In the early years the PC was primarily a plaything for science enthusiasts and technology geeks. To bring computers to the masses, something was needed that would engage the user and be of genuine use to them, something that we now know has revolutionised the way people live their everyday lives. And that, of course, was the internet. Enabling people to tap into the global community 24-hours a day, the internet has changed the way people communicate; helping to bridge time and distance barriers.

But there has been a tremendous change in the way people use and access the wealth of information that’s available in cyberspace. What was once a handful of networked computers found in libraries and shared amongst many users, is now affordable and technologically advanced enough to be in the majority of homes across the UK.

Moreover, one of the main changes is that the internet has been transported out of universities, libraries and homes and is now ubiquitous almost everywhere we go - airports, trains, coffee shops and even in our pockets. In fact, mobile phone technology and PDAs have advanced to the point where we can surf the internet at any time and at any place.

But whilst internet access on pocket devices does have its uses, much of the true value of the web is having large screens with a broadband network connection. And this is where laptops help to bridge the gap between home and office-based desktop machines and pocket-sized mobile devices. However, many laptops aren’t as portable as they otherwise could be and may still be too big to carry around for long periods of time. This is where netbooks come in, as they are gradually starting to fulfil their potential as being the next logical step towards enabling genuine portable internet.

Netbooks were originally designed for emerging markets as an affordable, small, network-enabled computer. But over the past few years, they have gradually begun to win over a sizeable market share from laptops. Given that the main advantage of buying a netbook over a laptop is that it offers wireless internet access for web browsing and emailing on a device with a screen size as little as five inches, it’s hardly surprising that they are starting to gain popularity with business professionals too.

Acer netbooks have proven to be a particularly popular choice on the market. However, with a growing demand for fast internet access on the move, it’s likely that many more of the computing industry’s leading brands will be fighting for a market share in the months and years ahead.

And this will be another chapter in the remarkable transformation of the humble PC of only a few decades ago to the slick portable models that are available today.

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Tags: Access, Genuine, Netbooks, Portable