New Netbook Hopes On The Horizon
When one thinks back, to about eighteen months ago, when a certain Taiwanese manufacturer called Asus unleashed the netbook upon us, who would have guessed at the sudden craze for inexpensive, small and light-weight netbooks?
We really have come a long way in the journey, and today there over 50 manufacturers of netbooks and mini-laptops, all working hard to win their way into your heart to become your new favourite gadget and toy.
Some progress has occurred along the way in regards to built-in features -
- Some netbooks have replaced the Solid State storage drive (SSD) with traditional laptop hard drives, while others have retained the original and low power consumption flash drive.
- Screens have increased in size now, from seven inch LCD displays in the first Asus Eee PC netbooks to ten inch screens. Some netbooks actually try to blur the line between a netbook and a laptop by featuring a DVD burner.
Of course, we can always count on multiple USB ports, brilliant wireless support, extra portability and other miscellaneous factors that have caused many to just love their netbooks. From jotting down quick notes, quickly checking email, searching for weather reports or movie listings and now some have many interesting gaming features.
There are times when the netbook is essentially the new portable DVD player with extra internet features, the easy to carry around jukebox, the GPS with built-in full keyboard and the list goes on.
Now the clash of the features and prices will begin, as well as new players entering the arena. Acer has the top spot now, having stolen it away from Asus, while Asus continue to release new revisions and have revealed the latest in their nettop range, which mimic a netbook but are housed in a small slimline computer form.
As the clash continues between who can offer the best features, for the best price and for the most usability, fans world wide want to see what is next around the corner. Various extensions to networking such as 3G have been included in some models, with speculation of it bring introduced in others and also that enhanced graphics capabilities and acceleration may be making their way into your next potential netbook purchase.
However, all we can do is wait and see what happens. Where will the market turn? What great new features are arriving and what will be that new must-have ultra-portable laptop or netbook have?
Well, the answer is just around the corner, so lets keep our eyes peeled. As more and more users realise that a netbook is actually all they need to accomplish their few simple tasks and that laptops are unnecessary for them, prepare to see the upcoming price per feature clash.
The fight will continue as users demand the best and the most useful in netbooks and manufacturers rush to supply it. So as we see manufacturers doing all they can to win your hard earned dollars and brand loyalty, guess who wins in the end? You do. Enjoy.
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Filed under: Netbook Thoughts