Whether you're a professional or a home user, a student or a freelancer... everyone can benefit from a netbook, an affordable, lightweight, simple, compact PC that doesn't require a disk drive. The backbone of these computers is made up of a set of Intel components, built around Atom processors. Not very powerful, they are more at home with Windows XP. However, so as not to interfere with the rest of its ranges, Microsoft imposes limited specifications: screens smaller than 12 inches, 160 GB hard disks and 1 GB RAM. These specifications virtually define the device. In any case, it would be impossible to run Windows Vista with 1 GB of RAM. The release of Windows Seven is a game-changer, as this up-to-date OS is relatively light.
Differentiation
The second factor for change was the growing tiredness of cloning. With all netbooks looking the same, except for two or three details - weight, battery size and screen size - manufacturers had to look to new developments. And that means more autonomy, as well as more recent versions of processors. But the netbook is above all a product of use, not of specifications. It was designed for use centred on the Internet, e-mail and simple leisure activities. This fact has generally been overlooked by vendors, who have passed them off as PCs in their own right, PCs that are somewhat limited, but only just. Which is far from being the case. The solution is to offer touch screens.
Tablet PCs were the first to be equipped, but their fame was short-lived because they were not very successful. Since then, advances in touch screens, driven by mobile telephony, have enabled much better quality. Another new development has been the emergence of alternative OSes to Windows. Alongside Windows XP, the first generations of netbooks also ran Linux, a simple but little-known system that was therefore reserved for specialists.
With most users looking for similarity of use between their different computers, Windows was the natural choice. But Google's OS, Android, is in the process of carving out a place for itself in the sector. It requires very few resources and is a smartphone OS. So it's bringing netbooks closer to their original purpose.
Dimensions
Another sign of movement is that brands want to take advantage of the 'netbook' name, which is a selling label, by bringing to market products that go beyond the strict definition of the category. At Acer, MSI and Packard Bell, for example, you'll find computers with 12" or 13" screens running Vista or Seven, with updated N-2 generation processors, large hard drives and plenty of RAM. To hell with orthodoxy, it's comfort that counts now. And with that in mind, size comes first.
We can't stress enough that 10 inches is the bare minimum, because it's really from 11 inches that a netbook is easy to use. Particularly when it comes to the keyboard, whose keys cannot go below a certain size. And you still have to know what you're buying... In this case, it's a limited PC, prone to sluggishness, which can't be expected to do the same as one of its big brothers.
