Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 12:59, 22 January 2009

A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop that achieves these parameters by offering a smaller form, fewer features, less processing power and reduced ability to run resource-intensive operating systems (e.g., Windows Vista).

Suitable for web browsing, email, and general purpose applications, netbooks are targeted increasingly at users accessing web-based applications (also known as Cloud computing) — which require a less powerful client computer.

History

Led by the popularization of small-form-factor laptops by Asus and then others, the term 'netbook' became a widely used and genericized industry classification rather than a reference to a particular product. By April 2008, Intel had begun officially using the term netbook to recognize a specific sub-category of laptops.

The term had existed previously– although related to specific products rather than a category of laptops:

• Psion in 1999 had used the product name 'netbook', and in 2008 claimed trademark rights to the term where used in a product name.
• MSI had registered the product name Wind Netbook.
• Coby Electronics had registered the product name Coby Netbook.

The influx of small form factor laptops categorized as netbooks began in 2007, when Asus unveiled the Intel Celeron-based ASUS Eee PC weighing about two pounds and featuring a custom version of Linux, a 7-inch (18 cm) color screen, a size of 8.9 × 6.5 in (23 x 17 cm), a less-than-full-sized keyboard — and the ability to run alternate operating systems.

Following the Asus, Everex launched its CloudBook in mid February 2008 with a hard disk drive. Other manufacturers that followed included MSI with their MSI Wind with Bluetooth, a 10" (25 cm) LED, backlit, 1024x600 screen, and an Intel Atom processor. Dell, HP — as well as others — soon followed.

By late 2008, Netbooks had begun to take mindshare away from laptops and sales are projected to increase up to 50 million by the year 2012. In Q3 2008, netbook sales overtook iPhone sales by 900,000 units.

It is estimated that 11.4 million netbooks were sold in 2008, up from 400,000 in 2007. For 2009, sales are expected to grow 189% to 21.5 million. Early January 2009, two companies introduced ARM architecture based models.

Hardware

While specifications and features of netbooks continue to evolve, one report at the end of 2008 suggested the typical netbook featured a 3-lb (1.4 kg) weight, a 9-inch (23 cm) screen, wireless Internet connectivity, Microsoft Windows XP, an Intel chip, and a cost of less than US$400. A Netbook also may forgo a hard disk drive or optical disc drive.

• ASUS Eee PC 700
• HP 2133 Mini-Note PC
• MSI Wind
• Acer Aspire One
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Dell Inspiron Mini 9
• Zelybron Micro Nina
• Lenovo IdeaPad S10
• Samsung NC10

Software

While a netbook's specifications may include a number of options for the pre-installed operating system — including custom versions of GNU/Linux (such as Ubuntu or Linpus Linux) — a report in early 2009 suggested that more than 80% of netbooks ship with Windows, in contrast to less than 10% when the netbooks first went on sale.

At the same time, the Linux market share on netbooks vs. notebooks has increased, especially in Europe where the demand is higher for Linux.

As with other laptops, advanced users may install other operating systems — including other custom versions of Linux, Windows XP Professional, or a Mac OS.

Netbooks may be able to run full office applications; however, users also may rely on applications and services available on the Internet– known as cloud computing– which require less powerful hardware on the local computer.

In April 2008, Microsoft extended availability of Windows XP from June, 2008 until June, 2010.– when deployed on ultra-low cost personal computers (ULCPCs)– possibly to deter netbooks from gaining market share at the expense of full-featured desktops and laptops and deter increased use of Linux installations on netbooks.

Microsoft qualifies ultra-low cost personal computers (ULCPCs) as systems matching the following hardware classification requirements:

• Memory: Shipped with 1 GB RAM or less
• Screen: 10.2 inches (26 cm) or smaller
• Storage: 80 GB (although this limit seems to be increased up to 160 GB for HDD by now) or 16 GB SSD
• No tablet PC functionality
• DirectX version 9 graphics processing unit (GPU) or below
• Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) S4 sleep state is optional

See also

• Comparison of netbooks
• Windows XP support lifecycle
• Nettop
• Netbook Skin
• CrunchPad

References

1. ^ "Cheap PCs Weigh on Microsoft". Business Technologies, The Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2008.
2. "Disruptor: The 'netbook' revolution". Fortune Magazine, Michael Copeland, October 16, 2008.
3. http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/28/psion-says-its-only-going-after-those-profiting-from-the-term/
4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/dec/24/psion-netbook-threats
5. "Thoughts on Netbooks". Intel.com, Paul Bergevin, March 03, 2008.
6. ^ . Trustedreviews.com, Edward Chester, 4th Apr 2008.
7. http://jkontherun.com/2008/12/23/netbook-enthusiast-web-sites-getting-c-d-using-term-netbook/
8. http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/release?id=16302
9. http://register.boip.int/bmbonline/details/trademark/show.do?markID=2571557&markNumberType=EUR&markNumber=7254618
10. http://jkontherun.com/2008/12/29/coby-netbook-oh-yes-they-did-apply-for-a-trademark/
11. http://eeepc.itrunsonlinux.com/the-news/1-latest-news/55-hp-introduces-mini-note
12. Ian Lamont (2008-10-04). ""Netbooks" Move Up In Notebook Rankings". Slashdot. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
13. Nicole Kobie (2008-08-12). "Netbook sales to top 50 million by 2012". PC Pro. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
14. NetBookBoards.com (2008-12-12). ""Netbook" Sales Overtake iPhone Sales". Retrieved 2008-12-10.
15. ^ Analysis: Did Intel underestimate netbook success?, accessed at 10 january 2009 Cite error: The named reference "ee2009-01-10" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
16. http://www.liliputing.com/2009/01/limepc-199-freescale-powered-netbook-video.html
17. http://www.liliputing.com/2009/01/pegatron-showcases-prototype-199-netbook.html
18. "Tech's hope in 2009 - or curse?". Fortune Magazine, December 24, 2008, Jon Fortt.
19. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13554_3-10063963-33.html
20. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080818-dells-eee-killer-to-ship-with-ubuntu-preinstalled.html
21. "High-Tech Companies Take Up Netbooks". The Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2008, Don Clark and Justin Scheck.
22. http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/08/1842212
23. http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-ceo-reveals-eee-pc-sales-numbers-plans-for-touch-eee-pcs-and-more-eee-family-products
24. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151950/shoot_for_the_clouds.html
25. Windows Life-Cycle Policy
26. Microsoft Announces Extended Availability of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs, April 3, 2008 Press release
27. Microsoft to limit capabilities of cheap laptops, IT World May 12, 2008
28. News – Computerworlduk - The latest, breaking IT news, reviews and analysis on Google, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe Reader, IBM, Open Source
29. Windows XP Logo Program
30. No Windows XP license from Microsoft for 2GB netbooks

External links

• The rise of the Netbook

• Netbooks
• Appropriate technology