Netbook, The New Craze: Can it Save Christmas?

Any other year, this would be a great Christmas and Holiday Seasons.  Jack Frost is safely behind bars and Homeland Security is keeping tabs on the Grinch.  Alas, we are in deep doo-doo as far as the economy goes.

But there a small bit of hope.  I'm not talking about the wave of hope President-Elect Obama is spreading.  Believe me, he's gonna need all of it back for his first term.  No, I'm talking about the netbooks.  Can it save Christmas?

Well, I've been encourage folks to try the live.com/ebay deal that let's you save 20-30%, depending on the week.  And given the interest in the power these little guys have, Asus and MSI selling container loads of these, it's almost a crime not to have one.  And it seems a lot of people are looking at netbooks to supplement their mobile computing needs or using it as their main computers.

When the original EEE PC came out, it was something an oddity.  A subnotebook that did not cost $3000 the way a decked-out underweight Viao would cost.  However, Asus's first netbook was lacked the horsepower and didn't go easy on the battery.

With Intel's Atom chip, things are more different.  My MacWind runs 4.5 hours per change on a 6-cell battery as with most models in its class.  And prices are dropping.  Taiwan has dropped prices to clear inventory and due to competition.  And just today, Engadget (via Wired, Liliputing) reports Best Buy is selling a similar model for $350.

I suspect Dell, HP, and Asus will follow with similar price drops of their own.  Gizmodo is also reporting Acer's netbook starting at $350.  So, if you're looking for a mobile device that has power and goes easy on the battery, seriously consider a netbook this Christmas.

Normally, I might be pushing the iPhone, Blackberries, or the Macbooks.  But the netbook deserves heavy consideration and it's worth.  But I don't know if it'll save Christmas.

Note:  I really suggesting going down to the local tech superstore like Best Buy to try out these things before jumping in.  The small screen takes some getting used to.

Link:

• Gizmodo - Acer deal
• Wired - Best Buy Deal - it's a 3-cell battery model.  Still, not bad.
• Engadget