HP G60 501NR review
My first netbook was an 8.9" ACER aspire one . It was a great little computer, but the screen size did get on my nerves more than once. Small-screened netbooks are fine for taking notes or short-term browsing, but 8.9" just isn't enough to make most of us happy. Thanks to ultraportable notebooks, netbooks are trending down in price and up in size. Digitimes reports that "industry sources" expect most starter netbooks will have 10" monitors in 2010. They expect that mid-range netbooks in 2010 will feature touchscreens, and that 12" netbooks will be the main profit drivers for the vendors themselves. Basically, this means that the profit margin on 12" netbooks will be higher than for other sizes. Beware of price gouging on 12" models. Expect a lot of Ion-powered netbooks in 2010 as well. Since the Atom platform can only be used with a 10"-or less display, many vendors are expected to combine the Ion chipset with an Atom processor for 12" netbooks. The game will change when Intel's Pine Trail platform (with an integrated GPU) hits. Ion 2 will be coming out close to the same time. If you're a budget-conscious shopper, the best time to make your next netbook purchases will be later next year, after Pine Trail and Ion 2 hit. Old devices will be discounted substantially in order to clear the shelves for new ones. I wouldn't be surprised to see 10" touchscreen netbooks going for well under $500 next year. 
Many users looking to buy a netbook are put off by units that come with Windows 7 Starter Edition, according to a survey by an online consumer comparison shopping site. Unfortunately, the site, Retrevo.com, found consumers have little choice.
The site found that most of the netbooks sold by Amazon.com -- 23 out of 28 -- came with what Retrevo referred to in a blog post as "a low-end feature-starved version that lacks many of the features that make other versions of Windows 7 so attractive." In short, they almost all come with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 7 Starter Edition pre-installed.
So Retrevo decided to ask its customers what they think.
With some 1,100 consumers responding, the non-scientific survey found that 56 percent said they'd be dissatisfied if a new netbook came with Starter Edition, the lowest-end edition of the new Windows 7 operating system.
For example, Starter Edition lacks multiple monitor support, the ability to personalize the desktop, and DVD playback capabilities. It also does not sport the Aero user interface.
Despite that, however, 54 percent of the respondents said they knew the differences between the various editions of Windows 7. Of course, that also means that 46 percent do not.
Microsoft has been trying to kill off XP for at least two years, but the aging OS has remained popular as a low-cost system for netbooks. It's also proven to show staying power in the corporate world, with some enterprise IT shops purchasing Windows Vista systems and then exercising their right to "downgrade" those systems to XP.
However, the runaway popularity of netbooks -- low-powered laptops with small keyboards and screens that typically cost less than $400 -- prompted Microsoft to respond with a version of Windows 7 it believes is tailored to such a market.
Now, with the advent of Windows 7 and Starter Edition in particular, Microsoft is again looking at ending XP's reign. For one thing, the Wall Street Journal said in an April story that Microsoft only gets around $15 per copy of XP that goes onto a netbook, compared to twice or three times that for Vista on a regular notebook PC.
Although Microsoft has not disclosed what it's getting for each copy of Windows 7 Starter, Microsoft executives have said it is more than it gets for the eight-year old XP.
"With today's netbooks, we sell you XP at a price. When we launch Windows 7, an OEM can put XP on the machine at one price, Windows 7 Starter Edition at a higher price, Windows 7 Home Edition at a higher price, and Windows 7 Professional at a higher price," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in July at the company's annual financial analysts meeting.
Beyond Starter Edition's shortcomings, however, Microsoft has done a few things to make it more attractive to netbook buyers, including lifting what had originally been a three-application limit for netbooks.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company would have no direct comment regarding the Retrevo survey.
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