Netbooks have had a phenomenal amount of coverage over the last 6 months with the emergence of this new category being catalyzed by the Asus Eee PC. Hardly a day goes by without a new unit being announced or rumored.
The category is growing quickly and as has been widely reported over the last week or so, nine out of the top 10 best-selling laptops on Amazon are netbooks. Pretty much every manufacturer of note (and some you’ve never heard of) are now in the game. I’ve yet to take the plunge myself, largely as already have a small PC in the Sony Vaio TZ, but will I be able to resist this Christmas?
It could be the perfect storm for the OEM’s making netbooks – the economy is turbulent, people are being much more careful with their cash and supermarkets are starting to add netbooks to their shelves.
About 5 years ago an LCD (or Plasma) TV was a luxury few homes could afford but within 18 months the prices dropped and units starting shipping in volume and at ever decreasing prices through retailers such as Tesco’s. You can now buy a flat screen TV from a wide range of retailers from bespoke stores to Marks and Spencer’s from under £200.
With Sainsbury’s now selling Medion's Akoya Mini E1210 netbook for £299.99 this may be the new Christmas bag dropper and I think the prices will come down by at least £50 by then as competition hots up.
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I am actually comtemplating buying a notebook for my son for christmas. Not only are they fairly priced but they will also prove to a valuable tool for my son's education.
I think reasons like mine above are partly why notebooks are taking off so much.
Regards. John.
Steve,
Remember my Asus EEE PC I showed you earlier this year?
Well, I'm not surprised netbooks have taken off as well as they have.
A few points to note for those consider buying one.
Think of the netbook as a 'laptop companion'. They are great for travel and punching out the odd few emails and light internet surfing. Anything more, stick to a laptop.
Though flash based netbooks are great, hard drive based netbooks are highly recommended. You'll soon want to put ripped DVD images and your music collection on them
Consider buying an external DVD drive for people who want to try out different OSs, or want to rip their media on to them.
Battery life on these little machines range from great, to not so great. Check this out before purchasing.
The best all round netbook today? I'd grab the Advent 4211, from PC World, Dixons, or Currys. The machine is a rebranded MSI Wind. You can hack it to bits, install Vista, Mac OS X, whatever takes your fancy. Priced at £279.99
The downside is the battery life, it's only a 3 cell battery which will give you a couple of hours. However, 6 cell batteries will be available soon.
this is a great idea steve.. Ive been thinking of a better gift this christmas for my brother too. This will be good for him and Ill get one for me too.