ASUS generated a lot of buzz with its Eee-branded line of products, starting with the Eee PC netbook and is responsible for introducing the netbook to the PC market as an affordable and simple laptop solution for students.
A netbook (a portmanteau of the words Internet and notebook) is a small portable laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet. By late 2008, netbooks had begun to take market share away from laptops. It is estimated that almost thirty times more netbooks were sold in 2008 (11.4 mn) than in 2007 (400,000).
After the release of the ASUS’s Eee PC, almost every major PC vendor HP, Sony, MSI, Toshiba, Acer, Dell have released competing models. Some companies design them in different directions away from the original Eee PC and they got bigger, more powerful, more expensive, and have even become luxury items. Furthermore, Windows XP has dominated over Linux as the installed operating system.
ASUS range
1. ASUS Eee PC 701 4G: with Xandros version of Linux, had a 4GB solid state drive, a small 7inch screen, 512MB of RAM and an Intel Celeron M CPU, also available in a variety of color at a cost of $349.
2. ASUS Eee PC 900: With slightly bigger 8.9in screen, but it has more storage and RAM and is available with either or operating system versions.
3. ASUS Eee PC 901: based on the Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) CPU, Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n wireless networking with 6-cell battery, sleeker but heavier model has an 8.9in screen, 1GB of RAM and was available with either Linux (20GB storage) or Windows XP (12GB storage) operating systems installed. It cost $472.
4. ASUS Eee PC 1000H: with its spinning hard drive it gives little more speed than those solid state drive-based models. Features are same as Eee PC 901 with 10in screen and little closer to a conventional notebook but it only cost $509.
5. ASUS Eee PC 1000HE: with new “Chiclet keyboard” that provides wider gaps between the keys to improve key travel, it includes a 10in screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM and an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU, cost $654.
HP range
HP was the 2nd vendor after ASUS to introduce a netbook to the market.
1. HP 2133 Mini-Note PC aims at business users, not students. It had an 8.9in screen, a VIA C7-M CPU (1.6GHz), 2GB of RAM, a huge 160GB hard drive, and it was the first netbook to run Windows Vista Business edition. It also had an ExpressCard/54 slot, making it a desirable choice for users wanting to use a 3G data card. It cost $499 at release.
2. HP Mini 1001TU: with $399 price tag, smaller and cooler than the 2133 Mini-Note, it is based on an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive and 802.11g wireless networking but a bigger 10.2in screen.
3. HP Mini 2140: features are similar to the 2133 Mini-Note but an Intel Atom CPU instead of a VIA C7-M CPU and the option to use Windows Vista Business or Windows XP.
MSI Wind U100
MSI was the 3rd vendor to enter the netbook market. With its white color, a 10in screen, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, ran Windows XP, and Intel’s Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz) it provides excellent battery life through its 6-cell battery. Its price was $509 at launch.
Acer Range
The next vendor was Acer with its Linpus-based Aspire One netbooks.
Acer Aspire One: It has an 8.9in screen, weighed only 900 grams, 512MB of RAM available at a cost of $436. It has an 8GB solid state drive installed, but also included two SD memory card slots but there is also a Windows XP version available with 1.5GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive for $509.
Acer Aspire One AOD 150: It is a 10.2in version with 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP, but it does have the best screen quality for a netbook.
Dell range
1. Dell Inspiron Mini 9: It has an 8.9in screen, a solid state drive (16GB), an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), and 1GB of RAM. Despite its poor design, the Mini 9 was the unit of choice for mobile phone vendors.
2. Dell Inspiron Mini 12: It has a 10.2in screen, uses an Intel Atom Z530 (1.6GHz) CPU rather than an N270 model, runs Windows XP, 1GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive. Due to the 3-cell battery, the Mini 12 has poor battery life, and at $618 it is an expensive unit considering you does not even get 802.11n wireless networking.
Lenovo IdeaPad S10
Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10 netbook is more in the news because the Department of Education and Training’s choose it for teachers and students. It’s a deal set to be worth $109 million and will roll out 267,000 units.
The Lenovo netbook was chosen over other has nice styling, runs Windows XP, has a 160GB hard drive, a 10in screen, and 1GB of RAM. Those specifications are standard, but the notebook has an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot. The IdeaPad S10 does offer increased drive capacity which may be of benefit when running memory intensive applications.
Toshiba NB100
It is an 8.9in, Windows XP-based netbook with an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. Added advantage “the sleep-and-charge USB port” for $520 it is a little overpriced, but it is a convenient laptop to use while travelling.
Fujitsu M1010
The M1010 is small 8.9in screen, but feature-rich, as it includes an ExpressCard/34 slot. It is based on an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB RAM, and has a 60GB hard drive. It costs $509.
Sony P-series
The Sony Vaio P comes preinstalled with Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Business, it has an 8″ LED-backlit display with resolution of 1600×768, weighs 1.4-1.7 pounds, with either a 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520 or a 1.6 GHz Atom Z530 processor, and 2GB DDR2 memory with 533 MHz FSB, 64GB or 128GB solid state drive storage. An integrated webcam is located on the upper right corner. It
also features built-in GPS, Bluetooth, 802.11 b/g/n wireless, mobile broadband, and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 video card. It is available in four color options; Black, Red, Green, and White.
Samsung Range
1. Samsung NC10: It uses a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 10.2″ screen with 1024×600 pixels and includes 1 GB of memory 93% keyboard size, 160 GB hard drive and 6-celled battery. It also includes an SD card slot, supporting MMC, SD and SDHC cards for additional storage.
2. The Samsung NC20: With LED-backlit 12.1″ screen it uses a VIA Nano ULV Processor U2250 (1.3+GHz, 800MHz), and includes 1 GB RAM, a full-size keyboard, SATA 160 GB storage.
The company claims both netbooks kill bacteria with its anti-bacterial Silver Nano ions coating on the keyboard.
Tags: 4g, Asus Eee Pc, Asus Eee Pc 701, Away, Branded Line, Cell Battery, Chiclet Keyboard, Eee Pc 701, From, Gaps, Intel Celeron M, Laptop Computer, Laptop Solution, Laptops, Luxury Items, Market, Market Share, Netbook, Netbooks, Pc Vendor, Portmanteau, share, Solid State Drive, System Versions, Taking, Wireless Communication, Wireless Networking
Leave a reply to Netbooks : Taking The Market Share Away From Laptops