The answer just landed in my inbox courtesy of a representative of Hard Candy Cases who alerted me on the company’s cool cases for netbooks and select MacBooks.

They claim to be “The first company to design fashionable snap-on protective cases for the top-selling Asus and Acer netbook models” and whether that’s true or not (I don’t have the time nor inclination to  verify and legitimize the claim), the bubble shell netbook cases that they have for sale are kinda sexy and useful.

If you remember, in previous posts I once asked about the usefulness of netbook bags but I am more in favor of netbook cases because they accomplish two tasks beautifully: protect your baby and make it look hot!

About Hard Candy Cases:
Founded in 2009, Danville, CA-based Hard Candy Cases is a new company from computer accessory veteran, Tim Hickman, who started and ran Speck Products. The company merges fashion and function to distinguish and protect mobile computers from the wear and tear of daily use.  Additional information can be found at http://www.hardcandycases.com.

I find it ironic that a netbook for children is seeing the light of day in the Asus Disney Netpal. If I am not mistaken, netbooks were initially said to be kiddies’ laptops but adults in great majority worldwide voted other wise.

What’s the deal with Disney’s Asus Netpal? It’s really a netbook with a Disney logo on it to make all 6-12 year olds feel cool. Parents will have to cough up $350 for the privilege .

See: Disney teams up with ASUS to make a special netbook for kids! – NETPAL

Another week, another Acer vs Asus netbook battle analysis… 

It really has nothing to do with quality, performance, price or raving reviews. The simple reason why the Acer Aspire One is the most popular netbook over Asus’, its’ chief contender, is because Acer has one netbook in the race for market dominance while Asus has three or more netbooks.

Of course, there are some variations of the Acer Aspire One netbook out there but the model is pretty much the same. Also, in recent time, a new Aspire One was announced and rumour had it that the previous model would be phased out which in my opinion is a brilliant decision.

What happens if you use all your resources to market one product while your competitor uses more or less equal resources to market three or four? Well, it goes without saying that the most popular netbook will be the one that comes in one model.

Notice however that in the Acer vs Asus battle, no one ever tells us who has the most popular netbook brand. I am sure that numbers on this one, would be completely different.

It seems that the crown goes to Asus, one of the leading netbook brands. The ultra small, thin, light Shell is its’ new offering. Officially called the Asus Eee PC 1008HA, this feather-like netbook is a sure sign of good things to come. After all, isn’t the point of netbooks to be light and thin so that they are ultraportable? Let’s just hope that it won’t come loaded with a high price tag which would be a “no, no” in netbook land.

Read: Super-slim Asus Eee PC “Shell” unveiled

Asus, the mini laptop pioneer, has announced the availability of the Eee 1000HE which is an actual upgrade of the existing models. What’s different about the Asus Eee 1000HE? For one, longer battery life at 9.5 hours. Secondly, the Intel N280 Atom CPU, a first in netbooks. The Asus ultra portable notebook is now available for pre-order at $399.

See: ASUS Unveils Upgraded Eee 1000HE

- Super cheap netbooks by Elonex will be sold in popular UK stores

- Asus introduced the Eee 131 that features a 512GB drive and Windows 7

- The forthcoming Sony netbook seems to be the most anticipated computer after Apple’s failure to excite us at Macworld

- Android powered netbooks will surely be showcased

More details to be added as they come in…

I am no expert but even I can spot a marketing disaster when I see one. The Asus S121 netbook is such a blunder. It’s a netbook with laptop features: size and costs. It has a 12’1 inch display (hence the name I guess) and is priced at around $800. Asus calls the S121 netbook, a luxury netbook but I am betting that the market will call it an overpriced and oversized laptop. Besides, when thinking luxury, computer shoppers don’t even think about Asus but are more likely to think Apple, Sony and even Dell.

Netbooks are supposed to small and cheap. A big and expensive netbook is called a laptop. And nowadays, laptops are even priced lower than $800. Good luck with the S121 netbook Asus!

Rumours of the Apple netbook just got crazier to the extent where everyone is expecting a MacBook Mini netbook in January at MacWorld but wondering why Steve Jobs will not be attending.

Acer may have eaten Asus’ lunch but Asus still had a top gong to its credit as Forbes Asia named the Asus Eee PC netbook, the product of the year. Acer had another trick up its sleeves though: it was announced that the Acer Aspire One would be selling at Walmart. If you’re aware of Walmart’s mammoth distribution channel, you know how big of a coup this is.

Some pundits bet that Linux would take over the whole world but the marketplace decided that after all, it was more comfortable with Windows powered netbooks. See also: Will Netbooks Destroy Microsoft in 2009?

And so, those were the highlights of the past week (14th-21st December 2008). Thanks for reading us, your number one netbook blog!

Happy holidays!

You hear that Sony and Apple? Your other computer products will not be cannibalized. 

See: Acer and Asustek gain more than they lose from netbooks, says Digitimes Research

The eye-catching piece of news this morning is that netbooks preloaded with Windows are outselling, sorry killing, those with Linux. That’s according to Asus (and later on by Acer and Toshiba: 90% of netbooks sold use Windows XP say Acer & Toshiba). See: Asus confirms Linux netbooks market decline

My reaction to this is that it’s pretty normal given the fact that early netbooks were only used by so called geeks who were comfortable with complex Linux as opposed to friendlier Linux OS à la Ubuntu Remix. The mainstream tried its teeth at Linux and failed returning the netbooks en masse. Another good reason is simply that most users are familiar with Windows anyway so naturally, they will gravitate towards it. After all, when laptops became the rage, Linux did not take over then either.

But with the rise of cloud operating systems, Windows should enjoy the top spot while it lasts because ultimetly, netbooks will run on something completely new and different.

For fun, read a prediction that now seems improbable: Will Netbooks Destroy Microsoft in 2009?  or better yet 100 Million Netbooks to Be Sold in 2009?

Asus netbooks have won all sorts of awards as of late but not the one that really matters: the best selling netbook. Nevertheless, it’s a good day for Asus, the company that took a chance on an unproven category and made it huge. 

See: Eee PC™ Is Forbes Asia’s Product of the Year for 2008

Even if you’re not interested in this model, you will see how netbooks gets reviewed. I will keep a permanent bookmark on Tech Report and hotlink to their next reviews. So what was the verdict on the Asus N10Jc-A1 netbook? Find out: So what happens when you apply a GeForce to an Atom? 

For now, Acer has a powerful marketing weapon as the company can go out there yelling: “We’re the most popular netbook on the market”, a bragging right that consumers seem to seriously consider during the shopping process. 

See how everyone else such as Dell and HP fared: Acer beats arch-rival Asus in Q3 netbook match

“The Asus Eee PC 1002HA is a strong netbook entry that improves on its predecessor (the very good 1000HA) in a number of ways. It’s slimmer, lighter, offers improved battery life, and looks great, too. Two months ago, we would have crowned this king among 10-inch netbooks, but the recent arrival of the Samsung NC10 puts the 1002HA in a very close second-place position behind the Samsung” - Asus Eee PC 1002HA review

"Netbooks" by Dell (from left), Asus, Acer, MSI and Lenovo. (By Rob Pegoraro -- The Washington Post)

This cool pic was taken from a Washing Post article on netbooks. It answers two questions: How little laptop is enough? And how few dollars will it cost you? 

“Setting up the Eee to be a good companion to my Mac systems proved to be trivially easy. I simply downloaded Apple’s MobileMe control panel for Windows, which enabled me to synchronize my address book contacts and calendar information to the Eee. I also configured the Windows Mail client to connect to my MobileMe e-mail account via IMAP, so all of my mail settings are the same between systems.” - Hands on with an Eee PC netbook

“Asus calls its N10Jc mini-notebook a “corporate netbook”–which presumably has better connotations than “corporate slaptop.” The question is: When does a jumbo mini-notebook officially become an ultraportable laptop?” - Review Asus N10JC Mini-Notebook

The Original Eee Surf Netbook

“Asustek Computer plans to unveil a new Eee PC netbook that costs just US$200 in the first quarter of next year, a company representative said Thursday.” - Asustek to Unveil US$200 Eee PC Netbook Next Year

“ But the ability to do some casual gaming makes the Asus N10J an almost irresistible travel companion if you’re a PC game addict and can live with the limitations of a very low screen resolution and the low-power CPU. ” - Asus N10J A1 – Atom N270 1.6 GHz – 10.2

And then he goes on to do mini-reviews of the Acer Aspire One, Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind U100 and the Asus Eee 1000H (Mr Mossberg calls ASUS “the king of netbooks“) netbooks.

“Just a size comparison between a Dell Inspiron 700M 12.1 inch subnotebook and the (ASUS) Eee PC 1000H, Medion Akoya Mini E1210 [Jay's note: a rebadged MSI WInd really], HP 2133 Mini-Note, Acer Aspire One, [ASUS] Eee PC 900 and [ASUS] Eee PC 701 netbooks”

“According to Toshiba, the netbook is targeted at schoolchildren, senior citizens, and mobile workers who “do not require the processor power or range of functions of a full-sized laptop”.”

Are netbooks getting the attention of all computer makers or what?

Although I am pretty happy for the shopper about all these new netbooks surfacing, I fear that ultimately, too much choice will become confusing because these mini-laptops seem to have no difference except for the brand name. (What is the Best Netbook Brand? Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP, MSI, Samsung?)

Oh well, the fact that the netbook retailers will end up waging a price war to sell them is only good for the consumer right?

Thanks for Trusted Reviews for the photo. You should check out more pics and their thorough review of of the Toshiba Satellite NB100.

The dot is an 8.9-inch netbook which Packard Bell says is the first that’s apparently specially designed for mainstream consumers. That’s a pretty bold claim to make, but Packard Bell is late to the netbook party currently controlled by Asus with its hugely successful Eee PC line” - Packard Bell enters netbook market

The more players enter the netbook market, the merrier especially for the shopper who now has more brands and models to choose from. It’s also a sign that netbooks are no fad. These companies want a piece of the pie because they know how well the mini-notebooks are selling.

In the news report, it’s also said that the Packard Bell netbook only comes with a Windows operating system leaving Linux out in the cold. It’s not a bad idea as Linux has proved to be a pain with customers not familiar with it. I wonder if they considered Ubuntu Remix though?

Anyway, let’s see if Packard Bell can make a comeback as a serious computer contender in this race to netbook supremacy.

Is it just me or is this all-in-one a look alike to earlier iMacs? Nevertheless, it looks good and I like its portability aspect. Did I mention that it’s a touch screen too?

Update: these types of computers, seem to belong to a category called all-in-one nettop! So the Eee Top is no netbook but an all-in-one nettop (the larger versions are called all-in-one PCs such as the iMac or the Dell XPS One).

Now that you know what you need in a netbook computer (Read: How to Pick and Shop for The Best Netbook), it’s time to figure out what brand and model to pick from. Even though netbooks are pretty new, there is already quite a selection and that can get a little bit confusing.

In this article, I will try to answer the tough question of which is the best netbook notebook computer. I have to add before I go on that this is my view and not a universal perspective. You may want to consult with other guides for their take on the topic and thus be a better informed smart shopper.

Moving on…

So far, the serious players in the netbook business seem to be Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung and Apple (if you we say that the MacBook Air is a netbook). There are a few more of course and new players do show up everyday but at this time of writing, the above mentioned are the ones that you should consider as serious contenders in your shopping spree. 

To make matters interesting, some of these netbook brands have one or more models that have their own distinct features. For instance, current market darling Asus offers, four models as I write this. How do they differ? They differ in CPUs, display sizes, storage types and sizes and of course prices. I will talk more about this in a bit but keep this in mind. (See: The Best Netbook Guides You Will Ever Read)

So what is the best netbook brand?

Are you familiar with the term OEM short for Original equipment manufacturer? In layman’s terms it means that basically there’s one major computer manufacturer located somewhere in Asia who makes the netbook and different brands will take that netbook and tweak the exterior to fit their existing brands.

Basically, it’s the same computer but it’s just that it looks different. It’s really like a policeman who wears a uniform when he’s at work but when he goes to the swimming pool to relax with his wife and children puts on a swimming costume. This man may be wearing different uniforms but he still is the same under the “hood”.

My point? Netbooks are more or less the same. I understand that techies and purists are going to be on my case about this but consider this: 

The MSI Wind PC which is considered to be one of the best netbook on the block. According to Wikipedia, It turns out that there are 18 known original equipment manufacturer versions of the Wind:

-Advent 4211 in the UK.

-Medion Akoya Mini in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland and Australia (as of 23rd October 2008) (the Medion Akoya Mini is a slightly different containing a different wireless card, no Bluetooth (Aust. model features mini Bluetooth dongle), and 0.3MP camera).

-MyBook M11 ‘Freedom’ in Denmark, however, unlike the other OEM versions, the MyBook M11 does not have a logo on its case.

-Mouse Computer LuvBook U100 in Japan.

-Mivvy M310 in the Czech Republic.[7] but with 2GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD.

-Tsunami Moover T10 in Portugal (XP version only)

-NTT Corrino 101I and Aristo Pico i300 in Poland

-RoverBook Neo U100 in Russia with 120GB or 160GB HDD

-Axioo Pico in Indonesia with 160GB HDD but not include Bluetooth

-Multirama HT Xpress Book in Greece with 160GB HDD

-Positivo Mobo White in Brazil, with 4 models: 1000, 1050, 1070 and 1090. All sport Intel Atom Processors and range from 512 MB RAM / 80 GB HDD (Mobo White 1000) to 1 GB RAM and 160 GB HDD (Mobo White 1090).

-The Proline U100 in South Africa. 

Wikipedia goes on to say that “all OEM versions are offered in different colors to the original MSI Wind, apart from the Tsunami Moover (white only) and the Mobo White”.

Pictured above are the Proline U100 and the Medion Akoya Mini. Can you spot any visual difference?

So now suppose that you went into a store that sold netbooks and by a weird coincidence sold all the above brands under one roof. Yes, they would be priced differently according to the different specifications such as hard drive storage size or the strength of the brand.

Essentially though, you would be buying the same netbook! How about that?

I am not saying that the same manufacturer makes ALL netbooks. But I will say that in a matter of quality, they’re pretty much the same which leads me to conclude that you should not really pay attention to the brands but more to the specifications and the price to make sure that you buy the netbook that is right for you.

As long as you stick to the brands mentioned earlier (Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung and Apple), you should be good.

Now the trick is to find the best netbook model. What makes each model different to its sibling under the same brand family is the different specifications. For instance, the major difference between the Asus Eee PC 701 and the Asus Eee PC 1000 is the display size (7” versus 10”). You could also add the processors (Celeron versus Atom) and so on.

That would mean that the best Asus netbook for you would be the Asus Eee PC 1000 if you would rather have a 10” large display than a rather small 7”. But you may also see that the difference in prices is something major and that you do not want to spend an extra $300 for a screen display difference because after all, you can live with the 7”.

So what is the best netbook notebook computer? It’s the one that suits all your needs and that has the price that you like. If you’re still undecided, you can just go with the best sellers. For that, you can head over to your fave retailer and ask her or him which model people seem to like the most and go with the choice of the majority. 

After all, if everyone is buying a certain unit, it must be the best netbook otherwise it would be gathering dust!