Netbook

Netbook

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC netbook
Type	Laptop computer
Inception	2007

A netbook is a small and inexpensive laptop designed primarily as a means of accessing the Internet. Netbooks were sold from 2007 until around 2013, when the widespread advent of smartphones and tablets eclipsed their popularity.

At their inception in late 2007,^[1] as smaller-than-typical laptop computers optimized for low weight and low cost,^[2] netbooks began appearing without certain then-standard laptop features (such as an optical drive), and with less computing power than in full-sized laptops. They ranged in size from about 5" screen diagonal to 12", with a typical weight of about 1 kg (2.2 pounds), and were often significantly less expensive than other laptops.^[3]

Soon after their appearance, netbooks grew in size and features, and converged with smaller laptops and subnotebooks until the specs were so similar that there really was no distinction between the devices.^[4] At their peak, the low cost gave them a significant portion of the laptop computer market.

To protect sales of more lucrative laptops manufacturers cleaved to Microsoft’s imposed constraints on the hardware of their netbooks, which had the effect of pushing netbooks into a market niche where they had few distinctive advantages over traditional laptops.^[5] With these constraints and the increasing popularity of tablet computers in 2011, it led to declining sales of netbooks.^[5][6] By the end of 2012, few new laptops were marketed as "netbooks", and the term disappeared from common usage.^[7]