Computer makers are betting consumers want a product that’s more than a smart phone but less than a full-featured laptop. Lenovo, the Chinese company with worldwide headquarters in Morrisville, N.C., is the latest to enter the burgeoning market for netbooks — also known as Internet PCs. This month, Lenovo announced plans for a 1-inch-thick IdeaPad netbook with a 10-inch screen. Starting price: $399.
Lenovo’s entry, which will begin shipping next month, is part of its broader push beyond the business market into consumer sales. In January, the company that bought IBM’s PC business in 2005 jumped into the consumer arena in the U.S.
But Lenovo will have plenty of competition in the netbook category, which was jump-started last year when Taiwanese computer maker Asus introduced the $300 Eee PC. By contrast, high-end laptops go for more than $2,000.
In addition to a host of smaller companies, industry mainstays such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer have launched netbooks. Dell is expected to do so shortly.
“It just exploded,” said Paul Goldenberg, general manager of Digital Gadgets, a company that this year launched a line of netbooks under the Sylvania brand. “When Asus entered the market, everyone followed.”
A netbook is smaller, lighter and cheaper than a laptop. They’re made for basic functions, such as surfing the Web and using e-mail and other Web-based applications available from sites such as Google Docs. They’re not designed for running shrink-wrapped software.
Need a DVD drive? Do you intend to keep photos on your hard drive? If so, you should buy the mainstream product.
Lenovo isn’t ready to detail its marketing plans but says since the netbook is designed primarily for Internet use, one focus of its campaign will be social networking sites.
The rush to netbooks has raised some concerns that they’ll cannibalize laptop sales…