Why should you buy a Netbook

Ever wondered why you need a laptop? For typing, emaling, browsing or chatting. If only all these are what you intend to do on your laptop, there's an affordable option available.

Meet Netbooks, the new breed of mini-laptops which are smaller in size, have slimmer looks and some smart functionalities and features. Also, called Internet books, they are ideal devices for Web browsing, emailing and chatting.

Initially lead by Asus, Acer, the Netbooks category today has computer giants Dell and HP jumping into the fray. Some of the latest offering in the market include Acer Aspire One, HP Mini-Note, MSI Wind and Asus Eee PC.

What more, Microsoft's Vista successor Windows 7 too will support these machines. And, currently, nine out of the top 10 best-selling laptops on Amazon are Netbooks. Looking ahead, ABI Research forecasts that manufacturers will ship 200 million ultra-mobile devices, including Netbooks by 2013 -- which is about the same anticipated size as the entire laptop market worldwide.

So, here's looking into what makes Netbook market so hot.

Compact design
Heard slim is in. Yeah, Netbooks are gaining grounds on there compact design, slimmer looks and sleeker appeal. Unlike the laptops that have a robust design and studier looks, these next-generation laptops are lighter, thinner and have tightly packed keyboard and a tiny touchpad.

Netbooks aren't tablets. They look and act like regular clamshell-style laptops, but are much smaller. They boast of a smaller screen display with maximum up to 10-inches diagonal. The smaller keyboard adds to their compact design appeal.

Light-weight
What makes Netbooks so popular is their portability. Unlike notebooks that weigh between 2 to 3 Kg, most Netbooks don't weigh more than 1.5 Kg, making them easier to carry. They are great for use on the go.

Acer's Aspire One weighs 1.05 kg and ASUS Eee PC 1000H weighs around 1.47 kg. The less number of features adds to the slim design and low-weight appeal of the Netbooks. Netbooks come with small screen, usually 7-inches to 10-inches diagonal, wireless connectivity, but no optical disc drive, and a smaller sized keyboard usually 80 per cent to 95 per cent of normal size.

Many come bundled with solid-state drives instead of traditional hard disk drives. These form factors add to the slim design, making them extremely light-weight.

No Linux
Thought Netbooks run only Linux? The early Netbook models surely relied on the unfamiliar and somewhat geeky Linux operating system. However, today most of these next-generation Netbooks come pre-installed with Windows XP operating system. They can also run most well-known programmes.

Equipped with full keyboard, USB 2.0, VGA outports, Ethernet, Netbooks also boast of wireless connectivity, stereo sound and webcam.

Ideal for Web browsing
Targetted at users with basic computing needs, Netbooks are ideal for Internet-based services such as Web browsing and email.

These Netbooks are perfect for computing needs such as working on an Excel sheet, Word document, PowePoint and basic editing.

At the start, most Netbooks lacked hard disks, instead offering limited storage via memory chips -- often less storage than a $199 iPhone. Today, many offer decent-size hard disks and include serious programmes, such as Microsoft Office or Microsoft Works. But none still offers a built-in DVD drive, which makes it difficult to install some new software.

Many newly-launched Netbooks pack Intel's Atom 1.6 GHz processor, with 80 GB hard drive capacity and between 512 MB or 1 GB RAM. These Netbooks can be disappointing for users whose computing requirements include high-end video/audio editing and gaming. However, Netbooks are only going to get more attractive and successful as their manufacturers expand their feature sets.

Attractive pricing
This surely is the most attractive feature of Netbooks. These slimmer, sleeker Netbooks come at an attractive price tag, ranging between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

Asus's recently launched second-generation Eee PC series in India retails at approximately Rs 25,000. The Netbook is powered by Intel Atom processor and has a 10-inch screen display. It boasts of battery life of up to five hours, Dolby Sound Room and built-in Bluetooth.

Similarly, Acer’s popular Netbook Aspire One which weighs a mere 1.05 kg packs 120GB SATA drive and has a 8.9-inch glossy display. The Netbook boasts of a battery life of up to three hours and retails at approximately Rs 23,000.

Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 weighs 1.24 kg and packs 160GB SATA drive and 1GB RAM. The Netbook comes bundled with software like Norton Internet Security and One Key Recovery 6.0. Like Acer Aspire One, it also boasts of a battery life up to three hours.

Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 has 10.2-inch non-glossy screen display and is available for Rs 24,000 approximately.