A Netbook is a very small, light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient notebook, optimized for internet based services like emailing and browsing. A Netbook is essentially a smaller laptop designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.
What hardware does a Netbook have?
Netbooks are lighter than laptops and more energy efficient thus they have:
- a smaller screen – generally 7 to 10 inches diagonal
- an energy efficient processor like the Intel Atom CPU running at approximately 1.6-GHz
- wireless connectivity
- connectivity options like ethernet and bluetooth
- hardware expansion options using multiple USB ports or a slot for Flash RAM memory card
- usually a solid state hard drive to save space
Netbooks may or may not come without Optical disc drives again to save space.

What software does a Netbook have?
A Netbook usually runs on either Windows XP Home edition or a custom version of Linux. For example, the Ubuntu Netbook Remix is a popular Netbook OS. A Netbook also features Office Softwares which are less memory intensive and stresses more on the use of Web-based softwares called Cloud Computing.
How much does a Netbook cost?
A Netbook generally costs between 300$ and 500$. There are however higher end Netbooks available which are more expensive.
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