14 DAY TRIAL // Netbooks have gained in popularity over the last few months, so much so, that some even believe that they will end up being more popular that your regular, fully-fledged notebook. We have already seen how these small-sized portable computer systems have succeeded in claiming 9 spots in the top 10 of sales on Amazon's bestselling computers and PC hardware products. It now seems that the netbook market will also turn into a new battleground for the confrontation between PC and Mac systems, as well as between Apple's Mac OS and Microsoft's Windows Vista.
According to both IDC and Gartner, notebook systems are the main segment of PC growth, with the worldwide year-over-year growth rate expected to be around 37.2 percent, and an impressive 44.7 percent outside the United States. However, there's a counter-trend on the market as well, as Apple's MacBooks are gaining more ground over Windows-powered notebooks. This trend could soon come to an end, mostly due to the introduction of Intel's Atom processors in netbook systems.
The highly successful Atom CPU is capable of supporting Microsoft's Windows Vista, although most of the current netbooks are basically equipped with either a Windows XP or a Linux operating system. That too could change, as we've seen with the new Asus N10 notebook, an Atom-powered portable system that comes in roughly the same form factor as most of the current 10-inch netbooks. Nevertheless, this one breaks away from the general concept of netbooks but, given its specifications list, it could also be considered a high-end Atom-powered alternative to Eee PCs.
The N10 and its Windows Vista is nothing like the first Eee PC to have been launched last year, which came with a Linux operating system. The N10 is also different from all the other 10-inch netbooks currently available on the market, as it can not only run Vista, but it also fares pretty well in some of the more recent gaming applications.
According to Gartner, manufacturers will ship 5.2 million netbooks this year alone, while, four years from now, the predictions settle somewhere around the 50 million units sold area. This is all the more impressive since last year most of the current netbooks owners didn’t even know that many things on these devices.