Having just attended Laptop Magazine’s live streaming netbook show, technical issues aside, I have to admit it was cool to see so many of the different netbooks on one table. The chance to have a Skype call with Steve Paine, jkkmobile, and Sascha was the best part for me as they are all mobile PC experts. One thing that came out of that conversation that got me to thinking about netbooks in general was the same question that readers here ask all the time- "what is your netbook of choice?". I have to admit that question always stymies me because when I think over all the cool netbooks that have been introduced recently one glaring fact always comes to mind. They are all the same.
Don’t get me wrong, they look different, at least most of them do but look at the primary components that constitute a computer and they are pretty much the same. They’re all running the Intel Atom processor, usually have about 1 GB of memory, have a 120+ GB hard drive (or a tiny SSD drive) and run either Linux or Windows XP. They all have a trackpad and a keyboard that varies slightly, usually based on compromises forced by the size of the device. See, they are pretty much the same. They are all using basically the same hardware components because they have really low profit margins and there is no wiggle room for custom engineering. They all use the same displays, well, you get the point I’m trying to make. They are basically the same machine with slight variations and different branding.
The first thing you have to decide when trying to figure out which you "like best" is determine what size screen you need. They come in two sizes, small (8.9-inch) or large (10-inch) and that determines both overall size and more importantly how much room they have for the keyboard. If typing experience is important for your work then almost certainly you will want a 10-incher as they typically have wider keyboards and thus nearly full sized ones. While some of the 8.9-inch screened devices can offer a decent typing experience they still have keyboards that are smaller than their larger siblings and it becomes more important to try them out before dropping your cash. That’s impossible to do as they are not all in retail stores yet so you’re safer with the 10-inchers.
So if most of these babies are pretty much the same how can the OEMs set their jewel apart from the crowd? I’m afraid it comes down to price, and the lower the better. If your gadget is about the same as the crowd then the only way to stand out is to have the lowest price out there. That means a small profit margin just got very tiny but that’s the state of affairs in netbookland. That’s why so many folks are excited about Dell’s upcoming netbook with its $299 starting price. If it has the same components as the pack, and I think it probably will, then pricing just got even more important. It’s a good time to be a consumer. Oh, you OEMs could stand out with extended battery availability and good accessories too. At least your profit margin will be higher on those.
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