What is a Netbook?

 

To help give you, our customer, a better understanding of the Netbook concept, below we have excerpts from Industry sources (All content remains the property of their respective authors):

Intel's definition of a Netbook

"They (Netbooks) are small laptops that are designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet. And they cost about $500, making Netbooks a potentially disruptive and high volume market segment. Even though Netbooks won’t be confused with full-featured laptops, my hunch is that tons of people around the world will be attracted to a low-cost machine that plugs them in. The Netbook will expand the global PC market. By how much is a matter of conjecture."

Is a Netbook right for me?

"In more mature markets, I see a second major usage model for Netbooks. They will become supplemental PCs and ready access points into the cloud of Internet services, media and information. I imagine an extra PC for traveling, an extra PC for school work for the kids, a PC set up in the kitchen by the telephone to look up directions to the little league field or select items from a restaurant’s takeout menu. Is it crazy to imagine a profusion of these things in mature markets? Maybe not when the price of a Netbook is well below what it costs to take a family to a major sporting event. Maybe Netbooks can help more people of all ages dive into computing for their first time…even in the mature markets?"

Source: Intel

 

David Flynn of Fairfax - His Take on Netbooks

"Welcome to the era of the "netbook" or mini-note - a downsized notebook PC that has been pared back to do most of what you want yet missing a few things you can do without.

"Most of what you want" means using the internet for email and chat, searching and surfing. It also includes writing letters, playing music or downloaded videos, even touching up your digital photos if you have the right software. They have wireless networking and webcams, USB ports and memory card readers - pretty much all the modern cyber-comforts.

And those things you can do without? A hefty price tag, for starters: most netbooks sell for about $500 to $600. They're also about half the size and weight of most notebooks, with a footprint half the size of a sheet of A4 paper and at a mere one kilogram barely nudge the scales, which makes for a portable PC par excellence.

So what's missing from the mix? Netbooks don't have a DVD drive so you can't play CDs or watch DVDs. Their small screens and shrunken keyboards take some getting used to.

Netbooks aren't as powerful as a conventional laptop - nor are their hard drives so spacious - but what they have in both departments is ample for casual day-to-day use. It's especially suited to the new wave of online applications such as Google Docs rather than the behemoth that is Microsoft Office.

Yet those very compromises are what gives netbooks their bargain basement price. This in turn makes them irresistibly affordable as a second go-anywhere PC to complement your desktop. They make a low-cost laptop for the children to use instead of fighting over one home computer."

Emmanuele Silanesu of ASUS Australia on Netbooks

"It's (Netbooks) really perfect for people who are out and about and already have desktop or even a large notebook or have kids and can't get access to their PC at night. This is a second PC so they can sit on the couch and surf the net or give to the kids to use in their bedroom."

Alex Gruzen of Dell on Netbooks

"Alex Gruzen, senior vice-president for Dell's consumer product group, describes the netbook as "a new class of device. These aren't going to have everything you expect out of a PC. They're more purpose-built, they're going to have a smaller mission."

Gruzen believes netbooks can become "the second or third notebook in a family", as well as being a "travel companion for someone who just wants to quickly access the web" for blogging, social networking and a quick fix of news.

"This is a 20- to 30-minute experience or however much time it takes to have a cup of coffee. You come to a hotspot, check some information, like stock prices, upload some photos, then shut it down and go."

Source: SMH

One in 10 laptops sold this year will be mini-notebooks

"Research firm Gartner yesterday named 2009 "the year of the mini-notebook" in the Asia- Pacific region, and predicted Australia would be at the forefront of the trend. .

Gartner principal research analyst Lillian Tay said netbooks, which began with ASUS's Eee PC in December 2007, were proving handy for highly connected internet users and frequent business travellers.

"The mini-notebook is a great tool for casual and entry-level computing, especially among younger users who are obsessed with social networking sites such as Facebook," she said. "

Source: News.com.au

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