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Aug 06, 2008 -- Internet gets its wings, netbooks to be hot holiday item

Remember several years ago when Internet cafes were all the rage? Over in Europe, some of these cafes were huge and occupied multi-floor buildings.

The last time Clark was in London, however, he saw one formerly popular cafe that was reduced from 500 terminals to about 75. What happened? The marketplace changed. Free wifi became wide-spread and suddenly everyone could access the Internet from their cell phones.

Likewise, the Internet will increasingly be anywhere you go. Delta Airlines will have high-speed connections on all its flights by 2009. The price for access will be around $10 for a few hours or around $13 or $14 on longer flights. Delta's system will not be compatible with Skype.

Meanwhile, what you surf on is undergoing a transformation. A new class of ultra-lightweight mini-laptops -- called "netbooks" -- is all the rage. Many of them are Windows based.

Clark recently (over)paid for one Hewlett Packard model at $599. Lenovo's S10 ThinkPad is going for $399, which is not much for a fully functional mini-computer. Expect a big marketing push for netbooks this holiday season. People will be snatching them up for themselves and their favorite road warriors.

Speaking of traveling, there are new TSA-approved computer bags available where you don't have to unpack your laptop at security checkpoints. The TSA can actually check your laptop while it remains in the bag.


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What others are saying

  • Clark's off on the netbook
    I hate to point it out but Clark is off on the netbooks. To say these will be the hot item at Christmas is wrong. They will not be this year's Tickle Me Elmo or Cabbage Patch kid by any means. Will their sales increase - yes - but not by much. A thrifty spender can find a fully functional, larger laptop with more upgrades than these netbooks for the same price or less. You just need to watch the sales, stack coupons, and visit your deal tracking websites. It's not that hard to get a retail $799 or $699 laptop at $400 - $350.
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