Netbooks were all the rage in 2007. I was an early adopter and bought an Asus eeepc 4GB Surf shortly after it was introduced. I have since bought a few other Asus eeepc models.
What do I like about netbooks? They are “cheap and cheerful” (less than $300) with just about the right amount of computer power for web surfing and other routine tasks.
They are also compact and typically have USB ports and an SD card slot for external storage. Display sizes vary--although most are in the 8.9” to 11” range.
Battery life was once a concern, but newer designs usually provide between 5-8 hours of juice between charges. The only complaints that most people have about netbooks are their relatively slow CPU/graphics and their smallish keyboards.
What happened to the netbook market? Tablets. Beginning with the Apple iPad, tablets began to intrude into the “small and inexpensive” market segment, diluting market share.
Since that time, the major electronics manufacturers have been obsessively focused on capturing some of Apple’s success. The results have been mixed.
Samsung has reportedly shipped over 2 million of their 7” Galaxy Tab. New 10.1” tablets from Asus, Acer and Samsung seem to be selling well. Moto’s Xoom, on the other hand, stalled out of the gate and Blackberry’s tablet seems to be floundering. And, last week, HP’s Touchpad went down in flames and took the entire hardware division with it.
Can Netbooks make a comeback?
The new Asus eeepc X101 may signal the return of the netbook. At $200, it sports a 8GB SSD drive, Intel® Atom™ N435 processor with 1GB of RAM, webcam, 2 USB ports, Micro SD card reader, and MeeGo Linux OS . An enhanced version will also be offered with Windows 7 Starter and a 250 GB hard drive.
With their low-cost, wide range of applications, and built-in keyboards, I would not count netbooks out just yet.
