Jamie Lendino

The term “netbook” has only recently come into widespread use, but it’s not a new idea. Various manufacturers took stabs at it over the past 20 years; Gateway’s popular, DOS-based Handbook 286 from the early 1990s comes immediately to mind. But today’s full-featured netbooks have struck a chord for folks wanting something more powerful and […]

Much has been written about how Linux is an optimal OS for a lightweight netbook. And netbooks themselves are on a tear: ABI Research is projecting that 35 million will be shipped in 2009, and estimates that number to increase to a stunning 139 million by 2013—not bad for a category of PC that no […]

Netbooks have captured the public’s imagination. It’s the kind of machine many have long clamored for: inexpensive, lightweight, and just powerful enough for the basic, day-to-day, Internet-based tasks that consumers and corporate mavens normally tote a regular laptop for. At the same time, today’s netbooks aren’t perfect. Many suffer cramped keyboards and track pads; neither […]

Also see: Top Netbooks: the Eight Best Netbooks Compared (April 2009) The netbook revolution is upon us—possibly due to the gotta-have-it factor more than anything else. After all, netbooks practically scream “buy me” from store display tables as a result of their featherweight designs and low prices. Since Asus kicked off the category in the […]

The future of ultraportable laptop design isn’t trending toward the underpowered, overpriced vein that has dominated ultraportable design for the past decade or more. For years, petite high-end models held sway, like the original Toshiba Portégé, the IBM ThinkPad 701C and 560 series, and the magnesium alloy and carbon fiber VAIO X505. This same style […]