| Netbooks are everywhere, on buses, on trains, on | | | | They can take a few hard knocks and still keep on |
| planes... and in the classroom. It seems the little | | | | working. Students are not exactly the most gentle |
| netbook has come out of nowhere to become | | | | creatures on the planet, so a sturdy tough machine is |
| extremely popular overnight. | | | | needed to handle the demands put upon it. |
| But what is a netbook? | | | | Battery Life |
| Netbooks usually have screens of 10 inches or less, | | | | Because of their small size, you will usually get better |
| runs Windows or Linux and generally sell for well | | | | battery life than with a regular sized laptop. This is |
| under $500. As its name indicates, the netbook's main | | | | important to the student since you may have to go |
| purpose is to keep its owner conveniently connected | | | | all day without a chance to re-charge the battery. |
| to the net - anywhere, anytime. | | | | Long lasting battery life makes the netbook the |
| First introduced by Asustek when it launched the first | | | | perfect student laptop. |
| Eee PC in the fall of 2007. But it was only in the last | | | | Performance |
| year when we saw the explosive growth of these | | | | Although small, these mini-laptops still sports some |
| so-called mini-laptops. Now we have many computer | | | | very impressive specs. Many now come with at least |
| companies such as HP, Dell, Lenovo... all jumping on | | | | 1 Gig of RAM and Intel Atom processors. There are |
| this craze for a small portable laptop. So much so, | | | | even some with Solid State Hard Drives which make |
| that netbooks now is the fastest growing segment | | | | them more durable and less likely to be damaged. |
| of the laptop industry and is expected to reach 139 | | | | Most use Windows XP but newer models debuting |
| million units by 2013. | | | | this year with the Nvidia's Ion platform may have |
| Why is there a sudden popularity for the small | | | | Vista or Windows 7, but still don't expect the kind of |
| netbook? Perhaps the answer lies mainly in our | | | | performance you would get from a regular laptop. |
| constant quest for mobility. We want a portable | | | | Storage |
| device that will keep us connected to the Internet | | | | While storage on netbooks is constantly increasing, it |
| and yet be small and light enough to be carried | | | | is still nowhere near the kind of storage you will find |
| around all day. A truly ultra-portable device that | | | | on a regular sized laptop. Usually, most devices have |
| keeps us connected with family, friends and the web. | | | | around 30 or 60 Gig hard drives which should be |
| The next question you have to ask: why do | | | | adequate for most student's needs. Many newer |
| netbooks make for great student laptops? If the | | | | netbooks have 160 Gigs of storage. |
| above reasons aren't enough, try the following: | | | | Price |
| Size | | | | Perhaps, the main reason netbooks make the perfect |
| Netbooks are small with 10 inch displays or less, | | | | student laptops is the low price. Students are usually |
| which make them ideal for students. Plus, they are | | | | on a very limited budget and the low price-tag is a |
| usually very lightweight -- around 2 or 3 pounds. They | | | | perfect fit. Many perfectly adequate machines are |
| are compact enough to tuck into your school bag or | | | | now priced in the $300 to $500 range -- while many |
| backpack, and small enough to carry around all day | | | | good ones go for well under $300. Plus, prices are |
| without developing a hernia. | | | | steadily dropping so almost any student can now |
| Portability | | | | afford a netbook. |
| As mentioned above because the netbook is so small | | | | As you can plainly see, the netbook does have many |
| and compact, it is very portable. A very mobile | | | | features to make it a perfect student laptop: small |
| device that we can use to stay connected to the | | | | size, very portable, excellent connections, very |
| web and friends. Connectability is one of the main | | | | sturdy, long battery life, good performance, adequate |
| features -- you are connected to the web at all | | | | storage and most of all, a very affordable price |
| times. | | | | almost any student can take advantage of. Overall, |
| Sturdiness | | | | netbooks are well suited for the classroom and the |
| Most netbooks are designed to be sturdy and tough. | | | | student. |