"And they are far easier to carry. "Intel is trying to push this as a totally new category, but real people see it as a way to upgrade a notebook," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with IDC, a technology research company based in Framingham, Mass. "For these times, these devices are cheap. People are saying, I just use my notebook for e-mail; why don’t I just buy one of these little guys?"
"Some companies have already leapt into the fray, including Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Dell, Asus, MSI, Samsung, Sylvania and Acer. Sony is expected to introduce a model at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
"Virtually all netbooks are built around Intel's Atom processor, a 1.6 -gigahertz chip, and use one gigabyte of RAM, or memory. MSI reportedly will introduce a netbook next year with a new processor, the Intel Atom Z530, which the company says uses less power. Nearly all have built-in U.S.B. ports, a Webcam and integrated speakers, and some can connect to a Wi-Fi network. None of the models have CD or DVD drives."
