Cheapest Netbook Prices Hover Around $200

PC makers Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus are increasingly thinking big about small cheap netbooks -- Netbooks are portable computing devices that begin with the cheapest netbook around $200 and running to $500 The netbooks depend on the Internet for completion of many computing tasks.

These small devices are a bright side to what analysts expect will be a slow year ahead for desktop computer demand. Indeed, research firm iSuppli on November 20 projected that global PC shipments will rise 4.3% in 2009, down from its previous forecast of 11.9%. iSuppli also reported that notebook shipments will still increase 15% in 2009 largely because of growth in the netbook segment. Research firm IDC estimates that 10.8 million netbooks will ship in 2008, just about a year after Asus launched what is considered the first device in the category, the Eee PC. It is reported that Asus has a 46% share of the netbook market, according to IDC.