Netbook

A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop that achieves these parameters by offering 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, that do not require intensive resources available on the 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 running a customised version of Linux with a 7-inch (18 cm) color screen.^[6] These netbooks measured 8.9 × 6.5 in (23 x 17 cm), featured less-than-full-sized keyboards, and could be customized by users to run alternate operating systems.

In mid February 2008, Everex launched its VIA chipset based CloudBook, running gOS. The CloudBook is based on the VIA nanobook reference design. In contrast to its closest competitor, the Eee PC, the CloudBook has a hard disk drive.

In June 2008, MSI launched the MSI Wind including Bluetooth, a 10" (25 cm) LED, backlit, 1024x600 screen, and an Intel Atom processor — the first netbook to offer the processor.

A number of other netbooks followed, and by late 2008, Netbooks had begun to take market share 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.

source: www.wikipedia.org