What is a Netbook?
06 November 2008
'Netbook' is the name some companies are using to refer to the new range of very small, very light laptops.
A Netbook is a small, cheap laptop, often with lesser features than a standard notebook.
An ultraportable is a small, expensive laptop, often with more features than a standard notebook.
Small, light laptops have existed for many years and have been called 'ultraportables'. These generally cost over £1000. In 2007 Samsung launched a range of cheaper 12" laptops, but still they cost £600+. Then in 2008, Asus, a company that previously made laptops for other manufacturers including Apple and Sony, started selling their own notebooks more and more.
The Asus EEE was the first of their very small laptops. And this broke the mold on pricing: They started at around £200.
Worried that this was going to ruin the 'ultraportable' market, some companies came up with the name 'netbook' to differentiate their very small, cheap laptops from their more expensive business range of tiny laptops.
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