netbooks

Two prominent PC manufacturers have stopped making netbook computers. The move, announced by both Acer and Asus, suggests some PC makers may now see the netbook form factor as an unattractive compromise between tablet and laptop computers. A netbook ... is an especially lightweight, compact, and cheap laptop computer. Many netbooks, like the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Mini, feature a 10.1-inch screen, 1 or 2GBs of RAM, and a sub-500GB hard drive. Netbooks usually retail for under $500. Netbooks became extremely popular four or five years ago, as the global economy took a turn for the worse. The cheaper ... (view more)

Thought you knew netbooks? Hardware producer Lenovo is determined to change that. The company says its newest line-up of ultraportable netbooks will boast portability as well as power. For most of their brief history, netbooks have been little more ... than compact, lightweight web browsing and word processing tools with minimal performance capabilities. For many consumers, that's been just fine. Netbooks perform these basic functions (which, let's face it, are probably the most important things a computer can do) admirably, and in most cases they cost less than $500. Changing the Way Consumers ... (view more)

Apple's new, 11.6-inch MacBook Air might look a little bit like a Windows 7 netbook, but it sure doesn't perform like one. According to recent reports, the super-light and very small Air easily outperforms its PC brethren, backing up Apple CEO Steve ... Jobs' claim that this piece of hardware is most definitely not a netbook. The new MacBook Air, available in 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models, shipped in mid-October of this year. Within a couple weeks, the company received mixed reviews : some analysts criticized the device for not offering enough processing power for the price at $999 -- which is ... (view more)

Two weeks ago Apple unveiled an 11.6-inch MacBook Air for under $999 . The news attracted plenty of attention, but early reviews of the device have not been particularly positive, with critics citing generally underwhelming performance as a reason ... to pass on Apple's first foray into the sub-$1,000 laptop market. Techies will remember that it's been over two years now since the first MacBook Air shipped to retailers. In a way, it was an attempt by Apple to provide an ultra-premium, ultra-portable device for the growing netbook market. Like most netbooks, the MacBook was lightweight, somewhat ... (view more)

Thinking about upgrading your Windows XP netbook to Windows 7? Recently, a ZDNet contributor did just that with his Samsung N150 Plus single-core CPU netbook. The results, however, were disappointing. Since many netbooks now ship with Windows 7 ... Starter Edition and Home Premium -- and because Microsoft is making the push away from XP , the upgrade seemed to make sense. Windows 7 Starter Edition: For Netbooks Only Windows 7 Starter edition is exclusively for netbook computers. You cannot use Windows 7 Starter Edition for standard PC (nor would you want it, in most cases, as many features have ... (view more)

One of the major concerns about the launch of Windows 7 was that the new operating system would be too bulky for a very popular kind of PC: the netbook. The alternative was the decade-old Windows XP, but that option won't be around come the end of ... October, 2010. In a recent statement, Microsoft officials noted the deadline date for OEMs to cut off the loading of Windows XP on new netbooks: October 22, 2010, one year to the day since the launch of Windows 7. "OEMs will no longer be able to pre-install Windows XP Home on new netbook PCs," Microsoft said. (Source: appscout.com ) Performance, ... (view more)

Google appears on the verge of releasing software capable of starting up a PC as fast as a television set. The speedy start up software is said to be linked with the Google Chrome operating system designed for computers that perform the bulk of ... their workload over the Internet. According to Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management for Google's Chrome OS, netbooks running the Chrome OS will be able to start in less than 7 seconds. (Source: reuters.com ) Imitating the TV Experience The idea is to mirror that of the television set experience. "From the time you press boot you want it ... (view more)

High-end digital media device-maker Archos, which has made a name for itself in an iPod-dominated market by selling "entertainment products," is taking a big leap forward with tablet technology by introducing an 8.9 inch machine capable of running ... Microsoft's highly anticipated operating system (OS), Windows 7. The device, dubbed the "Archos 9PCtablet," will feature an on-screen keyboard and a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z515 processor. The tiny tablet will also boast high definition video, stereo audio, and non-3G wireless. However, the feature getting most of the attention is its ... (view more)

It has been rumored for some time that netbooks, the slim-sized and under-powered notebooks sold for under $500, might not be able to handle Windows 7. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently dismissed that, and went on to discuss exactly how certain ... hardware restrictions define which version of Windows 7 a netbook can manage. Ballmer outlined the special edition of Windows 7 for low-powered processors and small screens at Microsoft's annual financial analyst day. Netbook owners will receive a version of Win7 called Starter, which will not be sold directly to any consumers or businesses. Instead ... (view more)

Worldwide shipments of netbooks are expected to double this year, despite sales of other portable computers being set to flatline. It appears the growth is down to cost, with many buying netbooks as second machines. The forecast comes from ... researchers DisplaySearch, which expects netbook shipments to rise from 16.4 million last year to 32.7 million. Shipments are the number of computers sent to retailers and are a common method of measuring "sales" as they are easier to track. The firm had been predicting 27.5 million netbook shipments this year but has revised that figure based on ... (view more)