Netbooks – trends and truths

Netbooks are a class of notebooks, or laptops, that are specifically designed to access the internet and other wireless communication but unlike their counterparts, they are not designed for resource-intensive applications or complex programs. Because of this netbooks have far less features and are typically 5 to 10 inches (in display size) and weight about 2 to 3 pounds. They started out with only about 512 RAM and 80GB max hard drive space, although this is changing rapidly. While the netbook’s history can be linked back to the “One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project and was meant to put a laptop in the hand of all children across the globe, even in impoverished areas, the netbook has become a huge trend in Western Civilization. Today you can find “netbooks” with practically the same specs as a laptop – display size is inching up to 10 to 13 inches as standard with 1 GB RAM and 120 GB hard drive and up with many other features laptops carry. The only thing different is the retail-price strategy which is keeping the cost down to about $250-$350. Basically Manufacturers are using this new netbook fad as a way to lower the cost of laptops and get them into the hands of more consumers. Don’t get me wrong, there are several true netbooks out there purely designed for wireless communication and accessing the internet without the weight and energy consumption – you’ll just have to do your homework to find them. And believe me, I do find them pretty fascinating myself. You can check out the new Acer Aspire One AOD150 which further cements Acer’s lead in the netbook department.