Ultrabooks, first introduced last year, initially did not have very high demand due to their not the most attractive price. With the advent of less expensive second-generation models, the situation changed for the better, and at the same time the demand for expensive models of regular laptops began to grow.

This fact was announced by the analytical company NPD, having conducted a study of the mobile market. Thus, according to her information, sales of laptops costing $700 or more increased by 5% over the year and amounted to 17% of the total number of laptops sold. The researchers also noted an unprecedented increase in demand for laptops starting at $900, up 39% compared to last year. Experts at the Liliputing portal see this as the influence of ultrabooks - these thin mobile PCs, costing around $1000, are becoming increasingly popular and are “dragging” behind them less compact, but equally expensive laptops.

At first, manufacturers tried to position them as a worthy replacement for netbooks, because both of them are focused on containing powerful electronics in a compact case. However, the price points for these classes are completely different, and now Ultrabooks are a demonstration of what portable PCs with a price tag of $700 can do. Their main job is to convince consumers that expensive computers are worth the money spent on them. Judging by the dynamics of changes in demand for them, they cope with their task with a solid “five”.

Experts are confident that the desire of potential buyers to buy an ultrabook instead of a laptop or tablet computer will only increase if their price is reduced, but so far there is no talk of this. NPD calculated the average cost of ultrabooks taking into account the sales conditions of the first and second generations and came to the conclusion that in this parameter they still cannot compete adequately with laptops. The average cost of the latter was $510. Netbooks are even cheaper, offering decent performance for a reasonable price in exchange for still being quite thick and having significantly shorter battery life than ultrabooks.

Meanwhile, many manufacturers are gradually abandoning the production of netbooks, giving preference to ultrabooks. For example, Toshiba, Dell and Lenovo have already stopped supplying subnotebooks to the United States, and other countries will soon suffer the same fate. So, ultrabooks can be considered to have coped with these competitors. Now they face a battle against tablet computers, which are becoming more powerful and cheaper and are gradually acquiring QWERTY keyboards as an additional accessory.

They're small, sleek, and start at $150. We will help you understand the ten most important questions, the answers to which anyone who wants to buy a netbook should know.

All about netbooks

How is a netbook different from a laptop?

Externally, the difference between netbooks and small-sized laptops (subnotebooks) is hardly noticeable. But while netbooks start at $150, a lightweight subnotebook costs more than ten times that. The reason for such a huge difference is quite simple: subnotebooks are full-fledged laptops turned into miniature devices using the highest technologies. Manufacturers are trying to reduce the weight and dimensions of the computer as much as possible, without giving up high performance and rich equipment. Netbooks are produced on the basis of cheap components with not the best characteristics.

What is a netbook for?

Netbooks are ideal for emailing, blogging, participating in online auctions, or visiting websites. Having purchased such a device, you can, if necessary, look at Wikipedia when a tricky question is asked on some TV quiz show. This cheap laptop is not suitable for most other tasks.

Disadvantages of a netbook?

Some of the shortcomings of a netbook, due to its very concept, can be compensated for by additional devices. For example, an external HDD will help to significantly expand disk space, and an external drive will not only allow you to record information, but will also replace the DVD drive that is missing in the netbook. For those who want to be truly mobile, we advise you to purchase an EV-D0 or UMTS modem with a USB interface: this will allow you to have a decent Internet connection speed even on the road. But before purchasing, you should make sure that the cellular operator provides the appropriate services in your region.

Netbook capabilities

A netbook is not a workhorse at all. Those who expect to process photographs, and even more so videos, on a netbook are deeply mistaken. The amount of RAM and processor power are not enough for these tasks - a netbook is not suitable for daily and constant work. But it can become a good second or third computer that you can take with you for work on the road.

What is a netbook

The term “netbook” was coined by Intel to designate a class of miniature laptops with minimal equipment that can work well with Internet applications (e-mail, web browsers, ICQ, etc.). These tasks are its strong point, and the user does not notice any shortcomings in this regard. However, netbooks inherently lack the technical means that allow them to be constantly online, unlike iPhone or BlackBerry smartphones. If you do not want to depend on the availability of Wi-Fi access points, we recommend purchasing an EV-D0 or UMTS modem. True, these solutions are also not a panacea: even in the Moscow region, the EV-D0 service area does not cover all populated areas.

Is it possible to watch videos on a netbook?

It's hard to talk about enjoying a movie if you have to watch it on a 7-10 inch screen. But in many cases, a discussion about the size of the display, as well as about the formats of the played files, will turn out to be unnecessary if you realize that the processor and video adapter of a netbook are incapable of decoding a video stream. Video compressed using the MPEG-2 standard can still be played more or less smoothly, but with MPEG-4 things are more complicated. Depending on the resolution and bitrate, some netbooks are capable of playing such films, while others are not. The result will definitely be negative when trying to watch a movie encoded using the H.264 standard. This codec is so demanding on the computer’s processing power that it can take up a lot of resources even from a full-fledged laptop.

In addition, not only video, but also some Flash applications and animations can be a problem for a netbook.

The best processor for a netbook

The most widely used processors in netbooks are four processors: Celeron and Atom from Intel and C7 and Nano from VIA. I would like to warn you right away: you should not buy a netbook with Celeron - this CPU works very slowly and consumes a lot of energy. The VIA C7 has approximately the same character. But Intel Atom has low power consumption, but at the same time it works slowly. Netbooks with Nano processors, although less economical, demonstrate good performance and are even capable of playing HD video (720p).

Netbook battery life

It is impossible to predict with certainty how long a netbook will be able to work offline. However, based on the results of measurements carried out in the CHIP test laboratory, we can determine certain boundaries: the record holder with a result of almost 6 hours was the Eee PC 901 12G from ASUS (about $400), the outsider with less than two hours was the Acer Aspire One A150 (about $450).

What is better to install on a netbook: Windows or Linux?

Even the most ardent supporters of Microsoft's operating system admit that Linux takes up significantly less resources than Windows XP. In addition, today there are no longer any programs for Windows that do not have analogues in Linux. And, as a rule, in terms of functionality and design, they are all similar to Windows applications.

For slow and weak computers, Linux is definitely preferable to Windows. Moreover, installing the latter from a flash drive or external hard drive is a very difficult task for most inexperienced users. Additionally, Linux computers are cheaper than their Windows counterparts. The argument that Linux is more difficult to work with does not apply to the operating systems installed on netbooks: they all have a very user-friendly graphical interface.

Optimal netbook screen size

Netbook buyers are frugal people. Otherwise, they wouldn't even think of buying a low-power computer that costs less than $500. For more or less comfortable work, a netbook must have a relatively large display. We believe that 7 inches is very small, and we recommend buying netbooks with a screen diagonal of at least 8.9 inches (1024x600 pixels).

SSD or HDD?

As for the question of choosing between a regular hard drive and an SSD, the answer is not so simple. The fact is that the solid-state drives used in netbooks cannot be compared with fast and very expensive SSDs made by Intel or Samsung. The slow operation of cheap SSDs in netbooks causes a lot of inconvenience.

Don't install Windows on a netbook

As an operating system, Windows is virtually unacceptable when it comes to a netbook with an SSD. The fact is that accessing a slow SSD (in Windows they happen all the time) significantly slows down the computer. With Linux, the situation is completely different: this OS requires very few accesses to the drive to operate. This is why a netbook with an SSD running Linux is quite fast.

Asustek Computer recently announced that its line of once popular Eee PC products will end production at the end of 2012.

Another well-known brand, Acer, also has no plans to produce its own netbooks. Thus, with the two biggest brands abandoning production, the netbook market will be officially dead once stocks run out.

Faced with competition from tablet PCs, only Asustek and Acer, which sold netbooks mainly in the emerging markets of South Asia and South Africa, withstood the onslaught of the latter.

However, Intel will continue to release its Atom processors, which will find use in low-cost servers, some tablet models and the embedded market.

ASUS killed the Eee PC netbook

It hasn't been that long since tablet PCs became more popular than netbooks.

The netbooks themselves appeared on the market in 2007, and five years later, ASUS, the founder and main proponent of netbooks based on Atom processors, decided to destroy Eee computers.

It is reported that ASUS has stopped production of all Eee PC netbooks, and in order not to lose the market for 10.1” devices, it will convert all its netbooks into Transformer tablets.

The death of netbooks isn't just tablets. On the other side of the market are thin, light and powerful ultrabooks that can provide sufficient performance in video games and high-definition videos without any slowdowns. So no one needs netbooks anymore.

MeeGo and Chrome are optionally available for netbooks

Of course, even before the release of a new operating system, Intel does not forget to ship netbooks with Windows 7 Starter, and even plans to do so after the release of Windows 8. However, the company has decided to expand the selection of operating systems for its new customers.

Intel now offers its netbooks equipped with 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a 32 GB SSD or 250 GB hard drive based on the Atom N2600 for $249. The devices are also equipped with Crane Peak or Kelsey Peak wireless communications, and you can choose Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, MeeGo or even Chrome OS as operating systems. All these devices are available in form factors from 7 to 10.1 inches.

Even larger, more expensive models with up to 12.1" screens and N2600 or N2800 processors, selling in the $250 to $400 price range, will also come with MeeGo and Chrome OS. Traditional versions of Windows, both Starter and Home basic, are still optionally available.

Towards the end of the year, Intel will also offer Tizen as an option, and if there are no problems with it, then such devices will be available for order in the third quarter.

Half of the new generation of netbooks will not have fans

Intel is preparing at least two sets of netbook configurations that will shake up the market this year. Well, at least they'll try.

The smallest laptops should be fanless, and Intel hopes that half of all available Cedar Trail netbooks this year will be fanless. The company's main secret is the use of optimized kits with a TDP of 5 watts.

According to the plan, netbooks with a 10.2” screen should be released with passive cooling systems. These gadgets will have increased battery life. At the same time, 11.6" and 12.1" devices will require a fan to remove 8 watts of heat.

However, with all this, even the reference design of 5 W 10.2” devices provides a dual-core processor with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM and a hard drive or SSD. There are also plans to introduce optional 3G wireless support in some machines. Thus, more than 50% of Cedar Trail-based systems will be fanless, which is quite a significant milestone in the development of small laptops.

According to the developers, the fanless design will lead to a reduction in the volume of materials used, weight reduction, low noise, better appearance, as well as the popularization of a flat and dust-free design.

Modern netbooks from Intel are on sale for about $260 with a pre-installed Linux operating system or more, provided that Windows 7 Starter is installed.

Netbook sales are falling

Over the past year, netbook shipments fell by 34%, and now account for only 5% of all personal computer sales.

The statistical company Canalys, in a published study, reports that the share of netbooks has fallen sharply over the past two years. According to them, in 2010, netbooks accounted for 13% of all computers sold, and in the first quarter of this year, sales were 34% lower than in the same period last year.

Interestingly, a few years ago only the lazy did not predict the complete death of netbooks, however, they are still being sold. One of the reasons for this is their fairly low price, which rarely exceeds US$300. What's also interesting is that their death does not come from consumers who want inexpensive and portable devices. It is the manufacturers themselves who want to kill them, since more expensive computers will provide them with greater profits and better financial performance.

Manufacturers such as Dell and Linux developers PC System76 and ZaReason have already stopped selling netbooks. Others are gradually reducing their production volumes. With their existence, netbooks have proven that there is a demand for inexpensive ultraportable laptops with long battery life, and, most importantly, they have shown that they themselves are not so bad.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer will receive Ice Cream Sandwich in February

The first generation of hybrid tablets from Asus running Android, the Eee Pad Transformer TF101, will receive an operating system update to the latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Loyal ASUS fans were surprised to receive an official message from the company in response to a question posed on the company's North American fan club Facebook page about whether an OS update was planned for their devices. The response was: “You can receive your device updates in mid-February.”

ASUS released the original Eee Pad Transformer tablet in April 2011. After that, in just a month, the product sold more than 400,000 units worldwide, becoming the second fastest-selling tablet after the Apple iPad. With the recent December release of ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, the company is again planning an aggressive sales policy. So there's no doubt that ASUS will hit its quarterly profit goals as their Transformer Prime became the first tablet to receive Google's updated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS at CES 2012 in Las Vegas.

A netbook running MeeGo is being prepared for sale

Ultrathin netbooks Eee PC X101 from Asus are preparing to go on sale in online stores in the United States. The price lists indicate that the X101 model can run the MeeGo operating system.

The new Eee PC X101-EU17-BK netbook has quite ordinary characteristics. Thus, the LCD display of the device has a diagonal of 10.1” with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. The gadget is equipped with a single-core Intel Atom N435 processor with a clock frequency of 1.33 GHz. The platform is also equipped with 1 GB of RAM, an 8 GB SSD drive, a web camera with a resolution of 640x480 pixels, a Wi-Fi adapter operating according to 802.11 b/g/n standards, a card reader for microSD memory cards and only a three-cell battery with a total charge of 2600 mAh

Deliveries of both versions of the Eee PC X101, both running Windows 7 and running MeeGo, will begin next month.

The price of the Asus Eee PC X101 netbook is almost $200. There is no word yet on the start of sales in Europe.

Samsung introduced a netbook powered by solar cells

Last month, Samsung introduced the NC215S netbook, which had rather mediocre specifications. But what made this device special was the presence of solar panels located on its lid. However, this gadget was intended for the African market. Now the company has presented this netbook for Russian users.

According to the company, charging the netbook for two hours in the sun will be enough to work for an hour, which means that in combination with the built-in 40 W battery, the netbook will have enough energy for 14.5 hours of operation.

According to Kyuho Uhm, senior vice president of IT Solutions Business at Samsung Electronics, “Samsung is committed to producing innovative devices that are environmentally friendly. We are very proud of our latest development - the world's first 10-inch solar-powered netbook."
A nice option is the presence of a Sleep-and-Charge USB port, thanks to which you can charge portable devices such as smartphones or MP3 players, even if the computer is in sleep mode or turned off. And if the battery runs out, charging your devices remains possible thanks to the use of solar energy.

The Samsung SuperBright anti-glare display provides colorful, clear images in any environment - even in direct light. The NC215S's screen brightness is 300 nits, which is 50% brighter than competing netbooks.

The body of the device has a special coating that protects it from everyday wear and scratches. The Samsung NC215S netbook will appear on the Russian market in early August of this year at an estimated retail price of 14,000 rubles.

The technical characteristics of the Samsung NC215S netbook are summarized in the table below

To always stay connected and have access to the Internet everywhere, now even a smartphone is often enough. However, the small screen makes serious work with the device inconvenient, and watching video on a small display is inconvenient. Therefore, netbooks and tablets still remain serious competitors to smartphones as portable devices designed for web surfing and simple work. Let’s try to figure out what to buy, a netbook or a tablet.

In order to find out which is better, a netbook or a tablet, it is worth considering the main features, pros and cons of each device.

Netbooks, as a class of devices, have merged with ultrabooks, so the difference between them can be made conditionally. All representatives of this category of devices differ from full-size laptops in size and thickness, to a lesser extent. It is difficult to separate netbooks and ultrabooks by size: the Apple MacBook Air 11″ is considered an ultrabook, although in terms of external parameters it is a typical netbook. But Chuwi LapBook, despite its proximity to laptops and large (14 or 15 inches) diagonal, is ideologically closer to netbooks.

So, to finally understand, it is worth giving a classification criterion. An ultrabook is a compact laptop equipped with desktop-class hardware. A netbook is the same compact laptop, but its hardware is closer to tablets than to desktops. If a processor like Intel Core i3 is installed inside, it is an ultrabook, while netbooks are based on chips like Intel Atom or Celeron.

Pros of netbooks

• Full keyboard. The keyboard of netbooks has the same layout as that of conventional PCs. As a rule, there are no compromise solutions, such as combined main keys, some of whose functions are called through a combination with Fn.
• Big screen. Netbooks are equipped with matrices with a diagonal of 10-15 inches, more suitable for comfortable viewing of websites or movies. For tablets, models with a diagonal larger than 11 inches are the exception rather than a mass product.
• Full desktop OS. Netbooks run Windows 10, so you can use desktop software with almost no restrictions.
• Lots of memory. A capacious hard drive in a netbook is common, while netbooks usually have a flash drive of 32-128 GB, less often a little more. Netbook models with SSDs often support replacing the drive with a more capacious one, and some models still retain the ability to expand RAM.
• More ports. Tablets have one USB port, which is often also in Micro or Type C format. Most netbooks are equipped with two or three Type A or Type C ports and a separate charging socket. Some models also retain a LAN port for cable Internet connection.
• Better cooling. The netbook case has more space for heat dissipation elements, so manufacturers can install more powerful hardware inside, and tablet-like components heat up less, demonstrating higher performance.

Cons of netbooks

• Dimensions and weight. Although netbooks are more compact than regular laptops, they are inferior to tablets in these parameters. A 10-inch tablet weighs 500-600 grams, with a keyboard - up to a kilogram. The weight of a similar netbook is about 1200-1500 grams, a larger one - up to 2 kg.
• Inconvenient to use in certain positions. You can’t just pick up a netbook and recline to read the news or a book. Also, it will not be possible to fit as comfortably in transport, and its small size makes it inconvenient to use the device by placing it on your lap.
• No touch support. Without it, you have to constantly use the keyboard and touchpad or mouse, which sometimes causes inconvenience.
• Large power supply. The charger for tablets is usually the same as for smartphones. A netbook charger has dimensions similar to a laptop power supply and takes up more space during transportation.

Pros and cons of tablets

Cons of tablets

• Poor adaptability to serious work. For serious work, a tablet is much less suitable than a netbook. Working with large texts and tables on a touch screen or a small, often cut-down keyboard is not as convenient as on a netbook. And the overall performance of the tablet in such conditions will be lower than that of a netbook, although not by much.
• Limited number of interfaces. The majority of tablets are equipped with only one interface connector, and it is often used for charging. To connect a flash drive or wired keyboard, an adapter may be required, and an external hard drive will not connect at all due to the low current power at the port output.
• Limited compatibility with operating software. Browsers, players, readers, messenger clients - all this is available in abundance for tablets. But if professional software has mobile versions, they are often greatly reduced in terms of functionality.
• No prospects for upgrade, less maintainability. Tablets do not provide the ability to replace components (except to replace a broken screen or battery); the only thing that can be improved is the amount of memory if there is a MicroSD slot. Netbooks usually have SATA ports for storage devices, and M.2 slots for SSDs are increasingly appearing. Card readers often have a full-size SD format, which allows you to work (with the help of adapters) with flash drives of any size, but tablets do not have this.

Some analysis of the history of the development of the netbook sector and its future prospects

Netbooks quickly transformed from scary ducklings... well, not into white swans, of course, but still. To date, this market has gone through a stage of rapid growth and various experiments, calm, established development... and is moving to a new stage - active struggle with young competitors.

Brief history

The original concept of the netbook placed it in a very specific place in the hierarchy of mobile computing systems. Let's face it: to a place where it had to minimally interfere with sales in other segments of laptop computers.

In its original form, the netbook was seen as a very limited device. Manufacturers drew beautiful graphs, according to which it was intended “for content consumption,” that is, “to look at email and surf the Internet,” and nothing more. For tasks requiring at least some level of performance, it was proposed to choose more powerful (and more expensive) platforms. In general, in the original understanding, the netbook was aimed precisely at the “ordinary, unassuming user” without special requirements for the computer that we talked about so much.

However, there was a serious contradiction built into the original concept that made it unable to survive in the long term. The netbook was supposed to become the main computer of the poor user, but at the same time it was very small and non-functional. Obviously, a user who chooses his main and only laptop would rather prefer something larger: at least in order to have a larger and easier-to-use screen on which he can see something, and a normal keyboard.

So the original concept of the EEE PC as a laptop for students and poor buyers from third countries, let’s say, did not find support. However, it made it possible to find a niche where a small and inexpensive computer would be in demand. Many people appreciate the inexpensive, small device that you can take with you everywhere. It is cheap (that is, you don’t really feel sorry for it), and quite functional (you can access the Internet or mail on the road, look at photos, etc.), it has a familiar ideology and platform. Let me remind you that there was no iPad yet and tablets seemed like niche devices “out of this world.”

Development

ASUS should be considered the author and leader of the netbook market. It was with her model that the history of this type of mobile computer began (our report on a somewhat belated presentation).

Let me remind you of one more point, very important for understanding the idea of ​​EEE PC. The desire to artificially limit the functionality of the device (have fun and learn, but nothing more) led to the fact that the Windows operating system was not used (however, working with it on a 7-inch screen with a low resolution was still a real pain). Instead, a certain adapted version of Linux with reduced functionality and a certain set of applications was developed for the netbook. It was believed that the OS would cover all the basic needs of students and other users (there was even a “planetarium”!), and if you needed something more, laptops were at your service. Now it’s funny to remember all these ideas and arguments, having MeeGo in front of my eyes.

However, it quickly became clear that the creators of the 700th model, in the process of cutting price and functionality (so as not to compete with other lines), had gone too far. The main complaints were made about the very small screen, which is very inconvenient to work with. ASUS, responding to these demands, introduced a netbook with a 9-inch screen. In size, the representatives of the ASUS 900 series did not differ from the 700 series - it’s just that now the matrix occupied the entire surface of the lid.

But this was also not enough, so experiments quickly began with the size of the devices. The developers tried to find a balance between price and size with functionality.

A breakthrough was the appearance of models with a 10-inch widescreen matrix. The 1024×600 resolution provided much more comfortable work in applications and normal display of Internet sites. Plus, this screen size made it possible to place keyboards with standard key sizes in the case. Therefore, a 10-inch netbook already looked very attractive as an option for working on the road.

At this stage, other manufacturers also joined the game. By the way, it is worth noting that in those days 9-inch ASUS netbooks were different from 9-inch netbooks from other manufacturers (comparative review of ASUS EEE PC 900 and MSI Wind). ASUS EEE PC 900 models had a smaller and lighter case with dimensions for a 9-inch matrix. All other manufacturers had body sizes designed for 10-inch screens, they just had a wider frame around the screen and a smaller matrix. Which is why they looked, I must say, terrible. For example, you can read the Lenovo S9 review and photos.

Netbook platform

It is worth briefly dwelling on the hardware and software platform of modern netbooks.

The fact is that Intel did not have a normal ultra-mobile platform (and what it had did not fit into the “normal” category). For example, ultra-portable tablets from ASUS (R2) and Samsung () used some mobile Celeron variants with terrible performance and equally terrible heat dissipation. Following the “wishes of the public,” Intel has developed a low-power, but also rather weak Intel Atom processor for netbooks. And then she planted an impressive mine under the platform, pairing it with an old 910-series chipset with a terrible video core and impressive (four times more than the processor) energy consumption. Therefore, the first generations of netbooks, to put it mildly, did not shine with battery life, causing legitimate irritation to users. At that time, the problem could only be solved by installing a more capacious battery, but it weighed too much. A netbook with such a battery gained autonomy, but lost one of its main advantages, its light weight.

However, Intel did not limit itself to technical discrepancies, putting forward a number of organizational requirements to netbook manufacturers. Netbooks were strictly limited in configuration: the processor was no higher than a gigahertz, the screen resolution was no higher than 1024x600, and the diagonal was no more than 10.2 inches. There were other restrictions introduced in order to maximize the separation of netbooks and laptops on the CULV platform, so that cheaper systems would not interfere with sales of more expensive ones. However, cunning manufacturers constantly impose bans.

A no less controversial situation has developed with operating systems. ASUS initially tried to avoid cooperation with Microsoft altogether, including for financial reasons (a license for a Microsoft system costs money, and given the overall low cost of a netbook, a significant amount of money), by installing its own Linux-based OS on the EEE PC. In which, by the way, all the inconsistency of the original concept of EEE RS was revealed. And almost immediately it became obvious that this simplified and not very easy-to-use system was still somehow suitable for a niche device, but could not become the core of a universal netbook. Netbooks could not become truly popular without the Microsoft operating system. The pressure on manufacturers was growing.

As a result, netbooks running Windows XP finally appeared and almost instantly won the lion's share of the market. By the way, it was on netbooks that this generation of Windows lasted the longest. Still, the performance of the first weak single-core Atoms was very low; the unoptimized and power-hungry Vista presented a sad sight on it. But Microsoft's desire to transfer the entire market to a new OS (and completely stop selling XP) was so great that it was possible to convince the company to extend the life of XP, at least for this market, only at the cost of very great efforts. As a result, netbook manufacturers received the right to install Windows XP for some time. However, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and soon XP for netbooks was finally canceled...

However, it is worth recalling that Microsoft is also targeting netbooks to ensure that these devices remain weak and unsuitable for complex tasks. Through long and difficult negotiations they succeeded, but the freedom of producers was still seriously limited. Nowadays, approximately the same requirements are put forward for the hardware configuration of netbooks when installing Windows 7; moreover, they are installed with a very much reduced Starter Edition in terms of functions. However, it doesn’t slow down much, and it probably costs less.

So, now the vast majority of netbooks are installed with the initial version of Windows 7 with greatly reduced functionality. Very often - at the cost of inconvenience in work. Recently, a new, although still very potential, competitor has been tipped for the role of the next “killer” - Meego OS. Another result of Intel’s experiments and a distant relative of half-dead platforms like Maemo, Moblin, etc. A system based on Linux inherits many features of this operating system, including negative ones (for example, inhumane ways to install drivers). But in general, it should be noted that in many aspects, including ideological ones, Meego suspiciously resembles the old version of Linux that ASUS installed on the very first EEE PC 700 netbooks. In general, history continues to develop in a spiral.

Heyday

As the original concept of an ultra-cheap device, netbooks quickly became of little interest to the manufacturer: they turn out to be not only scary, but also terribly identical. In such conditions, you can only compete on price, and price competition is good in the short term (see Acer’s market strategy), but in the long term it is extremely unprofitable for both manufacturers and the market as a whole (and, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, consumers). With huge turnover, there are no profits or funds for development, and if, God forbid, an impressive percentage of defects occur, you can simply fly out of the market.

Therefore, manufacturers began to add new elements of functionality to netbooks, promoting their new models no longer under the motto “our netbook is cheaper,” but “our netbook is not the cheapest, but its price is justified.” For example, the original two USB ports in netbooks quickly transformed into three.

The set of ports could be considered minimally sufficient, if not for one “but”. The stumbling block was the digital video interface: consumers would really like to see it in netbooks, but the chipsets offered by Intel did not provide such an opportunity and still do not provide it. It is quite possible that rather not even for technical, but for ideological reasons.

Battle for HDMI

Implementing an HDMI output on a netbook means giving the netbook a whole extra dimension in terms of functionality. Firstly, you can easily connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to it, and at home you will have a pretty good home computer, suitable for simple home tasks. But at any time you can turn off external devices and take your netbook with you on the road. However, the monitor can be connected via an analog input, albeit with loss of clarity (although the quality of the VGA output wiring on most netbooks is not very good).

However, in this case, we are still talking about buying an additional expensive monitor, which will only be used with a netbook (and most of them cost the same as the netbook itself). Much more interesting is the ability to connect to a home TV. If a netbook is used as a small home computer for simple applications, then the ability to connect it to a large home TV to watch a movie or YouTube videos complements its functionality in just the right way. A very interesting option for the home: integration, savings, and convenience.

However, HMDI is not implemented in the Intel platform (by the way, as far as I understand, it cannot be implemented in the new NM10 platform either: there are only two interfaces, the digital one is “clogged” behind the netbook screen, so the video output is only analog).

Quite a long time ago, NVIDIA developed an alternative ION platform for Atom with integrated video based on the 9400 series (review of a netbook based on the NVIDIA ION platform). The chipset is also rumored to be not the most economical, but it is better than what Intel has. So, the NVIDIA ION platform had three main advantages: greater efficiency, good graphics performance with hardware acceleration and a three-dimensional part, which is quite enough for decoding high-definition video, including in 1080 format (i.e., a true high-definition format). clarity, not marketing-fake 720). And, finally, the ability to organize a digital HDMI video output.

However, again according to unverified information, Intel actively fought competitors using price methods: one processor cost the same as a processor with a chipset. NVIDIA chipsets were also not free, so netbooks based on ION were more expensive than options on a traditional chipset - and this in a segment where the most important parameter is price! Therefore, the distribution of the chipset and products based on it was quite limited, and it mainly ended up in top models of netbooks, which will be discussed below.

In the meantime, the situation hung in an unstable balance...

And a word about competitors

It would seem that this is it! AMD, with its newly acquired ATI asset at that time, has a great opportunity to create a unique platform for netbooks, which would combine both processor and graphics - and all from the same manufacturer. But alas. What AMD created was probably only good for heating a laptop user's hot coffee. And fully integrated processor+video+chipset sets are entering the market only now, at the beginning of 2011, when Intel has already introduced a much more powerful integrated platform. As usual, AMD is preparing to win the last war. Moreover, the company itself has not yet decided what to focus on - netbooks or tablets. Although there is still some hope for the new platform. Let's wait for the results of real tests to assess its market prospects.

Growing appetites

So, the configuration of netbooks still hit a certain ceiling, and expandability also froze, albeit at a higher level than at the beginning. What's next? Then manufacturers began to push each other to take a completely logical step - increasing the display diagonal.

However, a small diagonal step for a netbook is a huge step for netbook construction, because moving the diagonal from 10 inches to 11.6 or 12.1 leads to a number of consequences, the most important of which is a change in resolution.

The 1024x600 pixel resolution is a compromise between small size and readability of fonts on the screen. Vertically, the number of dots corresponds to the ancient resolution of 800x600, which completely fell out of use, probably before the onset of the two thousandth year. Now in this resolution it is inconvenient to work even with the operating system interface, not to mention the interfaces of most programs. Even the Internet browser is already experiencing problems. You can only put up with the small screen of the device and wait until the moment when you can jump to a large monitor or start a large computer.

However, if the diagonal is 11.6 inches, then the resolution can be increased to 1366x768 pixels without compromising the ability to work with the laptop. And this is already a completely working resolution, which is used in a huge number of models, from 12- to 15-inch. There is enough screen space for both interfaces and main application windows. In other words, it is quite possible to work with such a screen resolution, so the netbook turns from a temporary compromise solution into a full-fledged ultraportable laptop. Manufacturers are fully aware of this difference, which is why 12-inch netbook models are much more functional than their 10-inch counterparts. In such netbooks NVIDIA ION, because for such a netbook the advantages of the chipset (faster graphics, hardware video acceleration, digital video output) outweigh the increase in price. By the way, the price of 12-inch models is significantly higher than 10-inch ones.

The main disadvantage of increasing the diagonal and resolution of the monitor is the increase in the size of the case. After all, a netbook should be small and light so that you can take it with you on all your trips and trips. You can still put up with a large case if this is your only computer, and it will be used not only on trips, but also at home. But if you have another laptop at home and for long trips, and the netbook is used only for short trips during the day, then it’s worth stopping at the 10-inch model.

The death of 12-inch laptops and the current market situation

The development of netbooks, the growth of screen diagonal and functionality have led to the fact that they increasingly began to invade the laptop segment. Moreover, in two directions at once: from the side of ultra-cheap models and from the side of ultra-portable 12-inch laptops.

Currently, the class of consumer 12-inch laptops (which, however, was not particularly large before; in better years it was about 3% of the market) has practically died out, their place has been taken by netbooks. What remains are mainly models oriented towards professional use, either fashionable or with special functionality (for example: corporate Lenovo X, fashionable Sony Vaio TT, tablet PCs Hewlett Packard Touchsmart TX2, TM2). Let's leave 13-inch models aside, now this is a completely different market segment: full-featured, but at the same time portable models.

As for ultra-cheap models, initially netbooks were much cheaper than the nearest “large” laptops, so for many users it turned out to be reasonable to buy netbooks instead of large home models. However, now the price level for 14- and 15-inch models in cheap configurations has dropped almost to the price level of 12-inch netbooks, so the situation in this niche is changing dynamically.

If we return to our army of netbooks, then in this group there is an enviable technical uniformity: the same platforms, almost the same components, almost the same functionality. There are few opportunities to stand out from the competition, and one of those opportunities is appearance.

Appearance

While the netbook was considered purely cheap and functional, no attention was paid to its appearance. Apparently, so as not to interrupt sales of more expensive and nicer models. The design, quality of materials, and overall appearance matched the positioning. Although no, ASUS itself set the limits of creativity at the very beginning, offering as many as five colors for the case cover. Subsequently, this strategy was followed by almost all manufacturers.

The main colors were black and, for aesthetes, white, but almost always the model had the possibility of installing colored covers. The colors, as a rule, were pastel: apparently, all these models were aimed at women and people with alternative tastes. I can only remember one exception with a bright color, but that bright color was red with glitter, which evoked associations not so much with red cars, but with lipstick.

The popularity of netbooks was growing, and thoughts of somehow pushing them into the fashion segment appeared more and more often. Moreover, this is such a wonderful segment where it is not something material that has a cost of sale that is sold, but an “image” - i.e., user expectations. The most original and interesting move was made by Sony. The company, which has long and successfully developed the idea of ​​​​"the thinnest laptop", brought to the market the X series with a carbon body as thin as a VGA connector. And although the series was equipped with a completely netbook Intel Atom D550 processor, it was hard to call the X series a netbook: it cost about $2,500 (review).

ASUS, which traditionally seeks out new facets of the attractiveness of netbooks, has also conducted active experiments in this direction. The result of the research was first the design series EEE PC by Karim Rashid, and then the Seashell concept.

In my opinion, the initiative was a success, because the “shell” actually looks very good.

Well, two netbook apologists dealt the final blow to each other: ASUS released its model of the ASUS Lamborghini series on Intel Atom, and Acer released its netbook of the elite Ferrari series - only on the AMD platform traditionally used in the series.

Are tablets the future?

It’s a paradox, but if we return to the beginning of the article, we will see that the niche where netbooks were originally aimed has largely remained unfilled. Let me remind you: A netbook is a cheap device designed for consuming content, not creating it (read text, watch a movie, listen to music; do not write text, do not create a movie, do not create music), small and light, which could be taken with you everywhere . And at the same time cheap: so that you don’t feel too sorry for it.

The solution suggested itself for a long time: break off the keyboard of the netbook, since Windows XP more or less allowed working in tablet mode.

But for some reason the manufacturers were embarrassed to take a decisive step, constantly getting off with half measures. ASUS released several modifications of the tablet, Samsung had a promising Q1 tablet, Sony had a U model with a very small 5-inch screen. There may have been other devices. Not to mention completely exotic solutions like the Rover tablet or expensive OQO devices.

But they weren’t cut out to be market leaders. Firstly, in terms of the construction of the platform and body, they resembled prototypes, on which functionality and ergonomics were being adjusted, rather than serial devices. Secondly, they weighed a lot and had little battery life (2-3 hours, no more). Thirdly, they were obscenely expensive, about $1000. At the same time, the manufacturer was very worried about the lack of keyboards, trying in every possible way to compensate for this shortcoming: for example, for the Samsung Q1 there was a special hard case in which a tablet was attached on one side and a USB keyboard on the other. ASUS did the same.

On the other hand, HTC tried to enter the market and launched the Advantage 9500 and 7500 series devices. They rather resembled a huge oversized smartphone with a screen of 5 and 7 inches, respectively, and a form factor close to a “horizontal slider” with a keyboard sliding out from below.

Due to their high cost and unclear functionality, the devices predictably remained niche. They were of interest only to a very small portion of users who needed their specific functionality. But due to the high price, most of these users refused to purchase, which further narrowed the target group of buyers. Even now, they are trying to sell heavily used devices with an extremely outdated platform for 15-17 thousand rubles. Despite the fact that compared to modern tablets they look like dinosaurs: in terms of performance they don’t reach anything at all, even flash games are difficult to play, they heat up terribly, there is no autonomy...

One company changed the tablet market... a company that wasn't afraid to develop a holistic concept and bet on it. In contrast to competitors, who for many years produced “promising samples”, sat in promising ones until retirement, and were afraid to take one decisive step: to put everything on one product and bring it to the mass segment.

There are still ongoing debates about what happened: Apple guessed a niche where there was great demand and no supply at all, or convinced millions of amorphous users that they wanted exactly what the iPad offered them. It still seems to me that the reality is closer to the first point of view, because there was definitely a demand for such devices, this was evident from netbooks. Another thing is that it is not enough to guess the market niche. Before this, even seemingly in-demand products often failed to achieve success due to stupid marketing strategies.

It is very important to create a market promotion strategy and what is called user experience (i.e., the optimal scheme of interaction between the user and the device), and consistently promote them to the market. Thanks to the professionalism and skills of Apple, a completely new class of devices has emerged on the market, which is now actively developing. I think tablets have a very interesting future ahead of them in the near future.

The future of the segment

We won’t talk about Apple’s success story in the world of tablets, it’s already on everyone’s lips. The wave of announcements (and even market launches) of tablets from other companies is an attempt to ride the wave of success of the iPad, which has greatly changed the structure of IT devices, no matter how it is viewed. It showed how simple and convenient an Internet tablet could be, set the bar, and any device in this segment is positioned relative to it in one way or another. Sasmung, presenting the Galaxy Pad, constantly slipped into direct comparisons of these two devices with each other; not only that, in many aspects of head-to-head comparison, the Galaxy Pad also managed to lose! So the popularity of tablets as a class will largely depend on how manufacturers can take advantage of other people's developments and other people's fame.

In my opinion, web tablets are the next step in the development of Internet devices. And with proper development, they will gradually push 10-inch netbooks out of the market, or at least greatly reduce their population. Because as a device specifically for consuming content, a tablet better suits the user's needs than a netbook.

In principle, netbooks can quite well gain a foothold in the 11-12-inch segment. However, even in this niche their future now looks somewhat vague, because if previously they had no competitors in terms of price, now they are being actively squeezed. A whole class of cheap home laptops has appeared with a large screen diagonal, 15 inches, a good-performing hardware platform, quite functional and at the same time very cheap - they cost only 1000-2000 rubles (about $50) more than 12-inch netbooks, while significantly surpassing them in functionality. Of course, 10-inch netbooks can be bought even cheaper, around 10 thousand, but they have much worse functionality.

As a home laptop, a 15-inch laptop looks much more preferable than a 12-inch netbook, let alone a 10-inch one. Therefore, the only mass niche for them may remain the niche of traveling devices, but even here they will be increasingly squeezed by tablets, which are more convenient, smaller, lighter, have longer battery life, etc.

The decisive factor in this fight should be price. At the moment, tablets are significantly more expensive than netbooks, but should cost a little less. Only then will they begin to massively displace netbooks, which will lead to the growth of their segment, and this will lead to a reduction in costs, and this will lead... However, we will talk about tablets, directions of their development and operating systems for them next time.