The Netbook Craze Begins

The humble Asus Eee PC started it all. Back then, if you looked at it when it first came out, you’re likely to see what I saw. A dinky, miniature version of a laptop that threw away a lot of its features and emphasized on the portability. Yes, it was handy for Internet utilities, I admit. For one thing, the keyboard was a lot smaller, with the keys half the size of the normal keyboard. Adult sized fingers would take some time getting used to it. The trackpad was hard to maneuver, plus there wasn’t an optical drive.

It had only one saving grace, the way I saw it: It was way cheap. Not dirt cheap, of course, but less than half the amount you’ll spend buying a decent sized notebook. You could probably buy three of these little machines for the price of one. Initially, that’s what I thought it was for; something to give your kids to play with. Apparently, that was wrong.

What happened afterwards was history. A lot of people were drawn to buy the Eee, not only because it was cheap enough, but because the world is slowly becoming more and more connected to the Internet. The Eee not only afforded portability, but its batteries lasted a lot longer than any laptop. It’s a lot like the now indispensable mobile phone these days. You can stay connected and up to date with Internet events, and you just need to find a Wi-Fi spot to be able to IM or e-mail.

Ever since the popularity of the Eee started picking up speed, a lot of other ‘netbook’ models have started to come out. This includes the Eee bringing forth a parade of newer models. The similarities are on each one; all are cheap, all focus on portability, and all have batteries that last a lot longer than the standard laptop. But with the plethora of models out in the market today, how do you choose?

In the end, you have to make the informed choice when you want to buy a netbook. And the best way to be informed is to read up on the models themselves; look for netbook reviews online to help you decide. Once you know the netbook model that appeals to your lifestyle, be ready to enter the netbook world.

Tagged with: branded netbooks • computers • internet • laptop reviews • netbook reviews • netbooks

Filed under: computers

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!