Netbooks are trendy at MasterMaq's Blog

By Mack D. Male | October 31, 2008 at 11:12 pm

What kind of computer do you use? Most of my work is done at a desktop or workstation; a tower attached to three monitors. The rest of the time I’m using either my laptop or tablet. I’ve also got a little Sony UMPC but it doesn’t get used much. It was kinda cool for a while, but it’s not all that fast. And once I got my iPod touch, that pretty much fulfilled my small device needs.

My favorite to use is probably my tablet, even though it’s the slowest of the bunch. I think I like it mostly because of the form factor – it’s pretty small for a laptop (at 12 inches) but large enough that I don’t sacrifice a keyboard or full operating system.

A couple years from now though, my tablet might seem rather large thanks to the netbook trend. What’s a netbook? From Wikipedia:

A netbook is a small to medium sized, light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient laptop, generally optimized for internet based services such as web browsing and e-mailing. Netbooks are also sometimes, but rarely referred to as a sub-subnotebook.

The form factor of a netbook is smaller than that of a notebook and they are very light in weight (usually 2 to 3 pounds). Common features include a small screen (usually around 7-inches to 10-inches diagonal), wireless connectivity, but no optical disc drive, and a smaller sized keyboard (usually 80 percent to 95 percent of normal size). There is also a trend of using solid-state drives instead of traditional hard disk drives.

Maybe it’s just me, but every second article on technology these days seems to mention netbooks! The blogosphere made a big deal this week out of the fact that Windows boss Steven Sinofsky demonstrated Windows 7 running on a netbook. And today, PC World declares that netbooks will soon cost just $99:

Subnotebooks like the Asus Eee PC, the Dell Mini 9 and the HP 2133 Mini-note will soon cost as little as $99. The catch? You’ll need to commit to a two-year mobile broadband contract. The low cost will come courtesy of a subsidy identical to the one you already get with your cell phone.

A monthly service fee for mobile broadband doesn’t appeal to me at all, but a $99 netbook certainly does. Heck, I’m already tempted by the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (pictured above) and it’s nearly $500! If the cost of components fell enough so that a netbook was about half that price, I’d have no hesitations about picking one up and I doubt anyone else would either.

Netbooks are definitely trendy, but I think this is one trend that will last. A small device to check email, read and post blogs, and update Twitter is something that appeals to lots of people. Okay maybe not that last part

6 Responses to “Netbooks are trendy”

Colin Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 12:35 am

I’m not sure about that Dell – the site says 4 hours of battery life, and assuming the OEM is exaggerating, imagine what it’s like with the radios on… and it’s hard to comtemplate buying a new PC with XP with Windows 7 in CTP.

Some of the UMPCs with keyboard look interesting – I haven’t taken the plunge on one – I’m curious to know what led you to stop using the Sony.

Netbooks are just going to get better | Internet Life | A View from the Isle Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 9:55 am

[...] This week I made the jump to Linux on it by installing Ubuntu Eee. Yeah it was rough at first—the damn trackpad is still driving me nuts—but I’m getting the hang of it now. Mack has a little Sony UMPC and doesn’t use it often, but sees that they are here to stay: Netbooks are definitely trendy, but I think this is one trend that will last. A small device to check email, read and post blogs, and update Twitter is something that appeals to lots of people. Source: Netbooks are trendy at MasterMaq’s Blog [...]

Laurie/HaloSecretarial Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm

I recently was buying a second laptop and because I wanted something small and truly portable I gave serious consideration to the Acer Aspire and the Asus EEE. Either would be easy to basically keep in a purse or messenger bag so that it’s always handy. I eventually just went with a 14″ acer instead, pricewise it made more sense to me, but I really did like the little netbooks!

Mack D. Male Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Colin – I think the keyboard was the main reason. The Sony has a tiny keyboard, and it’s just too awkward to use for blogging or any serious amount of writing.

Laurie – if the netbook was a lot cheaper would you have gone for that instead?

Jeanie Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm

I bought an Eee in February and it has been my main computer ever since. I even sold my 14″ soon after I got the Eee. I find it sufficient for my day to day use (especially since we have a home server in the basement). The Eee is small enough that I take it everywhere with me, even when travelling. The battery life is surprisingly good. There are days that it can go more than 3 hours with wifi on. I think the worst thing about it is the keyboard (but I have small hands so I got used to it). Having a laptop that starts up in less than 30s is definitely a selling feature! Though I’m not sure I like the recent trend of having Windows on these netbooks because it’s just going to drive the cost up.

My Dell Inspiron Mini 9 at MasterMaq’s Blog Says:
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:23 pm

[...] January 1st, I decided to order a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. I had been reading a lot about netbooks, and was in the market for something smaller to carry around. My aging Toshiba M200 Tablet PC is [...]