We wrote in November that the final rites of the Netbook will be performed when some of last standing manufacturers like Acer and Asus pull out of the segment. The time has come.
According to a report by Taiwanese tech site Digitimes, Asus has ended the Eee PC product line and Acer has no plans to release more netbook products.
As consumers moved on to Tablets from Netbooks, a section of enterprise users in countries like India still prefer using Netbooks for their field staff, classrooms etc. However, it appears that the volumes and margins don’t justify the production of low powered 10 Inch devices anymore.
When PC makers introduced the device in 2007, it did roaring business only to slow down in a span of 4 years. In many ways, Tablets and Smartphones drove Netbooks out of the market.
Only if they had listened to Steve Jobs:
“The problem is, Netbooks aren’t better at anything” [Steve Jobs, 2010].