In the latest issue of Wired, there’s an article on the increasing ubiquity of netbooks, an how it’s taking over the computer industry.

Netbooks are so cheap, they’re reshaping the fundamental economics of the PC business. Last October, British mobile-phone carrier Vodafone offered its customers a new deal: If they signed a two-year contract for high-speed wireless data, Vodafone would give them a Dell Mini 9 netbook. That isn’t quite the same as getting a free computer; after all, Vodafone bills users $1,800 on that two-year contract, so it can afford to throw in the netbook. (In December, RadioShack offered a similar deal: a $99 Acer Aspire netbook for anyone who signed up for two years of AT&T’s 3G service.)

What these deals signal is that computers are developing the same economics as mobile phones. Hardware is becoming a commodity. It’s difficult to charge for. What’s really valuable—what people will pay through the nose for—is the ability to communicate.

I think I’ll buy one or two netbooks this year. My laptop is aging and I want something light to carry around or couch surfing. Although I’m a bit torn about getting a SSD or a real hard drive. On the one hand, I want a large storage capacity to offload my photos to on-the-go; but SSD is cheaper.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: economics, techlust