Netbook, mini laptop, tomato, to-ma-toe, whatever moniker you chose for the small laptop form factor, The age of the netbook has arrived.
This year saw the dawning of a new segment in the laptop industry, known as the mini laptop pc. Netbooks as they have come to be known, have become more popular as more laptop makers enter into the segment. Netbooks easily qualify as ultraportable, as they rarely exceed 3 pounds. The small screen size is what sets the mini laptop or netbook, apart from the rest. The first netbook was introduced by Asus, the EEEPc, and boasted a screen size of 10.2 inches. While still manageable viewing area, later netbooks will reduce the screen size to 8.9 as is the case with the HP Mini Note (HP 2133 Mini Note) and the Dell mini (Dell Inspiron Mini9).
NETBOOK PROCESSOR
The procesor of choice among netbooks has been the Intel Atom Processor. Packed with enough power to post a blog in a single bound, while saving energy, and stay connected to the web. It is the smallest processor from Intel.
"Newly designed from the ground up, 45nm Intel® Atom™ processors pack an astounding 47 million transistors on a single chip measuring less than 26mm², making them Intel's smallest and lowest power processors.¹ All this while delivering the power and performance you need for full Internet capabilities.+ "
HP Mini Note, uses the VIA C7-M Processors, claim lower power consumption while still delivering enough power for a pleasant user experience.
"The VIA C7®-M processor family is designed to inspire a new breed of mobile and ultra mobile devices, featuring a unique architecture that enables high performance with low power, cool temperature operation. Fully ROHS-compliant, VIA C7-M processors scale from 1.0-2.0GHz with an industry-leading thermal profile, ensuring a cool yet powerful portable PC experience"
NETBOOK OPERATING SYSTEMS
Netbooks are the first mainstream laptops to offer users a choice of Operating Systems, where one of the options is not Windows. Linux Operating Systems are making their way into the homes of many netbook owners.
Users will choose between some flavor of Ubuntu(Open Source Linux based Operating System), and Windows XP. While we have seen some netbooks being offered with Windows Vista, we have yet to see a netbook with Windows Vista installed. Dell, and Lenovo offer up varying flavors of Windows XP along with Linux options. Although Ubuntu will not run many of the Windows based applications, Ubuntu OS is packed with Open Source alternatives for Microsoft Office Applications. Netbook owners will be able to browse the web, check email, and update blogs or other social networking applications using Ubuntu, without any extra downloads or fees. There are even applications for Linux that will allow Windows based programs to run under Linux.
The HP Mini-Note, was the only netbook we could find that was offering a flavor of the Windows Vista. Primarily netbook buyers will be able to pick Windows XP Pro or Home, depending on the merchant. It is our belief that because of the memory requirements, and possibly demands on the processor, that most netbooks have stayed away from offering Windows Vista. Windows XP runs fine on several of the netbooks we reviewed.
*Interesting side note:
Monday Dec 1, 2008, at the Netbook conference in Paris, the folks at gOS have announced a "browser based" OS for netbooks. The application will be called Cloud OS, and will operate much like the Lenovo QuickStart. Simply stated, Cloud is a Linux based OS that users can boot to much faster than Windows. Once booted to Cloud, users will be able to perform basic tasks like email and web browsing. There is also a button that boots users into Windows. Read our story on the new Cloud Os for details and links.
NETBOOK HARD DRIVES
The Solid State Hard Disk, made its debut as an option for primary storage, with the introduction of netbooks into the laptop marketplace. Solid State Hard Drives are similar to what are commonly called flash disks. They are very much unlike the traditional Hard Disk options we become accustomed to.
The advantages to using a Solid State is just as the name says, it is solid. Therefore it is more resistant to bumps. Unlike the Hard Disk Drives, which use rotating platters to store
and retrieve data. As many experienced laptop users now, those rotating platters cannot withstand too many bumps. One bump, throws off a platter, and you will be on Hard Disk CSI 
trying to get the data from those platters.
In all fairness though, Netbooks do offer the traditional Hard Disk Drives as storage options, as there is typically more storage to be had than on the new Solid State Drives. Netbook users will have to weigh their options and decide which flavor of hard drive will best suit the needs of the end user.
NETBOOK SCREEN SIZE
Netbook screens will typically be between 8.9 inches and 10 inches. While most have decent video cards with satisfactory resolutions, the real factor is the keyboard size, which is directly related to the netbook screen size. Smaller netbook screens will have smaller keyboards. Users with thick fingers, (like the author), would opt for the larger screen size, and therefore full size keypad. Intel provides the Graphics Controller for many of the netbooks we took a look at. The HP Mini Note, opts for the VIA Chrome 9, which is optimized for less power consumption when combined with the VIA C7-M Processor. Most netbooks can easily slip into a backpack or a briefcase, or a purse for that matter.
NETBOOK PRICING
Laptop Prices are much more competitive as the netbook takes stride. Netbooks start, on the average, at around $400. Depending on the merchant, there are many deals on mini laptops out there. For the best deals on laptops, try our Laptop Deals Page
or
Dell Mini Deals
Lenovo Mini Deals
HP Mini-Note Deals
The major selling factor aside from its just obvious cuteness, is the fact that consumers have a choice from Microsoft Windows Operating System (license fees), or operate under an open source version of Linux, typically UBUNTU( no license fees). If the netbook will just for web surfing and email checking, license free Linux may be a safe option.
Many users are opting away from the Windows licenses when they are not tied to applications that require a Windows operating system. Non-windows users can easily surf the web, check email, and update blogs, or other social networking activities, without the licensing fees, or windows updates.
Overall the new netbook footprint was well received by consumers in general. So much so, that there have entire websites and blogs dedicated to this new market segment.
(Mini Laptop Blog)
NETBOOK REVIEWS
