Notebook computers are shrinking and the public is going wild over the prospects of holding a computer in the palm of their hand. Small enough to be lightweight, elegant, stylish and cute, but big enough where one can type a letter, answer email and surf the web this new venue is called a “netbook” computer.
Netbook computers are filling a niche between notebook computers and Palm Pilots. Small enough to carry around, about the size of a paperback book, but big enough to get real work done without abusing you thumbs.
The netbook is powered with an Intel CPU called the Atom. This tiny, but mighty power plant provides plenty of pep for large applications, but sips power and runs very cool. The typical battery life is 3 to 4 hours and recharging is snappy at about 2 hours.
According to Intel, “The Intel® Atom™ processor is Intel's smallest processor, built with the world's smallest transistors and manufactured on Intel's industry-leading 45nm Hi-k Metal Gate technology. The Intel Atom processor was purpose-built for simple, affordable, netbooks and nettops.” As a comparison it runs like the Pentium 4 at 1.6GHz so there is enough power to run demanding applications and the full version of Windows XP.
I have reviewed an Acer Aspire One cobalt blue satin finish with a 8” screen and a workable keyboard, 120GB hard drive, and found it remarkably fun to use and light weight at a smidge over 2 pounds. The screen is clear, sharp and bright, albeit the type is a tad small so this ol’guy had to use his reading glasses, but what the heck it was fun to use, sleek and well built. We have models with 10.1" to 11.6" screens as well. Best of all they are priced under $400.00+ tax. Come on by and take a look. Everyone I’ve showed it to thought it was as cute as a puppy.
The netbook has all the features of the bigger notebook including WiFi wireless networking, USB 2.0, replaceable hard drives from 160GB to 320GB, 1-2GB main RAM, full color screen, etc. The one exception is no CD drive. The idea here is to bring lighter weight, smaller form factor and more portability. Since it is a “net” computer it is designed to work with as a network devise.
If you want to load a CD program like Microsoft Office you could download the program from the Internet directly to the netbook, load the program to a flash drive, or attach the computer to a local network then share the drive from a larger computer. Alternatively purchase a USB external CD drive for loading purposes for about sixty bucks.
So, take your Atom netbook, hop on down to the local Internet Café and have some fun surfing the Internet. When you’re done, go to the office, get email on Outlook, write a brief with Word and design your next ad in Adobe Illustrator, save your work to a flash drive or simply email it to a colleague – or your boss - whatever.
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