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By now, we all know the standard specs for netbooks.  So many companies use the Intel Atom CPU, it’s sometimes easy to forget there is another major competitor in the field.  One of the few netbooks to use something other than Intel processors was the original HP Mini-note.  HP used the VIA Nano CPU, partially because the Atom wasn’t available yet.  VIA has recently shown where the Nano chips are going, but it is going to take a while.

The dual core version of the Nano isn’t due out until June 2010 according to VIA’s roadmap.  However, there isn’t much information on the dual core Nano aside from the fact that it will feature a “new process technology” and it will be compatible with current motherboards using VIA Nanos. 

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Asus set a target of 5 million units of its Eee PC netbook to be sold this year, which they appear to be reaching.  The only problem is that shipments of the Acer Aspire One are creeping towards its ambitious target of 6 million sales, 20% more than the Eee PC.

The title of “best selling netbook” is one that Asus will be incredibly reluctant to give up as it was mainly them who came up with the netbook idea, and it has been through them that the craze has spread.  However the numbers do not lie, Asus only shipped 1.7 million in the third quarter while Acer managed 2.4 million, and advantage they intend to continue into the fourth quarter with predicted sales to exceed this quarter.

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Looking to get an Eee PC for less than an iPod?  Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?  Well, in its quarterly investors earnings call, Asustek announced a great number of things, including the fact that the baseline Eee PCs will be lowered to $200 by the end of 2009.  It seems 1.7 million Eee PCs were shipped last quarter, and Asus is expecting 1.8 million to be shipped this coming quarter.  There is some bad news for some, though.

Along with the price announcement, Asus announced that the 7” and 8.9” models will soon be phased out in favor of the 10-inch models.  That’s somewhat sad to me at least.  The 8.9” is the perfect size I think, especially if the screens on the 8.9” and 10” are the same resolution.

More after the break.

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Despite any feelings that you may have regarding netbooks, it is hard to argue against their popularity.  And if there is any doubt as to how popular they really are, you may want to ask Asus.  The whole netbook revolution is just barely one year old, and Asus CEO Jerry Shen has just given up some details on the sales figures for the Eee PC.

It turns out that they have already sold nearly four million Eee PCs, and have plans to reach the five million mark by the end of 2008.  Given the lower pricing that we have been seeing lately, coupled with the never ending lineup of new models, it seems only safe to believe they will reach that goal of five million.  Of course, that belief is coming from a regular netbook user.  I cannot help but wonder how many of those four million sales came from buyers (like myself) who started with an Eee PC 701 and moved on to other models in the Eee PC lineup as they were introduced.  Continue reading after the break.

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The netbook craze is huge.  It seems that every day someone else introduces a new netbook.  What makes them different from the UMPC or the Tablet PC classes of computers that never seemed to take off?  Why does this different class of PC succeed when other classes have failed?  I spoke it over with an Associate Editor of Gadgetell.com, Robert Nelson, and here is what we figured out.

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Microsoft has announced that it will let XP live on after demand for it surged following the popularity of UMPC’s and sub-notebooks like the EeePC from ASUS. The OS will now be licensed for nettops as well. Nettops are ultra-low cost desktops mainly used for web surfing, email, and instant messaging. As interest in such devices has grown, both manufacturers and customers have shown a strong preference for Windows XP as their OS of choice.

“Customers and partners have made it clear to us that they want Windows on their netbooks and nettops,” said Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president of the Original Equipment Manufacturer Division at Microsoft. “We are committed to providing Windows solutions for these devices, helping to ensure a high-quality experience for both our partners and customers.”

Microsoft is working with over 20 OEM manufacturers including Acer Inc, Dell, Lenovo, Quanta, and ASUSTek.

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