You may or may not have heard of the term “Netbooks”. They seem to be all the rage in personal computing these days. So what are they? Netbooks are the new class of mobile computers that offer an alternative to laptops. They are basically a smaller version of the laptop, both in form factor and computing power to run resource-intensive computing applications. They may very well be the next revolution in mobile computing. Computer manufacturers now offer a stripped-down version of the ubiquitous laptop. The alternative they are offering is one that is smaller, thinner and cheaper. Inexpensive compared to the price of a normal laptop and in some cases even less expensive than a mobile phone. So is this a cut-down version of a computing platform for you? Are you willing to give up your laptop for a netbook?
Before deciding to purchase a netbook, it would be a good idea to identify and understand your requirements for a mobile computing platform. What do you do with that current laptop of yours? Chances are you use it most often to browse the web, run office applications for document processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, etc. If you’re a savvy web user, you could probably do all of this on the web. Is there any local application on your laptop that can use all the computing resources of your laptop? This is probably a rarity for most laptop users. Games, photo, video, and music editing apps, etc. could be part of the mix, but even some of these have online alternatives.
Most netbooks run Windows software. The operating system that is installed is mostly Windows XP. Therefore, there is nothing new on the operating system front that users need to learn. Specs overall include the Intel Atom N series chip clocked at 1.6GHz and 1GB of installed RAM with the ability to expand to 2GB. A 10.1″ TFT screen size may be a limiting factor for some users, but given the clarity of today’s screens and the primary motivation for a smaller form factor, this could easily be overlooked.
Netbooks are available from most major computer manufacturers, most notably Acer and Asustek. Both Acer and Asustek have a wide variety of products and attractive prices, especially suitable for students and business users. Netbooks could serve as the standard computing platform for students in schools, colleges, and universities. Small and medium-sized business owners and corporate executives on the go could also benefit from netbooks. Sales force personnel who are constantly on the move visiting customers could use netbooks to connect to back office applications via the web from the customer’s location.
Today, more work is being done to bring netbooks capable of working with different operating systems (eg Linux), chipsets, etc., to make low-cost computing feasible for all user groups. Looking ahead, you can expect to see faster, thinner, and less expensive computing platforms. Click Netbook Review to see a list of the latest netbooks available. Compare features and specifications to find the one that best suits your needs.