Dave Methvin: Although this doesn't seem to have been a great holiday season for technology in general, I suspect that netbooks will be a bright spot for computer makers. Tiny notebook PCs like the Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, and HP Mini 1000 are attracting a lot of attention.
All is not peachy in netbook land, however. For one thing, these tiny notebooks also tend to carry tiny prices. Several of these netbooks were selling for just $299 in their lighter configurations; that's the kind of money the vendors like to charge just for a 3-year warranty alone. As a result, the profit margins for these puny PCs are mighty thin.
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