its history for the PC version of Windows. It blamed netbooks for the drop. On average, Microsoft charges computer makers $73 for Windows Vista, the version of Windows used in desktop and high-powered laptop PCs. That is triple what it receives for a sale of Windows XP for a netbook.

Netbook Market Challenges Windows

2009-04-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is riding high as the dominant operating system provider for so-called netbooks, but is increasingly facing challenges from old rivals in new clothes for that dominance. Can you say Linux? How about Android?

Google's Android, some analysts and observers think, could displace Windows in one of today's hottest markets – but it could be a tough battle for the interlopers, too.

Since nearly the inception of netbooks a couple of years ago, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has had an apparent lock on providing the operating system for so-called netbooks. In fact, the software titan's Windows XP has become the de facto standard on netbooks in the past year.

Netbooks are basically low-cost mini-notebook computers that are meant for light duty Internet usage and some productivity tasks. They often have chicklet-sized keys and don't always have a hard drive, featuring instead flash memory, and can cost as little as $200.

Originally envisioned as inexpensive computers for emerging economies, they have become extremely popular in developed economies in the past year as portable Internet appliances or second or third PCs in consumers' homes. Some corporations have also been buying them for users who don't need full-function and more expensive to purchase and support PCs.

"In business, there are classes of users that can do their jobs with a netbook," Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, told InternetNews.com.

Although most early netbooks were Linux-based, many users were uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the open source system. Microsoft soon saw a marketing opportunity and jumped on the bandwagon, initially with its soon-to-be-phased-out Windows XP.

"Return rates [on Linux netbooks] were pretty high and that's why you don't seem them any more," Stephen Baker, vice president for industry analysis at NPD Techworld, told InternetNews.com.

Microsoft has been vocal since last fall, however, that Windows 7 will be the operating system of choice for netbooks, once it ships later this year. Vista, because of its size and resource requirements, is not in the running.

"We've seen Windows on these PCs in the U.S. go from under 10 percent in unit sales during the first half of 2008 to 96 percent as of February 2009," a Microsoft spokesperson told InternetNews.com in an e-mailed statement.

Cost Cutting is the Game

Price is an especially sensitive issue with netbooks, as profits are extremely slim. Even if Microsoft only charges an estimated $20 to $25 per copy of Windows XP to netbook makers, that still takes a significant bite out of netbook makers' profits.

"The average selling price of a netbook [in February] was $317," NPD's Baker said. "Twenty-five dollars [at wholesale] can translate into a lot more at retail, especially if you're under pressure to make the cost under $300," he added.

Good reason, then, that PC makers are looking at options that can bring down costs and boost even meager profits.

In order to cut costs, makers of netbooks – often PC vendors – are looking hard at Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android operating system, a Linux variant that, like other open source software, is free. It was created as a smartphone system but with an eye to the future.

"The Android smartphone platform was designed from the beginning to scale downward to feature phones and upward to MID (mobile Internet devices) and netbook-style devices," a Google spokesperson said in a statement e-mailed to InternetNews.com.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that HP (NYSE: HPQ) and other PC OEMs are currently exploring their options for Android-based netbooks.

Android is not the only option, either, it turns out. For instance, DigiTimes reported on Monday that Novell has set up a research and development team in Taiwan to work on SUSE Linux variants for use in netbooks. Partners on the project, the report noted, are Acer, Asustek Computers, and Micro-Star International (MSI).

Requests to Novell and HP for comment were not returned by press time.

Not Set in Stone

Nothing in the technology world is ever set in stone, though, and Microsoft's long-term survival may still be affected by the competition between 'free versus fee.'

"Android was designed with the idea of Internet access from the start," Gardner said, something that neither XP nor Windows 7 can boast.

Indeed, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told financial analysts in late February that, while Microsoft sees big opportunities in netbooks, it also foresees stiff competition on those machines from Android.

Baker, however, is not so sure that even big players like Google, HP, and Dell will be able to win in a market that Microsoft already seems to have in hand.

"I'm not optimistic [Android netbooks] will overcome Windows … I think they are going to have an unusually hard time penetrating those markets," Baker added. Among the reasons"Most consumers, and even geeky consumers, prefer an OS that they're used to [i.e., Windows UI]."

Dell netbook roadmap leaks out, get ready for the Mini 11

2009-04-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Oops, it looks like a Dell middle manager somewhere got a little too excited and let a full set of netbook roadmap slides leak out. The biggest news is a planned Mini 11 due sometime between now and the end of Q3, but the Mini 10 is where most of the action is in the short term -- the current model will get options for Vista, a 3G modem, and potentially a 1.86GHz Atom on April 17th, a new 1.6GHz Atom N270 SKU will arrive in May and everything will be updated again in the second half of the year with Intel's Pine Trail processors. Interesting, but we're wondering when Dell will realize that the Mini 10's HDMI output and 720p screen are useless unless it can handle true HD video -- Ion, anyone?

LG planning convertible tablet netbook?

2009-04-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Whilst the netbook form-factor has been a phenomenal success since its launch in 2007, we have not seen too many netbook convertible tablets (or net tablets if you prefer). From Asus, we are looking forward to the T91 and T101 and Gigabyte will soon be launching its TouchNote T1028. However, apart from that there doesn’t seem to be any forthcoming net tablets. However, with the advent of multi-touch panels in the second half of the year as well as the launch of Windows 7, the net tablet is really set to take off in 2010 in our opinion.

LG may be the next vendor to throw its hat in the net tablet ring according to a patent filed by LG last November and published last week. The patent entitled “Convertible Computer,” highlights the use of two operating systems – one for use in normal netbook mode and the other when used in tablet mode. The patent describes a device with a full-sized keyboard, stick pointer and touchpad. Electronic Pulp who discovered this patent, say that there is nothing in this patent that says this will be a netbook, but it is likely to follow the LG X110/X120.

LG have played in this arena before. Back in April 2007, before the netbook craze took off, LG launched the 10.6-inch C1 Express Tablet PC Convertible notebook. It was powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Core Duo CPU and had a 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, Nvidia GeForce Go 7300 graphics, Bluetooth and a 6-cell battery. Maybe this new convertible tablet is a re-working of the C1 Express. The old model certainly looked similar to the Asus Eee PC T91 and shows just how ahead of its time it was. If the price was right LG could be onto a winner, if it ever becomes a reality.

Open source share growing in netbook market

2009-03-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

If you told me two years ago that Linux would have 10% of the hottest new PC category, over Windows, I might have called you crazy.

If you had added that in order to keep Linux at 10% Microsoft was practically giving its Windows XP away, hoping only for upgrades that will likely never happen, I would say you had too much penguin juice.

Yet that’s the news which is now being spun as a Linux defeat. After a year spent putting atrocious Linux distros on their $400 hardware, Taiwanese OEMs have now settled on Windows XP for netbook shipments, an operating system Microsoft was calling obsolete in 2007.

As Matt Asay notes, Microsoft may be in for a surprise when it tries to up-sell its netbook user base. Ubuntu has also signed OEM deals with serious brand names like Hewlett-Packard, now shipping it on a sleek new Mini 1000 (shown, from its CNet review).

And then there’s Android. which some analysts are now touting as a grand unified field theory of mobility, since it will work on both netbooks and handhelds. I think that’s Taiwanese spin myself. We shall see.

The question is whether the netbook is a lap-held device like your phone or a portable desktop. I’m inclined to think the latter, although that may just be my western bias for keyboards talking.

The netbook is, in some ways, a “throwaway” desktop, even though its no-moving-parts design makes it more rugged than a laptop. Laptops are becoming desktops, and netbooks what you work on at the airport.

What’s needed in this scenario is simple file compatibility. I want to be able to load my files, either from the Internet or a stick, and sync them back at some point.

Thus the key is not the operating system, but the office suite. I am not loading a $200 software package on $400 worth of hardware. Even if Microsoft Office is still on the desktop, I’m going with OpenOffice.org on the netbook. And I’m going to make sure we support that format back at the office.

Thus the open source glass with netbooks is at least half-full. And when we start pouring again, I think, Linux is going to get an even bigger share.

Mac Purchases Slip; Netbooks Climb In February

2009-03-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Mac sales at U.S. retailers fell for the second month in a row in February, as would-be buyers held off purchases because of the dismal economy, a market research firm said. Unit sales of Macs, including desktops and notebooks, fell 16% in February from the same month a year ago, the NPD Group told InformationWeek Wednesday. Mac desktops dropped 36% and MacBook notebooks were down 7%.

The numbers for Windows PCs appeared rosier. PCs, including desktops and notebooks, were up 22% last month. While desktops unit sales fell 10%, notebooks rose by 36%, NPD said.

NPD's findings are based on sales at U.S. retailers, including Apple stores, as well as retailers' Web sites. NPD doesn't include computers sold directly to consumers from manufacturers, such asDell ( Dell) or Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).

NPD analyst Stephen Baker said he didn't believe people were buying a Windows PC instead of a Mac. Instead, people who would normally buy an Apple system in better economic times were holding off until economic conditions improved.

"Mac buyers are more likely not buying," Baker said. "I would categorize this more as a deferment of demand, rather than sales vanishing and going to Windows PCs."

Because Apple's systems are in the higher-end of the PC market, typically costing more than $1,000, people are more likely to wait during bad economic times. Windows PCs, on the other hand, have seen a far larger increase in unit sales because of the popularity of netbooks, which are mini-laptops the sell for less than $500 with many models selling for as little as $300. Apple doesn't sell a notebook for that market.

An indication that netbook sales are driving the Windows PC market is unit sales compared with revenue in February. While unit sales rose 22%, revenue was up only 6%, Baker said. "Sales of nebooks on a unit basis isn't enough to overcome the fact that netbooks are dragging down average selling prices."

Mac revenue at retailers was down 14% in February from a year ago, NPD said. But February 2008 revenue was unusually high because of the introduction of the higher-priced MacBook Air in mid-January, which attracted a significant number of buyers.

Last month, NPD reported that Mac sales at U.S. retailers fell behind Windows PCs in January after leading for months. Unit sales of Apple computers fell 6% year to year and revenue dropped 11%.

Windows PCs, on the other hand, were up 13% from a year ago, but revenue was flat as consumers sought out less-expensive models, particularly netbooks.

With No Real Apple Netbook on the Horizon, Chinese Create Fake One

2009-03-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sure, you could always wait for Apple to release its first netbook (if they actually do). But over here in China, when we want something bad enough, we go and make it ourselves.

That's right, manufacturers in Shenzhen have gone and created their own netbook. And in true copycat fashion, it has a hilariously inverted fruit adorning the top cover.

Spec-wise, the WF188 actually isn't too bad. It has a 10-inch LED display with a resolution of 1024 x 576, a 1.3Ghz Via Nano processor with the VIA VX855 chipset, and a max of 2GB RAM. You can even choose between getting a 160GB hard drive or an up to 64GB SSD. Bluetooth, 802.11b/g wireless, and 3.5G HSDPA connectivity are also on board.

Thing is – despite the logo, the WF188 only runs either Windows XP or Linux. But hey, if you can Hackintosh a Dell Mini, getting OSX on this thing is just one other ingenious pirated solution away.

Apple Working On Touch-Screen Netbook, Reports Chinese Newspaper

2009-03-19T02:36:00.001-07:00

Photo: Apple

When the early year Macworld Conference & Expo was held in January some speculations were raised. What’s Apple going to do next? What new products will they launch? What more can the users expect this year?

Last time Apple left customers and analysts rather disappointed when the company announced it only updated the iMac, Mac Pro and Apple Mac mini specs. Everyone was looking forward to that elusive “one more thing.” And it looked like that’s going to take a lot more time.

But the market has got very excited as a Chinese newspaper came up with an interesting story. It claims that a Mac netbook or Apple MacBook mini/MacBook nano may be offered in a very short time. Could they be right or just bluffing?

Photo: Apple

The Commercial Times, a Chinese-language newspaper, has broken this sensational news. And to support their claims they even went on to suggest that Apple is already in the process of signing deals with the possible manufacturers.

The ultra portable Apple netbook is expected to be manufactured by Quanta Computer and the touch screen panels for the same would be provided by Wintek, a Taiwanese company. The newspaper also goes on to suggest that in the second half of this year, Apple netbooks may start getting shipped as well.

Whether it’ll actually happen is a point of debate. Apple on their part say they already offer all that is needed in this segment through their successful iPhone product. Though at the same time their CEO Tim Cook had once suggested that Apple is watching that space and they do have some ideas for the netbook segment.

As for the product, it is going to be a very anxious wait for not just Apple’s loyal customers but others as well as it does look very promising.

Netbook History

2009-03-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

History

The roots of the netbook can be traced to Psion's discontinued netBook line, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project and the Palm Foleo which were all small, light network-enabled computers, however the influx of netbooks began in 2007 when Asus unveiled the ASUS Eee PC. Originally designed for emerging markets, the 8.9 × 6.5 in (23 x 17 cm) device weighed about two pounds and featured a 7-inch display, a keyboard approximately 85% the size of a normal keyboard, and a custom version of Linux with a simplified user interface geared towards netbook use. Following the EeePC, Everex launched its Linux based CloudBook, MSI released the Wind, Dell and HP both released a "Mini" series (the Inspiron Mini and HP Mini), and others soon followed suit. Windows XP based models were also introduced.

By late 2008, netbooks had begun to take market share away from laptops. It is estimated that almost thirty times more netbooks were sold in 2008 (11.4 million, 70% of which were in Europe) than in 2007 (400,000). For 2009 sales are expected to jump to 35 million, rising to an estimated 139 million in 2013. This trend is reinforced by the rise of web-based applications as well as mobile networking and, according to Wired Magazine, netbooks are evolving into "super-portable laptops for professionals".

ASUS Eee PC 700	HP 2133 Mini-Note PC	MSI Wind	Acer Aspire One
Dell Inspiron Mini 9	Zelybron Micro Nina	Lenovo IdeaPad S10	Samsung NC10