Selecting a Netbook Brand

June 2, 2010, 3:22 am PDT by admin
Filed under Netbook Buying Tips

Now that you are planning on buying a netbook, it’s time to figure out what brand and model to pick from. Well, we’re glad you’ve stopped here! Hopefully we can help you understand what the best netbook computer features are and what are the best netbook brands to buy.

Considering the netbook brand before purchasing is essential as the market today is filled with numerous brands of netbooks. With global shipments expecting to reach 32.7 million units this year more brands are expected to hit the market.

Reputable brands often sell very well due to their reliability and after sales support. Another benefit of buying a reputable netboook brand is the availability of wider selection of accessories for it on the market.

Asus started the netbook phenomenon in 2007. Acer, Samsung, MSI, Toshiba, Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo and Gateway have since muscled their way in; all have models worthy of consideration.

Most of these brand owners do not manufacture the netbooks themselves but rather focus on sales and marketing of their brand. They outsource the manufacturing to third party manufacturers under an arrangement known as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). An OEM manufactures the netbooks which are purchased by a purchasing company and retailed under the purchasing company’s brand name. The practice of utilizing OEMs relies on their ability to drive down the cost of production through economies of scale.

Often a major netbook manufacturer will make the netbooks and different brands will customize the exterior and aesthetics to fit their branding strategy. What this means is that basically all the netbooks are more or less the same under the hood and they differ only on the exterior.

To set themselves apart each brand often offer more than one model each with its own distinct features and specification. How do they differ? They differ in processors, chipsets, screen sizes, storage types and sizes and prices. (See: Netbook Buying Guide).

So what is the best netbook brand to buy? It is one that meets your computing needs and within your budget. One of the best ways to decide if a particular brand is popular amongst consumers is to check their sales ranking on the websites of major online retailers. Amazon keeps an hourly updated running tally of the best-selling netbooks on its site and this would give you an idea of what brand and model is currently popular amongst the buyers.

My advice is to settle with the best selling brands and models. Now the question is, are the best sellers always the best netbook to buy? Most definitely as you will see! One important thing to notice is that the best netbook to buy will be highly rated by customers. In most cases, customer reviews are what you should base your purchasing decision on. After all, if everyone is buying a particular model than it must be reasonably good.

As long as you stick to the brands mentioned above you can’t go wrong.

Click the links below to view the best selling models of each brand.

Asus Eee PC Netbooks
Acer Aspire One Netbooks
Samsung Netbooks
MSI Wind Netbooks
Toshiba Netbooks
Dell Netbooks
HP Netbooks
Sony Netbooks
Gateway Netbooks
Lenovo Ideapad Netbooks
Gigabyte Netbooks
Apple Ipad