Are netbooks the next big thing?

Just the other day I couldn’t help but notice an ad for a Netbook computer for $279 from Amazon.  The price really caught my eye and I began to wonder if it was really possible to buy a laptop computer for under $300.  I had to do more research to determine if I should consider purchasing one of these remarkable devices. 

To start… a netbook is a small, portable laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the internet at a lower price point than your standard laptop.  They are specifically designed for web browsing, email and web-based applications or cloud computing solutions.

Ultra portable and light – the screen size is usually only 7 to 12 inches.  They aren’t very powerful though, and are not designed for resource intensive operating systems like Windows Vista.  They typically come installed with Windows XP or Linux operating systems.   Many netbooks don’t come with a CD or DVD drive installed, but you can buy a portable one to connect to it.

The growth of netbooks into the computing market has been astounding.  The first netbook hit the ground not quite two years ago with the original Asus Eee PC 701.  Now the market is exploding and growing quickly as every vendor has released a new solution.  Lenovo, IBM, HP, and Dell are all now contenders in the netbook and mini-laptop arena.  Unfortunately, Apple does not compete in this space yet because their lightest laptop is the Macbook Air at $1,600+.   But you’ll find Netbooks are being gobbled up today by college students because they are low cost and easily portable across campus. 

After seeing and testing one of these low-powered computers out recently, I placed my order for a new Dell Mini 12 earlier this week for under $500.  Why?  I’m convinced that netbooks definitely have a future in the marketplace.  If you have the opportunity to try out a Netbook, I definitely recommend it.