Entry-level notebooks will take their place, so to speak

Dec 27, 2012 14:51 GMT  ·  By

Netbooks, low-end laptops of up to 10.1 inches in diagonal, used to be a very big part of the notebook industry, but they aren't any longer. Soon, there will be nothing left of them really.

According to a new report, netbooks will be extinct by the end of the month and, by extension, the end of the year (2012).

ASUS has already decided to stop making Eee PCs, while Acer has chosen to discard any plans of netbook products from 2013 onwards.

Since these two companies are the only ones still selling netbooks, their withdrawal means the demise of the low-end laptops.

Intel will continue to make Atom CPUs, but these chips will be used in embedded applications (point of sale, digital signage, etc.).

The situation lies in stark contrast with that of two or three years ago, when netbooks brought in most of the money.