Netbook, cheap but not cheap

The success of Asus in the segment of low-cost notebooks when it launched the Eee PC product line more than a year ago, has created a trend of new technology products on the market, called netbooks.

But in Vietnam, is netbook - once considered a low-income product - still retains its original meaning?

Consider the feature

The first generation netbooks are equipped with an Intel Celeron 900 MHz chip, which is enough to run basic applications like surfing the web, listening to music, watching movies . at . basic level.

Their prices range from $ 225 to $ 399, the highest, as the fully equipped office-equipped Asus Eee PC 700 sells for $ 399, or the Intel Classmate PC is part of the OLPC project (One Laptop Per Child. ) of Intel for poor students, with prices ranging from $ 225 to $ 350.

Spending a fair amount of money, the benefits of netbooks seem to be inadequate for the price they are sold. With the above price and the first generation, the shortcomings in the design form and the limitations of the feature are unavoidable. Understanding this, users do not complain much when using.

Nearly a year later, Intel introduced an Atom Intl chip, introduced for use in more advanced netbooks.

Products introduced in the last few months such as the Asus Eee PC1000, HP Mini 2133, Dell Vostro A90 . cost more than $ 550, integrated Intel Atom chip, with better performance and energy savings. a bit compared to the Celeron chip used for older generations.

But with the current price, netbook prices are on par with those of low-cost laptops on the market.

Spending a fair amount of money, the benefits of netbooks seem to be inadequate for the price they are sold. Users will have to spend from 4 million to 12 million to own a product mainly used for Internet access, browsing mail .

If only office features are needed and small, easy to move, then Pocket PC - a line of products with similar features that are more 'soft' than netbooks - also meets single demand. This simple.

In addition, the fast-growing smartphone (smartphone) products are also considered a potential competitor of netbooks in the coming years, due to its usability.

The market is gloomy

In recent months, the purchasing power of netbooks in Vietnam has decreased significantly, although companies have changed prices.

In the latest price cut, Acer took the lead when reducing $ 50 for versions of the Aspire One, Asus also reduced $ 100 for the Eee PC 701 version. In the race against rivals, HP also reduced to $ 100. for your high-end Mini-Note netbooks.

But it seems that this price reduction has not increased the purchasing power of consumers, when just a little more money, people can choose a laptop even though the smallest configuration is still stronger than the ones This netbook.

' If I spend that money and only own a laptop with a few features that are less feature-rich, I can buy a more feature-rich laptop with just a little extra money ,' Mr. Ngoc, a student admitted.