The first bombshell of 2009 was hearing that there would be no Apple netbook as Netbook Era contrary to what hundreds of bloggers and pundits had predicted. It does not mean that Apple has nothing up their sleeves. It just means that it was not for now. 

On the other hand, we got to formally hear all about the Sony netbook aka Sony P-Series Lifestyle PC. Apparently, the Sony people don’t want us calling it a netbook but what do you call a 8″ mini laptop that’s ultra portable, thin and powered by Intel’s Atom? Just because it’s super expensive does not prevent it from being a netbook!

We also got acquainted with HP’s corporate netbook, the HP Mini 2140 which sports a slick aluminum design. Other netbooks announced at CES 2009 are: Samsung NC20, Elonex, Asus Eee 131, Coby, Gdium Liberty, Dell Adamo Mini 10, Velocity NoteMagix M10 , Fujitsu Tokidoki, Commodore, ViewSonic VieBook and many more other netbooks.

CES ’09 was truly all about netbooks and some people even noticed that most journalists used them as reporting tools! 

We also got wind of the news that Windows 7 would also be available in light form for netbooks, an official move by Microsoft to recognize the netbook craze and maybe pre-counter the possible Android attack.

With so many netbooks on the block, Netbook Era came to the conclusion that most would not see the end of 2009 due to intense competition and no real distinguishing features and specifications. We also advised Intel to chill and not worry about the 12″ netbooks threat.

With the tech shows over, 2009 can now be on its way and we can’t wait to see what it will be all about.

- 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…